Moving particle semi-implicit simulation on the molten Wood's metal downward relocation process

In the case of a severe accident involving nuclear reactors,an important aspect that should be considered is the leakage of molten material from the inside of the reactor into the environment.These molten materials damage other reactor components,such as electrical tubes,grid plates and core catchers.In this study,the moving particle semi-implicit(MPS)method is adopted and improved to analyze the twodimensional downward relocation process of molten Wood’s metal as a representation of molten material in a nuclear reactor.The molten material impinges the Wood’s metal plate(WMP),which is mounted on a rigid dummy stainless steel in a cylindrical test vessel.The breaching process occurs because of heat transfer between the molten material and WMP.The formed breach areas were in good agreement with the experimental results,and they showed that the molten Wood’s metal spread above the WMP.The solid WMP fraction decreased with time until it reached the termination time of the simulation.The present results show that the MPS method can be applied to simulate and analyze the downward relocation process of molten material in the grid plate of a nuclear reactor.

Sedimentation motion of sand particles in moving water(Ⅰ):The resistance on a small sphere moving in non-uniform flow

In hydraulics,when we deal with the problem of sand particles moving relative to the surrounding water,Stokes'formula of resistance has usually been used to render the velocity of sedimentation of the particles.But such an approach has not been proved rigorously,and its accuracy must be carefully considered.In this paper,we discuss the problem of a sphere moving in a non-uniform flow field,on the basis of the fundamental theory of hydrodynamics.We introduce two assumptions:i)the diameter of the sphere is much smaller than the linear dimension of the flow field,and ii)the velocity of the sphere relative to the surrounding water is very small.Using these two assumptions,we solve the linearized Navier-Stokes equations and equations of continuity by the method of Laplace transform,and finally we obtain a formula for the resistance acting on a sphere moving in a non-uniform flow field.

Large deformation simulations of geomaterials using moving particle semi-implicit method

Numerical simulation tools are required to describe large deformations of geomaterials for evaluating the risk of geo-disasters. This study focused on moving particle semi-implicit(MPS) method, which is a Lagrangian gridless particle method, and investigated its performance and stability to simulate large deformation of geomaterials. A calculation method was developed using geomaterials modeled as Bingham fluids to improve the original MPS method and enhance its stability. Two numerical tests showed that results from the improved MPS method was in good agreement with the theoretical value.Furthermore, numerical simulations were calibrated by laboratory experiments. It showed that the simulation results matched well with the experimentally observed free-surface configurations for flowing sand. In addition, the model could generally predict the time-history of the impact force. The MPS method could be a useful tool to evaluate large deformation of geomaterials.

Investigation of Numerical Conditions of Moving Particle Semi‑implicit for Two‑Dimensional Wedge Slamming

The sensitivity of moving particle semi-implicit(MPS)simulations to numerical parameters is investigated in this study.Although the verifcation and validation(V&V)are important to ensure accurate numerical results,the MPS has poor perfor-mance in convergences with a time step size.Therefore,users of the MPS need to tune numerical parameters to ft results into benchmarks.However,such tuning parameters are not always valid for other simulations.We propose a practical numerical condition for the MPS simulation of a two-dimensional wedge slamming problem(i.e.,an MPS-slamming condition).The MPS-slamming condition is represented by an MPS-slamming number,which provides the optimum time step size once the MPS-slamming number,slamming velocity,deadrise angle of the wedge,and particle size are decided.The simulation study shows that the MPS results can be characterized by the proposed MPS-slamming condition,and the use of the same MPS-slamming number provides a similar fow.

Efficient rendering of breaking waves using MPS method

This paper proposes an approach for rendering breaking waves out of large-scale of particle-based simulation. Moving particle semi-implicit (MPS) is used to solve the governing equation, and 2D simulation is expanded to 3D representation by giving motion variation using fractional Brownian motion (fBm). The waterbody surface is reconstructed from the outlines of 2D simulation. The splashing effect is computed according to the properties of the particles. Realistic features of the wave are ren-dered on GPU, including the reflective and refractive effect and the effect of splash. Experiments showed that the proposed method can simulate large scale breaking waves efficiently.

