Tailoring boundary geometry to optimize heat transport in turbulent convection

By tailoring the geometry of the upper boundary in turbulent Rayleigh-Benard convection we manipulate the boundary layer-interior flow interaction, and examine the heat transport using the lattice Boltzmann method. For fixed amplitude and varying boundary wavelength., we find that the exponent beta in the Nusselt-Rayleigh scaling relation, Nu - 1 proportional to Ra-beta, is maximized at lambda =lambda(max) approximate to ( 2 pi)(-1), but decays to the planar value in both the large (lambda >> lambda(max)) and small (lambda << lambda(max)) wavelength limits.

Lattice Boltzmann model for resistive relativistic magnetohydrodynamics

In this paper, we develop a lattice Boltzmann model for relativistic magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). Even though the model is derived for resistive MHD, it is shown that it is numerically robust even in the high conductivity (ideal MHD) limit. In order to validate the numerical method, test simulations are carried out for both ideal and resistive limits, namely the propagation of Alfven waves in the ideal MHD and the evolution of current sheets in the resistive regime, where very good agreement is observed comparing to the analytical results.

Thin plate approximation in active infrared thermography

In this work, we find and test a new approximated formula (based on the thin plate approximation), for recovering small, unknown damages on the inaccessible surface of a thin conducting (aluminium) plate. We solve this inverse problem from a controlled heat flux and a sequence of temperature maps on the accessible front boundary of our sample. We heat the front boundary by means of a sinusoidal flux. In the meanwhile, we take a sequence of temperature maps of the same side by means of an infrared camera. This procedure is called active infrared thermography.

Dynamical scenarios from a two-patch predator-prey system with human control - Implications for the conservation of the wolf in the Alta Murgia National Park

We evaluate a mathematical model of the predator-prey population dynamics in a fragmented habitat where both migration processes between habitat patches and prey control policies are taken into account. The considered system is examined by applying the aggregation method and different dynamical scenarios are generated. The resulting implications are then discussed, their primary aim being the conservation of the wolf population in the Alta Murgia National Park, a protected area situated in the Apulian Foreland and also part of the Natura 2000 network.

Modeling fluid flows in distensible tubes for applications in hemodynamics

We present a lattice Boltzmann (LB) model for the simulation of hemodynamic flows in the presence of compliant walls. The new scheme is based on the use of a continuous bounce-back boundary condition, as combined with a dynamic constitutive relation between the flow pressure at the wall and the resulting wall deformation. The method is demonstrated for the case of two-dimensional (axisymmetric) pulsatile flows, showing clear evidence of elastic wave propagation of the wall perturbation in response to the fluid pressure.