Shock/expansion fan interaction with real gas effects for Earth and Mars atmospheric conditions

Numerical simulations are performed to investigate the real gas effects on shock/expansion fan interaction. Initial perfect gas simulations at low enthalpy capture the flow structures efficiently and outcomes are found to have excellent agreement with the analytical calculations. Furthermore, the simulations with the real gas solver for different enthalpies showed that the variation in enthalpy significantly changes the flow structures. It is observed that an increase in enthalpy leads to a decrease and increase in the postshock and postexpansion fan Mach numbers, respectively. Another important observation is the decrement in the peak pressure ratio with an increment in the enthalpy. These effects are noted to be more pronounced for Mars's environment due to the higher dependency of specific heat on temperature.     

Shape optimization of bi-directional flow passage components based on a genetic algorithm and computational fluid dynamics

The inlet/outlet is an important part of a water conveyance system in a pumped storage power station (PSPS). Its hydraulic characteristics are directly related to the operation and economic benefit of the PSPS. Frequent changes between inflow and outflow operations pose significant challenges in the design of the inlet/outlet diffusion segment shape. In this study, an effective optimization method, including three-dimensional parametric modelling, computational fluid dynamics and a genetic algorithm, is introduced and coupled to the design of the diffusion segment shape. The hydraulic characteristics of bi-directional flow, including the head loss, velocity uneven distribution and uneven discharge distribution, are selected as the objective function in the optimization method. Using this method, the recommended shape of the inlet/outlet is studied and its hydraulic characteristics are discussed. The results indicate that the optimized inlet/outlet has better performance.     

Slag eye formation in single and dual bottom purged industrial steelmaking ladles

ABSTRACT

Argon gas is often injected from the bottom of the ladle during steel refining operations. The injected gas interacts with the liquid (metal and slag) bath and enhances the momentum, heat, and mass transfer rate in the melt. However, during these gas–liquid interactions, an opening of the slag layer called slag eye is formed, which exposes the molten metal surface to the atmosphere, which is generally undesirable. In the current work, a transient, three-dimensional mathematical model is used to study the turbulent gas–liquid interactions in single as well as dual bottom blown industrial steelmaking ladles. A Coupled Level Set Volume of Fluid (CLSVOF) model is used for tracking the steel-argon, steel-slag, and argon-slag interfaces, from which the slag-eye area has been predicted. It is found that the inlet gas purging rate, melt height, slag layer thickness, angular and radial positions of the gas inlets affect the slag opening area. Non-dimensional empirical correlations are proposed to predict the slag opening area in both single as well as dual purged ladles, using non-linear regression analysis.     

基于CFD-DEM方法的净化器流场模拟与结构优化

针对空气净化器能耗高的问题，使用离散元方法(DEM)在吸附滤网中建立随机堆积柱形活性炭模型，采用计算流体力学(CFD)方法对空气净化器内部流场进行数值模拟，在模拟与实验验证的基础上，考察了压降最小、流场最均匀的吸附滤网结构。结果表明，空气净化器压降主要发生在轴向，活性炭吸附滤网中回流、沟流现象严重，流体阻力是其他两种滤网的3倍。边数对多边形填充孔结构吸附滤网内压降与流场均匀性无影响，当孔结构改为圆形时，压降减小约52 Pa，节能18.4%(49 W)；当孔直径由8 mm增至12 mm，压降减小约48 Pa，节能19.4%(45 W)；滤网间距对空气净化器压降无影响，圆形、小孔径的吸附滤网内流场最均匀。     

Cable tray FIRE tests simulations in open atmosphere and in confined and mechanically ventilated compartments with the CALIF3S/ISIS CFD software

Fire hazard in nuclear power plants (NPPs) is particularly often investigated as potential cause of safety equipment failure and confinement loss. Many fire events recorded in NPPs involve electric cables, widely used throughout facilities. IRSN is developing the CALIF3S/ISIS computational fluid dynamics software devoted to fire simulation in large‐scale confined and mechanically ventilated compartments. This paper presents two aspects of the CALIF3S/ISIS code ability to simulate fires. The first one concerns vertical and horizontal spreading of a cable tray fire in open atmosphere using an approach based on the FLASH‐CAT cable fire spread model. Resorting to the suitable parameters of the FLASH‐CAT model based on video fire analyses of tests enables to properly compute the heat release rate of the fire. The second aspect concerns the ability to simulate the evolution and consequences of fires in confined and mechanically ventilated compartments. For these cases, the heat release rate measured during the corresponding experiment is used as input data for the calculations. The predicted evolutions of pressure or gas temperatures are in relatively good accordance with the experiments. The major discrepancy concerns gas concentrations in the fire room which is attributed to a lack of information about the properties of the fuel material.     

放射性气载流出物取样代表性分析

为获取核设施放射性气载流出物单点连续监测取样位置,提出基于随机轨道模型(DRW)的气-固多相湍流耦合方法求解代表性取样区域。借助k-epsilon湍流模型模拟连续相,并引入离散颗粒模型(DPM)模拟离散相,建立基于DRW模型的排风管道内流道气-固多相湍流耦合计算模型,计算了核设施气载流出物在管道内流道流场分布规律,分析了内流道流体气旋角、气流速度、示踪气体浓度、气溶胶粒子浓度与管道高度间的关联关系。分析结果表明,随着截面高度的增加,气旋角、气流速度变异系数(COV)、示踪气体浓度COV及示踪气体浓度最大值与平均值的偏差逐渐降低并趋于稳定,气溶胶粒子浓度COV在截面6与截面8满足取样代表性要求;基于计算流体动力学方法可快速地确定出代表性取样位置,为气载流出物单点取样现场试验提供了理论参考依据。     

Rheokinematics for product development—Formulation screening in rotational rheometers

Product formulations for industrial processes are typically developed at laboratory scale. However, the mixing conditions are not easily mimicked in the laboratory. A rotational device is proposed in this study as a fast laboratory-scale formulation development, which enables mimicking the mixing conditions in the industrial process. The geometrical configurations of the rotational device are from rheometry devices (plate-plate and cone-plate). The main advantages of this method are the small amounts of raw materials and shorter testing times. This methodology is applied to an industrial case study, the reaction injection molding (RIM) process. The mixing length scales evolution in the rotational rheometer were matched to those in RIM machines. The main novelty of this study is the introduction of a protocol that bridges the processing conditions at laboratory using small amounts of raw materials to high throughput continuous flow reactors.     

Optimization of flow in additively manufactured porous columns with graded permeability

Chemical engineering systems often involve a functional porous medium, such as in catalyzed reactive flows, fluid purifiers, and chromatographic separations. Ideally, the flow rates throughout the porous medium are uniform, and all portions of the medium contribute efficiently to its function. The permeability is a property of a porous medium that depends on pore geometry and relates flow rate to pressure drop. Additive manufacturing techniques raise the possibilities that permeability can be arbitrarily specified in three dimensions, and that a broader range of permeabilities can be achieved than by traditional manufacturing methods. Using numerical optimization methods, we show that designs with spatially varying permeability can achieve greater flow uniformity than designs with uniform permeability. We consider geometries involving hemispherical regions that distribute flow, as in many glass chromatography columns. By several measures, significant improvements in flow uniformity can be obtained by modifying permeability only near the inlet and outlet.