Centrifugal-Force-Induced Flow Bifurcations in Turbulent Thermal Convection.

An important and unresolved issue in rotating thermal turbulence is when the flow starts to feel the centrifugal effect. This onset problem is studied here by a novel experiment in which the centrifugal force can be varied over a wide range at fixed Rossby numbers by offsetting the apparatus from the rotation axis. Our experiment clearly shows that the centrifugal force starts to separate the hot and cold fluids at the onset Froude number 0.04. Additionally, this flow bifurcation leads to an unexpected heat transport enhancement and the existence of an optimal state. Based on the dynamical balance and characteristics of local flow structures, both the onset and optimal states are quantitatively explained.

Confined Rayleigh-Bénard, Rotating Rayleigh-Bénard, and Double Diffusive Convection: A Unifying View on Turbulent Transport Enhancement through Coherent Structure Manipulation.

Many natural and engineering systems are simultaneously subjected to a driving force and a stabilizing force. The interplay between the two forces, especially for highly nonlinear systems such as fluid flow, often results in surprising features. Here we reveal such features in three different types of Rayleigh-Bénard (RB) convection, i.e., buoyancy-driven flow with the fluid density being affected by a scalar field. In the three cases different stabilizing forces are considered, namely (i) horizontal confinement, (ii) rotation around a vertical axis, and (iii) a second stabilizing scalar field. Despite the very different nature of the stabilizing forces and the corresponding equations of motion, at moderate strength we counterintuitively but consistently observe an enhancement in the flux, even though the flow motion is weaker than the original RB flow. The flux enhancement occurs in an intermediate regime in which the stabilizing force is strong enough to alter the flow structures in the bulk to a more organized morphology, yet not too strong to severely suppress the flow motions. Near the optimal transport enhancements all three systems exhibit a transition from a state in which the thermal boundary layer (BL) is nested inside the momentum BL to the one with the thermal BL being thicker than the momentum BL. The observed optimal transport enhancement is explained through an optimal coupling between the suction of hot or fresh fluid and the corresponding scalar fluctuations.

Internalization and Phytotoxic Effects of CuO Nanoparticles in Arabidopsis thaliana as Revealed by Fatty Acid Profiles.

Internalization and phytotoxic effects of CuO nanoparticles (nCuO) in plants were studied at the cellular level. Arabidopsis thaliana was hydroponically challenged by nCuO (100 mg/L), as compared to Cu2+ ions (1.2 mg/L), to account for nCuO dissolution for 96 h and 28 days to monitor Cu accumulation in the plant as well as the fatty acid (FA) profiles of the plant cell membrane. Under the same growing conditions, the nCuO exposure resulted in more Cu accumulation than did the Cu2+ exposure. Multiple microscopic techniques confirmed the internalization and sequestration of nCuO in root cell vacuoles, where transformation of Cu(II) to Cu(I)Cl occurred. Short and long exposures (96 h versus 28 days) to both nCuO and Cu2+ elevated FA saturation degrees in plant cells through oxidative stress, as verified by in situ detection of superoxide radicals, with conversions mostly from C18:3, C16:3, and C18:2 to C16:0. Only the long exposure to nCuO significantly brought about an additional elevation of FA saturation degree in root cells. These results demonstrated that the acute effects of plant exposure to nCuO were mainly produced from the stress of Cu2+ ions released from nCuO dissolution, while the chronic effects in roots were significantly developed by the nCuO particle stress. The findings in this work are novel and may offer significant implications in better understanding nanoparticle-induced phytotoxicity and potential risks in ecosystems.

Comparative Experimental Study of Fixed Temperature and Fixed Heat Flux Boundary Conditions in Turbulent Thermal Convection.

We report the first experimental study of the influences of the thermal boundary condition on turbulent thermal convection. Two configurations were examined: one had a constant heat flux at the bottom boundary and a constant temperature at the top (CFCT cell); the other had constant temperatures at both boundaries (CTCT cell). In addition to producing different temperature stability in the boundary layers, the differences in the boundary condition lead to rather unexpected changes in the flow dynamics. It is found that, surprisingly, reversals of the large-scale circulation occur more frequently in the CTCT cell than in the CFCT cell, despite the fact that in the former its flow strength is on average 9% larger than that in the latter. Our results not only show which aspects of the thermal boundary condition are important in thermal turbulence, but also reveal that, counterintuitively, the stability of the flow is not directly coupled to its strength.

