H. V. Moradi

A method for analysis of stability of flows in ribbed annuli

A spectrally-accurate algorithm for the linear stability analysis of pressure-gradient-driven flows in corrugated annuli is presented. The algorithm is suitable to analyze three-dimensional disturbances in the form of spiral traveling waves as well as in the form of streamwise vortices. A separate algorithm for the analysis of axisymmetric disturbances is presented. The discretization method relies on Fourier expansions in the streamwise and circumferential directions and on Chebyshev expansions in the radial direction. The Immersed Boundary Conditions (IBC) method is used to enforce the physical boundary conditions at the corrugated walls. Numerous tests confirm the spectral accuracy of the results. The performance of the algorithm is consistent with the theoretical predictions.

Sliding Couette flow in a ribbed annulus

The flow in an annulus driven by the axial movement of one of the cylinders has been studied. The stationary cylinder has been fitted with axisymmetric ribs resulting in the appearance of the centrifugal-force-driven instability which leads to the formation of axial vortices. The critical stability conditions have been determined for a wide range of geometries of practical interest; these conditions include the critical Reynolds number as well as the best vortex packing. It has been shown that a sufficiently large increase of the ribs’ wavelength leads to a flow stabilization as the flow becomes nearly rectilinear, thus reducing the strength of the centrifugal force field. It has also been demonstrated that a sufficiently large decrease of the ribs’ wavelength similarly results in the flow stabilization as the stream lifts up above the ribs’ peaks and becomes more rectilinear. Reduction of the annulus’ radius leads to qualitatively different flow responses depending on the position of the moving cylinder....

On the mixing enhancement in annular flows

The potential for mixing enhancement associated with the use of axisymmetric ribs in annular flows has been analyzed. The enhancement relies on the use of streamwise vortices produced by the centrifugal instability. Conditions leading to the formation of such vortices have been established for a wide range of geometric parameters of interest using linear stability theory. It has been demonstrated that vortices can be formed only in the presence of ribs with O(1) wavelengths. Slopes of the bounding walls in the case of the long wavelength ribs are too small to create centrifugal forces sufficient for flow destabilization. In the case of short wavelength ribs, the slopes become excessively large, resulting in the stream moving away from the wall and becoming rectilinear and, thus, reducing the magnitude of the centrifugal force field. It has been shown that decreasing the annulus’ radius reduces the critical Reynolds number when ribs are placed at the inner cylinder but increases when the ribs are placed at...

Brain Cooling With Ventilation of Cold Air Over Respiratory Tract in Newborn Piglets: An Experimental and Numerical Study

We investigate thermal effects of pulmonary cooling which was induced by cold air through an endotracheal tube via a ventilator on newborn piglets. A mathematical model was initially employed to compare the thermal impact of two different gas mixtures, O₂-medical air (1:2) and O₂-Xe (1:2), across the respiratory tract and within the brain. Following mathematical simulations, we examined the theoretical predictions with O₂-medical air condition on nine anesthetized piglets which were randomized to two treatment groups: 1) control group (n = 4) and 2) pulmonary cooling group (n = 5). Numerical and experimental results using O₂-medical air mixture show that brain temperature fell from 38.5 °C and 38.3 °C ± 0.3 °C to 35.7 °C ± 0.9 °C and 36.5 °C ± 0.6 °C during 3 h cooling which corresponded to a mean cooling rate of 0.9 °C/h ± 0.2 °C/h and 0.6 °C/h ± 0.1 °C/h, respectively. According to the numerical results, decreasing the metabolic rate and increasing air velocity are helpful to maximize the cooling effect. We demonstrated that pulmonary cooling by cooling of inhalation gases immediately before they enter the trachea can slowly reduce brain and core body temperature of newborn piglets. Numerical simulations show no significant differences between two different inhaled conditions, i.e., O₂-medical air (1:2) and O₂-Xe (1:2) with respect to cooling rate.

Grooved surfaces for laminar drag reduction

Laminar, pressure driven flows through annuli have been analyzed. It has been shown that a significant reduction of pressure losses can be accomplished using longitudinal grooves. The optimum form of the grooves that results in the maximum possible drag reduction has been determined.