Search

Ice melting beneath Antarctic ice shelves is caused by heat transfer through the ice-shelf–ocean boundary layer (IOBL). However, our understanding of the fluid dynamics and thermohaline physics of the IOBL flow is poor. In this study, we utilize a large-eddy simulation (LES) model to investigate ocean dynamics and the role of turbulence within the IOBL flow near the ice front. To simulate the varying turbulence intensities, we imposed different theoretical profiles of the velocity. Far-field ocean conditions for the melting at the ice-shelf base and freezing at the sea surface were derived based on in situ observations of temperature and salinity near the ice front of the Nansen Ice Shelf. In terms of overturning features near the ice front, we validated the LES simulation results by comparing them with the in situ observational data. In the comparison of the velocity profiles to shipborne lowered acoustic Doppler current profiler (LADCP) data, the LES-derived strength of the overturning cells is similar to that obtained from the observational data. Moreover, the vertical distribution of the simulated temperature and salinity, which were mainly determined by the positively buoyant meltwater and sea-ice formation, was also comparable to that of the observations. We conclude that the IOBL flow near the ice front and its contribution to the ocean dynamics can be realistically resolved using our proposed method. Based on validated 3D-LES results, we revealed that the main forces of ocean dynamics near the ice front are driven by positively buoyant meltwater, concentrated salinity at the sea surface, and outflowing momentum of the sub-ice-shelf plume. Moreover, in the strong-turbulence case, distinct features such as a higher basal melt rate (0.153 m yr−1), weak upwelling of the positively buoyant ice-shelf water, and a higher sea-ice formation were observed, suggesting a relatively high speed current within the IOBL because of highly turbulent mixing. The findings of this study will contribute toward a deeper understanding of the complex IOBL-flow physics and its impact on the ocean dynamics near the ice front.

In this study, we analyze the near-wake characteristics of a 5-MW single wind turbine using a large-eddy simulation with the actuator line method. It is observed that stable helical structures of wake had breaking process due to flow instability with high-frequency turbulence in the analysis of turbulence energy spectra and auto-covariance. For vortical structure detection, the swirling strength criterion showed good performance when describing the tip vortices and their various streaklines. In the stable region, the stable helical structure of the tip vortices was observed with little wake recovery and flow instability. However, in the unstable region, the tip vortices had various streakline advection patterns such as horizontal, upward, and downward. In the statistical analysis of the flow acceleration, the distribution and magnitude of the acceleration in the stable and unstable regions were compared in terms of the probability density function, root mean square, and kurtosis. At the hub height and at the opposite blade tips in the stable region, the kurtosis of the acceleration was approximately 20 and 40, respectively. At the height wherein the wake recovery was dominant in the unstable region, the value of the kurtosis was 67.

The present study aimed to detail the relationship between the flow and structure characteristics of the upper airways and airway collapsibility in obstructive sleep apnea. Using a computational approach, we performed simulations of the flow and structure of the upper airways in two patients having different facial morphologies: retruding and protruding jaws, respectively. First, transient flow simulation was performed using a prescribed volume flow rate to observe flow characteristics within upper airways with an unsteady effect. In the retruding jaw, the maximum magnitude of velocity and pressure drop with velocity shear and vortical motion was observed at the oropharyngeal level. In contrast, in the protruding jaw, the overall magnitude of velocity and pressure was relatively small. To identify the cause of the pressure drop in the retruding jaw, pressure gradient components induced by flow were examined. Of note, vortical motion was highly associated with pressure drop. Structure simulation was performed to observe the deformation and collapsibility of soft tissue around the upper airways using the surface pressure obtained from the flow simulation. At peak flow rate, the soft tissue of the retruding jaw was highly expanded, and a collapse was observed at the oropharyngeal and epiglottis levels. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Aerodynamic characteristics have been reported to correlate with airway occlusion. However, a detailed mechanism of the phenomenon within the upper airways and its impact on airway collapsibility remain poorly understood. This study provides in silico results for aerodynamic characteristics, such as vortical structure, pressure drop, and exact location of the obstruction using a computational approach. Large deformation of soft tissue was observed in the retruding jaw, suggesting that it is responsible for obstructive sleep apnea.

The role of the refreezing effect in the ice shelf–ocean boundary layer (IOBL) flow with a super-cooled, plume beneath the ice shelf is investigated using the large-eddy simulation. To reveal the detailed physical processes and characteristics of the IOBL flow, a model domain is initialized and forced by in situ observations and a comparison is made between two simulations, one with the refreezing effect and one without. The simulated velocity, potential temperature, and salinity field are validated with in situ observations performed in Terra Nova Bay in the western Ross Sea in 2016/2017, confirming that the vertical structures in the simulation results agree well with observations. In particular, it is evident that, when the refreezing effect is considered, the IOBL flow can be more realistically resolved, especially upward advection from the sub-ice shelf plume and the ice front eddy. Beneath the ice shelf, two district regions (the inner and outer regions) are identified based on flow characteristics and the refreezing pattern. In the inner region, stratification and stable conditions are observed with negative momentum flux and low refreezing rates. Meanwhile, in the outer region, high shear impact and unstable conditions with a heat flux of −9 to −52 W m−2 are observed, demonstrating the high refreezing rate and the entrainment of super-cooled water from the sub-ice shelf plume. A total of 94 % of the refreezing events occur in the outer region, with a maximum refreezing rate of 1.86 m yr−1 at the ice front.

