Effect of geometrical configurations on alkaline air-breathing membraneless microfluidic fuel cells with cylinder anodes

Membraneless microfluidic fuel cells(MMFCs) outperform traditional membrane-based micro-fuel cells in membraneless architecture and high surface-to-volume ratio and facile integration, but still need substantial improvement in performance. The fundamental challenges are dictated by multiphysics regarding cell configurations: the interaction of fluid flow, mass transport and electrochemical reactions. We present a numerical research that investigates the effect of geometrical configurations(rod arrangement, cell length, rod diameter and spacer configuration) on the fuel transport and performance of an alkaline MMFC with cylinder anodes. Modeling results suggest that the staggered rod arrangement outperforms the in-line case by 10.1% at 50 μL min~(–1). Cell power output and power density vary nearly linearly with the cell length. In the case with 0.7 mm anodes and 0.3 mm spacers, the increased flow resistance at anode region drives the fuel to intrude into the spacer zone, leading to fuel transport limitation at downstream. The feasibility of non-spacer configuration is demonstrated, and the power density is 93.7% higher than the baseline due to reduced cell volume and enhanced fuel transport. In addition, horizontal extension of the anode array is found to be more favorable for scale-up, the maximum power density of 181.9 mW cm~(–3) is predicted. This study provides insight into the fundamental, and offers guidance to improve the cell design for promoting performance and facilitating system integration.     

Numerical simulation on electrolyte flow field in 156 kA drained aluminum reduction cells

Based on the commercial CFD software CFX-4.3, two-phase flow of electrolyte in 156 kA drained aluminum reduction cells with a new structure was numerically simulated by multi-fluid model and k-ε turbulence model. The results show that the electrolyte flow in the drained cells is more even than in the conventional cells. Corresponding to center point feeding, the electrolyte flow in the drained cells is more advantageous to the release of anode gas, the dissolution and diffusion of alumina, and the gradient reduction of the electrolyte density and temperature. The average velocity of the electrolyte is 8.3 cm/s, and the maximum velocity is 59.5 cm/s. The average and maximum velocities of the gas are 23.2 cm/s and 61.1 cm/s, respectively. The cathode drained slope and anode cathode distance have certain effects on the electrolyte flow.     

Numerical simulation on inclusion transport in continuous casting mold

Turbulent flow, the transpor＇t of inclusions and bubbles, and inclusion removal by fluid flow, transport and by bubble flotation in the strand of the continuous slab caster are investigated using computational models, and validated through comparison with plant measurements of inclusions. Steady 3-D flow of steel in the liquid pool in the mold and upper strand is simulated with a finitedifference computational model using the standard k-εturbulence rondel. Trajectories of inclusions and bubhles tire calculated by integrating each local velocity, considering its drag and buoyancy forces, A ＂random walk＂ model is used to incorporate the effect of turbulent fluctuations on the particle motion. The attachment probability of inclusions on a bubble surface is investigated based on fundamental fluid flow simulations, incorporating the turbulent inclusion trajectory and sliding time of each individual inclusion along the bubble surface as a function of particle and bubble size. The chunge in inclusion distribution due to removal by bubble transport in the mold is calculated based on the computed attachment probability of inclusions on each bubble and the computed path length of the bubbles. The results indicate that 6%-10% inclusions are removed by fluid flow transport. 10% by bubble flotation, and 4% by entrapment to the submerged entry nozzle （SEN） walls. Smaller bubbles and larger inclusions have larger attachment probabilities. Smaller bubbles are more efficient for inclusion removal by bubble flotation, so Inng as they are not entrapped in the solidifying shell A larger gas flow rate favors inclusion removal by bubble flotation. The optimum bubble size should be 2-4mm.     

Branch Quality Control of Gas-Liquid Two-Phase Flow Using a Novel T-Junction Type Distributor

In order to eliminate mal-distribution and ensure the side arm to produce desirable gas quality a special distributor is proposed. The experimental distributor mainly consists of a straight through section, a gas extraction line, a liquid extraction line and a side arm branch. A gas orifice and a liquid orifice are mounted at the gas and liquid extraction line respectively to control the outlet gas quality. The diameter of the liquid orifice was set to 2.50 mm and three gas orifices with different size (dG=2.5,5.0,0.00 mm) were tested. The experiments were carried out at an air-water two-phase flow loop. The gas superficial velocity ranged from 6.0 to 20.0 m/s and the liquid superficial velocity was in the range of 0.02-0.18 m/s. Flow patterns such as wave flow, slug flow and annular flow were observed. The gas quality of the side arm branch was found mainly determined by the flow area ratio of the gas orifice to the liquid orifice and independent of gas and liquid superficial velocity, flow patterns and extraction flux.     

Simulation of the influence of the baffle on flowing field in the anode baking ring furnace

In an anode baking horizontal flue ring furnace, the temperature distribution is one of the key factors influencing the quality of baked anode and is closely correlated with the gas flow. To understand the gas flow distribution in the flue, Navier-Stokes equation with “k-ε“ two-equation turbulence model was adopted and the simulation on the gas flow was performed. The numerical simulation results showed that the even direction of gas flow should be considered in the design of flue baffles and the gas flow distribution was really uneven in the flue in practical use. By adjusting the number and location of flue baffles rationally, the even distribution of gas flow can be improved obviously.     

CFD model simulation of bubble surface area flux in flotation column reactor in presence of minerals

Bubble surface area flux(S_b) is one of the main design parameter in flotation column that typically employed to describe the gas dispersion properties, and it has a strong correlation with the flotation rate constant. There is a limited information available in the literature regarding the effect of particle type,density, wettability and concentration on Sb. In this paper, computational fluid dynamics(CFD) simulations are performed to study the gas–liquid–solid three-phase flow dynamics in flotation column by employing the Eulerian–Eulerian formulation with k-e turbulence model. The model is developed by writing Fortran subroutine and incorporating then into the commercial CFD code AVL FIRE, v.2014.This paper studies the effects of superficial gas velocities and particle type, density, wettability and concentration on Sband bubble concentration in the flotation column. The model has been validated against published experimental data. It was found that the CFD model was able to predict, where the response variable as indicated by R-Square value of 0.98. These results suggest that the developed CFD model is reasonable to describe the flotation column reactor. From the CFD results, it is also found that Sb decreased with increasing solid concentration and hydrophobicity, but increased with increasing superficial gas velocity. For example, approximately 28% reduction in the surface area flux is observed when coal concentration is increased from 0 to 10%, by volume. While for the same solid concentration and gas flow rate, the bubble surface area flux is approximately increased by 7% in the presences of sphalerite.A possible explanation for this might be that increasing solid concentration and hydrophobicity promotes the bubble coalescence rate leading to the increase in bubble size. Also, it was found that the bubble concentration would decrease with addition of hydrophobic particle(i.e., coal). For instance, under the same operating conditions, approximately 23% reduction in the bubble concentration is predicted when the system was working with hydrophobic particles. The results presented are useful for understanding flow dynamics of three-phase system and provide a basis for further development of CFD model for flotation column.     

Numerical simulation of 3D viscous flow field of air cooled turbine blades with coolant mixing

To improve thrust and reduce oil consumption of aero-engines, the temperature at turbine inlet is becoming higher and higher, which leads to heavy thermal load of vanes. To efficiently cool the vanes, the mass of coolant with its maximum gas mass flow exceeding to 20% of main stream, has to be increased. In the pres- ent paper, a two-stage turbine with and without coolant mixing was simulated by CFX-TASCflow. Simulation resuits indicate that the flow field structure with coolant is obviously different from that without coolant, and the former has characteristics of lower-speed main flow, reduced mach number, weaker shock intensity and decreased stage efficiency.     

Effect of TiB2 content on resistance to sodium penetration of TiB2／C cathode composites for aluminium electrolysis

TiB2/C cathode composites with various contents of TiB2 were prepared and their characterizations were observed and compared. The expansion of samples due to sodium and bath penetration was tested with a modified laboratory Rapoport apparatus and the appearances of the cut sections of specimens after electrolysis were studied.The results show that the mass of TiB2/C cathode composites with mass fraction of TiB2 less than 70% appreciably increases, but that of the composites with mass fraction of TiB2 more than 70% decreases slightly after being baked.The resistance to sodium and bath penetration of TiB2/C cathode composites increases with the increase of TiB2 content, especially in the composites with high TiB2 content. TiB2/C cathode composites have high resistance to the penetration of sodium and bath as well as good wettability by molten aluminum, and keep integrality and have little change of appearance after electrolysis, which indicates that TiB2/C cathode composites can be used as inert wettable cathode for aluminum electrolysis.     

Numerical investigation of optimal geometry parameters for ejectors of premixed burner简

An ejector of low NO~ burner was designed for a gas instantaneous water heater in this work. The flowing and mixing process of the ejector was investigated by computational fluid dynamics （CFD） approach. A comprehensive study was conducted to understand the effects of the geometrical parameters on the static pressure of air and methane, and mole fraction uniformity of methane at the outlet of ejector. The distribution chamber was applied to balance the pressure and improve the mixing process of methane and air in front of the fire hole. A distribution orifice plate with seven distribution orifices was introduced at the outlet of the ejector to improve the flow organization. It is found that the nozzle exit position of 5 mm and nozzle diameter d 〉1.3 mm should be used to improve the flow organization and realize the well premixed combustion for this designed ejector.     

Composition and Morphology of Zn-Co Alloy Coatings Deposited by Means of Pulse Plating Containing Reverse Current

The influence of bath constituents and pulse parameters on cobalt content, surface morphologies and grain size of Zn-Co alloy deposits was studied using a pulse plating technique with a square- wave current containing reverse pulse, It is found that Zn-Co alloy coatings obtained from the bath with the cobalt ion concentration over 60 wt% have a higher cobalt content in deposits. The results of pulse plating show that the average current density and reverse anodic current density amongst the variables investigated have very strong effects on the cobalt content in the Zn-Co alloy deposits. It is possible to electrodeposit Zn-Co alloy coatings with 10-90 wt% cobalt by modulating pulse parameters. The grain size, surface appearance and internal stress in the deposit were improved significantly by introducing the reverse current.     

On-chip fast mixing by a rotary peristaltic micropump with a single structural layer

In this work,a rotary pump based micromixer for on-chip rapid mixing and liquid transportation is demonstrated and characterized.Both pumping and mixing are realized using a microfluidic chip with a single structural polydimethylsiloxane layer and a portable electric control system.The rotary pump consists of an annular channel and is driven by a motor and magnets.The flow field caused by the peristaltic movement of the channel membrane of the rotary pump is simulated and analyzed.By statistically calculating and comparing the normalized standard deviations of the flow velocity components in a microchannel,it is revealed that up-and-down mixing is the fastest,followed by segment mixing and parallel mixing.Two mixing styles,segment mixing and parallel mixing,were experimentally demonstrated using the chip.The pump achieved 90% of the mixing index in 1 s for the segment mixing type.As for the parallel mixing type,the mixing index was up to 90% after 5 s,which is more than 100-fold improvement compared to conventional mixing by interfacial diffusion.The mixing speeds in both directions were improved prominently by increasing the rotational speed of the pump.     

Calculation of the debris flow concentration based on clay content

The debris flow clay content has very tremendous influence on itsconcentration (γ_c). It is reported that the concentration can be calculated by applying the relative polynomial based on the clay content. Here one polynomial model and onelogarithm model to calculate the concentration based on the clay content for both theordinary debris flow and viscous debris flow are obtained. The result derives from thestatistics and analysis of the relationship between the debris flow concentrations and clay content in 45 debris flow sites located in the southwest of China. The models can beapplied for the concentration calculation to those debris flows that are impossible toobserve. The models are available to calculate the debris flow concentration, theprinciples of which are in the clay content affecting on the debris flow formation,movement and suspending particle diameter. The mechanism of the relationship of theclay content and concentration is clear and reliable. The debris flow is usually ofmicro-viscous when the clay content is low (<3%), by analyzing the developing tendencyon the basics of the relationship between the clay content and debris flow concentration.Indeed, the less the clay content, the less the concentration for most debris flows. Thedebris flow tends to become the water rock flow or the hyperconcentrated flow with theclay content decrease. Through statistics it is apt to transform the soil into the viscousdebris flow when the clay content of ranges is in 3%-18%. Its concentration increaseswith the increasing of the clay content when the clay content is between 5% and 10%. Butthe value decreases with the increasing of the clay content when the clay content isbetween 10% and 18%. It is apt to transform the soil into the mudflow, when the claycontent exceeds 18%. The concentration of the mudflow usually decreases with theincrease of the clay content, and this developing tendency reverses to that of themicro-viscous debris flow. There is maximum mean concentration for the debris flowwhen the clay content ranges are between 7% and 11 %. Especially, for the viscousdebris flow, the logarithm formula here is suitable to the concentration calculation with theclay content between 3% and 18%. The maximum concentration calculated by thisformula reaches 2.32 t/m~3, which matches that tested in practice.     

Mechanical properties of nanocrystalline nanoporous gold complicated by variation of grain and ligament: A molecular dynamics simulation

A series of large-scale molecular dynamics(MD) simulations has been performed to study the effects of grain size and ligament diameter on the mechanical properties of nanocrystalline nanoporous gold. Such simulations indicate that the principal deformation mechanism is a combination of grain boundary sliding, grain rotation and dislocation movement. The results of uniaxial tensile tests reveal the presence of a reverse Hall-Petch relation between strength and nominal grain size, rather than the conventional Hall-Petch relationship in the present range of nominal grain size(7.9–52.7 nm). An increase of flow stress may possibly attribute to the lower total proportion of grain boundary sliding and grain rotation in the deformation of samples with larger grain size. The Young's modulus shows a linear relation with the reciprocal of nominal grain size, which depends largely on the volume fraction of grain boundaries and thus decreasing grain size leads to relatively lower Young's modulus. MD simulations on samples with ligament diameter ranging from 4.07 to 8.10 nm are also carried out and results show that the increasing ligament diameter resulted in decreased flow stress and increased Young's modulus.     

Numerical investigation of radial inflow in the impeller rear cavity with and without baffle

In typical small engines, the cooling air for high pressure turbine(HPT) in a gas turbine engine is commonly bled off from the main flow at the tip of the centrifugal impeller. The pressurized air flow is drawn radially inwards through the impeller rear cavity. The centripetal air flow creates a strong vortex because of high inlet tangential velocity, which results in significant pressure losses. This not only restricts the mass flow rate, but also reduces the cooling air pressure for down-stream hot components. The present study is devoted to the numerical modeling of flow in an impeller rear cavity. The simulations are carried out with axisymmetric and 3-D sector models for various inlet swirl ratio β_0(0–0.6), turbulent flow parameter lT(0.028–0.280) with and without baffle. The baffle is a thin plate attached to the stationary wall of the cavity, and is proved to be useful in reducing the pressure loss of centripetal flow in the impeller rear cavity in the current paper. Further flow details in impeller rear cavity with and without baffle are displayed using CFD techniques. The CFD results show that for any specified geometry, the outlet pressure coefficient of impeller rear cavity with or without baffle depends only on the inlet swirl ratio and turbulent flow parameter. Meanwhile, the outlet pressure coefficient of the cavity with baffle is indeed smaller than that of cavity without baffle, especially for the cases with high inlet swirl ratio. The suppression of the effect of centrifugal pumping and the mixing beween the main air which is downstream of the baffle and the recirculating flow of the vortex in the stationary cavity, which are caused by the use of baffle, are the underlying reasons that lead to the reduction of outlet pressure loss.     

Numerical simulation of flow field and optimization of structure parameters of seed precipitation tank for production of alumina

In order to overcome the defects of air-agitated seed precipitation, such as scaring, liquid shortcircuiting, the three-dimension flow fields with different structure are numerically simulated by computational fluid dynamics software. Euler/Euler approach was used to study the effects of structure on the flow field in the tank. Multi-fluid model, body-fitted coordinates and multi-block gird were adopted in the simulation. The simulating results are well consonant with the practical situations. The flow field is improved obviously when the flow velocity increases from 0.089 m/s to 0.192-0.300 m/s at the bottom of the optimized tank and therefore the scaring is reduced greatly in the industrial production. With a gathering sill, the problem of short-circuiting, which always appeares in the upper of the tank, can be solved very well.     

The Effect of Grain Properties for Artificial Bedload Supply

The German Armed Forces University in Munich has conducted experiments in a laboratory flume to determine the influence of roundness on bed load transport.The investigations were assigned by the German Federal Institute of Hydrology (BIG),with a focus on incipient motion,transport velocity and the depth of mixing into the riverbed. The results of the experiments show that the transport velocity of angular graim is lower and the critical shear stress for incipient motion is slightly higher than of well-rounded grains.No significant difference was ob- served for the mixing depths of grains of different roundness.     

Intensification of pretreatment and pressure leaching of copper anode slime by microwave radiation

The application of microwave irradiation for pretreatment of copper anode slime with high nickel content prior to pressure sulfuric acid leaching has been proposed.The microwave-assisted pretreatment is a rapid and efficient process.Through the technology of microwave assisted pretreatment-pressure leaching of copper anode slime,copper,tellurium,selenium and nickel are almost completely recovered.Under optimal conditions,the leaching efficiencies of copper,tellurium,selenium and nickel are 97.12%,95.97%,95.37% and 93.90%,respectively.The effect of microwave radiation on the temperature of copper anode slime and leaching solution is investigated.It is suggested that the enhancement on the recoveries of copper,tellurium and selenium can be attributed to the temperature gradient which is caused by shallow microwave penetration depth and super heating occurring at the solid–liquid interface.The kinetic study shows that the pressure leaching of copper anode slime,with and without microwave assisted pretreatment,are both controlled by chemical reactions on the surfaces of particles.It is found that the activation energy calculated for microwave-assisted pretreatment-pressure leaching(49.47 kJ/mol) is lower than that for pressure leaching which is without microwave assisted pretreatment(60.57 kJ/mol).     

Numerical Simulation of Gas-Solid Flow in Square Cyclone Separators with Downward Exit

Cyclone separators are widely used in industrial applications. The separation efficiency and pressure drop are the most important parameters to evaluate the performance of processing system. In the simulations, the flow behavior of gas and particles within a square cyclone separator is simulated by means of computational fluid dynamics. The RNG k - ε model and the Reynolds stress model （RSM） are used to model gas turbulence. The flow behavior is examined in the term of tangential velocity components, static pressure and pressure drop contour plots for flow field and solid volume fraction. The effects of the turbulence model and solid volume fraction on the square cyclone are discussed. The results indicate that the pressure drop increases with the increase of solid volume fraction, and increase with the increase of inlet velocities for two turbulence models, moreover, the simulations resuhs are compared with pressure field. For all runs, the RSM model gives a higher pressure drop compared to the RNG k - ε model. The RSM model provides well the forced vortex and free vortex, and captures better the phenomena occurring during intense vortex flow in the presence of walls within cyclone separators.     

Effect of working condition on thermal stress of NiFe2O4-based cermet inert anode in aluminum electrolysis

Based on the FEA software ANSYS,a model was developed to simulate the thermal stress distribution of inert anode.In order to reduce its thermal stress,the effect of some parameters on thermal stress distribution was investigated,including the temperature of electrolyte,the current,the anode cathode distance,the anode immersion depth,the surrounding temperature and the convection coefficient between anode and circumstance.The results show that there exists a large axial tensile stress near the tangent interface between the anode and bath,which is the major cause of anode breaking.Increasing the temperature of electrolyte or the anode immersion depth will deteriorate the stress distribution of inert anode.When the bath temperature increases from 750 to 970 ℃,the maximal value and absolute minimal value of the 1st principal stress increase by 29.7% and 29.6%,respectively.When the anode immersion depth is changed from 1 to 10 cm,the maximal value and absolute minimal value of the 1st principal stress increase by 52.1% and 65.0%,respectively.The effects of other parameters on stress distribution are not significant.     

Nitrogen enhanced drainage of CO_2 rich coal seams for mining

Coal seams with high CO_2 gas contents can be difficult to drain gas for outburst management. Coal has a high affinity for CO_2 with adsorption capacities typically twice that of CH_4. This paper presents an analysis of nitrogen injection into coal to enhance drainage of high CO_2 gas contents. Core flooding experiments were conducted where nitrogen was injected into coal core samples from two Australian coal mining basins with initial CO_2 gas contents and pressures that could be encountered during underground mining. Nitrogen effectively displaced the CO_2 with mass balance analysis finding there was only approximately 6%–7% of the original CO_2 gas content residual at the end of the core flood. Using a modified version of the SIMED II reservoir simulator, the core flooding experiments were history matched to determine the nitrogen and methane sorption times. It was found that a triple porosity model(a simple extension of the Warren and Root dual porosity model) was required to accurately describe the core flood observations. The estimated model properties were then used in reservoir simulation studies comparing enhanced drainage with conventional drainage with underground in seam boreholes. For the cases considered, underground in seam boreholes were found to provide shorter drainage lead times than enhanced drainage to meet a safe gas content for outburst management.