Condensation of Coherent Structures in Turbulent Flows.

Coherent structures are ubiquitous in turbulent flows and play a key role in transport. The most important coherent structures in thermal turbulence are plumes. Despite being the primary heat carriers, the potential of manipulating thermal plumes to transport more heat has been overlooked so far. Unlike some other forms of energy transport, such as electromagnetic or sound waves, heat flow in fluids is generally difficult to manipulate, as it is associated with the random motion of molecules and atoms. Here we report how a simple geometrical confinement can lead to the condensation of elementary plumes. The result is the formation of highly coherent system-sized plumes and the emergence of a new regime of convective thermal turbulence characterized by universal temperature profiles and significantly enhanced heat transfer. It is also found that the universality of the temperature profiles and heat transport originate from the geometrical properties of the coherent structures, i.e., the thermal plumes. Therefore, in contrast to the classical regime, boundary layers in this plume-controlled regime are being controlled, rather than controlling.

Confinement-induced heat-transport enhancement in turbulent thermal convection.

We report an experimental and numerical study of the effect of spatial confinement in turbulent thermal convection. It is found that when the width of the convection cell is narrowed, the heat-transfer efficiency increases significantly despite the fact that the overall flow is slowed down by the increased drag force from the sidewalls. Detailed experimental and numerical studies show that this enhancement is brought about by the changes in the dynamics and morphology of the thermal plumes in the boundary layers and in the large-scale flow structures in the bulk. It is found that the confined geometry produces more coherent and energetic hot and cold plume clusters that go up and down in random locations, resulting in more uniform and thinner thermal boundary layers. The study demonstrates how changes in turbulent bulk flow can influence the boundary layer dynamics and shows that the prevalent mode of heat transfer existing in larger aspect ratio convection cells, in which hot and cold thermal plumes are carried by the large-scale circulation along opposite sides of the sidewall, is not the most efficient way for heat transport.

Tuning heat transport via coherent structure manipulation: recent advances in thermal turbulence.

Tuning transport properties through the manipulation of elementary structures has achieved great success in many areas, such as condensed matter physics. However, the ability to manipulate coherent structures in turbulent flows is much less explored. This article reviews a recently discovered mechanism of tuning turbulent heat transport via coherent structure manipulation. We first show how this mechanism can be realized by applying simple geometrical confinement to a classical thermally driven turbulence, which leads to the condensation of elementary coherent structures and significant heat-transport enhancement, despite the resultant slower flow. Some potential applications of this new paradigm in passive heat management are also discussed. We then explain how the heat transport behaviors in seemingly different turbulence systems can be understood by this unified framework of coherent structure manipulation. Several future directions in this research area are also outlined.

Hormone-mediated multi- and trans-generational reproductive toxicities of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate on Caenorhabditis elegans.

Ionic liquids (ILs) are emergent pollutants and their reproductive toxicities show hormesis, earning attentions on their environmental risk. Yet, their reproductive effects over generations and the mechanisms were seldom explored. In the present study, the reproductive effects of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([C2mim]PF6) on Caenorhabditis elegans were measured in 11 continuously exposed generations (F1 to F11) to explore the multi-generational effects, and also in the non-exposed generations of F1 and F11 (i.e., their great-grand-daughters, T4 and T4') to explore the trans-generational effects. In multi-generational reproductive effects, there were concentration-dependent hormetic effects with hazard-benefit alteration between low and high concentrations (e.g., in F3). There were also generation-dependent hormetic effects with hazard-benefit alterations over generations (e.g., between F4 and F5, between F8 and F9, and between F10 and F11). Meanwhile, the results also showed benefit-hazard alteration between F2 and F3, between F6 and F7, and between F9 and F10. Trans-generational effects showed common inhibitions in T4 and T4' at both low and high concentrations. In the biochemical analysis, hormones and hormone-like substances including progesterone (P), estradiol (E2), prostaglandin (PG) and testosterone (T) showed multi- and trans-generational changes with inhibition and stimulation, which contributed to the reproductive outcomes in each generation. Such contribution was also observed in the hormones' precursor cholesterol and the proteins that are essential for reproduction including vitellogenin (Vn) and major sperm protein (MSP). Moreover, the biochemicals showed significant involvement in the connection among generations. Furthermore, the multi- and trans-generational effects of [C2mim]PF6 and histidine showed similar modes of actions despite some differences, implying the contribution of their shared imidazole structure.