In this study, we performed a suite of flow simulations for a 12-wind-turbine array with varying inflow conditions and lateral spacings, and compared the impacts of the flow on velocity deficit and wake recovery. We imposed both laminar inflow and turbulent inflows, which contain turbulence for the Ekman layer and a low-level jet (LLJ) in the stable boundary layer. To solve the flow through the wind turbines and their wakes, we used a large-eddy simulation technique with an actuator-line method. We compared the time series for the velocity deficit at the first and rear columns to observe the temporal change in velocity deficit for the entire wind farm. The velocity deficit at the first column for LLJ inflow was similar to that for laminar inflow. However, the magnitude of velocity deficit at the rear columns for the case with LLJ inflow was 11.9% greater because of strong wake recovery, which was enhanced by the vertical flux of kinetic energy associated with the LLJ. To observe the spatial transition and characteristics of wake recovery, we performed statistical analyses of the velocity at different locations for both the laminar and LLJ inflows. These studies indicated that strong wake recovery was present, and a kurtosis analysis showed that the probability density function for the streamwise velocity followed a Gaussian distribution. In a quadrant analysis of the Reynolds stress, we found that the ejection and sweep motions for the LLJ inflow case were greater than those for the laminar inflow case.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common sleep breathing disorder. With the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD), this study provides a quantitative standard for accurate diagnosis and effective surgery based on the investigation of the relationship between airway geometry and aerodynamic characteristics. Based on computed tomography data from patients having normal geometry, 4 major geometric parameters were selected and a total of 160 idealized cases were modeled and simulated. We created a predictive model using Gaussian process regression (GPR) through a data set obtained through numerical method. The results demonstrated that the mean accuracy of the overall GPR model was ~72% with respect to the CFD results for the realistic upper airway model. A support vector machine model was also used to identify the degree of OSA symptoms in patients as normal-mild and moderate and severe. We achieved an accuracy of 82.5% with the training data set and an accuracy of 80% with the test data set.NEW & NOTEWORTHY There have been many studies on the analysis of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) through computational fluid dynamics and finite element analysis. However, these methods are not useful for practical medical applications because they have limited information for OSA symptom. This study employs the machine learning algorithm to predict flow characteristics quickly and to determine the symptoms of the patient's OSA. The overall Gaussian process regression model's mean accuracy was ~72%, and the accuracy for the classification of OSA was >80%.

High-resolution large-eddy simulation of the flow over a large wind farm (64 wind turbines) is performed using the HIGRAD/FIRETEC-WindBlade model, which is a high-performance computing wind turbine–atmosphere interaction model that uses the Lagrangian actuator line method to represent rotating turbine blades. These high-resolution large-eddy simulation results are used to parameterize the thrust and power coefficients that contain information about turbine interference effects within the wind farm. Those coefficients are then incorporated into the WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting) model in order to evaluate interference effects in larger-scale models. In the high-resolution WindBlade wind farm simulation, insufficient distance between turbines creates the interference between turbines, including significant vertical variations in momentum and turbulent intensity. The characteristics of the wake are further investigated by analyzing the distribution of the vorticity and turbulent intensity. Quadrant analysis in the turbine and post-turbine areas reveals that the ejection motion induced by the presence of the wind turbines is dominant compared to that in the other quadrants, indicating that the sweep motion is increased at the location where strong wake recovery occurs. Regional-scale WRF simulations reveal that although the turbulent mixing induced by the wind farm is partly diffused to the upper region, there is no significant change in the boundary layer depth. The velocity deficit does not appear to be very sensitive to the local distribution of turbine coefficients. However, differences of about 5% on parameterized turbulent kinetic energy were found depending on the turbine coefficient distribution. Therefore, turbine coefficients that consider interference in the wind farm should be used in wind farm parameterization for larger-scale models to better describe sub-grid scale turbulent processes.

We conducted a large eddy simulation of the stable boundary layer in order to investigate the coherent structure of the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability (KHI). The simulations were performed using the initial conditions based on the Beaufort Sea Arctic Stratus Experiment. We used the Richardson criteria and the linear stability analysis methods to detect the KHI and to adopt the eigenvalue and the two-point correlation methods to identify the vortex cores near the KHI region. In the two-point correlation analysis, the rotating configuration of the KHI varied in angles and lengths, according to the difference in the distance to the inversion layer. These vortex cores were divided into four components in different directions, defined by the signs of the x and y vorticities (Wx and Wy, respectively), and the vortex cores of the two components related to the negative Wy were elongated along the streamwise direction. The ratio between the sweeps and the ejections exhibited a linear trend as the boundary layer became more stable. Also, the sweep motion was dominant to the ejection motion for a high-stability index of 1.63. Furthermore, the plot of the vortex angles versus the stability index illustrated a linear relationship, indicating that the varying trends of the vortex angles were independent from the distance to the inversion layer in a sensitivity study of the vortex angle.