NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF FLOW OVER TWO CIRCULAR CYLINDERS IN TANDEM ARRANGEMENT

In this article,the 2-D unsteady viscous flow around two circular cylinders in a tandem arrangement is numerically simulated in order to study the characteristics of the flow in both laminar and turbulent regimes.The method applied alternatively is based on the finite volume method on a Cartesian-staggered grid.The great source term technique is employed to identify the cylinders placed in the flow field.To apply the boundary conditions,the ghost-cell technique is used.The implemented computational method is firstly validated through simulation of laminar and turbulent flows around a fixed circular cylinder.Finally,the flow around two circular cylinders in a tandem arrangement is simulated and analyzed.The flow visualization parameters,the Strouhal numbers,and drag and lift coefficients are comprehensively presented and compared for different cases in order to reveal the effect of the Reynolds number and gap spacing on the behavior of the flow.The obtained results have shown two completely distinct flow characteristics in laminar and turbulent regimes.     

Critical rotational speed,critical velocity of fluid flow and free vibration analysis of a spinning SWCNT conveying viscous fluid

In this article, the influences of rotational speed and velocity of viscous fluid flow on free vibration behavior of spinning single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are investigated using the modified couple stress theory (MCST). Taking attention to the first-order shear deformation theory, the modeled rotating SWCNT and its equations of motion are derived using Hamilton’s principle. The formulations include Coriolis, centrifugal and initial hoop tension effects due to rotation of the SWCNT. This system is conveying viscous fluid, and the related force is calculated by modified Navier–Stokes relation considering slip boundary condition and Knudsen number. The accuracy of the presented model is validated with some cases in the literatures. Novelty of this study is considering the effects of spinning, conveying viscous flow and MCST in addition to considering the various boundary conditions of the SWCNT. Generalized differential quadrature method is used to approximately discretize the model and to approximate the equations of motion. Then, influence of material length scale parameter, velocity of viscous fluid flow, angular velocity, length, length-to-radius ratio, radius-to-thickness ratio and boundary conditions on critical speed, critical velocity and natural frequency of the rotating SWCNT conveying viscous fluid flow are investigated.     

The study of the performance of an electrostatic valve used forbulk transport of particulate materials

In many mass transfer processes, it is necessary to accurately control the flow of particulate materials. Commonly used mechanical valves have serious drawbacks which can be overcome by the use of electric field, which can locally originate interparticle compressive forces throughout the bulk material as a result of the greatly enhanced electric field and charge flux densities occurring at the contact points between the particles or between the particles and the boundary. Such interparticle electroclamping forces can be established by applying an electric potential gradient between a separated pair of conductive electrode grids placed perpendicularly across the flow within the duct where the material flows. The flow control of particulate materials is, thus, achieved using no moving parts. When an electric field is applied to a packed bed of particulate solids, several types of electrical force (electrostatic attractive force, dielectrophoretic force, and electroclamping force) may be generated, depending on the bulk and surface resistivities of the particle, the geometry of the electrodes, as well as the nature of the applied field. The influence of the electrode geometry on flow control was investigated using computer modeling of the potential based on finite element techniques. Furthermore, the effect of the applied field with respect to the magnitude, frequency, pulsewidth, and pulse shape on flow controllability was experimentally investigated. The influence of the moisture content of turnip seeds on flow controllability and specific charge was investigated, and the results obtained are discussed in this paper     

Cylindrical functionally graded shell model based on the first order shear deformation nonlocal strain gradient elasticity theory

Microsystem Technologies - In this article, a cylindrical functionally graded shell model is developed in the framework of nonlocal strain gradient theory for the first time. For this purpose, the...     

A linear model of elasto-plastic and adhesive contact deformation

Rigorous non-linear models of elasto-plastic contact deformation are time-consuming in numerical calculations for the distinct element method (DEM) and quite often unnecessary to represent the actual contact deformation of common particulate systems. In this work a simple linear elasto-plastic and adhesive contact model for spherical particles is proposed. Plastic deformation of contacts during loading and elastic unloading, accompanied by adhesion are considered, for which the pull-off force increases with plastic deformation. Considering the collision of a spherical cohesive body with a rigid flat target, the critical sticking velocity and coefficient of restitution in the proposed model are found to be very similar to those of Thornton and Ning’s model. Sensitivity analyses of the model parameters such as plastic, elastic, plastic-adhesive stiffnesses and pull-off force on work of compaction are carried out. It is found that by increasing the ratio of elastic to plastic stiffness, the plastic component of the total work increases and the elastic component decreases. By increasing the interface energy, the plastic work increases, but the elastic work does not change. The model can be used to efficiently represent the force-displacement of a wide range of particles, thus enabling fast numerical simulations of particle assemblies by the DEM.     

Vibrational investigation of the spinning bi-dimensional functionally graded (2-FGM) micro plate subjected to thermal load in thermal environment

Microsystem Technologies - This article presented a numerical method for discovering the free vibration of a spinning bi-dimensional functionally graded materials (FGM) micro circular plate exposed...     

Mass Transfer in Molybdenum Extraction from Aqueous Solutions Using Nanoporous Membranes

Modeling of non‐disperse solvent extraction of molybdenum(VI) with PC‐88A as extractant and a nanoporous hollow‐fiber membrane contactor as extractor was performed. Computational fluid dynamics was applied for modeling and simulation of molybdenum extraction. Concentration, pressure, and velocity distributions for molybdenum were determined. The extraction of Mo⁶⁺ was greatly influenced by the flow rate of feed solution. The extraction efficiency was reduced with higher feed flow rate and increased with the molybdenum content in the feed. The pressure drop along the shell side of the membrane extractor was found to be not significant, being one of the advantages of membrane extractors which assist in reducing the operational costs. The proposed simulation method is capable to prognosticate the performance of solvent extraction of molybdenum in membrane extractors.     

Electro-coalescence of an aqueous droplet at an oil-water interface

The coalescence of an aqueous droplet at an oil-water interface under an electric field has been investigated, with a view to quantify conditions that give rise to secondary droplet formation. Two patterns of drop-interface coalescence may occur: complete coalescence and partial coalescence. The former is obviously the desirable pattern for industrial coalescers. However in practice, the process of coalescence could actually produce smaller droplets, which become more difficult to remove, and hence undesirable. This is caused by either necking, due to extensive elongation of the droplet, or reaction to a fast and energetic coalescence and is referred to as partial coalescence. The volume of the droplets formed in this way has been analyzed as a function of the initial droplet size, electric field strength and the distance between the droplet and the interface. The expansion speed of the neck connecting the droplet and interface at the beginning of the pumping process has also been quantified. These results are useful in optimizing the electro-coalescence process.     

A power series for vibration of a rotating nanobeam with considering thermal effect

In this article, the equation of motion for a rotating nanocantilever has been developed based on the Euler–Bernoulli beam model, which includes the effect of temperature, small scale effect, and centrifugal force. A power series method has been employed to obtain the exact solution of the natural frequencies. The results also compared with other solutions of exact and approximate differential quadrature method. The effects of temperature, angular velocity, and small scale in the vibration characteristics of a rotating nanocantilever beam are investigated. It is shown that the effect of temperature plays a significant role in the behavior of the vibration of a rotating nanocantilever. Nondimensional frequency increases in the first mode with increasing the nonlocal parameter while it is inverse for the second and third modes of vibration.