3D numerical investigation of the fluid mechanics in a partially liquefied vitreous humor due to saccadic eye movement.

Partial vitreous liquefaction (PVL) is a common physical and biochemical degenerative change in the vitreous body in which the liquid component becomes separated from collagen fiber network and this might form the pocket of liquefaction known as lacuna. The main objective of this research is to investigate how the saccade movements influence flow dynamics of the PVL. A three-dimensional model of the vitreous cavity is subjected to saccadic movement and the numerical simulations for various saccade amplitudes and volume fractions are performed. We consider concentric and eccentric configurations of the PVL with the initial spherical shape inside a spherical cavity. In this paper, a specific 3D numerical solver is developed to capture the interface effects and dynamic characteristics of a two-phase viscoelastic-Newtonian fluid flow by using the OpenFOAM CFD. The code is based on a set of time-dependent non-linear partial differential equations (PDE) such as continuity, momentum and constitutive relation for polymeric stresses tensor. The finite volume method with a modified volume-of-fluid model and dynamic mesh technique are used to solve PDEs. Firstly, the validity of the present numerical model was verified by comparing the obtained results with the analytical solutions which demonstrated remarkable agreement. Then, the time- and space-dependent velocity field, shear stress and normal stress distributions were computed and how the PVL responds to the saccadic motions was discussed.

Fingerprinting aliphatic hydrocarbon pollutants over agricultural lands surrounding Tehran oil refinery.

The analysis of aliphatic hydrocarbons, which are composed of n-alkanes as well as branched and cyclic alkanes, can be used to distinguish between the sources of hydrocarbon contamination. In this study, the concentration of aliphatic hydrocarbons, soil pH, and organic matter in agricultural soils located south of Tehran were monitored. Eighty-three soil samples were taken from two depth ranges of 0-30 and 30-60 cm. The results showed that aliphatic compounds ranged from 0.22-68.11 mg kg-1 at the top to 0.33-53.18 mg kg-1 at subsoil. The amount of hydrocarbons increases from the northern parts toward the south, and hydrocarbon pollutants originated from both petroleum and non-petroleum sources. Higher concentrations of aliphatic compounds in the southern parts indicated that, aside from the practice of irrigating with untreated wastewater, leakage from oil refinery storage tanks possibly contributed to soil pollution. The results also showed that several sources have polluted the agricultural soils. It is necessary to develop a new local pollution criterion as a diagnostic index that includes not only hydrocarbons but also other parameters such as heavy metal content in both soil and untreated wastewater, surface runoff, and other irrigation water resources to determine the exact origin of pollution.