ACCURATE SURFACE TEMPERATURE PREDICTION AT HIGH SPEEDS

Computational tools of turbulent combustion have practical applications for various fields including liquid rocket engines, but some numerical issues are still presented for solving supercritical combustion. In the present study, several of these numerical issues are studied and discussed. Turbulent flow and thermal fields of gaseous hydrogen/cryogenic liquid oxygen flame at supercritical pressure are simulated by a turbulence model. To realize real-fluid combustions, the modified Soave-Redlich-Kwong (SRK) equations of state (EOS) are implemented into the flamelet model with a look-up table as functions of mean and variance of mixture fraction, scalar dissipation rate, enthalpy, and pressure. For supercritical combustion flows, modified forms of the pressure implicit with splitting of operator (PISO) algorithm for solving the pressure-velocity linked equation are introduced. From a comparison of instantaneous temperature distributions for gaseous hydrogen/cryogenic liquid oxygen flame at supercritical pressure, the capability of each method based on the different solution sequence is examined and the effective sequence is explored. The results show that the updated mixture fraction reflected in the pressure correction loop is a critical factor for numerical stability. Also, the relative performance of six convection schemes for supercritical combustion is discussed.     

Simulation of Convective Heat Transfer of Gas–Liquid Bubble Train Flow in Wet Microtube

In this paper, a direct numerical simulation of a two‐phase incompressible gas–liquid flow for simulation of bubble motion and convective heat transfer in a microtube is presented. The microtube radius is 10 μm. The interface between the two phases is tracked by the volume of fluid method with the continuous surface force model. Newtonian flows are solved using a finite volume scheme based on the PISO algorithm. Numerical simulation is done on an axisymmetric domain with a periodic boundary condition for different values of pressure gradient, void fraction, and bubble period. Mean pressure gradient is fixed for each simulation. The superficial Reynolds numbers of gas and liquid phases studied are 0.3 to 7 and 5 to 210, respectively. Numerical results are coincident with the Serizawa regime map, and there is a linear relation between the void fraction and gas flow ratio. Simulation shows local Nusselt number increases in the presence of a gas bubble.     

Accurate and robust PISO algorithm on hybrid unstructured grids using the multimoment finite volume method

This paper presents a novel numerical model for incompressible flows on unstructured hybrid grids by combining the pressure-implicit with splitting of operator (PISO) algorithm and volume-integrated average and point value-based multimoment (VPM) method. Implementing the spatial discretization of VPM to the PISO solution procedure results in a novel formulation that is unconditionally stable and superior in numerical accuracy and robustness in comparison with the conventional finite volume method. The present VPM/PISO formulation provides a numerical framework of great practical significance that well balances the numerical accuracy and algorithmic complexity. Numerical verifications demonstrate that the present model can significantly improve numerical accuracy. Moreover, the numerical dissipation is effectively suppressed, which shows a great potential for simulations of high-Reynolds number flows.     

MHD effects and heat transfer analysis in magneto-thermo-fluid-structure coupled field in DCLL blanket

The study on DCLL blanket in ITER is related to magneto-thermo-fluid-structure coupled field issue. A key element in the DCLL concept is the flow channel insert (FCI) which serves as an electrical insulator to reduce the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) pressure drop, and as a thermal insulator to decouple the high temperature PbLi from the reduced activation ferritic steel (RAFS) structure. In the present work, 16 geometrical models of flow ducts are introduced to study the MHD flow and heat transfer in DCLL blanket in magneto-thermo-fluid-structure coupled physical field. The PISO method on unstructured collocated meshes is applied to simulate the metal liquid flow and heat transfer in the blanket. The consistent and conservative scheme is employed to solve the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations with the Lorentz force included based on the electrical potential formula. The finite element method is used to study thermal mechanical behaviors of FCI. The velocity distribution, MHD pressure drop, electric current stream lines and temperature distribution in liquid blanket, thermal deformations of FCI in various geometrical models under external strong magnetic field are investigated. The pressure drop reduction factor is defined to analyze the influence of FCI structure on the MHD effects in the liquid metal blanket. The nonlinear coupling effects among magnetic field, heat transfer and FCI structure are revealed. The results show that thicker FCI and wider gap would increase the MHD pressure drops in bulk flow; the thicker FCI has smaller displacement but its strain and stress change non-monotonously; the wider gap can enhance the heat transfer performance but lead to larger stress in FCI. The optimal design is essential for the structural safety and high heat efficiency of the system.     

A novel fixed-grid interface-tracking algorithm for rapid solidification of supercooled liquid metal

Abstract

In this study, we present a novel fixed-grid interface-tracking method using finite volume method to simulate multidimensional rapid solidification (RS) of under-cooled pure metal. The discretized advection equation for solid fraction function is solved using the THINC/WLIC method, which is a VOF method. The governing equations for fluid flow are solved numerically using pressure-velocity coupling SIMPLE algorithm in a 2-D model with incompressible Newtonian fluid. The energy equation is modeled using an enthalpy-based formulation. The nonequilibrium solidification kinetics, interface tracking, undercooling, nucleation, heat transfer, and movement of liquid are included in the presented RS model.     

二维碳粒床中阴燃传播的数值模拟

本文对内部有受迫气流经过的二维碳粒填充床的阴燃，从点火开始到稳态传播整个过程进行了数值模拟。计算采用控制容积法，用ＰＩＳＯ算法求解。主要研究新鲜空气流动速度与阴燃波的传播速度和反应温度之间的关系，也探讨了正向阴燃与反向阴燃之间的异同。其结果为：在受迫气流经过的阴燃床中点火，将产生反向阴燃，且气流速度越大，阴燃波的传播速度越快，阴燃温度越高。在条件相同的情况下，反向阴燃的传播速度比正向阴燃的传播速度大；而反向阴燃的反应温度比正向阴燃的反应温度低。     

Melting in a vertical cylindrical tube: Numerical investigation and comparison with experiments

The present work numerically investigates melting of a phase-change material (PCM) in a vertical cylindrical tube. The analysis aims at an investigation of local flow and thermal phenomena, by means of a numerical simulation which is compared to the previous experimental results .The numerical analysis is realized using an enthalpy–porosity formulation. The effect of various parameters of the numerical solution on the results is examined: in particular, the term describing the mushy zone in the momentum equation and the influence of the pressure–velocity coupling and pressure discretization schemes. PISO vs. SIMPLE and PRESTO! vs. Body-Force-Weighted schemes are examined. No difference is detected between the first two. However, considerable differences appear with regard to the last two, due to the mushy zone role.Image processing of experimental results from the previous studies is performed, yielding quantitative information about the local melt fractions and heat transfer rates. Based on the good agreement between simulations and experiments, the work compares the heat transfer rates from the experiments with those from the numerical analysis, providing a deeper understanding of the heat transfer mechanisms. The results show quantitatively that at the beginning of the process, the heat transfer is by conduction from the tube wall to the solid phase through a relatively thin liquid layer. As the melting progresses, natural convection in the liquid becomes dominant, changing the solid shape to a conical one, which shrinks in size from the top to the bottom.     

核桃壳热解分级冷凝产物分布特性研究

为研究热解温度、载气流量和冷凝温度对核桃壳热解产物分布的影响,在实验室研制的生物质热解与分级冷凝装置上对核桃壳热解进行实验研究,结果表明:液体产物收率随着热解温度的升高而增加,但增加速率逐步降低;载气流量对液体产物总收率及各级液体产物收率影响较小;冷凝温度对液体产物总收率影响较小,但对各级生物油的收率影响较大。GC/MS分析表明:热解温度为450～500℃时,酚类物质含量达到最大值;随着二级冷凝器温度的升高,二级生物油中酚类物质富集程度逐渐提高,酸类物质的富集程度逐渐降低,二级生物油的收率逐渐下降。     

Study of synthesis gas composition,exergy assessment,and multi-criteria decision-making analysis of fluidized bed gasifier

A system based a fluidized bed gasifier with steam as a gasifying agent is investigated in details. Comparing the synthesis of gas compositions with experimental data available in the literature is used to validate the model. The synthesis of gas composition and efficiencies of the system is investigated respect to different biomasses considered as gasification fuels. The results indicate that the molar fractions of hydrogen and carbon dioxide are increased and the molar fraction of carbon monoxide is reduced with steam to biomass ratio (STBR). The hydrogen and cold gas efficiencies are improved with decreasing STBR. Hydrogen, cold gas, and exergy efficiencies are enhanced with temperature. The results illuminate that pine sawdust and straw have the highest hydrogen production and legume straw produces the lowest CO molar fraction. Straw has the highest hydrogen efficiency, eucalyptus and straw have the highest cold gas efficiency, and eucalyptus has the highest exergy efficiency. A systematical analytical hierarchy process (AHP)/technique for order preferences by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) couple method are utilized to select the best alternative. The results illuminate that eucalyptus, straw, and pine sawdust are the best candidates, respectively as gasification fuel based on the considered criteria.     

A COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF THE PERFORMANCE OF MASS CONSERVATION-BASED ALGORITHMS FOR INCOMPRESSIBLE MULTIPHASE FLOWS

This work is concerned with the implementation and testing, within a structured collocated finite-volume framework, of seven incompressible-segregated multiphase flow algorithms that belong to the mass conservation-based algorithms (MCBA) group in which the pressure-correction equation is derived from overall mass conservation. The pressure-correction schemes in these algorithms are based on SIMPLE, SIMPLEC, SIMPLEX, SIMPLEM, SIMPLEST, PISO, and PRIME. The performance and accuracy of the multiphase algorithms are assessed by solving eight one-dimensional two-phase flow problems spanning the spectrum from dilute bubbly to dense gas-solid flows. The main outcome of this study is a clear demonstration of the capability of all MCBA algorithms to deal with multiphase flow situations. Moreover, results displayed in terms of convergence history plots and CPU times indicate that the performance of the MCBA versions of SIMPLE, SIMPLEC, and SIMPLEX are very close. In general, the performance of SIMPLEST approaches that of SIMPLE for diffusion-dominated flows. As expected, the PRIME algorithm is found to be the most expensive, due to its explicit treatment of the phasic momentum equations. The PISO algorithm is generally more expensive than SIMPLE, and its performance depends on the type of flow and solution method used. The behavior of SIMPLEM is consistent, and in terms of CPU effort it stands between PRIME and SIMPLE.     

A Conduction–Radiation Mixture Model for Laser-Assisted Phase Change of Semitransparent Material

A one-dimensional transient coupled conduction-radiation numerical model is developed to investigate the laser melting of semitransparent material under a continuous collimated laser pulse in a convective cooling environment. The medium is considered absorbing, emitting, and scattering. The thermophysical properties are taken to be different for different phase fields. Volumetric radiation is incorporated in the proposed model. The radiation information is obtained by solving the equation of transfer. The temperature field is obtained by solving the energy equation with internal radiation source. The finite-volume method is used to discretize both the equation of transfer and the energy equation. The enthalpy formulation is adopted to capture the continuously evolving solid–liquid interface during the phase change. The laser source is approximated with the collimated radiation source. Collimated intensity is captured directly (without splitting the total intensity into two parts: diffuse and collimated) by adjusting the control angles. The present model is first validated with the existing phase-change model in the literature. Then the effects of different parameters such as optical thickness, scattering albedo, and the conduction–radiation parameter on the liquid fractions and temperature distribution in the medium are studied. It is observed that when the radiation is dominant, the temperature in the medium is high and hence the liquid fraction is more, in contrast to conduction-dominated phase change.     

Equivalence of Artificial Compressibility Method and Penalty-Function Method

Abstract

Due to an assumption made on the pressure-velocity coupling for the SIMPLE algorithm and its variants, the corrected velocity can be obtained from the corrected pressure. However, substituting these quantities into the momentum equations may result in failure to satisfy the momentum equations. Therefore, the equations should be solved iterativety to obtain better velocities, thus giving a more satisfactory solution to the equations. In this article an explicit corrector step is proposed that is imposed on the first corrected velocities, which are obtained from the existing algorithms. This new corrector step has been tested by three flow problems, driven cavity flow, backward-facing step flow, and rectangular tank flow, with different Reynolds numbers. With this additional corrector step imposed on the SIMPLEC and PISO algorithms, the results show that the number of iterations can be reduced drastically due to the much better satisfaction of the momentum equations. Considerable savings in computing effort can be gained.     

Investigation on the void fraction of gas–liquid two-phase flows in vertically-downward pipes

A special experimental loop is designed and constructed to study the characteristics of the void fraction of gas–liquid two-phase flow in vertically-downward pipes. The test section is made of transparent pipe with a length of 6 m and an internal diameter of 25 mm. The void fraction ranging from 0.1 to 0.98 widely is measured using quick-closing valve method. It is found that the range of the void fraction could be divided into three regions with different flow patterns and different relationships between the void fraction and the gas–liquid volumetric flow rate ratio. Moreover, 39 correlations for calculating the void fraction collected from present literature, are classified, and evaluated using the experimental data obtained in this study. The prediction of correlations in the literature needs to be improved when the void fraction is small.     

Co-evaporative multi-component fuel design for in-cylinder PLIF measurement and application in gasoline direct injection research

For in-cylinder fuel mixture distribution measurement, a method for designing a multi-component fuel for planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) experiments is developed based on thermal gravity analysis and vapor–liquid equilibrium calculation. The goal is to create fuel that has a volatility similar to real gasoline and good co-evaporation ratios (near 1.0) with tracers. Acetone, toluene, and trimethylbenzene are chosen as tracers for light, medium, and heavy fractions, respectively, and a five-component test fuel is developed. The test fuel is used to study the influence of components and temperature on co-evaporation ratios. Any variation in tracer or fuel component proportions affects all co-evaporation ratios, but a variation within 5% is considered acceptable. Results show that acetone presents the most significant influence on co-evaporation ratios. Temperature is also a key factor. Saturated vapor pressure and activity coefficient of the tracer and components in a fraction group affect co-evaporation optimization substantially, indicating that these values are a primary consideration in tracer selection. Finally, the test fuel is applied to an in-cylinder gasoline direct injection fuel mixture distribution measurement using PLIF. Differences between light, medium, and heavy fraction groups are studied under different strategies. Cycle-to-cycle variation analysis shows that the influence of absorption attenuation of the aromatic is distinct in a typical stratified strategy. In the area near the spark plug, cycle-to-cycle variation decreases as injection is delayed.     

Measurement of local liquid temperature using micro-thermocouple in subcooled flow boiling

In this paper, the developed algorithm was described, which can discriminate the local phase temperature in the two-phase flow measured by a self-designed micro-thermocouple with an outer diameter of 12.7 μm. The algorithm used to calculate the temperature of each phase was based on the response time of the micro-thermocouple and the exponential regression method. This algorithm was verified by conducting experiments with an optical chopper and a laser. It was shown that the more accurate temperatures were measured, when the newly proposed algorithm was used. Moreover, this algorithm was applied to the measurement of the liquid temperature in subcooled flow boiling. The measured liquid temperatures in subcooled flow boiling were used to assess the capability of the CFX-4.2 code, additionally.     

Structural and chemical analysis of process residue from biochemical conversion of wheat straw (Triticum aestivum L.) to ethanol

Biochemical conversion of lignocellulose to fermentable carbohydrates for ethanol production is now being implemented in large-scale industrial production. Applying hydrothermal pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis for the conversion process, a residue containing substantial amounts of lignin will be generated. So far little is known about the composition of this lignin residue which at present is mainly incinerated for heat and power generation and not yet converted so much into more valuable products.In this study, the structural and chemical composition of the solid and liquid fractions of lignin residue from wheat straw were analysed and processing factors discussed. Roughly 70 and 15% of the solid mass fraction consisted of lignin and ash, respectively. Residual carbohydrates mostly originated from hemicellulose in the liquid fraction and from cellulose in the solid fraction. The solid fraction also contained significant amounts of protein, which is a valuable by-product when used as animal feed or when enzymes and yeast cells are separated for process recycling. Silica was the dominant constituent in the mineral fraction and except for few fragments of lignified middle lamellae most particles in the solid fraction appeared as silica coated by lignin, hampering separation of the two components before incineration or refinement of the residue.     

