An Efficient Dynamic Mesh Generation Method for Complex Multi-Block Structured Grid

Aiming at a complex multi-block structured grid,an efficient dynamic mesh generation method is presented in this paper,which is based on radial basis functions(RBFs)and transfinite interpolation(TFI).When the object is moving,the multi-block structured grid would be changed.The fast mesh deformation is critical for numerical simulation.In this work,the dynamic mesh deformation is completed in two steps.At first,we select all block vertexes with known deformation as center points,and apply RBFs interpolation to get the grid deformation on block edges.Then,an arc-lengthbased TFI is employed to efficiently calculate the grid deformation on block faces and inside each block.The present approach can be well applied to both two-dimensional(2D)and three-dimensional(3D)problems.Numerical results show that the dynamic meshes for all test cases can be generated in an accurate and efficient manner.

A compressing and saving method for structured grid data based on block construction

The increasing grid data in CFD simulation has brought some new difficulties and challenges,such as high storage cost,low transmission efficiency.In order to overcome these problems,a novel method for compressing and saving the structured grid are proposed.In the present method,the geometric coordinates of the six logical domains of one grid block is saved instead of all grid vertex coordinates to reduce the size of the structured grid file when the grid is compressed.And all grid vertex coordinates are recovered from the compressed data with the use of the transfinite interpolation algorithm when the grid is decompressed.Firstly,single-block grid cases with different edge vertexes are tested to investigate the compression effect.The test results show that a higher compression ratio will be obtained on a larger grid.Secondly,further theoretical analysis is carried out to investigate the effects of parameters on grid compression.The analysis on single-block grid compression shows that the compression ratio is proportionate to the cubic root of the number of total vertexes.The highest compression ratio of single-block grid is obtained when the numbers of vertexes in three logical directions are equal.The analysis on multi-block grid compression shows that a higher compression ratio will be obtained when a larger difference of total vertexes number exists among the grid blocks.Finally,multi-blockgrids of two industrial aircraft configurations are compressed to validate the method.The compression results demonstrate that the present method has an excellent ability on structured grid compression.For a million-vertex structured grid,more than 80 percent disk space can be saved after compression.

PERTURBATIONAL FINITE VOLUME METHOD FOR THE SOLUTION OF 2-D NAVIER-STOKES EQUATIONS ON UNSTRUCTURED AND STRUCTURED COLOCATED MESHES

Based on the first-order upwind and second-order central type of finite volume (UFV and CFV) scheme, upwind and central type of perturbation finite volume (UPFV and CPFV) schemes of the Navier-Stokes equations were developed. In PFV method, the mass fluxes of across the cell faces of the control volume (CV) were expanded into power series of the grid spacing and the coefficients of the power series were determined by means of the conservation equation itself. The UPFV and CPFV scheme respectively uses the same nodes and expressions as those of the normal first-order upwind and second-order central scheme, which is apt to programming. The results of numerical experiments about the flow in a lid-driven cavity and the problem of transport of a scalar quantity in a known velocity field show that compared to the first-order UFV and second-order CFV schemes, upwind PFV scheme is higher accuracy and resolution, especially better robustness. The numerical computation to flow in a lid-driven cavity shows that the under-relaxation factor can be arbitrarily selected ranging from (0.3) to (0.8) and convergence perform excellent with Reynolds number variation from 10~2 to 10~4.

Theoretical and experimental investigations of flexural wave propagation in periodic grid structures designed with the idea of phononic crystals

The propagation characteristics of flexural waves in periodic grid structures designed with the idea of phononic crystals are investigated by combining the Bloch theorem with the finite element method. This combined analysis yields phase constant surfaces, which predict the location and the extension of band gaps, as well as the directions and the regions of wave propagation at assigned frequencies. The predictions are validated by computation and experimental analysis of the harmonic responses of a finite structure with 11 × 11 unit cells. The flexural wave is localized at the point of excitation in band gaps, while the directional behaviour occurs at particular frequencies in pass bands. These studies provide guidelines to designing periodic structures for vibration attenuation.

Analysis of Reflection Characteristics for Foam Filled Grid Structure

The reflection characteristics of gird structures are calculated by the spatial network method in the case of normal incidence plane electromagnetic wave. The numerical result shows that the grid panels without electromagnetic wave absorbing foams are not ideal. However, the absorbing ability can be achieved as low as -25 dBsm from 8 GHz to 12 GHz when the grid cells are filled with foam absorbers. Also it is noted from computation that the foam filled grid structures with larger cell size, higher and thinner ribs will improve the absorbing abilities, which illustrates that they can be used as the effective light-weight stealth structures for aeronautical application.

