Mitigation of jet cross-flow induced vibrations using an innovative biomimetic nozzle design inspired by shark gill geometry

Abstract Shark gill slits enable sharks to eject the water after the oxygen has been removed in ram ventilation. The reduced effect of jet flow from the gill slits gives sharks smooth maneuverability. A biomimetic “shark nozzle” is proposed to improve mixing between the jet flow and surrounding flui...

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Main Authors: Ibrahim Gad-el-Hak, Njuki Mureithi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2022-06-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-15026-8
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author Ibrahim Gad-el-Hak
Njuki Mureithi
author_facet Ibrahim Gad-el-Hak
Njuki Mureithi
author_sort Ibrahim Gad-el-Hak
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Shark gill slits enable sharks to eject the water after the oxygen has been removed in ram ventilation. The reduced effect of jet flow from the gill slits gives sharks smooth maneuverability. A biomimetic “shark nozzle” is proposed to improve mixing between the jet flow and surrounding fluid. Jet flow systems are an essential component of many industrial applications. The key characteristic of jet flow is the mixing process that occurs between two fluid streams to allow heat and/or mass transfer between them. Many industrial and propulsion devices that use jet flows need rapid mixing for effective and environmentally friendly operation. Fuel-injection systems, chemical reactors, and heating and air conditioning systems are examples of devices where a mixing process takes place. Recently, jet flow plays an important role in design and operation of specialized nuclear pressurized water reactors (PWRs). The loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) holes and slots machined in the core periphery baffle plates are designed to mitigate the effects of a severe LOCA event. However, in normal operation, the holes are a source of a jet flow that can induced vibrations in the fuel assemblies near the baffle before being mixed with the surrounding fluid. This may cause wear and fretting in fuel rods with their supports. The ultimate solution to prevent the fuel assembly vibrations from LOCA hole jetting in a reactor is enhancing mixing of a jet flow with ambient flow in order to rapidly reduce jet momentum. This work proposes a new shark-inspired nozzle design that exploits the observed high efficiency capacity of shark gill slits. Tests are conducted to evaluate the performance of the new design. The obtained results show that the shark-inspired biomimetic nozzle has a greater effect on the rod bundle vibration, and the critical velocity at which the unstable vibration occurs in the rod bundle is delayed by 20% using the biomimetic nozzle. In addition to delaying instability, a vibration amplitude reduction of 85% was obtained by using the proposed shark-inspired nozzle instead of the circular nozzle.
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spelling doaj.art-41970831dfe649c8ab948704ef6df1082022-12-22T02:41:21ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222022-06-0112111110.1038/s41598-022-15026-8Mitigation of jet cross-flow induced vibrations using an innovative biomimetic nozzle design inspired by shark gill geometryIbrahim Gad-el-Hak0Njuki Mureithi1Department of Mechanical Engineering, Polytechnique MontréalDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Polytechnique MontréalAbstract Shark gill slits enable sharks to eject the water after the oxygen has been removed in ram ventilation. The reduced effect of jet flow from the gill slits gives sharks smooth maneuverability. A biomimetic “shark nozzle” is proposed to improve mixing between the jet flow and surrounding fluid. Jet flow systems are an essential component of many industrial applications. The key characteristic of jet flow is the mixing process that occurs between two fluid streams to allow heat and/or mass transfer between them. Many industrial and propulsion devices that use jet flows need rapid mixing for effective and environmentally friendly operation. Fuel-injection systems, chemical reactors, and heating and air conditioning systems are examples of devices where a mixing process takes place. Recently, jet flow plays an important role in design and operation of specialized nuclear pressurized water reactors (PWRs). The loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) holes and slots machined in the core periphery baffle plates are designed to mitigate the effects of a severe LOCA event. However, in normal operation, the holes are a source of a jet flow that can induced vibrations in the fuel assemblies near the baffle before being mixed with the surrounding fluid. This may cause wear and fretting in fuel rods with their supports. The ultimate solution to prevent the fuel assembly vibrations from LOCA hole jetting in a reactor is enhancing mixing of a jet flow with ambient flow in order to rapidly reduce jet momentum. This work proposes a new shark-inspired nozzle design that exploits the observed high efficiency capacity of shark gill slits. Tests are conducted to evaluate the performance of the new design. The obtained results show that the shark-inspired biomimetic nozzle has a greater effect on the rod bundle vibration, and the critical velocity at which the unstable vibration occurs in the rod bundle is delayed by 20% using the biomimetic nozzle. In addition to delaying instability, a vibration amplitude reduction of 85% was obtained by using the proposed shark-inspired nozzle instead of the circular nozzle.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-15026-8
spellingShingle Ibrahim Gad-el-Hak
Njuki Mureithi
Mitigation of jet cross-flow induced vibrations using an innovative biomimetic nozzle design inspired by shark gill geometry
Scientific Reports
title Mitigation of jet cross-flow induced vibrations using an innovative biomimetic nozzle design inspired by shark gill geometry
title_full Mitigation of jet cross-flow induced vibrations using an innovative biomimetic nozzle design inspired by shark gill geometry
title_fullStr Mitigation of jet cross-flow induced vibrations using an innovative biomimetic nozzle design inspired by shark gill geometry
title_full_unstemmed Mitigation of jet cross-flow induced vibrations using an innovative biomimetic nozzle design inspired by shark gill geometry
title_short Mitigation of jet cross-flow induced vibrations using an innovative biomimetic nozzle design inspired by shark gill geometry
title_sort mitigation of jet cross flow induced vibrations using an innovative biomimetic nozzle design inspired by shark gill geometry
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-15026-8
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AT njukimureithi mitigationofjetcrossflowinducedvibrationsusinganinnovativebiomimeticnozzledesigninspiredbysharkgillgeometry