Computational Methods in Engineering

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The study of two-phase fluid flow behavior in hydraulic structures such as pressurized flow tunnels, culverts, sewer pipes, junctions and other similar conduits is of great importance. A two-phase mixture flowing in a pipe can exhibit several interfacial geometries such as bubbles, slugs or films, depending on the fluid and hydrodynamic properties of flow. The main variables, giving rise to a variety of flow patterns, include relative discharge rate of fluids and the pipe slope. The flow patterns mostly attainable with air and water include stratified include and slug patterns. In this paper, the experimental results of pressurized water tunnel model are presented. The results include pressure transient and its variations for different hydraulic and geometric properties. It is shown that trapped and released air can cause tremendous pressure surges in the system and, eventually, may cause failure in systems (e.g. the maximum pressure inside the pipe would reach up to 10 times of upstream hydrostatic pressure). Finally, relations for forecasting maximum and minimum pressure in these situations are presented as a function of mean pressure, flow characteristics and pipe geometry.

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Particulate separation has many applications in medicine, biology and industry. In this research, the separation of polystyrene particles with a diameter of 10, 20 and 30 μm in the fluid flow of a microchannel is investigated. The microchannel consists of a spiral region and a straight region under the influence of acoustic waves. In the spiral region, the particles under hydrodynamic effects undergo the initial separation; then the particles enter the straight region of the microchannel, and the final separation of the particles is done by the force generated and exerted through the acoustic waves. The effects of acoustic frequency and the number of spiral region loops on separation are investigated. The results show that for measured dimensions and parameters, at 1 MHz acoustic wave, when the number of loops is 2 for the spiral region, the particles at the end of the path are in a suitable position for separation. In addition, the results show that the separation of particles with this hybrid system is better than that done by the simple methods, and the separation rate can be as high as 100%
 

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Corrosive factors along with mechanical loads on the gas turbine compressor blades, cause phenomena such as pitting corrosion, stress corrosion cracking and corrosion fatigue. Due to erosion of particles in the presence of a corrosive environment, pitting happens on the blade surfaces, which is a source of subsequent cracks. Therefore, it is necessary to get knowledge of its mechanism in order to prevent the phenomena as much as possible. The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the growth of pitting corrosion in CUSTOM 450 stainless steel and to obtain strain values in the growing pits at the maximum bending region. In this regard, a two-point bending specimen was made and subjected to a potentio-static test under the potential of 350 mV_SCE in the 3.5 wt% sodium chloride solution. Then the propagated pits were numerically examined. By the digital image correlation method, the local strain was calculated in the pits and a relation was presented to obtain the maximum strain time. Therefore, growth direction of pitting corrosion could be estimated by having maximum strain region. Finally, by simulating the pitting corrosion process of a stress-free sample under the potential of 350 mV_SCE in 3.5 wt% sodium chloride solution in COMSOL Multiphysics software, variations in the concentration of ions, electric potential, and corrosion current density were shown in the existing pit. The potential was decreased by moving in-depth and the maximum current density was found at the depth of 18 μm. Thus, without the need of advanced laboratory facilities for surface scanning and analysis, useful information from surface corrosion conditions could be obtained