A Well-Balanced Numerical Model for the Simulation of Long Waves over Complex Domains

This paper presents a well-balanced two-dimensional (2D) finite volume model to simulate the propagation, runup and rundown of long wave. Non-staggered grid is adopted to discretize the governing equation and the intercell flux is computed using a central upwind scheme, which is a Riemann-problem-solver-free method for hyperbolic conservation laws. The nonnegative reconstruction method for water depth is implemented in the present model to treat the appearance of wet/dry fronts, and the friction term is solved by a semi-implicit scheme to ensure the stability of the model. The Euler method is applied to update flow variable to the new time level. The model is verified against two experimental cases and good agreements are observed between numerical results and observed data.

Study on a Gas Plunger Lift Model for Shale Gas Wells and Its Effective Application

The problem of efficient gas lift for gas well annulus packers that rely on their own energy plungers is considered.The complex related gas-liquid problem is addressed in the frame of model where the gas inflow dynamics and liquid inflow dynamics of the considered shale gas wells are weakly coupled.On this basis,and with the aiding support of indoor simulation experimental data,a new gas plunger lift design taking into account liquid leakage is obtained.Finally,a dedicated software relying on this approach is developed and used to verify the reliability of the model by means of field examples.

Hydrodynamics of high-speed robots driven by the combustion-enabled transient driving method

Underwater vehicles play important roles in underwater observation, ocean resource exploration, and sample collection.Soft robots are a unique type of underwater vehicles due to their good environmental adaptability and motion flexibility, although they are weak in terms of actuation and response ability. The transient driving method(TDM) was developed to resolve these shortcomings. However, the interaction between the robots’ swift motions and flow fields has not yet been fully studied. In this study, a computational fluid dynamic model is developed to simulate the fluid fields disturbed by transient high-speed motions generated by the robots. Focusing on the dependence of robot dynamics on thrust force and eccentricity, typical structures of both flow and turbulence fields around the robots are obtained to quantitatively analyze robot kinematic performance, velocity distribution, vortex systems, surface pressure, and turbulence. The results demonstrate the high-speed regions at the robots’ heads and tails and the vortex systems due to sudden expansion, indicating a negative relationship between the maximum fluid velocity and eccentricity. The reported results provide useful information for studying the environmental interaction abilities of robots during operating acceleration and steering tasks.

Underwater minirobots actuated by hybrid driving method

Underwater minirobots have attracted significant interest due to their value in complex application scenarios.Typical underwater minirobots are driven mainly by a soft or rigid actuator.However,soft actuation is currently facing challenges,including inadequate motional control accuracy and the lack of a continuous and steady driving force,while conventional rigid actuation has limited actuation efficiency,environmental adaptability,and motional flexibility,which severely limits the accomplishment of complicated underwater tasks.In this study,we developed underwater minirobots actuated by a hybrid driving method(HDM)that combines combustion-based actuators and propeller thrusters to achieve accurate,fast,and flexible underwater locomotion performance.Underwater experiments were conducted to investigate the kinematic performance of the minirobots with respect to the motion modes of rising,drifting,and hovering.Numerical models were used to investigate the kinematic characteristics of the minirobots,and theoretical models developed to unveil the mechanical principle that governs the driving process.Satisfactory agreement was obtained from comarisons of the experimental,numerical,and theoretical results.Finally,the HDM was compared with selected hybrid driving technologies in terms of acceleration and response time.The comparison showed that the minirobots based on HDM were generally superior in transient actuation ability and reliability.