CFD research on the influence of geometry characteristic on flow pattern and the transition mechanism in Rushton turbine stirred vessels

In this paper, the transient MRF approach coupled with the standard k-ε and SST k-ω turbulence models was employed to study the effect of bottom shape, impeller diameter (D J) and bottom height (H 2) on critical impeller off-bottom clearance (C). It was found the bottom shape and bottom height (H 2) have obvious influence on the flow pattern transition from double-loop to single-loop of RT impeller. The flow pattern transition mechanism was inferred to relate to the relationship between the space required by the lower circulation zone and the actual space. The boundary conditions of critical C were further concluded to help distinguish the flow pattern and receive the expected one in the stirred vessel design.

Research on a component characteristic adaptive correction method for variable cycle engines

There is inevitably a performance deviation between an engine model and an actual engine that is influenced by unpredictable factors such as the unsuspected environmental conditions and the natural performance degradation in the process of use. Because the engine model precision largely depends on the accuracies of the component maps, it is possible to revise the engine model to determine a better trend for the engine performance from recorded measurements by adjusting the maps. This paper presents a new method for updating the variable geometry component maps of a variable cycle engine (VCE) by using a set of scaling factors estimated with the cubature Kalman filter (CKF). A mapping function is created between the scaling factors and the component characteristic scaling coefficients for the adjustments of the maps. The proposed method is applied to a VCE model according to the VCE benchmark steady-state performance data. The results show that the maximum simulation error of the engine steady-state model decreases from 5.33 to 0.93%, and the CKF-based adaptation method provides a much faster computing rate than the particle swarm optimization (PSO) based adaptation method, which verifies the effectiveness and engineering applicability of the variable geometry characteristic adaptive correction method.

Design and Optimization of a Centrifugal Pump for Slurry Transport Using the Response Surface Method

Since centrifugal pumps consume a mammoth amount of energy in various industrial applications, their design and optimization are highly relevant to saving maximum energy and increasing the system’s efficiency. In the current investigation, a centrifugal pump has been designed and optimized. The study has been carried out for the specific application of transportation of slurry at a flow rate of 120 m3/hr to a head of 20 m. For the optimization process, a multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA) and response surface methodology (RSM) have been employed. The process is based on the mean line design of the pump. It utilizes six geometric parameters as design variables, i.e., number of vanes, inlet beta shroud, exit beta shroud, hub inlet blade draft, Rake angle, and the impeller’s rotational speed. The objective functions employed are pump power, hydraulic efficiency, volumetric efficiency, and pump efficiency. In this reference, five different software packages, i.e., ANSYS Vista, ANSYS DesignModeler, response surface optimization software, and ANSYS CFX, were coupled to achieve the optimized design of the pump geometry. Characteristic maps were generated using simulations conducted for 45 points. Additionally, erosion rate was predicted using 3-D numerical simulations under various conditions. Finally, the transient behavior of the pump, being the highlight of the study, was evaluated. Results suggest that the maximum fluctuation in the local pressure and stresses on the cases correspond to a phase angle of 0°–30° of the casing that in turn corresponds to the maximum erosion rates in the region.

A Bidimensional Gay-Berne Calamitic Fluid: Structure and Phase Behavior in Bulk and Strongly Confined Systems

A bidimensional (2D) thermotropic liquid crystal (LC) is investigated with Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations. The Gay-Berne mesogen with parameterization GB(3, 5, 2, 1) is used to model a calamitic system. Spatial orientation of the LC samples is probed with the nematic order parameter: a sharp isotropic-smectic (I-Sm) transition is observed at lower pressures. At higher pressures, the I-Sm transition involves an intermediate nematic phase. Topology of the orthobaric phase diagram for the 2D case differs from the 3D case in two important respects: 1) the nematic region appears at lower temperatures and slightly lower densities, and 2) the critical point occurs at lower temperature and slightly higher density. The 2D calamitic model is used to probe the structural behavior of LC samples under strong confinement when either planar or homeotropic anchoring prevails. Samples subjected to circular, square, and triangular boundaries are gradually cooled to study how orientational order emerges. Depending on anchoring mode and confining geometry, characteristic topological defects emerge. Textures in these systems are similar to those observed in experiments and simulations of lyotropic LCs.

Anomalous shape effect of nanosized helium bubble on the elastic field in irradiated tungsten

Bubble pressure and elastic response in helium-irradiated tungsten are systematically investigated in this study. An anomalous shape effect is found that the radial normal stress and mean stress distributions around a nanosized void or bubble are far from the spherical symmetry, which is ascribed to polyhedral geometry characteristic of the nanosized bubble and physical mechanism transition from crystal surfaces dominated to the surface ledges and triple junctions dominated. Molecular simulation shows that Young–Laplace equation is not suitable for directly predicting equilibrium pressure for nanosized bubble in crystals. Consequently, a new criterion of average radial normal stress of spherical shell is proposed to polish the concept of equilibrium pressure of helium bubbles. Moreover, the dependences of bubble size, temperature and helium/vacancy ratio (He/Vac ratio) on the bubble pressure are all documented, which may provide an insight into the understanding of mechanical properties of helium-irradiated tungsten.