Local energy dissipation rate balances local heat flux in the center of turbulent thermal convection.

The local kinetic energy dissipation rate ε(u,c) in Rayleigh-Bénard convection cell was measured experimentally using the particle tracking velocimetry method, with varying Rayleigh number Ra, Prandtl number Pr, and cell height H. It is found that ε(u,c)/(κ(3)H(-4))=1.05×10(-4)Ra(1.55±0.02)Pr(1.15±0.38). The Ra and H dependencies of the measured results are found to be consistent with the assumption made for the bulk energy dissipation rate ε(u,bulk) in the Grossmann-Lohse model. A remarkable finding of the study is that ε(u,c) balances the directly measured local Nusselt number Nu(c) in the cell center, not only scalingwise but also in magnitude.

Lindane uptake and translocation by rice seedlings (Oryza sativa L.) under different culture patterns and triggered biomass re-allocation.

The study was conducted to investigate the influence of the culture pattern on plant uptake and translocation of an organic chemical and the resultant acute response of plants, and to further reveal the interconnection. Plant exposure experiments were performed using a conventional rice seedling (Oryza sativa L. subsp. indica) under two kinds of culture patterns (viz., hydroponics and soil-based culture) with various culture matrices for a period of 7 days. The exposure concentration of lindane was ∼450 µg L-1 in the aqueous-phase matrices, and 200.1-756.0 µg kg-1 in the solid matrices. Lindane accumulation and its distribution in plant tissues were quantified, as well as the tissue biomass. The results showed the accumulation of lindane in all exposure groups were comparatively close over the period, confirming that the soil-bound lindane was scarcely available to plants. Similar trend of lindane uptake and translocation in seedlings was found among the groups under the same kind of cultivation pattern. In the hydroponic groups, lindane was mostly distributed in roots (about 60% at the end of exposure), whereas more lindane was translocated to shoots (approximate 70%) under the soil-based culture pattern. Allometric analysis demonstrated that the tissue part (root or shoot) with more lindane accumulation had a relatively higher growth rate over 7 days. Correspondingly, biomass allocation presented a slight trend of mutual proximity to lindane distribution. It was inferred that plants altered their allometric growth pattern to realize biomass re-allocation in response to the short-term lindane exposure, which could be considered as a plant defense strategy.

Construction of a TTT-η Diagram of High-Refractive Polyurethane Based on Curing Kinetics.

A time-temperature-transformation-viscosity (TTT-η) diagram can reflect changes in the physical states of a resin, which take on significance for the study of the curing process of polyurethane resin lenses. Coupling the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) test, the curing kinetic parameters of 1,4-bis(isocyanatomethyl)cyclohexane (H6XDI)/2,3-bis((2-mercaptoethyl)thio)-1-propanethiol (BES) polyurethane system were obtained. By phenomenological modeling, the relationships between degree, temperature, and time were obtained. An isothermal DSC test was carried out at 423 K. Based on the DiBenedetto equation, the relationships between glass transition temperature, degree of cure, and time were obtained, and the glass transition temperature was thus correlated with temperature and time. The gelation time at different temperatures was measured by rotary rheometry, and the relationship between gelation time and gelation temperature was established. The time-temperature-transformation (TTT) diagram of H6XDI/BES system was constructed accordingly. Subsequently, a six-parameter double Arrhenius equation was used as the basis for the rheological study. The viscosity was examined during the curing process. The TTT-η diagram was obtained, which laid the theoretical foundation for the optimization and setting of processing parameters.