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This paper is devoted to the application of the method of numerical solution of the Boltzmann equation for the solution of the problem of modeling the behavior of radionuclides in the cavity of the interelectric gap of a multielement electrogenerating channel. The analysis of gas-kinetic processes of thermionic converters is important for proving the design of the power-generating channel. The paper reviews two constructive schemes of the channel: with one- and two-way withdrawal of gaseous fission products into a vacuum-cesium system. The analysis uses a two-dimensional transport equation of the second-order accuracy for the solution of the left-hand side and the projection method for solving the right-hand side — the collision integral. In the course of the work, a software package was implemented that makes it possible to calculate on the cluster architecture by using the algorithm of parallelizing the left-hand side of the equation; the paper contains the results of the analysis of the dependence of the calculation efficiency on the number of parallel nodes. The paper contains calculations of data on the distribution of pressures of gaseous fission products in the gap cavity, calculations use various sets of initial pressures and flows; the dependency of the radionuclide pressure in the collector region was determined as a function of cesium pressures at the ends of the gap. The tests in the loop channel of a nuclear reactor confirm the obtained results.

The purpose of this work is to develop a universal computer program (solver) which solves kinetic Boltzmann equation for simulations of rarefied gas flows in complexly shaped devices. The structure of the solver is described in details. Its efficiency is demonstrated on an example of calculations of a modern many tubes Knudsen pump. The kinetic Boltzmann equation is solved by finite-difference method on discrete grid in spatial and velocity spaces. The differential advection operator is approximated by finite difference method. The calculation of the collision integral is based on the conservative projection method.

In the developed computational program the unstructured spatial mesh is generated using GMSH and may include prisms, tetrahedrons, hexahedrons and pyramids. The mesh is denser in areas of flow with large gradients of gas parameters. A three-dimensional velocity grid consists of cubic cells of equal volume.

A huge amount of calculations requires effective parallelization of the algorithm which is implemented in the program with the use of Message Passing Interface (MPI) technology. An information transfer from one node to another is implemented as a kind of boundary condition. As a result, every MPI node contains the information about only its part of the grid.

The main result of the work is presented in the graph of pressure difference in 2 reservoirs connected by a multitube Knudsen pump from Knudsen number. This characteristic of the Knudsen pump obtained by numerical methods shows the quality of the pump. Distributions of pressure, temperature and gas concentration in a steady state inside the pump and the reservoirs are presented as well.

The correctness of the solver is checked using two special test solutions of more simple boundary problems — test with temperature distribution between 2 planes with different temperatures and test with conservation of total gas mass.

The correctness of the obtained data for multitube Knudsen pump is checked using denser spatial and velocity grids, using more collisions in collision integral per time step.

The paper considers the process of flow formation in an outflow of a binary gas mixture through a thin slit into vacuum. An approach to modeling the flows of rarefied gas mixtures in the transient regime is proposed based on the direct solution of the Boltzmann kinetic equation, in which the conservative projection method is used to calculate the collision integrals. Calculation formulas are provided; the calculation procedure is described in detail in relation to the flow of a binary gas mixture. The Lennard–Jones potential is used as an interaction potential of molecules. A software modeling environment has been developed that makes it possible to study the flows of gas mixtures in a transitional regime on systems of cluster architecture. Due to the use of code parallelization technologies, an acceleration of calculations by 50–100 times was obtained. Numerical simulation of a two-dimensional outflow of a binary argon-neon gas mixture from a vessel into vacuum through a thin slit is carried out for various values of the Knudsen number. The graphs of the dependence of gas mixture components output flow on time in the process of establishing the flow are obtained. Non-stationary regions of strong separation of gas mixture components, in which the molecular densities ratio reaches 10 or more, were discovered. The discovered effect can have applications in the problem of gas mixtures separation.

Numerical simulation of moving sportsman external flow is presented. The unique method is developed for obtaining integral aerodynamic characteristics, which were the function of the flow regime (i.e. angle of attack, flow speed) and body position. Individual anthropometric characteristics and moving boundaries of sportsman (or sports equipment) during the race are taken into consideration.

Numerical simulation is realized using FlowVision CFD. The software is based on the finite volume method, high-performance numerical methods and reliable mathematical models of physical processes. A Cartesian computational grid is used by FlowVision, the grid generation is a completely automated process. Local grid adaptation is used for solving high-pressure gradient and object complex shape. Flow simulation process performed by solutions systems of equations describing movement of fluid and/or gas in the computational domain, including: mass, moment and energy conservation equations; state equations; turbulence model equations. FlowVision permits flow simulation near moving bodies by means of computational domain transformation according to the athlete shape changes in the motion. Ski jumper aerodynamic characteristics are studied during all phases: take-off performance in motion, in-run and flight. Projected investigation defined simulation method, which includes: inverted statement of sportsman external flow development (velocity of the motion is equal to air flow velocity, object is immobile); changes boundary of the body technology defining; multiple calculations with the national team member data projecting. The research results are identification of the main factors affected to jumping performance: aerodynamic forces, rotating moments etc. Developed method was tested with active sportsmen. Ski jumpers used this method during preparations for Sochi Olympic Games 2014. A comparison of the predicted characteristics and experimental data shows a good agreement. Method versatility is underlined by performing swimmer and skater flow simulation. Designed technology is applicable for sorts of natural and technical objects.