Search

The prosperous development of both hardware and algorithms for quantum computing (QC) potentially prompts a paradigm shift in scientific computing in various fields. As an increasingly active topic in QC, the variational quantum algorithm (VQA) leads a promising direction for solving partial differential equations on Noisy Intermediate Scale Quantum (NISQ) devices. Although a clear perspective on the advantages of QC over classical computing techniques for specific mathematical and physical problems exists, applications of QC in computational fluid dynamics to solve practical flow problems, though promising, are still in an early stage of development. To explore QC in practical simulation of flow problems, this work applies a variational hybrid quantum-classical algorithm, namely the variational quantum linear solver (VQLS), to resolve the heat conduction equation through finite difference discretization of the Laplacian operator. Details of VQLS implementation are discussed by various test instances of linear systems. Finally, the successful statevector simulations of the heat conduction equation in one and two dimensions demonstrate the validity of the present algorithm by proof-of-concept results. In addition, the heuristic scaling for the heat conduction problem indicates that the time complexity of the present approach is logarithmically dependent on the precision {\epsilon} and linearly dependent on the number of qubits n., Comment: 36 pages, 19 figures

In this paper, Physics Informed Neural Network (PINN) is explored in order to obtain flow predictions near the wall region accurately with measurements (or sampling points) away from the wall. Often, in fluid mechanics experiments, it is difficult to perform velocity measurements near the wall accurately. Therefore, the present study reveals a new and elegant approach to recover the flow solutions near the wall. Laminar boundary layer flow over a flat plate case is considered for this study in order to explore the ability of PINN to accurately predict the flow field. All the required sampling data for this study is obtained from CFD simulations. A wide range of Reynolds number cases from Re=500 to 100000 has been investigated. First, using PINN, the boundary layer solution is obtained with three different types of boundary conditions. Further, the influence of the location of the sampling points on the accuracy is analysed. From the velocity profiles and the skin friction coefficient distribution, it is clear that PINN results are reasonably accurate near the wall with only a few sampling points away from the wall. This approach has potential application in experiments to obtain the near wall solutions accurately with measurements away from the wall.

In this paper, we numerically investigate the propulsive performance of three-dimensional pitching flexible plates with varying flexibility and trailing edge shapes. To eliminate the effect of other geometric parameters, only the trailing edge angle is varied from 45{\deg} (concave), 90{\deg} (rectangular) to 135{\deg} (convex) while maintaining the constant area of the flexible plate. We examine the impact of the frequency ratio f* defined as the ratio of the natural frequency of the flexible plate to the actuated pitching frequency. Through our numerical simulations, we find that the global maximum mean thrust occurs near f*=1 corresponding to the resonance condition. However, the optimal propulsive efficiency is achieved around f*=1.54 instead of the resonance condition. While the convex plate with low and high bending stiffness values shows the best performance, the rectangular plate with moderate bending stiffness is the most efficient propulsion configuration. Through dynamic mode decomposition, we find that the passive deformation can help in redistributing the pressure gradient thus improving the efficiency and thrust production. A momentum-based thrust evaluation approach is adopted to link the instantaneous vortical structures with the time-dependent thrust. When the vortices detach from the trailing edge, the instantaneous thrust shows the largest values due to the strong momentum change and convection process. Moderate flexibility and convex shape help transfer momentum to the fluid, thereby improving thrust generation and promoting the transition from drag to thrust. The increase of the trailing edge angle can broaden the range of flexibility that produces positive mean thrust.

In this paper, we study the fluid-structure interaction (FSI) of a three-dimensional (3D) flexible membrane immersed in an unsteady separated flow at moderate Reynolds numbers. We employ a body-conforming variational FSI solver based on the recently developed partitioned iterative scheme for the coupling of turbulent fluid flow with nonlinear structural dynamics. Of particular interest is to understand the flow-excited instability of a 3D flexible membrane as a function of the non-dimensional mass ratio, Reynolds number and aeroelastic number. For a wide range of the parameters, we examine two distinctive stability regimes of fluid-membrane interaction: deformed-steady state (DSS) and dynamic balance state (DBS). We propose stability phase diagrams to demarcate the DSS and DBS regimes for the parameter space of mass ratio vs. Reynolds number and mass ratio vs. aeroelastic number. Based on the aeroelastic mode analysis, we observe a frequency synchronization between the vortex shedding frequency and the membrane vibration frequency which leads to self-sustained vibrations in the dynamic balance state. To characterize the origin of the frequency lock-in, we derive an approximate analytical formula for the nonlinear natural frequency by considering the added mass effect and employing a large deflection theory for a simply supported rectangular membrane. Through our systematic high-fidelity numerical investigation, we find that the onset of the membrane vibration and the mode transition has a dependence on the frequency lock-in between the natural frequency of the tensioned membrane and the vortex shedding frequency or its harmonics. These findings on the fluid-elastic instability of membranes have implications for the design and development of control strategies for membrane wing-based unmanned systems and drones., Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2006.13467

The present study focuses on the development, application, and comparison of three computational frameworks of varying fidelities for assessing the effects of fuel sloshing in internal fuel tanks on the aeroelastic characteristics of a wing section. The first approach uses the coupling of compressible flow solver for external aerodynamics integrated with structural solver and incompressible multiphase flow solver for fuel sloshing in the embedded fuel tank As time-domain flutter solution of these coupled solvers is computationally expensive, two approximate surrogate models to emulate sloshing flows are considered. One surrogate model utilizes a linearised approach for sloshing load computations by creating an Equivalent Mechanical System (EMS) with its parameters derived from potential flow theory. The other surrogate model aims to efficiently describe the dominant dynamic characteristics of the underlying system by employing the Radial Basis Function Neural Networks (RBF-NN) using limited CFD-based data to calibrate this model. The flutter boundaries of a wing section with and without the effects of fuel sloshing are compared. The limitation of the EMS surrogate to represent nonlinearities are reflected in this study. The RBF-NN surrogate shows remarkable agreement with the high-fidelity solution for sloshing with significantly low computational cost, thereby motivating extension to three-dimensional problems.

