
Multiscale model of a freeze-thaw process for tree sap exudation
Sap transport in trees has long fascinated scientists, and a vast literature exists on experimental and modelling studies of trees during the growing season when large negative stem pressures are generated by transpiration from leaves. Much less attention has been paid to winter months when trees are largely dormant but nonetheless continue to exhibit interesting flow behaviour. A prime example is sap exudation, which refers to the peculiar ability of sugar maple (Acer saccharum) and related species to generate positive stem pressure while in a leafless state.
Directional change of tracer trajectories in rotating Rayleigh-Benard convection
The angle of directional change of tracer trajectories in rotating Rayleigh-Benard convection is studied as a function of the time increment tau between two instants of time along the trajectories, both experimentally and with direct numerical simulations. Our aim is to explore the geometrical characterization of flow structures in turbulent convection in a wide range of timescales and how it is affected by background rotation.
Lattice Boltzmann accelerated direct simulation Monte Carlo for dilute gas flow simulations
Hybrid particle-continuum computational frameworks permit the simulation of gas flows by locally adjusting the resolution to the degree of non-equilibrium displayed by the flow in different regions of space and time. In this work, we present a new scheme that couples the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) with the lattice Boltzmann (LB) method in the limit of isothermal flows.
Multiscale anisotropic fluctuations in sheared turbulence with multiple states
We use high-resolution direct numerical simulations to study the anisotropic contents of a turbulent, statistically homogeneous flow with random transitions among multiple energy containing states. We decompose the velocity correlation functions on different sectors of the three-dimensional group of rotations, SO(3), using a high-precision quadrature. Scaling properties of anisotropic components of longitudinal and transverse velocity fluctuations are accurately measured at changing Reynolds numbers.
Effect of particle shape on fluid statistics and particle dynamics in turbulent pipe flow
Anisotropic particles are present in many natural and industrial flows. Here we perform direct numerical simulation (DNS) of turbulent pipe flows with dispersed finite-size prolate spheroids simulated by means of the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). We consider three different particle shapes: spheroidal (aspect ratio 2 and 3) and spherical. These three simulations are complemented with a reference simulation of a single-phase flow. For the sake of comparison, all simulations, laden or unladen have the same energy input.
Enhanced settling of nonheavy inertial particles in homogeneous isotropic turbulence: The role of the pressure gradient and the Basset history force
The Stokes drag force and the gravity force are usually sufficient to describe the behavior of sub-Kolmogorovsize (or pointlike) heavy particles in turbulence, in particular when the particle-to-fluid density ratio rho(p)/rho(integral) greater than or similar to 10(3) (with rho(p) and rho(f) the particle and fluid density, respectively). This is, in general, not the case for smaller particle-to-fluid density ratios, in particular not for rho(p)/rho(f) greater than or similar to 10(2).
Hybrid lattice Boltzmann-direct simulation Monte Carlo approach for flows in three-dimensional geometries
We present the results of a comparative study performed with three numerical methods applied to a flow in a three-dimensional geometry characterized by weak compressibility and large rarefaction effects. The employed methods, all based on the kinetic theory of gases, are the Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) in a regularized formulation, the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) approach and a hybrid method coupling the LBM and the DSMC recently developed by Di Staso et al., in this contribution extended to the case of simulations involving many particles and three-dimensional geometries.
On the estimation of temporal changes of snow water equivalent by spaceborne SAR interferometry: a new application for the Sentinel-1 mission
In this work we present a methodology for the mapping of Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) temporal variations based on the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Interferometry technique and Sentinel-1 data. The shift in the interferometric phase caused by the refraction of the microwave signal penetrating the snow layer is isolated and exploited to generate maps of temporal variation of SWE from coherent SAR interferograms.





