Recent progress on the discrete element method simulations for powder transport systems: A review

Powder transport systems are ubiquitous in various industries, where they can encounter single powder flow, two-phase flow with solids carried by gas or liquid, and gas–solid–liquid three-phase flow. System geometry, operating conditions, and particle properties have significant impacts on the flow behavior, making it difficult to achieve good transportation of granular materials. Compared to experimental trials and theoretical studies, the numerical approach provides unparalleled advantages over the investigation and prediction of detailed flow behavior, of which the discrete element method (DEM) can precisely capture complex particle-scale information and attract a plethora of research interests. This is the first study to review recent progress in the DEM and coupled DEM with computational fluid dynamics for extensive powder transport systems, including single-particle, gas–solid/solid–liquid, and gas–solid–liquid flows. Some important aspects (i.e., powder electrification during pneumatic conveying, pipe bend erosion, non-spherical particle transport) that have not been well summarized previously are given special attention, as is the application in some new-rising fields (ocean mining, hydraulic fracturing, and gas/oil production). Studies involving important large-scale computation methods, such as the coarse grained DEM, graphical processing unit-based technique, and periodic boundary condition, are also introduced to provide insight for industrial application. This review study conducts a comprehensive survey of the DEM studies in powder transport systems.     

An analytical model for gas leakage through contact interface in proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Sealing performance between two contacting surfaces is of significant importance to stable operation of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. In this work, an analytical micro-scale approach is first established to predict the gas leakage in fuel cells. Gas pressure and uneven pressure distribution at the interface are also included in the model. At first, the micro tortuous leakage path at the interface is constructed by introducing contact modelling and fractal porous structure theory. In order to obtain the leakage at the entire surface, contact pressure distribution is predicted based on bonded elastic layer model. The gas leakage through the discontinuous interface can be obtained with consideration of convection and diffusion. Then, experiments are conducted to validate the numerical model, and good agreement is obtained between them. Finally, influences of surface topology, gasket compression and gasket width on leakage are studied based on the model. The results show that gas leakage would be greatly amplified when the asperity standard deviation of surface roughness exceeds 1.0 μm. Gaskets with larger width and smaller thickness are beneficial to sealing performance. The model is helpful to understand the gas leakage behavior at the interface and guide the gasket design of fuel cells.     

Hall current effects on MHD flow of chemically reacting fluid through a porous medium with heat source

We considered the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) free convective flow of an incompressible electrically conducting viscous fluid past an infinite vertical permeable porous plate with a uniform transverse magnetic field, heat source and chemical reaction in a rotating frame taking Hall current effects into account. The momentum equations for the fluid flow during absorbent medium are controlled by the Brinkman model. Through the undisturbed state, both the plate and fluid are in a rigid body rotation by the uniform angular velocity perpendicular to an infinite vertical plate. The perpendicular surface is subject to the homogeneous invariable suction at a right angle to it and the heat on the surface varies about a non-zero unvarying average whereas the warmth of complimentary flow is invariable. The systematic solutions of the velocity, temperature, and concentration distributions are acquired systematically by utilizing the perturbation method. The velocity expressions consist of steady-state and fluctuating situations. It is revealed that the steady part of the velocity field has a three-layer characteristic while the oscillatory part of the fluid field exhibits a multi-layer characteristic. The influence of various governing flow parameters on the velocity, temperature, and concentration are analyzed graphically. We also discuss computational results for the skin friction, Nusselt number, and Sherwood number in the tabular forms.     

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.     

Nonsimilar solution of a boundary layer flow of a Reiner–Philippoff fluid with nonlinear thermal convection

The thermodynamics modeling of a Reiner–Philippoff-type fluid is essential because it is a complex fluid with three distinct probable modifications. This fluid model can be modified to describe a shear-thinning, Newtonian, or shear-thickening fluid under varied viscoelastic conditions. This study constructs a mathematical model that describes a boundary layer flow of a Reiner–Philippoff fluid with nonlinear radiative heat flux and temperature- and concentration-induced buoyancy force. The dynamical model follows the usual conservation laws and is reduced through a nonsimilar group of transformations. The resulting equations are solved using a spectral-based local linearization method, and the accuracy of the numerical results is validated through the grid dependence and convergence tests. Detailed analyses of the effects of specific thermophysical parameters are presented through tables and graphs. The study reveals, among other results, that the buoyancy force, solute and thermal expansion coefficients, and thermal radiation increase the overall wall drag, heat, and mass fluxes. Furthermore, the study shows that amplifying the space and temperature-dependent heat source parameters allows fluid particles to lose their cohesive force and, consequently, maximize flow and heat transfer.     

Impact of viscous dissipation and Dufour on MHD natural convective flow past an accelerated vertical plate with Hall current

The present research work concentrates on viscous dissipation, Dufour, and heat source on an unsteady magnetohydrodynamics natural convective flow of a viscous, incompressible, and electrically conducting fluid past an exponentially accelerated infinite vertical plate in the existence of a strong magnetic field. The presence of the Hall current induces a secondary flow in the problem. The distinguishing features of viscous dissipation and heat flux produced due to gradient of concentration included in the model along with heat source as they are known to arise in thermal-magnetic polymeric processing. The flow equations are discretized implicitly using the finite difference method and solved using MATLAB fsolve routine. Numerical values of the primary and secondary velocities, temperature, concentration, skin friction, Nusselt number, and Sherwood number are illustrated and presented via graphs and tables for various pertinent parametric values. The Dufour effect was observed to strengthen the velocity and temperature profile in the flow domain. In contrast, due to the impact of viscous dissipation, the local Nusselt number reduces. The study also reveals that the inclusion of the chemical reaction term augments the mass transfer rate and diminishes the heat transfer rate at the plate.     

Investigation of liquid water heterogeneities in large area proton exchange membrane fuel cells using a Darcy two-phase flow model in a multiphysics code

Proper management of the liquid water and heat produced in proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells remains crucial to increase both its performance and durability. In this study, a two-phase flow and multicomponent model, called two-fluid model, is developed in the commercial COMSOL Multiphysics® software to investigate the liquid water heterogeneities in large area PEM fuel cells, considering the real flow fields in the bipolar plate. A macroscopic pseudo-3D multi-layers approach has been chosen and generalized Darcy's relation is used both in the membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) and in the channel. The model considers two-phase flow and gas convection and diffusion coupled with electrochemistry and water transport through the membrane. The numerical results are compared to one-fluid model results and liquid water measurements obtained by neutron imaging for several operating conditions. Finally, according to the good agreement between the two-fluid and experimentation results, the numerical water distribution is examined in each component of the cell, exhibiting very heterogeneous water thickness over the cell surface.     

Effect of ultrasonic waveforms on gas–liquid mass transfer in microreactors

This study aims to investigate the effect of ultrasonic waveforms on the gas–liquid mass transfer process. For a given load power (P), continuous rectangular wave yielded stronger bubble oscillation and higher mass transfer coefficient (k_La) than continuous triangular and sinusoidal wave. For pulsed ultrasound, the k_La decreased monotonically with decreasing duty ratio (D), resulting in weak enhancement at low D (≤33%). For a given average load power (P_A), concentrating the P for a shorter period resulted in a higher k_La due to stronger cavitation behavior. For a given P_A and D, decreasing the pulse period (T) led to an increase in k_La, which reached a constant high level when the T fell below a critical value. By optimizing the D and T, a k_La equivalent to 92% of that under continuous ultrasound was obtained under pulsed ultrasound at a D of 67%, saving 33% in power consumption.     

Multi-objective planning and optimization of microgrid lithium iron phosphate battery energy storage system consider power supply status and CCER transactions

Lithium iron phosphate battery (LIPB) is the key equipment of battery energy storage system (BESS), which plays a major role in promoting the economic and stable operation of microgrid. Based on the advancement of LIPB technology and efficient consumption of renewable energy, two power supply planning strategies and the china certified emission reduction (CCER) model are proposed respectively. Based on it, the multi-objective planning optimization model with economic benefits, environmental benefits and power supply stability as the objective function is established for the first time, and the Newton Weighted Sum Frisch method (NWSFA) solution model is adopted. In the planning process, rain flow counting method is used to research the life of BESS, which improves the accuracy of energy storage annual cost calculation. A park in northern China is taken as a case study to demonstrate the application of this model. The simulation results show that the annual economic operating cost of BESS is decreased by 18.81%, the energy supply reliability is increased by 0.15%, and the optimal electricity price adjustment ratio of the system is 15%.     

Two-dimensional numerical pore-scale investigation of oxygen evolution in proton exchange membrane electrolysis cells

Oxygen blocking the porous transport layer (PTL) increases the mass transport loss, and then limits the high current density condition of proton exchange membrane electrolysis cells (PEMEC). In this paper, a two-dimensional transient mathematical model of anode two-phase flow in PEMEC is established by the fluid volume method (VOF) method. The transport mechanism of oxygen in porous layer is analyzed in details. The effects of liquid water flow velocity, porosity, fiber diameter and contact angle on oxygen pressure and saturation are studied. The results show that the oxygen bubble transport in the porous layer is mainly affected by capillary pressure and follows the transport mechanism of ‘pressurization breakthrough depressurization’. The oxygen bubble goes through three stages of growth, migration and separation in the channel, and then be carried out of the electrolysis cell by liquid water. When oxygen breaks through the porous layer and enters the flow channel, there is a phenomenon that the branch flow is merged into the main stream, and the last limiting throat affects the maximum pressure and oxygen saturation during stable condition. In addition, increasing the liquid water velocity is helpful to bubble separation; changing the porosity and fiber diameter directly affects the width of pore throat and the correlative capillary pressure; increasing porosity, reducing fiber diameter and contact angle can promote oxygen breakthrough and reduce the stable saturation of oxygen.