RESUMO
Pyroclastic surges are lethal hazards from volcanoes that exhibit enormous destructiveness through dynamic pressures of 100-102 kPa inside flows capable of obliterating reinforced buildings. However, to date, there are no measurements inside these currents to quantify the dynamics of this important hazard process. Here we show, through large-scale experiments and the first field measurement of pressure inside pyroclastic surges, that dynamic pressure energy is mostly carried by large-scale coherent turbulent structures and gravity waves. These perpetuate as low-frequency high-pressure pulses downcurrent, form maxima in the flow energy spectra and drive a turbulent energy cascade. The pressure maxima exceed mean values, which are traditionally estimated for hazard assessments, manifold. The frequency of the most energetic coherent turbulent structures is bounded by a critical Strouhal number of ~0.3, allowing quantitative predictions. This explains the destructiveness of real-world flows through the development of c. 1-20 successive high-pressure pulses per minute. This discovery, which is also applicable to powder snow avalanches, necessitates a re-evaluation of hazard models that aim to forecast and mitigate volcanic hazard impacts globally.
RESUMO
The purpose of this study is to develop MRI methods to measure the solid fraction in granular flows quantitatively. It is increasingly recognised that solid fraction plays a key role in granular rheology, but experimental characterisation of it during flow is challenging. Here centric sectoral-SPRITE imaging is applied to image mustard seeds discharging from a 3D-printed hopper. Quantitative images are obtained after considering and correcting artefacts that may arise from flow and relaxation. The image intensity is then further corrected for spatial variations in the B1 field. Various maps of nominally homogeneous samples were tested to correct for variations in the B1 field. The B1 field was found to be sensitive to the geometry of the sample and the material in the sample. Hence, here static images of the seeds in the hopper were used to correct for B1 field variations. Moreover, small signal variations were observed from measurements performed on different days owing to subtle differences in the spectrometer operation. Here an internal standard was used to scale the signal intensity and correct for these variations. Following these corrections, a linear correlation (R2 = 0.999) was observed between the scaled image intensities and the known solid fractions of packed samples with solid fractions between 0.55 and 0.64. This correlation was used as a calibration of the 3D image of the hopper to extract quantitative time-averaged spatial maps of solid fraction during steady flow. The measurements were confirmed to be quantitative by also measuring the velocity of the particles. Together these measurements were used to calculate a mass flow rate in the hopper, which was consistent with the mass flow measured gravimetrically.
RESUMO
Three longitudinal motions of the rabbit small intestine were modelled in the CFD software Polyflow using ex vivo experimental data previously reported in literature. Consideration was given to chyme rheology and mixing performance of the macro-scale lumenal motions, as triggered by the observed wall motions. Simulations were performed to qualitatively assess the flow behaviour. The advective properties of the flow were universally characterised by analysing the stretching ability of the flow. Two Newtonian fluids, with viscosities of µ = 1 Pa s and µ = 0.001 Pa s, and a non-Newtonian shear-thinning fluid (Bird-Carreau relationship with n = 0.41, λ = 0.1, η∞ = 5.01 × 10(-9) Pa s and η0 = 0.65 Pa s) were investigated. It was found that both the type of contraction and chyme rheology significantly affected the flow and subsequent efficiency of advective motions in the intestinal core. Results also showed that shear rates generated were too small to unveil the pseudo-plastic behaviour of the non-Newtonian fluid. Of the longitudinal motions analysed, the oral propagation was the one leading to the higher, but also the most localised levels of stretching in the rabbit small intestine. This oral propagation was largely characterised by an ordered axial flow and was able to facilitate mixing by stretching material elements in the vicinity of the intestinal wall, particularly in the case of a low viscous water like fluid.
