J.J.R. Williams

Large eddy simulation of turbulent flow in an asymmetric compound open channel

A Large Eddy Simulation of turbulent flow in a compound open channel with one floodplain is reported for a Reynolds number of approximately 42000. The results are in good agreement with experimental measurements and previous numerical calculations. The mean velocity field, secondary circulation field, bed stress distribution, and lateral stress distribution are presented in detail.

Large-eddy simulation of a turbulent forced plume

Abstract This paper reports on an application of large-eddy simulation (LES) to a spatially-developing round turbulent buoyant jet. The numerical method used is based on a low-Mach-number version of the governing equations for compressible flow which can account for density variations. The second-order centre-difference scheme is used for spatial discretization and an Adams–Bashforth scheme for temporal discretization. Comparisons are made between LES results, experimental measurements and plume theory for the forced plume under moderate Reynolds number and good agreement has been achieved. It is found that the plume spreading and the centerline maximum mean velocity strongly depend on the forcing conditions imposed on the inflow plane. The helical mode of instability leads to a larger spreading rate as compared to an axisymmetric mode. The enhanced entrainment is directly related to the strong turbulent momentum and energy transports between the plume and surrounding fluid induced by vortex dynamics. The entrainment ratio is about 0.09 and falls into the range of experimentally determined values. Budgets of the mean momentum and energy equations are analyzed. It is found that the radial turbulent transport nearly balances the streamwise convection and the buoyancy force in the axial momentum equation. Also, the radial turbulent stress is balanced by the streamwise convection in the energy equation. The energy-spectrum for the axial velocity fluctuations shows a −5/3 power law of the Kolmogorov decay, while the power spectrum for the temperature fluctuations shows both −5/3 and −3 power laws in the inertial-convective and inertial-diffusive ranges, respectively.

A novel iterative direct-forcing immersed boundary method and its finite volume applications

We present a novel iterative immersed boundary (IB) method in which the body force updating is incorporated into the pressure iterations. Because the body force and pressure are solved simultaneously, the boundary condition on the immersed boundary can be fully verified. The computational costs of this iterative IB method is comparable to those of conventional IB methods. We also introduce an improved body force distribution function which transfers the body force in the discrete volume of IB points to surrounding Cartesian grids totally. To alleviate the demanding computational requirements of a full-resolved direct numerical simulation, a wall-layer model is presented. The accuracy and capability of the present method is verified by a variety of two- and three-dimensional numerical simulations, ranging from laminar flow past a cylinder and a sphere to turbulent flow around a cylinder. The improvement of the iterative IB method is fully demonstrated and the influences of different body force distribution strategies is discussed.

Direct numerical simulation of sediment entrainment in turbulent channel flow

In this paper, the entrainment and movement of coarse particles on the bed of an open channel is numerically investigated. Rather than model the sediment transport using a concentration concept, this study treats the sediment as individual particles and investigates the interaction between turbulent coherent structures and particle entrainment. The applied methodology is a combination of the direct numerical simulation of turbulent flow, the combined finite-discrete element modeling of particle motion and collision, and the immersed boundary method for the fluid-solid interaction. In this study, flow over a water-worked rough-bed consisting of 2-3 layers of densely packed spheres is adopted and the Shields function is 0.065 which is just above the entrainment threshold to give a bed-load regime. Numerical results for turbulent flow, sediment entrainment statistics, hydrodynamic forces acting on the particles, and the interaction between turbulence coherent structures and particle entrainment are presented...

The Diversity of Meningococcal Carriage Across the African Meningitis Belt and the Impact of Vaccination With a Group A Meningococcal Conjugate Vaccine

Background. Study of meningococcal carriage is essential to understanding the epidemiology of Neisseria meningitidis infection. Methods. Twenty cross-sectional carriage surveys were conducted in 7 countries in the African meningitis belt; 5 surveys were conducted after introduction of a new serogroup A meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MenAfriVac). Pharyngeal swab specimens were collected, and Neisseria species were identified by microbiological and molecular techniques. Results. A total of 1687 of 48 490 participants (3.4%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.2%–3.6%) carried meningococci. Carriage was more frequent in individuals aged 5–14 years, relative to those aged 15–29 years (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 1.41; 95% CI, 1.25–1.60); in males, relative to females (adjusted OR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.10–1.24); in individuals in rural areas, relative to those in urban areas (adjusted OR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.28–1.63); and in the dry season, relative to the rainy season (adjusted OR, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.37–1.75). Forty-eight percent of isolates had genes encoding disease-associated polysaccharide capsules; genogroup W predominated, and genogroup A was rare. Strain diversity was lower in countries in the center of the meningitis belt than in Senegal or Ethiopia. The prevalence of genogroup A fell from 0.7% to 0.02% in Chad following mass vaccination with MenAfriVac. Conclusions. The prevalence of meningococcal carriage in the African meningitis belt is lower than in industrialized countries and is very diverse and dynamic, even in the absence of vaccination.