Resistance of grid steel-tube-confined concrete targets against projectile impact: Experimental investigation and analytical engineering model

Steel-tube-confined concrete(STCC) targets are provided with excellent anti-penetration performance over semi-infinite concrete(SIC) targets since the steel tube imposes passive restraint on the in-filled concrete during the penetration process. Grid STCC system with square steel tubes is a potential solution to protective structures. In this paper, experiments of 9-cell grid STCC targets penetrated by 12.7 mm Armor Piercing Projectile(APP) were performed. The influence of side length and thickness of steel tube,steel ratio and impact velocity on anti-penetration performance were taken into account. Additionally,single-cell square STCC targets were also designed and tested for comparison with the 9-cell grid STCC targets. Damage modes and parameters of the tested targets were measured and discussed. Moreover,the stiffness of radial confinement of grid STCC targets is achieved according to the elastic solution of infinite cylindrical shell in Winkler medium. Furthermore, the penetration resistance and depth of penetration(DOP) for grid STCC targets are obtained on the basis of the dynamic finite spherical cavityexpansion(FSCE) models including radial confinement effect. It is shown that the 9-cell grid STCC targets with optimal dimension match of thickness and side length of steel tube can reduce the DOP by about17 % and 23 % in comparison with the SIC targets and single-cell square STCC targets, respectively, due to both the confinement of square steel tube to concrete in the impacted cell and the additional confinement of the surrounding cells to the impacted cell;the penetration resistance and DOP of the grid and cellular STCC targets with similar steel ratio is close, and thus the grid STCC targets with simpler manufacturing process and excellent in-plane expandability are preferred in engineering practice;moreover, the predicted results of DOP model based on the FSCE models agree well with the tested results with the maximum disparity less than 12 % and the proposed model is more applicable to the grid and cellular STCC targets with high radial confinement.

Viscous flow simulations through multi.lobe progressive cavity pumps

Computational fluid dynamics(CFD)simulations of multi-lobe progressive cavity(PC)pumps are limited in the literature due to the geometric complexity of the pump,which places numerous restrictions on the grid generation process.The present study attempts to alleviate such restrictions by developing a detailed numerical procedure for the numerical simulations of multi-lobe progressive cavity pumps.The profile equations for the multi-lobe configuration at any section at each instant of rotation are presented.A structured grid generation method is developed to generate mesh files required for CFD simulations of multi-lobe PC pumps.Results from the present procedure are validated against single-lobe PC pump numerical results available in the literature.Finally,a numerical parametric study is carried out to investigate the effect of the number of lobes,the stator pitch,the circular fillet and clearance on the volumetric efficiency of PC pumps with viscous oils.

Effect of Cambering on the Aerodynamic Performance of Heaving Airfoils

In the present work,a parametric numerical study is conducted in order to assess the effect of airfoil cambering on the aerodynamic performance of rigid heaving airfoils.The incompressible Navier-Stokes equations are solved in their velocity-pressure formulation using a second-order accurate in space and time finite-difference scheme.To tackle the problem of moving boundaries,the governing equations are solved on overlapping structured grids.The numerical simulations are performed at a Reynolds number of Re=1100 and at different values of Strouhal number and reduced frequency.The results obtained show that the airfoil cambering geometric parameter has a strong influence on the average lift coefficient,while it has a smaller impact on the average thrust coefficient and propulsive efficiency of heaving airfoils.

Analysis of Numerical Simulation Results of LIPS-200 Lifetime Experiments

Accelerator grid structural and electron backstreaming failures are the most important factors affecting the ion thruster＇s lifetime.During the thruster＇s operation,Charge Exchange Xenon（CEX） ions are generated from collisions between plasma and neutral atoms.Those CEX ions grid＇s barrel and wall frequently,which cause the failures of the grid system.In order to validate whether the 20 cm Lanzhou Ion Propulsion System（LIPS-200） satisfies China＇s communication satellite platform＇s application requirement for North-South Station Keeping（NSSK）,this study analyzed the measured depth of the pit/groove on the accelerator grid＇s wall and aperture diameter＇s variation and estimated the operating lifetime of the ion thruster.Different from the previous method,in this paper,the experimental results after the 5500 h of accumulated operation of the LIPS-200 ion thruster are presented firstly.Then,based on these results,theoretical analysis and numerical calculations were firstly performed to predict the on-orbit lifetime of LIPS-200.The results obtained were more accurate to calculate the reliability and analyze the failure modes of the ion thruster.The results indicated that the predicted lifetime of LIPS-200＇s was about 13218.1 h which could satisfy the required lifetime requirement of 11000 h very well.

