Silicone fluids belong to the group of pseudoplastic non-Newtonian fluids with complex rheological characteristics. They are considered in basic and applied researches and in a wide range of industrial applications due to their favorable physical and thermal properties. One of their specific field of applications in the automotive industry is the working fluid of viscous torsional vibration dampers. For numerical studies in the design and development phase of this damping product, it is essential to have thorough rheological knowledge and mathematical description about the silicone oil viscosity. In the present work, adopted rheological measurement results conducted on polydimethylsiloxane manufactured by Wacker Chemie with initial viscosity of 1000 Pas (AK 1 000 000 STAB silicone oil) are processed. As a result of the parameter identification by nonlinear regression, the temperature-dependent parameter curves of the Carreau–Yasuda non-Newtonian viscosity model are generated. By implementing these parameter sets into a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software, a temperature- and shear-rate-dependent viscosity model of silicone fluid was tested, using transient flow and thermal simulations on elementary tube geometries in the size range of a real viscous torsional vibration damper’s flow channels and filling chambers. The numerical results of the finite volume method provide information about the developed flow processes, with especial care for the resulted flow pattern, shear rate, viscosity and timing.

The advancement of technology is ramping up the pace of digitization and automation of aircraft maintenance activities, and with that, the stakeholders’ interest in high-level technology has also increased over the past few years. Thus, to stay relevant in the market and capable of competing, Aircraft Maintenance and Overhaul (MRO) companies must reshape and adapt to newer methodologies to enhance and enrich the quality of aviation and after-sales services. Operational processes are essential to any successful business because it plays a vital role in the efficient and effective functioning of the organization and structure of the enterprise. Hence, this paper will focus on the possibilities of automation and data integration into the daily operational workflow, its contribution, and its influence on the industry. And since the initiation of Industry 4.0, newer opportunities and possibilities have arisen to investigate decision-making algorithms, their influence on overall job quality and precision as well as the synergy between humans and machines and their cooperation in the operational areas of the maintenance process.

In addition to material and production costs, consumption and emission limits, the requirements for performance, efficiency and space utilization must be met when it comes to the design of today's internal combustion engines for the automotive industry. As a result, three new design trends have been emerged (based on J. Pfleghaar and B. Lohmann's paper in 2013): 1. downsizing: reduction of engine size (number of pistons and stroke) for fuel and space-saving and CO₂ emission reduction purposes, 2. downspeeding: reduction of engine speed to save fuel, which necessarily entails significantly higher torques being generated and transmitted in the engine, 3. turbo supercharging: increasing the pressure and compression ratio in the engine piston cylinder to cover the increased torque demand, which is accompanied by NO_x gas emissions. Due to these new design trends, significant transverse, axial, and torsional oscillations can occur on the engine's crankshaft. To avoid power loss and fatigue due to the torsional oscillations, a torsional vibration damper is advised to be installed on the free end of the crankshaft or integrated into the flywheel. This review paper focuses on the possible reasons for torsional vibrations, the applied methods used to dampen them, and expected future trends.

Advanced mathematical model has been developed for design and analysis of turbojet engines. It includes closed form algebraic equation for critical pressure and optimum pressure ratio at maximum thrust. The model and the algebraic equations consider efficiencies, pressure recovery rates meanwhile the gas parameters are the function of the fuel to air ratio and the temperature. РД-9Б and АЛ-21Ф3 engines are applied for demonstrating the capabilities of the calculation process. The unknown parameters as efficiencies, pressure recovery rates, power reduction rate of the auxiliary systems, bleed air ratio, air income ratio due to blade cooling and total temperature in the afterburner were identified by constrained optimization. The effect of i. T₀₄/T₀₂ ratio for the thrust and TSFC in the function of compressor pressure ratio, ii. the real (viscous) flow conditions and iii. the temperature and fuel to air ratio on gas parameters were also investigated for verification and plausibility check.

The visco-damper is a crucial engine accessory from an operation- as well as vehicle-safety point of view. The service life of this damping product is determined by the degradation of the silicone oil applied to it. The thermal and mechanical degradation of the oil starts not at the first operation of the damper, but at the manufacturing stage when the oil is filled into the damper’s gap at high pressure. Finite volume method-based computational fluid dynamic calculations provide an opportunity to optimize the filling process by minimizing the oil degradation. A three-dimensional, transient, non-Newtonian, multiphase, coupled fluid dynamic and heat transfer simulation model was developed to analyse the filling process and to investigate the effect of the slide bearing’s cut-off position on the filling process. Dynamic thermal neutron radiography was employed to visualize the filling of a test damper for model validation from viscous and fluid dynamic aspects. Distinct properties of neutrons compared to the more commonly applied X-rays were proven to be an effective tool for real-time monitoring of the silicone oil’s front propagation in the damper’s gap and for quantifying the characteristics of the filling process. Visual matching and comparison of propagation times and oil front velocity profiles were used to validate the simulation results.

Numerical analyses, validation and geometric optimization of a converging-diverging nozzle flows has been established in the present work. The optimal nozzle contour for a given nozzle pressure ratio and length yields the largest obtainable thrust for the conditions and thus minimises the losses. Application of such methods reduces the entry cost to the market, promote innovation and accelerate the development processes. A parametric geometry, numerical mesh and simulation model is constructed first to solve the problem. The simulation model is then validated by using experimental and computational data. The optimizations are completed for conical and bell shaped nozzles also to find the suitable nozzle geometries for the given conditions. Results are in good agreement with existing nozzle flow fields. The optimization loop described and implemented here can be used in the all similar situations and can be the basis of an improved nozzle geometry optimization procedure by means of using a multiphysics system to generate the final model with reduced number sampling phases.