This study demonstrates the feasibility of developing machine learning (ML) surrogates based on Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN) for predicting the unsteady aeroelastic response of transonic pitching and plunging wing-fuel tank sloshing system by considering an approximate simplified model of an airfoil in transonic flow and sloshing loads from a partially filled fuel tank rigidly embedded inside the airfoil and undergoing a free unsteady motion. The ML surrogates are then used to predict the aeroelastic response of the coupled system. The external aerodynamic loads on the airfoil and the two-phase sloshing loads data for training the RNN are generated using open-source computational fluid dynamics (CFD) codes. The aerodynamic force and moment coefficients are predicted from the surrogate model based on its motion history. Similarly, the lateral and vertical forces and moments from fuel sloshing in the fuel tank are predicted using the surrogate model resulting from the motion of the embedded fuel tank. Comparing the free motion of the airfoil without sloshing tank to the free motion of the airfoil with a partially-filled fuel tank shows that the effects of sloshing on the aeroelastic motion of the aero-structural system. The effectiveness of the predictions from RNN are then assessed by comparing with the results from the high-fidelity coupled aero-structural-fuel tank sloshing simulations. It is demonstrated that the surrogate models can accurately and economically predict the coupled aero-structural motion.

The stability of the flow under the magnetic force is one of the classical problems in fluid mechanics. In this paper, the flow in a rectangular duct with different Hartmann (Ha) number is simulated. The finite volume method and the SIMPLE algorithm are used to solve a system of equations and the energy gradient theory is then used to study the (associated) stability of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). The flow stability of MHD flow for different Hartmann (Ha) number, from Ha=1 to 40, at the fixed Reynolds number, Re=190 are investigated. The simulation is validated firstly against the simulation in literature. The results show that, with the increasing Ha number, the centerline velocity of the rectangular duct with MHD flow decreases and the absolute value of the gradient of total mechanical energy along the streamwise direction increases. The maximum of K appears near the wall in both coordinate axis of the duct. According to the energy gradient theory, this position of the maximum of K would initiate flow instability (if any) than the other positions. The higher the Hartmann number is, the smaller the K value becomes, which means that the fluid becomes more stable in the presence of higher magnetic force. As the Hartmann number increases, the K value in the parallel layer decreases more significantly than in the Hartmann layer. The most dangerous position of instability tends to migrate towards wall of the duct as the Hartmann number increases. Thus, with the energy gradient theory, the stability or instability in the rectangular duct can be controlled by modulating the magnetic force., Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures

The problem of the fictitious frequency spectrum resulting from numerical implementations of the boundary element method for the exterior Helmholtz problem is revisited. When the ordinary 3D free space Green's function is replaced by a modified Green's function, it is shown that these fictitious frequencies do not necessarily have to correspond to the internal resonance frequency of the object. Together with a recently developed fully desingularized boundary element method that confers superior numerical accuracy, a simple and practical way is proposed for detecting and avoiding these fictitious solutions. The concepts are illustrated with examples of a scattering wave on a rigid sphere.

This study aims to investigate the possible sources of non-axisymmetric disturbances and their propagation mechanism in Taylor Couette flow (TCF) for wide gap problems using direct numerical simulation with a radius ratio of 0.5 and Reynolds number (Re) ranging from 60 to 650. Here, attention is focused on the viscous layer (VL) thickness in near-wall regions and its spatial distribution along the axial direction to gain an insight into the origin and propagation of non-axisymmetric disturbances. The results show that an axisymmetric Taylor-vortex flow occurs when Re is between 68 and 425. Above Re = 425, transition from axisymmetric to non-axisymmetric flow is observed up to Re = 575 before the emergence of wavy-vortex flow. From the variation of VL thickness with Re, the VL does not experience any significant changes in the flow separation region of the inner wall, as well as jet impingement region of both the inner and outer walls. However, a sudden increase in VL thickness in the flow separation region of the outer wall reveals possible source of non-axisymmetric disturbances in the flow separation region of the outer wall. These disturbances develop into the periodic secondary flow as the axisymmetric flow transforms into non-axisymmetric flow and this leads to the emergence of azimuthal wave. The periodic secondary flow contributes to sudden increase in the natural wavelength and rapid reduction in the strength of two counter-rotating Taylor vortices. This in turn leads to a substantial reduction of torque in the transition flow vis-a-vis axisymmetric Taylor-vortex flow.

The flow of the laminar boundary layer on a flat plate is studied with simulation of Navier-Stokes equations. The mechanisms of flow instability at external edge of the boundary layer and near the wall are analyzed using the energy gradient theory. The simulation results show that there is an overshoot on the velocity profile at the external edge of the boundary layer. At this overshoot, the energy gradient function is very large which results in instability according to the energy gradient theory. It is found that the transverse gradient of the total mechanical energy is responsible for the instability at the external edge of the boundary layer, which induces the entrainment of external flow into the boundary layer. Within the boundary layer, there is a maximum of the energy gradient function near the wall, which leads to intensive flow instability near the wall and contributes to the generation of turbulence., Comment: 5 pages; 4 figures