Structural optimization of four designed roof modules:Inspired by Voronax grid shell structures

Architects have been following nature in their constructions for a long time.Observations of nature reveal that it has many highly developed structures that provide scientists and engineers with a lot of useful clues for creating more efficient structures and building forms.Therefore,revealing systematic thinking about natural species is a crucial requirement for today’s buildings.A software analysis method was used to design four modules in the roof structure of the Iranian University of Science and Technology’s exhibition.The roof structure is based on the Voronax structure,which is a relaxed form of Voronoi,which is seen in the structures of many natural creatures.They were analyzed in terms of optimization and structural simulation using Grasshopper plugins and tools by taking into account Von Mises stress in the structural design.The results indicated that by increasing the density of Voronax cells in the areas with high Von Mises stress concentration,a more efficient structure could be achieved in terms of load-bearing and designing predefined free-form roof structures.By analyzing predefined roof structures in an optimum way,the study took a step toward optimizing these kinds of structures.

Sculpturing solid polymer spheres into internal gridded hollow carbon spheres under controlled pyrolysis micro-environment

Porous carbon spheres with an internal gridded hollow structure and microporous shell have always been attractive as carbon hosts for electrochemical energy storage. Such carbon hosts can limit active species loss and enhance electronic conductivity throughout the entire framework. Herein, a synthesis approach of internal gridded hollow carbon spheres is developed from solid polymer spheres rather than originally gridded polymer spheres under a controlled pyrolysis micro-environment. The crucial point of this approach is the fabrication of a silica fence around solid polymer spheres, under which the free escaping of the pyrolysis gas will be partly impeded, thus offering a reconstitution opportunity for an internal structure of solid polymer spheres. As a result, the interior of carbon spheres is sculptured into a gridded hollow structure with microporous skin. Furthermore, the size and density of carbon-bridge grids can be modulated by altering the crosslinking degree of polymer spheres and varying pyrolysis conditions. Such gridded hollow carbon spheres show good performance as sulfur hosts for Li-S battery.

Electronictization-A Foundation for Grid Modernization

Smart grid is the flag under which the US DoE has been mobilizing efforts to modernize the grid.Electronictization is the first step towards a smart modern grid.It is a process that transforms the grid from electrical and electromechanical(EE)to electronic,electrical and electromechanical(EEE),laying down the very basic foundation for the modern grid.All things grid connected(ATGC)has five groups of essential hardware:1)Grid interface(smart)inverters;2)Hardware for flexible AC transmissions;3)Intelligent electronic power transformers(grid scale);4)Solid-state circuit breaker,current limiters,smart fuses and sensors;and 5)Multi-port bidirectional power&control units.Development and deployment of ATGC will be a grassroots drive to transform the grid from an old passive technology to a new active technology based on electronic power transmission,distribution,processing and protection.Grid modernization represents a win-win-win situation for the environment(Government),consumers,and grid owners/operators.

Lattice Boltzmann and Finite Volume Simulation of Inviscid Compressible Flows with Curved Boundary

A 2D lattice Boltzmann model for inviscid compressible flows was proposed in this paper.Finite volume method was implemented on 2D curvilinear structural grids to solve the lattice BGK-Boltzmann equations.MUSCL scheme was used to perform interpolation.The obtained results agree excellently well with experimental and previous numerical results.

NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF TIP-CLEARANCE FLOW IN CASCADE

The tip-clearance flow in a cascade was numerically simulated by solving theRANS equations of incompressible fluids. The computational model was based upon the artificialcompressibility formulation proposed by Chorin. The Baldwin-Lomax turbulence model was used to makethe governing equations closed. For the specific structure of tip-clearance flow, a multi-block gridstructure was adopted to facilitate numerical compulations. The comparison of numerical resultswith experimental data indicates that the present method is capable of simulating tip-clearanceflows with satisfactory accuracy.