Minwei Gong

Development of a flocculation sub-model for a 3-D CFD model based on rectangular settling tanks.

To assess performance and evaluate alternatives to improve the efficiency of rectangular Gould II type final settling tanks (FSTs), New York City Department of Environmental Protection and City College of NY developed a 3D computer model depicting the actual structural configuration of the tanks and the current and proposed hydraulic and solids loading rates. Fluent 6.3.26™ was the base platform for the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model, for which sub-models of the SS settling characteristics, turbulence, flocculation and rheology were incorporated. This was supplemented by field and bench scale experiments to quantify the coefficients integral to the sub-models. The 3D model developed can be used to consider different baffle arrangements, sludge withdrawal mechanisms and loading alternatives to the FSTs. Flocculation in the front half of the rectangular tank especially in the region before and after the inlet baffle is one of the vital parameters that influences the capture efficiency of SS. Flocculation could be further improved by capturing medium and small size particles by creating an additional zone with an in-tank baffle. This was one of the methods that was adopted in optimizing the performance of the tank where the CCNY 3D CFD model was used to locate the in-tank baffle position. This paper describes the development of the flocculation sub-model and the relationship of the flocculation coefficients in the known Parker equation to the initial mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) concentration X0. A new modified equation is proposed removing the dependency of the breakup coefficient to the initial value of X0 based on preliminary data using normal and low concentration mixed liquor suspended solids values in flocculation experiments performed.

Coupled fluid-structure solver: The case of shock wave impact on monolithic and composite material plates

An unstructured adaptive mesh flow solver, a finite element structure solver and a moving mesh algorithm were implemented in the numerical simulation of the interaction between a shock wave and a structure. In the past, this interaction is mostly considered as one-way in the sense that the shock causes a transient load on the structure while it is reflected uneffected by the impact. A fully coupled approach was implemented in the present work which can account for the effects associated with a mutual interaction. This approach included a compressible flow Eulerian solver of second order accuracy in finite volume formulation for the fluid and a Langargian solver in finite element formulation for the solid structure. A novel implementation of advancing front moving mesh algorithm was made possible with the introduction of a flexible and efficient quad-edge data structure. Adaptive mesh refinement was introduced into the flow solver for improved accuracy as well. Numerical results are further validated by theoretical analysis, experimental data and results from other numerical simulations. Grid dependency study was performed and results showed that the physical phenomena and quantities were independent of the numerical grid chosen in the simulations. The results illuminated complicated flow phenomena and structure vibration patterns, which in order to be detected experimentally require capabilities beyond those of the current experimental techniques. The numerical simulations also successfully modelled the aero-acoustic damping effects on the structure, which do not exist in previous numerical models. Further analysis of the results showed that the mutual interaction is not linear and that the non-linearity arises because the wave propagation in the fluid is not linear and it cascades a non-linear and non-uniform loading on the plate. Non-linearity intensifies when the plate is vibrating at high frequency while the wave propagation speed is low.

Velocity and vorticity in weakly compressible isotropic turbulence under longitudinal expansive straining

The response of homogeneous and isotropic turbulence to streamwise straining action provided by planar expansion waves has been studied experimentally in the CCNY shock tube research facility at several Reynolds numbers. The reflection of a propagating shock wave at the open endwall of the shock tube generated an expansion fan travelling upstream and interacting with the induced flow behind the incident shock wave which has gone through a turbulence generating grid. A custom-made hot-wire vorticity probe was designed and developed capable of measuring the time-dependent highly fluctuating three-dimensional velocity and vorticity vectors, and associated total temperature, in non-isothermal and inhomogeneous flows with reasonable spatial and temporal resolution. These measurements allowed the computations of the vorticity stretching/tilting terms, vorticity generation through dilatation terms, full dissipation rate of kinetic energy term and full rate-of-strain tensor. The longitudinal size of the straining zone was substantial so that measurements within it were possible. The flow accelerated from a Mach number of 0.23 to about 0.56, a value which is more than twice the initial one. Although the average value of the applied straining was only between S 11 = 130 s −1 and S 11 = 240 s −1 and the gradient Mach number was no more than 0.226, the amplitude of fluctuations of the strain rate S 11 were of the order of 4000 s −1 before the application of straining and were reduced by about 2.5 times downstream of the interaction. This characteristic of high-amplitude bursts and the intermittent behaviour of the flow play a significant role in the dynamics of turbulence. One of the most remarkable features of the suppression of turbulence is that this process peaks shortly after the application of the straining where the pressure gradient is substantial. It was also found that the total enthalpy variation follows very closely the temporal gradient of pressure within the straining region and peaks at the same location as the pressure gradient. Attenuation of longitudinal velocity fluctuations has been observed in all experiments. It appears that this attenuation depends strongly on the characteristics of the incoming turbulence for a given straining strength and flow Mach number. The present results clearly show that in most of the cases, attenuation occurs at large times or distances from the turbulence generating grids where length scales of the incoming flow are high and turbulence intensities are low. Thus, large eddies with low-velocity fluctuations are affected the most by the interaction with the expansion waves. Spectral analysis has indicated that attenuation of fluctuations is not the same across all wavenumbers of the spectrum. The magnitude of attenuation appears to be higher in cases of finer mesh grids.

Probe to measure direction and strength of moving shocks or blast waves

A new probe, capable of detecting the local direction of blast or moving shock waves and their strength, has been designed, fabricated, and tested. The performance of the probe has been assessed and validated in shock-tube tests, as well as in field measurements. The data obtained were also compared with computational fluid dynamics calculations with satisfactory results. The probe is sensitive to the incoming shock and flow direction. Its directional response is, to a certain extent, similar to that of a single pressure transducer. However, the ability to determine the shock wave direction provides better estimates of the pressure measurements behind the shock. In that respect, the present probe maybe characterized as omnidirectional. Evaluation tests of the algorithm developed to detect the direction and strength of blast waves indicated that the direction could be estimated within 5 deg of the true direction

Interaction of weakly compressible isotropic turbulence with planar expansion waves: Flow anisotropy and vorticity alignment

Further analysis of the experimental data of the velocity gradient tensor first published by Xanthos et al. [J. Fluid Mech. 584, 301 (2007)] has been carried out and new results are reported here to provide additional insights on the effects of expansion waves interacting with isotropic turbulence. The flow field was generated by the reflection of an incoming shock wave at the open end of a large scale shock tube facility which interacted with the induced flow behind the incident shock wave which passed through a turbulence generating grid. In the present configuration the interaction is free from streamline curvature effects, which cause additional effects on turbulence. The strength of the applied expansive straining was 240 s−1. Rectangular pattern grids of different mesh sizes were used to generate isotropic and homogeneous turbulence with turbulent Reynolds number Reλ based on Taylor’s microscale between 450 and 488. Lateral vorticity fluctuations and fluctuations of enstrophy and all stretching vect...