Numerical Investigations on Full Blended Blade and Endwall Technique

In present state of art, compressor blades can work efficiently between the span of 20%–80%, while nearly 30% of the total loss comes from endwall region. Previous studies have shown that Blended Blade and End Wall (BBEW) which is a control technique can reduce the corner separation effectively. To further reduce the loss, enhance diffusion capability and restrain the secondary flow in the endwall region, in addition of a kind of non-axisymmetric endwall, Full-BBEW technique is put forward. Firstly, the geometric method of the Full-BBEW technique is presented on a NACA65 cascade with the unchanged axial passage area. Moreover, under the category of Full-BBEW technique, according to the different geometry characteristic, BBEW (blended blade and endwall) model, IOEW (inclining-only hub) model and Full-BBEW model are presented. Then in order to find the most effective design, numerical investigation and optimization based on the Kriging surrogate model are employed on the models. Compared with the prototype, the total pressure loss coefficient decreases by 7%–9% in optimized Full-BBEW cases and the aerodynamic blockage coefficient decreases about 23%–36%. Through analysis, the blended blade geometry creates a radial pressure gradient at the end section and push the low-energy fluid up to the mainstream. As the result, the loss decreases significantly between 5%–25% span range. Meanwhile, the intersection of boundary layer weakens because of the expanded dihedral angle. On the other hand, the inclining-only hub geometry reduces the circumferential pressure gradient and restrains the crossflow in corner. Overall, though the loss in mainstream increases slightly, Full-BBEW technique can reduce the boundary layer intersection and the crossing flow in corner so that the diffusion capability further increases and the aerodynamic performance in the endwall region improves effectively.

Influence of Inclination of Welding Torch on Weld Bead during Pulsed-GMAW Process

This work is about the influence rule of inclination of welding torch on the formation and characteristics of weld bead during the pulsed-gas metal arc welding (GMAW) process based on the robotic operation. The inclination of welding torch was an important operation condition during the pulsed-GMAW process, because it can affect the formation and quality of weld bead, which was the output of the process. In this work, the different inclination modes and values were employed to conduct actual welding experiments, and some influence rules can be obtained according to examine the surface topography and cross section. Then, to obtain further rules, serious measurements for the geometry characteristic parameters were conducted and corresponding curve fitting equations between inclination angles and the bead width, penetration and bead height were obtained, and the largest error of these curve fitting equations was 0.117 mm, whose corresponding mean squared error (MSE) was 0.0103. Corresponding verification experiments validated the effectiveness of the curve fittings and showed the second order polynomials were proper, and the largest errors between measurements and curve fitting equations for inclination angle under backward mode were larger than those under forward mode, and were 0.10 mm and 0.15 mm, respectively, which corresponded to the penetration and were below 10%, therefore the equations can be used to predict the geometry of the weld bead. This work can benefit the process and operation optimization of the pulsed-GMAW process, both in the academic researches and actual industrial production.

Shipborne MAX-DOAS Observations of Tropospheric Trace Gases over a Coastal City and the Yellow Sea near Qingdao, China

Observations of the atmospheric trace gases are crucial for quality assessment of the human living environment. Multiaxis differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) is the most promising candidate to meet the requirements on observations of atmospheric trace gases with high sensitivity, good stability, and a wide range of regional monitoring. The shipborne observations of tropospheric trace gases (NO2, SO2, and O3) over a coastal city, Qingdao, with MAX-DOAS were conducted by a Chinese oceanographic research vessel, XiangYangHong 08 (XYH 08). During the observational campaign, the shipborne MAX-DOAS equipment was used to make anchor measurements for 3 days, and a sailing measurement along Qingdao coast for half an hour. Measurement results are presented for both sailing and anchor point measurements in this paper. Combining geometry characteristic of the monitoring area, it can be concluded from the sailing measurements that the traffic emissions may play an important role in the boundary layer (BL) pollution of a coastal city’s atmosphere. The anchor point measurements showed that the NO2 vertical column density (VCD) mean value of Jiaozhou Bay is about 2.7 times of the value of the Qingdao offshore sea area. Likewise, the tropospheric VCDs of SO2 and O3 have an increase of 30% and 40%, respectively, on 1 September in Jiaozhou Bay, compared to the other 2 days in Qingdao offshore sea area.

Detection of Diabetes Mellitus using Tongue images

One of the major health problem faced by people around the world is diabetes mellitus. Tongue diagnosis (a non-invasive approach) is made to detect DM & NPDR in its early stages. It uses color, texture & geometry features for diagnosis. A color gamut of the tongue is confirmed with 12 colors describing the color characteristics of the tongue. To delineate the tongue texture attributes, texture feature values of various blocks are employed. There are 13 features extorted from dialect images includes measurements, areas, distance and ratios of the tongue and they are called as geometry characteristic features. Using these features, it is possible to differentiate non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy, diabetes mellitus & healthy human being using their tongue images.

Influence of grinding wheel parameters on the meshing performance of toroidal surface enveloping conical worm drive

A new type of toroidal surface enveloping conical worm gearing is proposed in our recent work (Chongfei and Yaping, 2019b). According to its forming principle, the geometrical shape of the generating surface has an important influence on the geometry characteristic of the enveloping worm pair. To explore the reasonable principles for selecting the geometrical parameters of the grinding wheel, some numerical study examples are performed. In this process, the methods for the tooth crest width are developed. Simple strategies for estimating the risk of the worm tooth surface being located in the invalid area and the risk of the curvature interference on the tooth surface are proposed. The numerical result shows that increasing the radius of the toroidal-generating surface and the nominal pressure angle of the grinding wheel are beneficial to improve the engagement behavior of the conical worm pair, but the tooth crest sharpening of the conical worm may happen if they are too large. For the nominal radius of the grinding wheel, it has a negligible effect on the meshing characteristics of this worm set. In addition, the selection principle of the parameters is also suggested.