Numerical Simulation of Sloshing with Large Deforming Free Surface by MPS-LES Method

Moving particle semi-implicit （MPS） method is a fully Lagrangian particle method which can easily solve problems with violent free surface. Although it has demonstrated its advantage in ocean engineering applications, it still has some defects to be improved. In this paper, MPS method is extended to the large eddy simulation （LES） by coupling with a sub-particle-scale （SPS） turbulence model. The SPS turbulence model turns into the Reynolds stress terms in the filtered momentum equation, and the Smagorinsky model is introduced to describe the Reynolds stress terms. Although MPS method has the advantage in the simulation of the free surface flow, a lot of non-free surface particles are treated as free surface particles in the original MPS model. In this paper, we use a new free surface tracing method and the key point is ＂neighbor particle＂. In this new method, the zone around each particle is divided into eight parts, and the particle will be treated as a free surface particle as long as there are no ＂neighbor particles＂ in any two parts of the zone. As the number density parameter judging method has a high efficiency for the free surface particles tracing, we combine it with the neighbor detected method. First, we select out the particles which may be mistreated with high probabilities by using the number density parameter judging method. And then we deal with these particles with the neighbor detected method. By doing this, the new mixed free surface tracing method can reduce the mistreatment problem efficiently. The serious pressure fluctuation is an obvious defect in MPS method, and therefore an area-time average technique is used in this paper to remove the pressure fluctuation with a quite good result. With these improvements, the modified MPS-LES method is applied to simulate liquid sloshing problems with large deforming free surface. Results show that the modified MPS-LES method can simulate the large deforming free surface easily. It can not only capture the large impact pressure accurately on rolling tank wall but also can generate all physical phenomena successfully. The good agreement between numerical and experimental results proves that the modified MPS-LES method is a good CFD methodology in free surface flow simulations.

Rotation speed measurement of moving particles in a CFB riser

This paper presents a study on measuring rotation speed of moving glass beads with an average diameter of 500 p.m in a pilot-scale circulating fluidized bed （CFB） riser with a high-speed digital imaging system. Two methods have been developed to calculate particle rotation speed from the particle images. The first method consists of a fully automated algorithm based on cross-correlation of gray distribution of particle images for particles whose rotation axes are （nearly） perpendicular to the imaging plane, and the second method calculates the speed of particle rotation by identifying its rotation axis using two or more characteristic points on its surface. The reliability of the two methods is verified by using a small sphere with known speed and direction of rotation. The first method is shown to be capable of measuring accurately the rotation speed for the particle with a rotation axis （nearly） perpendicular to the imaging plane and filtering off other particles using an appropriate threshold of correlation coefficient. The second method is shown to be capable of yielding both the speed and direction of particle rotation, with a measurement error of less than 10%. Results of both methods on real glass beads in a CFB riser are compared against each other.

Numerical Simulation of Sloshing Using the MPS-FSI Method with Large Eddy Simulation

A numerical model has been developed to study sloshing of turbulent flow in a tank with elastic baffles. The Moving-Particle Semi-implicit method(MPS) is a kind of meshless Lagrangian calculation method. The large eddy simulation(LES) approach is employed to model the turbulence by using the Smagorinsky Sub-Particle Scale(SPS)closure model. This paper uses MPS-FSI method with LES to simulate the interaction between free surface flow and a thin elastic baffle in sloshing. Then, the numerical model is validated, and the numerical solution has good agreement with experimental data for sloshing in a tank with elastic baffles. Furthermore, under external excitations,the MPS is applied to viscous laminar flow and turbulent flow, with both the deformation of elastic baffles and the wave height of the free surface are compared with each other. Besides, the impact pressure with/without baffles and wave height of free surface are investigated and discussed in detail. Finally, preliminary simulations are carried out in the damage problem of elastic baffles, taking the advantage of the MPS-FSI method in computations of the fluid–structure interaction with large deformation.

