Massimiliano Insinna

Whispering Gallery Mode Aptasensors for Detection of Blood Proteins

Whispering gallery mode resonators (WGMR), as silica microspheres, have been recently proposed as an efficient tool for the realisation of optical biosensors. In this work we present a functionalization procedure based on the DNA-aptamer sequence immobilization on WGMR, able to recognize specifically thrombin or VEGF protein, preserving a high Q factor. The protein binding was optically characterized in terms of specificity in buffer solution or in 10% diluted human serum. Simulation of the protein flow was found in good agreement with experimental data. The aptasensor was also chemically regenerated and tested again, demonstrating the reusability of our system.

Conjugate Heat Transfer Analysis of a Film Cooled High-Pressure Turbine Vane Under Realistic Combustor Exit Flow Conditions

In this paper conjugate heat transfer analysis of the cooled vane of the MT1 research high-pressure stage is presented. Inlet boundary conditions (including non-uniform total temperature, non-uniform total pressure, swirl, turbulence intensity and turbulence length scale) are obtained considering the exit flow field of a reactive annular combustor simulator. The combustor model has been designed in order to reproduce data available in literature about exit profiles of real combustion chambers and other combustor simulators. Steady simulations are performed on a hybrid unstructured grid obtained from a grid dependence study. The transitional kT-kL-ω model by Walters and Cokljat is used as turbulent closure. Thermal fields obtained from CHT analysis of the vane considering two different clocking positions with respect to the combustor are compared. Results, including film cooling parameters and High-Pressure Vane aerodynamics, are also compared with a uniform inlet case showing the crucial importance of considering realistic boundary conditions for thermal analysis of turbine components.Copyright

Optical fibre nanotips fabricated by a dynamic chemical etching for sensing applications

Nanoprobe tips are key components in many applications such as scanning probe microscopes, nanoscale imaging, nanofabrication and sensing. This paper describes a dynamic chemical etching method for the fabrication of optical nanoprobes. The tips are produced by mechanically rotating and dipping a silica optical fibre in a chemical etching solution (aqueous hydrofluoric acid) covered with a protection layer. Using different dynamic regimes of the mechanical movements during the chemical etching process, it is possible to vary the cone angle, the shape, and the roughness of the nanoprobes. It is found that the tip profiles are determined by the nonlinear dynamic evolution of the meniscus of the etchant near the fibre. Computational fluid dynamic simulations have been performed, showing that different flow regimes correspond to different shear forces acting on the forming nanotip, in agreement with experimental results. With this method, a high yield of reproducible nanotips can be obtained, thus overcoming ...

Simulation of Combustor/NGV Interaction Using Coupled RANS Solvers: Validation and Application to a Realistic Test Case

Numerical techniques are commonly used during both design and analysis processes, mainly considering single components. Technological progress asks for advanced approaches that include real-machine conditions and analyze components interaction, especially considering the combustor/turbine coupling. Modern combustors operate with strong swirl motions in order to obtain an adequate flame stabilization, generating a very complex flow field characterized by high turbulence level. These aspects affect performance of downstream components which are subjected to very aggressive inlet flow conditions: non-uniform total temperature, non-uniform total pressure, swirl and high turbulence intensity. For these reasons coupled analysis of combustor and turbine is necessary to accurately predict aero-thermal aspects that influence performance and reliability of these two components.From a numerical point of view the simulation of a single domain characterized by a reactive flow with very different Mach number regimes (from low-Mach flow in combustion chamber to transonic flow in turbine) is problematic due to the different numerical requirements needed, especially concerning stability and accuracy. These problems could be overcome using coupled methods to simultaneously simulate combustor and turbine in separated domains which are managed by different solvers that communicate with each other.A coupling method for the study of combustor/turbine interaction using the RANS methodology is proposed. In the first part of the paper the method is described and validated. The second part is dedicated to the application of the proposed coupling methodology to a realistic test case consisting of a model annular combustor and the Nozzle Guide Vane (NGV) of the MT1 high-pressure turbine stage. A commercial solver and an in-house code are respectively used for the simulation of combustor and NGV.Results are presented and analyzed highlighting the importance of such type of simulations in understanding aero-thermal phenomena that characterize combustor/vane interaction.Copyright

Hybrid RANS-LES Modeling of a Hot Streak Generator Oriented to the Study of Combustor-Turbine Interaction

