STEADY LAMINAR FLOW THROUGH TWISTED PIPES: FLUID FLOW AND HEAT TRANSFER IN RECTANGULAR TUBES

Fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics in a twisted rectangular tube having an aspect ratio of two were studied using a numerical solution to the momentum and energy equations. Fluid flow solutions are presented for a fully developed laminar flow of a Newtonian fluid. Heat transfer results are presented for the case of axially uniform wall temperature. For the case of peripherally uniform wall temperature, the overall Nusselt number in a twisted rectangular tube was found to be higher than a straight tube by up to 30 percent over certain ranges of twist lengths. However, for the case of non-uniform wall temperature, the overall absolute Nusselt number increased very rapidly with decrease in the twist length     

A New Device to Determine Bitumen Extraction from Oil Sands

The Batch Extraction Unit (BEU) has been in use since the 1970's for studying the extraction of bitumen from oil sand. The present study investigates an alternative method for estimating bitumen recovery, based on visualization of oil sand slurry undergoing digestion. A Couette flow device is loaded with known amounts of oil sand and water. Air is bubbled through the oil sand slurry, while it is subjected to controlled chemical conditions and shear environment. Images of the slurry are captured at various time intervals and then analyzed using image analysis software, which selects black areas based on the gray scale intensities of the area in view. The variation of the black area with time is used as a measure of bitumen recovery. The technique provides quick estimates of final recovery, while enabling kinetic studies of the liberation and recovery processes. The experimental set‐up offers great flexibility in selecting conditions for the digestion of oil sands.     

Numerical study on shape optimization of groove micromixers

The performance of a homogeneous T-mixer can be enhanced significantly by the stimulation of secondary/transverse flows in the microchannel. The groove-based micromixers generate helical flows within the microchannel to augment the mixing performance. These micromixers are extensively studied with respect to planar geometric parameters such as groove width, groove spacing, channel height, etc. The effect of groove shape on mixing performance has not been systematically studied. Previous studies have focused on two or three different predefined groove shapes, typically involving slanted grooves, asymmetric herringbone grooves, and their variations. In this computational study, we analyze the effect of groove shape on micromixing performance and search for the optimal groove shape for a pressure-driven flow across the microchannel. The groove shape is parametrically represented by Bézier curves which could take any shape within a constrained plane. The control points of the Bézier curve are chosen as optimization parameters to identify the optimal groove shape which maximizes the mixing for given operating conditions. The optimization is carried out for pressure-driven flow with and without staggered arrangement of grooves. The resulting single groove optimal design improves the mixing efficiency from 0.18 for T-mixer to 0.85 for the same operating conditions (Re ~0.42, Pe ~4,200). Unlike previous studies, axial mixing index profiles are presented for different micromixers which clearly distinguish the effect of flow field on the mixing performance. Various parametric studies are carried out to compare the optimal groove structure with other common groove type (staggered, herringbone, etc.) micromixers for a range of Pe between 400 and 6,200. The improved mixing performance in optimal designs is due to a continuously growing finger-like structure of the interface which enhances the overall mass transfer.     

MIXED CONVECTION HEAT TRANSFER IN A TEE BRANCH

The heat transfer characteristics of a Newtonian fluid in a two-dimensional, planar, right-angled tee branch are studied over a range of inlet Reynolds numbers and Grashof numbers. The flow and heat transfer equations, subject to the Boussinesq approximation, are solved using a finite-element discretization. The effects of the branch length and the grid size on the interior flow field are examined to assess the accuracy of the solutions. Results are presented for two types of experimentally realizable boundary conditions—equal exit pressure at the outlet of each branch and specified flow split between the branches. The thermal boundary condition of uniform wall temperature is examined. The effect of increasing Reynolds number is to increase the size and strength of the recirculation zones in both the main and side branches, while that of increasing Grashof number is to decrease such an effect. For the case of equal exit pressures there is a significant flow reversal in the side branch and the exit flow rate from the main branch increases linearly with increasing Gr/Re². For the case of specified flow split, an increasing back pressure is required to be maintained at the exit of the main branch to regulate the flow split at the desired level.     