Implementation of the moving particle semi-implicit method on GPU

The Moving Particle Semi-implicit (MPS) method performs well in simulating violent free surface flow and hence becomes popular in the area of fluid flow simulation. However, the implementations of searching neighbouring particles and solving the large sparse matrix equations (Poisson-type equation) are very time-consuming. In order to utilize the tremendous power of parallel computation of Graphics Processing Units (GPU), this study has developed a GPU-based MPS model employing the Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) on NVIDIA GTX 280. The efficient neighbourhood particle searching is done through an indirect method and the Poisson-type pressure equation is solved by the Bi-Conjugate Gradient (BiCG) method. Four different optimization levels for the present general parallel GPU-based MPS model are demonstrated. In addition, the elaborate optimization of GPU code is also discussed. A benchmark problem of dam-breaking flow is simulated using both codes of the present GPU-based MPS and the original CPU-based MPS. The comparisons between them show that the GPU-based MPS model outperforms 26 times the traditional CPU model.

Numerical Simulation of Unidirectional Stratified Flow by Moving Particle Semi Implicit Method

Numerical simulation of stratified flow of two fluids between two infinite parallel plates using the Moving Particle Semi-implicit(MPS)method is presented.The developing process from entrance to fully development flow is captured.In the simulation,the computational domain is represented by various types of particles.Governing equations are described based on particles and their interactions.Grids are not necessary in any calculation steps of the simulation.The particle number density is implicitly required to be constant to satisfy incompressibility.The weight function is used to describe the interaction between different particles.The particle is considered to constitute the free interface if the particle number density is below a set point.Results for various combinations of density,viscosity,mass flow rates,and distance between the two parallel plates are presented.The proposed procedure is validated using the derived exact solution and the earlier numerical results from the Level-Set method.Furthermore,the evolution of the interface in the developing region is captured and compares well with the derived exact solutions in the developed region.

Analysis of shock wave reflection from fixed and moving boundaries using a stabilized particle method

In the present paper, the efficiency of an enhanced formulation of the stabilized corrective smoothed particle method （CSPM） for simulation of shock wave propagation and reflection from fixed and moving solid boundaries in compressible fluids is investigated. The Lagrangian nature and its accuracy for imposing the boundary conditions are the two main reasons for adoption of CSPM. The governing equations are further modified for imposition of moving solid boundary conditions. In addition to the traditional artificial viscosity, which can remove numerically induced abnormal jumps in the field values, a velocity field smoothing technique is introduced as an efficient method for stabilizing the solution. The method has been implemented for one- and two-dimensional shock wave propagation and reflection from fixed and moving boundaries and the results have been compared with other available solutions. The method has also been adopted for simulation of shock wave propagation and reflection from infinite and finite solid boundaries.

Numerical simulation of liquid sloshing in a spherical tank by MPS method

This paper investigates the sloshing phenomena in a spherical liquid tank using the moving particle semi-implicit(MPS)method,a crucial study in fluid dynamics.Distinct from previous research focused on rectangular or LNG tanks,this work explores the unique motion patterns inherent to spherical geometries.The accuracy of our in-house MPS solver MLParticle-SJTU is validated against experimental data and finite volume method(FVM).And the MPS method reveals a closer alignment with experimental outcomes,which suggests that MPS method is particularly effective for modeling complex,non-linear fluid behaviors.Then the fluid’s response to excitation at its natural frequency is simulated,showcasing vigorous sloshing and rotational motion.Detailed analyses of the fluid motion are conducted by drawing streamline diagrams,velocity vector diagrams,and vorticity maps.The fluid’s motion response is explored using both time-domain and frequency-domain curves of the fluid centroid,as well as the sloshing force.

Liutex identification on hairpin vortex structures in a channel based on msfle and moving-PIV

The spatiotemporal evolution of hairpin vortex structures in a fully developed turbulent boundary layer is investigated qualitatively and quantitatively by using two image methods.In this paper,the moving single-frame and long-exposure(MSFLE)image method is used to intuitively track the evolution process of a hairpin vortex,while the moving particle image velocimetry(moving-PIV)method is applied for obtaining a moving velocity field for quantitative analysis.According to the structural characteristics of the hairpin vortex,an inclined light sheet with an appropriate inclination of 53°is arranged to capture the complete hairpin vortex structure at Re_(θ)=97–194.In addition,the core size and the rotational strength of a hairpin vortex are further defined and quantified by the Liutex vector method.The evolution process of a complete hairpin vortex structure observed by MSFLE shows that the shear along the normal direction leads to an increasing strength of the hairpin vortex,accompanied by a lifting vortex head and a distance decrease between two vortex legs during the dissipation period.By combining moving-PIV with the Liutex identification,the spatiotemporal evolution of four typical regions of a hairpin vortex projecting into a 53°cross-section is obtained.The results show that the process from the generation to the dissipation of a single hairpin vortex can be well characterized and recorded by the Liutex based on the core size and rotational intensity,and the evolution process is consistent with the MSFLE result.According to the statistics of vortex core size and rotation intensity along time,the evolution of the hairpin vortex necks and legs can be described as a process of enhancement followed by dissipation.For the vortex head,its evolution maintains longer attributed to its far-from-wall position,which consists of an absolute enhancement process(stage 1)with an increasing rotation strength and a constant core size,and an absolute dissipation(stage 2)with a decreasing rotation strength and a constant core size.

Numerical simulations of faraday waves in cylindrical and hexagonal tanks based on MPS method

When a partially loaded liquid container vibrates along the vertical direction,the liquid inside will oscillate regularly,which is called Faraday wave.In some cases,the wave form of the Faraday wave is stable and smooth,and sometimes there is violent wave breaking and liquid splashing.In this paper,the Faraday waves inside the cylindrical tank and the hexagonal tanks are simulated by the in-house solver MLParticle-SJTU base on the moving particle semi-implicit(MPS)method.The surface tension model is used to better model the free surfaces with large deformations.Phenomena such as wave breaking and liquid splashing are well captured and simulated.The results show that the waveforms are significantly different at different excitation frequencies.And the tank shape also has an obvious effect on the waveform.

Comparative study of MPS method and level-set method for sloshing flows

This paper presents a comparative study of a meshless level-set method in the simulation of sloshing flows. The numerical moving particle semi-implicit （MPS） method and a grid based schemes of the MPS and level-set methods are outlined and two violent sloshing cases are considered. The computed results are compared with the corresponding experimental data for validation. The impact pressure and the deformations of free surface induced by sloshing are comparatively analyzed, and are in good agreement with experimental ones. Results show that both the MPS and level-set methods are good tools for simulation of violent sloshing flows. However, the second pressure peaks as well as breaking and splashing of free surface by the MPS method are captured better than by the level-set method.

Numerical study of the wave-induced slamming force on the elastic plate based on MPS-FEM coupled method

Slamming is the phenomenon of structure impacting the water surface. It always results in the extremely high load on the structure. This paper is mainly concerned with the slamming force caused by the wave-plate interaction. In this paper, the process of solitary wave impacting onto the horizontal plate is simulated with the help of the moving particle semi-implicit and finite element coupled method（MPS-FEM）. The MPS method is adopted to calculate the fluid domain while the structural domain is solved by FEM method. In the first series of simulations, the profiles of the solitary waves with various amplitudes, which are generated in the numerical wave tank, are compared with the theoretical results. Thereafter the interaction between the solitary waves and a rigid plate is simulated. The effects of wave amplitude, as well as the elevation of the plate above the initial water level, on the slamming force are numerically investigated. The calculated results are compared with the available experimental data. Finally, the interactions between the solitary waves and the elastic plate are also simulated. The effects of the structural flexibility on the wave-induced force are analyzed by the comparison between the cases with elastic and the rigid plate.

CFD simulations of three-dimensional violent sloshing flows in tanks based on MPS and GPU

For violent sloshing,the flow field becomes complicated and 3-D effect is non-negligible.In addition to the excitation direction,the wave can also propagate perpendicular to the excitation direction.Due to the superposition of waves from different directions,the impact pressure imposed on the wall of the tank may increase.In this paper,our in-house solver MPSGPU-SJTU based on moving particle semi-implicit(MPS)method coupled with GPU techniques is employed for the liquid sloshing simulation,to study the factors leading to the 3-D effect.Firstly,a series of sloshing simulations are carried out to validate the reliability of present solver.Then,the sensitivity of 3-D effect against some parameters,such as excitation frequency,dimensions of the tank and filling ratio,is checked through numerical simulations.Time histories of pressure obtained by 2-D and 3-D simulations are compared to judge the occurrence of 3-D effect.It concludes that effects of those parameters are all significant.

Numerical simulation of 3-D free surface flows by overlapping MPS

An overlapping moving particle semi-implicit （MPS） method is applied for 3-D free surface flows based on our in-house particle solver MLParticle-SJTU. In this method, the coarse particles are distributed in the whole domain and the fine particles are distributed in the local region of interest at the same time. With the fine particles being generated and removed dynamically, an algorithm of generating particles based on the 3-D overlapping volume is developed. Then, a 3-D dam break flow with an obstacle is simulated to validate the overlapping MPS. The qualitative comparison among experimental data and the results obtained by the VOF and the MPS shows that the shape of the free surface obtained by the overlapping MPS is more accurate than that obtained by the UNI-coarse and close to that obtained by the UNI-fine in the overlapping domain. In addition, the water height and the impact pressure at Pi are also in an overall agreement with experimental data. Finally, the CPU time required by the overlapping MPS is about half of that required by the UNl-fine.

Towards development of enhanced fully-Lagrangian mesh-free computational methods for fluid-structure interaction

Simulation of incompressible fluid flow-elastic structure interactions is targeted by using fully-Lagrangian mesh-free computational methods. A projection-based fluid model（moving particle semi-implicit（MPS）） is coupled with either a Newtonian or a Hamiltonian Lagrangian structure model（MPS or HMPS） in a mathematically-physically consistent manner. The fluid model is founded on the solution of Navier-Stokes and continuity equations. The structure models are configured either in the framework of Newtonian mechanics on the basis of conservation of linear and angular momenta, or Hamiltonian mechanics on the basis of variational principle for incompressible elastodynamics. A set of enhanced schemes are incorporated for projection-based fluid model（Enhanced MPS）, thus, the developed coupled solvers for fluid structure interaction（FSI） are referred to as Enhanced MPS-MPS and Enhanced MPS-HMPS. Besides, two smoothed particle hydrodynamics（SPH）-based FSI solvers, being developed by the authors, are considered and their potential applicability and comparable performance are briefly discussed in comparison with MPS-based FSI solvers. The SPH-based FSI solvers are established through coupling of projection-based incompressible SPH（ISPH） fluid model and SPH-based Newtonian/Hamiltonian structure models, leading to Enhanced ISPH-SPH and Enhanced ISPH-HSPH. A comparative study is carried out on the performances of the FSI solvers through a set of benchmark tests, including hydrostatic water column on an elastic plate,high speed impact of an elastic aluminum beam, hydroelastic slamming of a marine panel and dam break with elastic gate.

Hydroelastic responses of an elastic cylinder impacting on the free surface by MPS-FEM coupled method

In naval engineering and offshore industry,the fluid-structure interaction(FSI)problem is a very common problem,and water entry is a very representative one.The hydroelasticity effects due to slamming are of great interest.In this paper,the water entry problem is simulated by the moving particle semi-implicit&finite element method(MPS-FEM)coupled method.The MPS method is used for the fluid because it is very suitable for the violent free-surface flow.The structure domain is solved by the FEM method because of the maturity in solving structural motion and deformation.The water entry of a rigid cylinder is numerically studied first and the results show good agreements with previous published data.After that,variable analysis is conducted in the water entry simulation of an elastic cylinder,including the structural elasticity and impact velocity.