Guideline: the laboratory diagnosis of malaria

UK National External Quality Assessment Service surveys indicate continuing problems in malaria diagnosis: inaccurate calculation of parasitaemia or failure to estimate it altogether, difficulty distinguishing Plasmodium vivax from P. ovale, reporting malaria parasites when none were present and misidentification of P. falciparum as another species still occur. Therefore, the British Committee for Standards in Haematology Guidelines for the Laboratory Diagnosis of Malaria have been revised. They are intended for use in the UK but may also prove useful in other non‐endemic areas. Routine use of thick and thin films is advised for malaria diagnosis. Thick films should be stained using Giemsa or Field stain. Thin films should be stained with Giemsa stain or Leishman stain. Thick films should be examined by two observers, each viewing a minimum of 200 high power fields. If thick films are positive, the species should be determined by examination of a thin film. In the case of P. falciparum or P. knowlesi infection, the percentage of parasitized cells or the number of parasites per microlitre (/μl) should be estimated and reported. Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for malarial antigen cannot replace microscopy but are indicated as a supplementary test when malaria diagnosis is performed by relatively inexperienced staff. Malaria RDTs are negative in babesiosis.

Development of a parallel code to simulate skewed flow over a bluff body

This paper outlines a new complex geometry large-eddy simulation code using finite differences and a multigrid Poisson solver written for a parallel computer. The flow domain may be constructed from an arbitrary arrangement of rectangular blocks thus permitting flow in regions with complicated shapes, and may be mapped to any number of processors up to the number of blocks. The code is used to simulate turbulent flow at a Reynolds number of 3000 past a cube placed at ground level in rough terrain with its sides set 45° to mean flow direction. Preliminary results are presented which reproduce the conical vortices on the top of the cube.

Large scale simulation of red blood cell aggregation in shear flows

Aggregation of highly deformable red blood cells (RBCs) significantly affects the blood flow in the human circulatory system. To investigate the effect of deformation and aggregation of RBCs in blood flow, a mathematical model has been established by coupling the interaction between the fluid and the deformable solids. The model includes a three-dimensional finite volume method solver for incompressible viscous flows, the combined finite-discrete element method for computing the deformation of the RBCs, a JKR model-Johnson, Kendall and Roberts (1964-1971) (Johnson et al., 1971) to take account of the adhesion forces between different RBCs and an iterative direct-forcing immersed boundary method to couple the fluid-solid interactions. The flow of 49,512 RBCs at 45% concentration under the influence of aggregating forces was examined, improving the existing knowledge on simulating flow and structural characteristics of blood at a large scale: previous studies on the particular issue were restricted to simulating the flow of 13,000 aggregative ellipsoidal particles at a 10% concentration. The results are in excellent agreement with experimental studies. More specifically, both the experimental and the simulation results show uniform RBC distributions under high shear rates (60-100/s) whereas large aggregation structures were observed under a lower shear rate of 10/s. The statistical analysis of the simulation data also shows that the shear rate has significant influence on both the flow velocity profiles and the frequency distribution of the RBC orientation angles.

Large Eddy Simulation of Flow Past Free Surface Piercing Circular Cylinders

Flows past a free surface piercing cylinder are studied numerically by large eddy simulation at Froude numbers up to FrD=3.0 and Reynolds numbers up to ReD=1×105. A two-phase volume of fluid technique is employed to simulate the air-water flow and a flux corrected transport algorithm for transport of the interface. The effect of the free surface on the vortex structure in the near wake is investigated in detail together with the loadings on the cylinder at various Reynolds and Froude numbers. The computational results show that the free surface inhibits the vortex generation in the near wake, and as a result, reduces the vorticity and vortex shedding. At higher Froude numbers, this effect is stronger and vortex structures exhibit a 3D feature. However, the free surface effect is attenuated as Reynolds number increases. The time-averaged drag force on the unit height of a cylinder is shown to vary along the cylinder and the variation depends largely on Froude number. For flows at ReD=2.7×104, a negative pressure zone is developed in both the air and water regions near the free surface leading to a significant increase of drag force on the cylinder in the vicinity of the free surface at about FrD=2.0. The mean value of the overall drag force on the cylinder increases with Reynolds number and decreases with Froude number but the reduction is very small for FrD=1.6–2.0. The dominant Strouhal number of the lift oscillation decreases with Reynolds number but increases with Froude number.

Large-eddy simulation of flow in a rectangular open channel

Turbulent flow in a narrow open channel is investigated using the large-eddy simulation (LES) technique in which the surface is allowed to freely deform. A relatively large Reynolds number of 90,40...