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Different classes of nanoparticles (NPs) have been developed for controlling and improving the systemic administration of therapeutic and contrast agents. Particle shape has been shown to be crucial in the vascular transport and adhesion of NPs. Here, we use mesoporous silicon non-spherical particles, of disk and rod shapes, ranging in size from 200 nm to 1800 nm. The fabrication process of the mesoporous particles is described in detail, and their transport and adhesion properties under flow are studied using a parallel plate flow chamber. Numerical simulations predict the hydrodynamic forces on the particles and help in interpreting their distinctive behaviors. Under microvascular flow conditions, for disk-like shape, 1000×400 nm particles show maximum adhesion, whereas smaller (600×200 nm) and larger (1800×600 nm) particles adhere less by a factor of about two. Larger rods (1800×400 nm) are observed to adhere at least 3 times more than smaller ones (1500×200 nm). For particles of equal volumes, disks adhere about 2 times more than rods. Maximum adhesion for intermediate sized disks reflects the balance between adhesive interfacial interactions and hydrodynamic dislodging forces. In view of the growing evidence on vascular molecular heterogeneity, the present data suggest that thin disk-like particles could more effectively target the diseased microvasculature as compared to spheres and slender rods.

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Direct numerical simulations of thermal convection over grooved plates are presented and discussed, in comparison with the standard flat-plate case, in order to gain a better understanding of the altered near-wall dynamics and of the enhancement of the heat transfer. The simulations are performed in a cylindrical cell of aspect-ratio (diameter over cell height) Γ = 1/2 at fixed Prandtl number Pr = 0.7 with the Rayleigh number Ra ranging from 2 × 10^6 to 2 × 10^11. The results show an increase of heat transfer, or in non-dimensional form the Nusselt number Nu when the mean thermal boundary-layer thickness becomes smaller than the groove height, in agreement with earlier experimental investigations available from the literature. The present increase, however, results in a steeper power law of the Nu vs. Ra law rather than a simple upward shift of the Nu law of the flat plate. This finding agrees with some studies, but it is at variance with others. Possible causes for this difference are discussed with the help of an electrical analogy

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Highlights• Systematic analysis of a LB-IB model for arbitrarily shaped particle.• The model is validated towards benchmark numerical results.• The near wall dynamics of a single particle in linear laminar flow is analysed.• The effect of particle shape on the angular velocity distribution is analysed. AbstractModelling the vascular transport and adhesion of man-made particles is crucial for optimizing their efficacy in the detection and treatment of diseases. Here, a Lattice Boltzmann and Immersed Boundary methods are combined together for predicting the near wall dynamics of particles with different shapes in a laminar flow. For the lattice Boltzmann modelling, a Gauss-Hermite projection is used to derive the lattice equation; wall boundary conditions are imposed through the Zou-He framework; and a moving least squares algorithm accurately reconstructs the forcing term accounting for the immersed boundary. First, the computational code is validated against two well-known test cases: the sedimentation of circular and elliptical cylinders in a quiescent fluid. A very good agreement is observed between the present results and those available in the literature. Then, the transport of circular, elliptical, rectangular, square and triangular particles is analyzed in a Couette flow, at Re=20. All particles drifted laterally across the stream lines reaching an equilibrium position, independently of the initial conditions. For this large Reynolds number, the particle shape has no significant effect on the final equilibrium position but it does affect the absolute value and periodicity of the angular velocity. Specifically, elongated particles show longer oscillation periods and, most interestingly, larger variations in angular velocity. The longest particles exhibit a zero angular velocity for almost the whole rotational period. Collectively, this data demonstrates that the proposed approach can be efficiently used for predicting complex particle dynamics in biologically relevant flows. This computational strategy could have significant impact in the field of computational nanomedicine for optimizing the specific delivery of therapeutic and imaging agents.

This paper presents the results of the numerical simulations carried out to evaluate the performance of a high solidity Wells turbine designed for an oscillating water column wave energy conversion device. The Wells turbine has several favorable features (e.g., simplicity and high rotational speed) but is characterized by a relatively narrow operating range with high efficiency. The aim of this work is to investigate the flow-field through the turbine blades in order to offer a description of the complex flow mechanism that originates separation and, consequently, low efficiency at high flow-rates. Simulations have been performed by solving the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations together with three turbulence models, namely, the Spalart–Allmaras, k-ω, and Reynolds-stress models. The capability of the three models to provide an accurate prediction of the complex flow through the Wells turbine has been assessed in two ways: the comparison of the computed results with the available experimental data and the analysis of the flow by means of the anisotropy invariant maps. Then, a detailed description of the flow at different flow-rates is provided, focusing on the interaction of the tip-leakage flow with the main stream and enlightening its role on the turbine performance.