Turbine entry conditions are characterized by unsteady and strongly non-uniform velocity and temperature and pressure fields. The uncertainty and the lack of confidence associated to these conditions require the application of wide safety margins during the design of the turbine cooling systems, which are detrimental for the efficiency of the engine. These issues have been further complicated by the adoption of lean-burn technology in modern aeroengines, identified by many manufacturers as the most promising solution for a significant reduction of NOx emission. Such devices are in fact characterized by a very compact design, whereas the strong swirl component generated by the injector is maintained up to the end of the flametube due to the absence of dilution holes, which in conventional combustors provides the required pattern factor.Bearing in mind complexity and costs associated to the experimental investigation of combustor-turbine interaction, CFD has become a key and complementary tool to understand the physical phenomena involved. Due to the well-known limitations of the RANS approach and the increase in computational resources, hybrid RANS-LES models, such as Scale Adaptive Simulation (SAS), are proving to be a viable approach to resolve the main structures of the flow field.This paper reports the main findings of the numerical investigation of a hot streak generator for the study of combustor-turbine interaction. The results were compared to experimental data obtained from a test rig representative of a lean-burn, effusion cooled, annular combustor, developed in the context of the EU project FACTOR. Steady RANS and unsteady SAS runs were carried out in order to assess the improvements related to hybrid models. Additional simulations were performed to investigate the effect of the periodicity assumption and the impact of liner cooling modelling on the exit conditions.Copyright

Uncertainty Quantification and Stochastic Variations of Renewable Fuels

Renewable fuels have been successfully used in gas turbine combustion chambers and the layout of the chamber does not require major interventions if the composition is known. However, the variation in the composition in renewable fuels is higher than in fossil ones and it is stochastic. In principle, this variation affects the stability of the combustion, the emissions and the temperature distribution.The combustion chamber tested in this work has been designed to reproduce the temperature distribution of MT1 test case and modelled using reactive CFD simulations. The fuel is an ideal natural gas with a random mix of methane and hydrogen.In order to account the stochastic variation of the fuel composition, a probabilistic analysis is carried out with two sampling methods: a Monte Carlo simulation with meta-models and a Probabilistic Collocation Method. The two methodologies show similar results in terms of mean value and standard deviation.The paper proves that is possible to predict the mean value of temperature and emissions in a modern chamber and their associated standard deviation by applying an uncertainty quantification methodology. One of the major drawbacks of the composition change is the maximum temperature variation at the exit that can reduce the life of the downstream turbine. The variation in the emissions seems less important and all the major differences in the composition are mixed out before the combustion chamber exit.© 2015 ASME

Aerodynamic Characterization of Conical Diffusers for Radial Turboexpanders Under Realistic Inlet Conditions

Radial inflow expander units are increasingly employed in both oil and gas upstream and downstream markets for energy saving purposes. While prominent attention is given to the performance of the expansion wheel, the downstream diffuser is scarcely covered in literature. In modern expanders, the gas entering the diffuser is typically high-speed, non-uniformly distributed from hub to shroud. Recovery factor and pressure loss coefficient are then affected by both the inlet gas conditions and the geometry of the system, including shaft end and divergence angle of the diffuser.In the present work, the application of computational methodologies to expander diffusers is initially assessed. A sensitivity analysis is then performed with respect to the inlet flow conditions and the diffuser shape. Trends of variation of recovery factor and loss coefficient are provided as a function of selected geometrical parameters and boundary conditions. It is shown that, starting from a non-optimized diffuser, an overall machine efficiency gain can be achieved. That performance improvement can be appreciated by the current market of expanders as a non-negligible competitive advantage.Copyright

Clocking Effects of Inlet Non-Uniformities in a Fully Cooled High-Pressure Vane: A Conjugate Heat Transfer Analysis

A high-pressure vane equipped with a realistic film-cooling configuration has been studied. The vane is characterized by the presence of multiple rows of fan-shaped holes along pressure and suction side while the leading edge is protected by a showerhead system of cylindrical holes. Steady three-dimensional Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulations have been performed. A preliminary grid sensitivity analysis with uniform inlet flow has been used to quantify the effect of spatial discretization. Turbulence model has been assessed in comparison with available experimental data.The effects of the relative alignment between combustion chamber and high-pressure vanes are then investigated considering realistic inflow conditions in terms of hot spot and swirl. The inlet profiles used are derived from the EU-funded project TATEF2. Two different clocking positions are considered: the first one where hot spot and swirl core are aligned with passage and the second one where they are aligned with the leading edge.Comparisons between metal temperature distributions obtained from conjugate heat transfer simulations are performed evidencing the role of swirl in determining both the hot streak trajectory within the passage and the coolant redistribution. The leading edge aligned configuration is resulted to be the most problematic in terms of thermal load, leading to increased average and local vane temperature peaks on both suction side and pressure side with respect to the passage aligned case.A strong sensitivity of both injected coolant mass flow and heat removed by heat sink effect has also been highlighted for the showerhead cooling system.© 2015 ASME

Whispering gallery mode aptasensors for detection of blood proteins

Whispering gallery mode resonators (WGMR), as silica microspheres, have been recently proposed as an efficient tool for the realisation of optical biosensors. In this work we present a functionalization procedure based on the DNA-aptamer sequence immobilization on WGMR, able to recognize specifically thrombin or VEGF protein, preserving a high Q factor. The protein binding was numerically modelled and optically characterized in terms of specificity in buffer solution or in 10% diluted human serum. The aptasensor was also chemically regenerated and tested again, demonstrating the reusability of our system.