CFD Simulation of Mass Transfer Efficiency and Pressure Drop in a Structured Packed Distillation Column

The pressure drop and mass transfer efficiency for two‐phase flow in a structured packed column were simulated using a commercial CFD package, CFX version 10. The distillation of the methanol/isopropanol system was carried out in a 0.073 m diameter column, with an element composed of a ceramic structured packing and 0.053 m in height. The Height Equivalent to Theoretical Plate (HETP) value varied from 0.106–0.146 m. Pressure drop experiments were measured with an air/water system. The pressure drops at the flooding and loading points were ca. 173 and 580 Pa/m of packing, respectively. HETPs and pressure drops calculated from the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model were compared to their experimental counterparts. The average relative error between CFD predictions and the experimental data for the prediction of dry pressure drop, irrigated pressure drop and mass transfer efficiency are 20.3 %, 23 % and 9.15 %, respectively. In all cases, the CFD predictions show a good agreement with the experimental data, indicating that CFD is a reliable, cost saving and suitable technique for the design and optimization of separation processes.     

Polylactic acid/nano chitosan composite fibers and their morphological,physical characterization for the removal of cadmium(II) from water

This work discusses the fabrication of polylactic acid (PLA)/nano chitosan (nCHS) composite fibers by electrospinning method for Cd²⁺ metal ion adsorption from water. Here nCHS was synthesized by ionic gelation method and which is used as a reinforcement for PLA. The scanning electron microscopic analysis revealed that the addition 0.1 wt% nCHS has decreased the fiber diameter as well as the secondary pore size and hence imparted unique properties to electrospun composite fibers. The positive zeta potential values for the composites indicated their higher stability, though; the inclusion of nCHS reduced the crystallinity of the neat membranes. The contact angle measurements showed that the hydrophilicity of the composite was increased up to 0.1 wt% nCHS, and hence the surface energy was increased. Inverse gas chromatography results suggested that the basic character of the composites has intensified with the increase in nCHS addition. The adsorption capacity of the neat electrospun PLA and PLA–nCHS composites for Cd²⁺ ions were investigated and studies revealed that adsorption capacity of the composite was two times faster (approximately 70%) in comparison with neat PLA fibers. The increase in surface area as well as presence nCHS improved the adsorption capacity of the electrospun membrane.     

Wettability and In Vitro Bioactivity Studies on Titanium Rods Processed by Equal Channel Angular Pressing

Commercial purity titanium (CP-Ti) was processed by equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) with a channel angle of 120° with the aim of studying the effect of microstructure on the wettability and bioactivity. Solid and tubular Ti rods of 6 mm diameter were ECAPed at room temperature. During ECAP of tubular specimens, hydroxyapatite was filled in the tube. Grains and sub-grains of size approximately 1 μm were observed using transmission electron microscopy in both solid and tubular samples. Vickers microhardness measurements and surface energy calculations showed good improvement for ECAPed samples. This can be attributed to the fine grain structure achieved after processing. However, tubular sample showed marginally higher hardness and wettability. In vitro bioactivity studies carried out using 1.5× SBF indicate enhanced bioactivity in ECAPed samples. Also, cell response using rat skeletal muscle (L6) cells was found to be promising for both solid and tubular ECAPed specimens.     

Effect of reinforcement on the barrier and dielectric properties of epoxidized natural rubber–graphene nanocomposites

The influence of epoxidation level of natural rubber (i.e., ENR25, ENR50) on the dielectric and oxygen gas barrier properties of thermally reduced graphene oxide (GR) and graphite (GT) (with 2%·w/w) filled nanocomposites are investigated here. GR, GT filled epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) nanocomposites were fabricated by mechanical mixing using environment friendly two‐roll mill mixing method. Raman spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy studies were carried out to investigate the extent of chemical interactions between GR and ENR. Morphological studies were done using transmission electron microscopy to evaluate the distribution of GR and GT in the ENR. The improved gas barrier and dielectric properties of GT‐ENR and GR–ENR composites synthesized by a novel green ecofriendly method is correlated with the chemical interactions among GT, GR, and ENR. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 55:2439–2447, 2015. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers