Model for boiling explosion during rapid liquid heating

The process of rapid liquid heating with a linearly increasing boundary temperature condition has been simulated by applying the analytical solution of 1D semi-infinite heat conduction in association with the molecular theory of homogeneous nucleation boiling. A control volume having the size of a characteristic critical cluster at the liquid boundary is considered, and the corresponding energy balance equation is obtained by considering two parallel competing processes that take place inside the control volume, namely, transient external energy deposition and internal energy consumption due to bubble nucleation and subsequent growth. Depending on the instantaneous rate of external energy deposition and boiling heat consumption within the control volume, a particular state is defined as the boiling explosion condition in which bubble generation and growth cause the liquid sensible energy to decrease. The obtained results are presented in terms of the average liquid temperature rise within the control volume, maximum attainable liquid temperature before boiling explosion and the time required to achieve the condition of boiling explosion. The model is applied for the case of water heating at atmospheric pressure with initial and boundary conditions identical to those reported in the literature. Model predictions concerning boiling explosion are found to be in good agreement with the experimental observations. The boiling explosion condition as predicted by the present model is verified by comparing the heat flux across the liquid–vapor interface with the corresponding limit of maximum possible heat flux, q_max,max, at the time of boiling explosion. A comparative study between the actual heat flux and the limit of maximum heat flux, q_max,max, at the time of boiling explosion for different rates of boundary heating indicates that, with much higher boundary heating rates, it is possible to heat the liquid to a much higher temperature before theoretical instantaneous boiling explosion occurs.     

Examination of minimum-heat-flux-point condition for film boiling on a sphere in terms of the limiting liquid superheat and the critical vapor film thickness

Previously proposed theories of the minimum-heat-flux-point (MHF-point) condition were examined using available experimental data obtained from the immersion cooling of spheres in water. The sphere diameter ranged from 9.5 to 30 mm and the liquid subcooling from 0 to 85 K. The limiting liquid superheat predicted by the Lienhard equation was compared with the liquid–solid interface superheat at the instant of liquid–solid contact at the MHF-point. The results showed that the liquid–solid interface superheat was not limited by the limiting liquid superheat and its value was connected with the collapse mode of vapor film. The collapse mode was a coherent collapse at a low interface superheat and the mode changed to a propagative collapse as the interface superheat increased. The critical vapor film thickness obtained from the linear stability analysis of vapor film was compared with the calculated value of average vapor film thickness at the MHF-point. For all data, the ratio of the average vapor film thickness to the critical vapor film thickness was correlated well as a function of liquid subcooling. The ratio decreased with increasing liquid subcooling and tended to about 0.8 to 1 depending on the experiments. This indicated that the MHF-point at a high liquid subcooling was determined by the critical vapor film thickness. A physical consideration was given to the effect of liquid–solid contact that occurred in the film boiling region on the calculated value of the vapor film thickness and the stability of vapor film.     

A numerical model for the mixing of an inclined submerged heated plane water jet in calm fluid

The basic objective of this paper is the presentation of a numerical model for the mixing of an inclined submerged heated plane water jet in calm fluid, which has some improvements over similar models presented by various other investigators. The basic features of our model are: the conservation of heat flux instead of conservation of the buoyancy flux, the inclusion of the turbulent heat flux integrated across the jet, and the modification to include entrainment coefficient depending on the local Richardson number. This model predicts with reasonable accuracy experimental results regarding the axial dilution and the trajectory.     

Thermal diffusivity estimation using numerical inverse solution for 1D heat conduction

This work presents an improved apparatus and a numerical approach to obtain the estimate of thermal diffusivity of complex materials. Transient thermal response at the axis of cylindrical sample is measured when boundary temperature is suddenly changed. Instead of assuming an ideal step temperature excitement, a measured temperature of a material boundary was employed. An iterative procedure, based on minimizing a sum of squares function with the Levenberg–Marquardt method, is used to solve the inverse problem. A graphical user interface is built to enable easy use of the inverse thermal diffusivity estimation method. The reference materials used to evaluate the method are Agar water gel, glycerol and Ottawa quartz sand.     

A numerical simulation of pulverized coal combustion employing a tabulated-devolatilization-process model (TDP model)

A new coal devolatilization model employing a tabulated-devolatilization-process model (TDP model) is developed, and its validity is investigated by performing a numerical simulation of a pulverized coal combustion field formed by an industrial low-NO_x burner in a 100 kg-coal/h test furnace. The predicted characteristics of the pulverized coal combustion field obtained from the simulation employing the TDP model are compared with those employing the conventional devolatilization model, those employing the two competing reaction rate model, and the experiments. The results show that drastic differences in the gas flow patterns and coal particle behavior appear between simulations. In particular, the recirculation flow behavior is strongly affected by the difference in the coal devolatilization model because of the difference in the volatile matter evolution rate. The TDP model captures the observed behavior of the coal particles in the experiment better than the other models. Although it is considered that by adjusting the devolatilization parameters the prediction similar to the TDP model is also possible by the other models, appropriate devolatilization parameters are automatically set to particles depending on the particle heating rate without trial–error method by employing the TDP model.     

Proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer operation under anode liquid and cathode vapor feed configurations

Proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis is a potential alternative technology to crack water in specialty applications where a dry gas stream is needed, such as isotope production. One design proposal is to feed the cathode of the electrolyzer with vapor phase water. This feed configuration would allow isotopic water to be isolated on the cathode side of the electrolyzer and the isotope recovery system could be operated in a closed loop. Tests were performed to characterize the difference in the current–voltage behavior between a PEM electrolyzer operated with a cathode water vapor feed and with an anode liquid water feed. The cathode water vapor feed cell had a maximum limiting current density of 400 mA/cm² at 70 °C compared to a current density of 800 mA/cm² for the anode liquid feed cell at 70 °C. The limiting current densities for the cathode water vapor feed cell were similar to those predicted by a water mass transfer model. It is estimated that a cathode water vapor feed electrolyzer system will need to be between 5 and 8 times larger in active area or number of cells than an anode liquid feed system.     

A generalized numerical model for liquid water in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell with interdigitated design

A new approach to numerical simulation of liquid water distribution in channels and porous media including gas diffusion layers (GDLs), catalyst layers, and the membrane of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) was introduced in this study. The three-dimensional, PEMFC model with detailed thermo-electrochemistry, multi-species, and two-phase interactions. Explicit gas-liquid interface tracking was performed by using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software package FLUENT^® v6.2, with its User-Defined Functions (UDF) combined with volume-of-fluid (VOF) algorithm. The liquid water transport on a PEMFC with interdigitated design was investigated. The behavior of liquid water was understood by presenting the motion of liquid water droplet in the channels and the porous media at different time instants. The numerical results show that removal of liquid water strongly depends on the magnitude of the flow field. Due to the blockage of liquid water, the gas flow is unevenly distributed, the high pressure regions takes place at the locations where water liquid appears. In addition, mass transport of the species and the current density distribution is significantly degraded by the presence of liquid water.     

A new comprehensive model for nucleate pool boiling heat transfer of pure liquid at low to high heat fluxes including CHF

Based on the fractal distribution of nucleation sites present on heating surfaces, a new comprehensive model is developed for the nucleate pool boiling of pure liquid at low to high heat fluxes including the critical heat flux (CHF). The proposed model is expressed as a function of total number, minimum and maximum sizes of active nucleation sites, fractal dimension, superheat temperature, and properties of fluids. No additional empirical constant is introduced in the proposed model. This fractal model contains less empirical constants than the conventional models. The model predictions are in good agreement with the available experimental data.     

A Numerical Model Prediction for Boiling Multi Channel Flow Rate Distribution andApplication in 600MW Supercritical Variable－Pressure Once－Through Boiler with Vertical Tube Coils

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A 1D model for the description of mixing-controlled reacting diesel sprays

The paper reports an investigation on the transient evolution of diesel flames in terms of fuel-air mixing, spray penetration and combustion rate. A one-dimensional (1D) spray model, which was previously validated for inert diesel sprays, is extended to reacting conditions. The main assumptions of the model are the mixing-controlled hypothesis and the validity of self-similarity for conservative properties. Validation is achieved by comparing model predictions with both CFD gas jet simulations and experimental diesel spray measurements. The 1D model provides valuable insight into the evolution of the flow within the spray (momentum and mass fluxes, tip penetration, etc.) when shifting from inert to reacting conditions. Results show that the transient diesel flame evolution is mainly governed by two combustion-induced effects, namely the reduction in local density and the increase in flame radial width.     

A numerical model and experimental investigation for a solar still in climatic conditions in Abidjan (Côte d''Ivoire)

A solar distillation in a single basin is studied theoretically and experimentally. We present a mathematical model to describe the energy balances for the glass cover, water in the basin and base plate. The model neglects the thermal capacity of the base plate and the temperature gradient through the width of the glass. The energy equations for the glass, water and absorber are simultaneously solved. The effects of water depth, wind speed and glass cover thickness on still productivity are evaluated. The daily total production increases with decreasing water depth. A small increasing of productivity occurs with the increase of wind speed. The thickness of the glass cover has no effect on the production. An experiment has been conducted to validate the mathematical model. The relative difference between experiment and theory is 5% for temperatures, and 15% for productivity.     

直喷式柴油机燃烧过程模拟与分析(一)

利用KIVA-Ⅱ程序模拟计算直喷式柴油机燃用柴油时缸内的燃烧过程，如混合气形成过程、缸内温度场、主要有害物质NOx的生成浓度分布等。通过对直喷式柴油机燃用柴油时燃烧过程的模拟计算与分析，对模拟燃用绿色能源-二甲醚的燃烧过程提出了一些建议。     

A fractal model for predicting permeability and liquid water relative permeability in the gas diffusion layer (GDL) of PEMFCs

In this study, a fractal model is developed to predict the permeability and liquid water relative permeability of the GDL (TGP-H-120 carbon paper) in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), based on the micrographs (by SEM, i.e. scanning electron microscope) of the TGP-H-120. Pore size distribution (PSD), maximum pore size, porosity, diameter of the carbon fiber, pore tortuosity, area dimension, hydrophilicity or hydrophobicity, the thickness of GDL and saturation are involved in this model. The model was validated by comparison between the predicted results and experimental data. The results indicate that the water relative permeability in the hydrophobicity case is much higher than in the hydrophilicity case. So, a hydrophobic carbon paper is preferred for efficient removal of liquid water from the cathode of PEMFCs.     

A dynamic 1D model of a solid oxide fuel cell for real time simulation

A 1D dynamic solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) model has been developed for real time applications. The model accounts for all transport and polarization phenomena by developing a system of governing differential equations over 1D control volumes. The 1D model is an improvement over existing 0D real time models in that it can more accurately predict the temperature and pressure variations along the cell while maintaining real time capabilities with regards to computational time. Several simplifications are required to maintain real time capabilities while improving the fidelity of the model.     

Development of 1D model for the analysis of heat transport in cylindrical micro combustors

A 1D flame model was developed to analyze the heat transport occurring in the cylindrical micro combustors. The one-step global reaction mechanisms were employed for three fuel–air mixtures (H₂–air, CH₄–air and C₃H₈–air) to account for the difference of fuel property in terms of the kinetics. The effects of various parameters such as the combustor size, fuel property, fuel–air equivalence ratio and unburned mixture temperature on the heat loss ratio (defined as Q_l/Q_in) and the heat recirculation ratio (defined as Q_recir/Q_l) were investigated. The results indicated that these parameters have significant effects on the two ratios, and therefore should be carefully managed in order to achieve efficient and stable combustion. After comparing the results of different fuel–air mixtures, it is concluded that hydrogen is superior to methane and propane as the fuel for micro combustion engines owing to its higher flame temperature and thinner flame thickness, which favors the reduction of heat loss from the flame zone.     

Design study of configurations on system COP for a combined ORC (organic Rankine cycle) and VCC (vapor compression cycle)

The study introduced a novel thermally activated cooling concept - a combined cycle couples an ORC (organic Rankine cycle) and a VCC (vapor compression cycle). A brief comparison with other thermally activated cooling technologies was conducted. The cycle can use renewable energy sources such as solar, geothermal and waste heat, to generate cooling and power if needed. A systematic design study was conducted to investigate effects of various cycle configurations on overall cycle COP. With both subcooling and cooling recuperation in the vapor compression cycle, the overall cycle COP reaches 0.66 at extreme military conditions with outdoor temperature of 48.9 °C. A parametric trade-off study was conducted afterwards in terms of performance and weight, in order to find the most critical design parameters for the cycle configuration with both subcooling and cooling recuperation. Five most important design parameters were selected, including expander isentropic efficiency, condensing and evaporating temperatures, pump/boiling pressure and recuperator effectiveness. At the end, two additional cycle concepts with either potentially higher COP or practical advantages were proposed. It includes adding a secondary heat recuperator in the ORC side and using different working fluids in the power and cooling cycles, or so-called dual-fluid system.     

Developing a new 2D model for heat transfer and foam degradation in EPS lost foam casting (LFC) process

In this study, a 2D model is developed for heat transfer, foam degradation and gas diffusion at the interfaces of the liquid metal, foam pattern and gaseous gap in between, for EPS lost foam casting process. In this model based on mass and energy balance between gas and molten metal, radiation and conduction between foam and molten metal and convection between gas and molten metal are considered, both metal and foam surfaces are tracked and gap volume and pressure are calculated. A combination of energy balance and geometric correlations is used to define receding foam surface during mold filling. Gas flow in the gap is considered as wedge flow and Nusselt number for a laminar incompressible wedge flow is used for it. To apply our model to an example case, SOLA-VOF algorithm was used to simulate the flow of molten metal with free boundaries. Model results are compared with some data reported in the literature which show acceptable agreement. It is found that besides radiation in the gaseous area between foam and molten metal, conduction also plays an important role in foam degradation and control of molten metal velocity. This model can acceptably predict the effect of some parameters like foam density, coating permeability and foam degradation temperature.     

A study on composite PtRu(1:1)-PtSn(3:1) anode catalyst for PEMFC

Composite PtRu(1:1)/C-PtSn(3:1)/C catalyst layers with various geometries and loadings were designed for a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) anode to improve carbon monoxide (CO) tolerance of the conventional PtRu(1:1)/C catalyst. The idea was based on an experimental finding that the onset potential of the PtSn for CO oxidation was lower than that of the PtRu and the resultant expectation that there seemed to be a possibility of using the PtSn as a CO filter. The CO tolerance of the composite catalyst of each design was judged by the cell performance obtained through a single cell test using H₂/CO gases of various CO concentrations and compared to that of the PtRu/C catalyst. The highest CO tolerance among the composite catalysts tested in this study was obtained for the one with geometry of double layers in the order of PtRu/C and PtSn/C from the electrolyte layer and with respective PtRu and PtSn loadings of 0.25 and 0.12 mg cm⁻². The cell with this composite catalyst showed better performance than the one with the PtRu/C catalyst. When a H₂/100 ppmCO gas was used as the fuel in the single cell test, the cell voltages were measured to be 0.49 and 0.44 V at a current density of 500 mA cm⁻², respectively for the cell with the composite and PtRu/C catalyst.     

Closure for a plane fin heat sink with scale-roughened surfaces for volume averaging theory (VAT) based modeling

The present paper describes an effort to obtain closure for a volume averaging theory (VAT) based model of a plane fin heat sink (PFHS) with scale-roughened surfaces by evaluating the closure terms for the model using computer fluid dynamics (CFD). Modeling a PFHS as porous media based on VAT, specific geometry can be accounted for in such a way that the details of the original structure can be replaced by their averaged counterparts and the VAT based governing equations can be efficiently solved for a wide range of parameters. To complete the VAT based model, proper closure is needed, which is related to a local friction factor and a heat transfer coefficient of a representative elementary volume (REV). The terms in the closure expressions are complex and sometimes relating experimental data to the closure terms is difficult. In this work we use CFD to obtain detailed solutions of flow and heat transfer through an element of the scale-roughened heat sink and use these results to evaluate the closure terms needed for a fast running VAT based code, which can then be used to solve the heat transfer characteristics of a higher level heat sink. The objective is to show how heat sinks can be modeled as a porous media based on volume averaging theory and how CFD can be used in place of a detailed, often formidable, experimental effort to obtain closure for a VAT based model.