Arezki Slaouti

Using reverse engineering and computational fluid dynamics to investigate a lower arm amputee swimmer's performance.

In front crawl swimming, the hand and the corresponding forearm generate major propulsive forces. Such forces have been studied largely through experimental tests and more recently through the use of steady computational fluid dynamics (CFD). However, the effect of the upper arm on the propulsive forces has generally not been taken into consideration. An understanding of such forces is fundamental for the performance of swimmers who have an arm amputation at the level of the elbow. This study introduces the great potential offered by the multidisciplinary approach combining reverse engineering and unsteady CFD in a novel dynamic and interactive way. A complex CFD mesh model, representing the swimmer body and its upper arm, is produced. The model, including the arm rotation and a body roll movement, interacts dynamically with the fluid flow. Forces generated by the upper arm can then be investigated in great detail. In this particular study, it is found that the upper arm effectively contributes to the propulsion of the body. The propulsive force was numerically computed throughout the pull and reaches maxima of 8 N. Results obtained in this study could be extended in a similar way to any other limb movement within a fluid flow.

Unsteady free convection flow over a continuous moving vertical surface

SummaryThe problem of heat transfer in the unsteady free convection flow over a continuous moving vertical sheet in an ambient fluid has been investigated. Both constant surface temperature and constant surface heat flux conditions have been considered. The nonlinear coupled partial differential equations governing the flow have been solved numerically using the Keller box method and the Nakamura method which both give closely similar solutions. The results indicate that the cooling rate of the sheet can be enhanced by increasing the buoancy parameter or the velocity of the sheet. It is found that a better cooling performance could be achieved by using a liquid as a cooling medium rather than a gas. The overshoot in the velocity occurs near the surface when the buoyancy parameter exceeds a certain critical value.

Unsteady free convection flow in the stagnation-point region of a three-dimensional body

The unsteady free convection flow in the stagnation-point region of a heated three-dimensional body placed in an ambient fluid is studied under boundary layer approximations. We have considered the case where there is an initial steady state that is perturbed by a step-change in the wall temperature. The non-linear coupled partial differential equations governing the free convection flow are solved numerically using a finite difference scheme. The presented results show the temporal development of the momentum and thermal boundary layer characteristics.

Effect of body roll amplitude and arm rotation speed on propulsion of arm amputee swimmers

Only a limited amount of research has gone into evaluating the contribution made by the upper arm to the propulsion of elite swimmers with an amputation at elbow level. With assistance of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling, the swimming technique of competitive arm amputee swimmers can be assessed through numerical simulations which test the effect of various parameters on the effectiveness of the swimming propulsion. This numerical study investigates the effect of body roll amplitude and of upper arm rotation speed on the propulsion of an arm amputee swimmer, at different mean swimming speeds. Various test cases are simulated resulting in a thorough analysis of the complex body/fluid interaction with a detailed quantitative assessment of the effect of the variation of each parameter on the arm propulsion. It is found that a body roll movement with an amplitude of 45 degrees enhances greatly the propulsive contribution from the upper arm with an increase of about 70% in the propulsive force compared to the no roll condition. An increase in the angular velocity of the upper arm also leads to a concomitant increase in the propulsive forces produced by the arm. Such results have direct implications for competitive arm amputee front crawl swimmers and for those who coach them. One important message that emerges in this present work is that there exists, for any given swimming speed, a minimum angular velocity at which the upper arm must be rotated to generate effective propulsion. Below this velocity, the upper arm will experience a net resistive drag force which adversely affects swimming performance.

Validation of hyperbolic model for two-phase flow in conservative form

A mathematical formulation is proposed for the solution of equations governing isentropic gas–liquid flow. The model considered here is a two-fluid model type where the relative velocity between the two phases is implemented by a kinetic constitutive equation. Starting from the conservation of mass and momentum laws, a system of three differential equations is derived in a conservative form for the three principal variables, which are mixture density, mixture velocity and the relative velocity. The governing equations for the mixture offer the novel hyperbolic conservation laws for the description of two-phase flows without any conventional source terms in the momentum or relative velocity equations. The discretisation of the governing equations is based on splitting approach, which is specially designed to allow a straightforward extension to various numerical methods such as Godunov methods of centred-type. To verify the validity of the model, numerical results are presented and discussed. It is demonstrated that the proposed numerical methods have superior overall numerical accuracy among existing methods and models in the literature. The model correctly describes the formation of shocks and rarefactions for the solution of discontinuities in two-phase fluid flow problems, thus verifying the proposed mathematical and numerical investigations.

Spin-up and spin-down of a viscous fluid over a heated disk rotating in a vertical plane in the presence of a magnetic field and a buoyancy force

SummaryThe hydromagnetic spin-up and spin-down of an incompressible electrically conducting fluid on a heated infinite disk rotating in a vertical plane in the presence of a magnetic field and a buoyancy force have been studied. The flow is non-axisymmetric due to the imposition of the buoyancy force. We have considered the situation where there is an initial steady state which is perturbed by suddenly changing the angular velocity of the disk. By using suitable transformations the Navier-Stokes and energy equations with four independent variables (x, y, z, t) are reduced to a system of partial differential equations with two independent variables (η,t*). Also, these transformations uncouple the momentum and energy equations, resulting in a primary axisymmetric flow with an axial magnetic field, in an energy equation dependent on the primary flow and in a buoyancy induced secondary cross flow dependent on both primary flow and energy.The results indicate that the effect of the step-change in the angular velocity of the disk is more pronounced on the primary flow than on the secondary flow and the temperature field. For both spin-up and spin-down cases the surface shear stress in the non-axial direction normal to gravity for the primary flow and the surface shear stresses for the secondary flow increase with the magnetic parameter, whilst the surface shear stress in the vertical direction and the heat transfer at the surface decrease as the magnetic parameter increases. Also, the secondary flow near the disk dominates the primary flow. We have also developed an asymptotic analysis for large magnetic parameters which complements well the numerical results obtained in the lower magnetic parameter range.

Unsteady free convection flow in the stagnation-point region of a rotating sphere

The unsteady free convection boundary-layer flow in the forward stagnation-point region of a sphere, which is rotating with time-dependent angular velocity in an ambient fluid, has been studied. Both constant wall temperature and constant heat flux conditions have been considered. The non-linear coupled parabolic partial differential equations governing the flow have been solved numerically using an implicit finite-difference scheme. The skin friction and the heat transfer are enhanced by the buoyancy force. The effect of the buoyancy force is found to be more pronounced for smaller Prandtl numbers than for larger Prandtl numbers. For a given buoyancy force, the heat transfer increases with an increase in Prandtl number, but the skin friction decreases.

NUMERICAL SOLUTION FOR HYPERBOLIC CONSERVATIVE TWO-PHASE FLOW EQUATIONS

We outline an approximate solution for the numerical simulation of two-phase fluid flows with a relative velocity between the two phases. A unified two-phase flow model is proposed for the description of the gas–liquid processes which leads to a system of hyperbolic differential equations in a conservative form. A numerical algorithm based on a splitting approach for the numerical solution of the model is proposed. The associated Riemann problem is solved numerically using Godunov methods of centered-type. Results show the importance of the Riemann problem and of centered schemes in the solution of the two-phase flow problems. In particular, it is demonstrated that the Slope Limiter Centered (SLIC) scheme gives a low numerical dissipation at the contact discontinuities, which makes it suitable for simulations of practical two-phase flow processes.

Creation of Body Surfaces From Reverse-Engineered Components

In the automotive industry or in similar industries, body panels need to be perfectly smooth for visual and aerodynamic reasons. In some cases, the component is a hand-made body part that will require a suitable CAD model for further development and manufacturing. Such a smooth CAD model can only be produced through reverse-engineering and CAD procedures that will make use of accurate surface reconstruction. This paper describes a reverse-engineering procedure for the production of a suitable CAD mesh from which surface reconstruction can take place. It then analyzes and compares three approaches assessing the continuity and the quality of each set of NURBS patches: automatic, semiautomatic, and completely manual surfacing. Recommendations are made for each method when creating CAD surfaces. Finally, a procedure is suggested to optimize the time and the quality of the final CAD model.

Computer simulations of cavitating two-phase flows

This work proposes a mixture model to simulate cavitating two-phase flows with velocity non-equilibrium using Godunov methods. As such, the model results are compared to those of test cases reported in the literature and validated against exact or other reference solutions. Special attention is given to a general cavitation phenomenon for which smooth and discontinuous solutions are included. The results demonstrate that the present model provides an alternative method to solve cavitating two-phase flows and combines excellent properties of efficiency, robustness and accuracy.