A NONLINEAR OPTIMAL CONTROL PROBLEM IN DETERMINING THE STRENGTH OF THE OPTIMAL BOUNDARY HEAT FLUXES

A nonlinear optimal control algorithm in determining the strength of optimal boundary heat fluxes utilizing the conjugate gradient method (CGM) of minimization is applied successfully in the present study based on the desired temperature distributions at the final time of heating. The thermal properties are assumed to be functions of temperature, and this makes the problem nonlinear. The accuracy of this optimal control analysis is examined by using the numerical experiments. Three different desired temperature distributions are given and the corresponding optimal control heat fluxes are to be determined. Results show that the optimal boundary heat fluxes can be obtained with any arbitrary initial guesses within a couple of seconds' CPU time on a Pentium III 600-MHz personal computer.     

Characteristics of flamelets in spray flames formed in a laminar counterflow

A two-dimensional numerical simulation of a spray flame formed in a laminar counterflow is presented, and the flamelet characteristics are studied in detail. The effects of strain rate, equivalence ratio, and droplet size are examined in terms of mixture fraction and scalar dissipation rate. n-Decane (C₁₀H₂₂) is used as a liquid spray fuel, and the droplet motion is calculated by the Lagrangian method without the parcel model. A one-step global reaction is employed for the combustion reaction model. The results show that there appear large differences in the trends of gaseous temperature and mass fractions of chemical species in the mixture fraction space between the spray flame and the gaseous diffusion flame. The gas temperature in the spray flame is much higher than that in the gaseous diffusion flame. This is due to the much lower scalar dissipation rate and the coexistence of premixed and diffusion-limited combustion in the spray flame. For the spray flames, gas temperature and mass fractions of chemical species are not unique functions of the mixture fraction scalar dissipation rate. This is because the production rate of the mixture fraction, namely evaporation rate of the droplets, in the upstream region is not in proportion to its transport-diffusion rate in the downstream region. The behavior shows marked differences as the strain rate decreases, the equivalence ratio increases, or the droplet size decreases.     

Waste to energy valorization of poultry litter by slow pyrolysis

The slow pyrolysis process of poultry litter was investigated using different experimental and analytical techniques. A fixed bed reactor was used for the simulation of the slow pyrolysis process up to a constant temperature (400–800 °C) under nitrogen flow. Yields of the different product fractions were determined. On-line FTIR techniques were used to detect the most significant compounds in the evolved gas (carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and methane). GC–MS results allowed the identification of the more important categories of compounds in the liquid condensate (phenols, fatty acids, sterols, N-containing compounds). The fate of nitrogen and sulphur, present in relevant amounts in the original substrate, was investigated: sulphur remains mostly in char at any investigated temperature, while nitrogen is split among the different products, slightly increasing its transfer to the gas phase only at higher pyrolysis temperatures. The energy transfer from the original biomass substrate to the different product fractions was also investigated. The fraction of biomass energy transferred to non-condensable gases raises with pyrolysis temperature and was estimated to be able to thermally sustain the process at 550 °C. The results obtained shed some light on the potential use of the slow pyrolysis process for sanitation and waste-to-energy valorization of poultry litter.     

Treatment of two-phase flow in cathode gas channel for an improved one-dimensional proton exchange membrane fuel cell model

It has been reported recently that water flooding in the cathode gas channel has significant effects on the characteristics of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell. A better understanding of this phenomenon with the aid of an accurate model is necessary for improving the water management and performance of fuel cell. However, this phenomenon is often not considered in the previous one-dimensional models where zero or a constant liquid water saturation level is assumed at the interface between gas diffusion layer and gas channel. In view of this, a one-dimensional fuel cell model that includes the effects of two-phase flow in the gas channel is proposed. The liquid water saturation along the cathode gas channel is estimated by adopting Darcy’s law to describe the convective flow of liquid water under various inlet conditions, i.e. air pressure, relative humidity and air stoichiometry. The averaged capillary pressure of gas channel calculated from the liquid water saturation is used as the boundary value at the interface to couple the cathode gas channel model to the membrane electrode assembly model. Through the coupling of the two modeling domains, the water distribution inside the membrane electrode assembly is associated with the inlet conditions. The simulation results, which are verified against experimental data and simulation results from a published computational fluid dynamics model, indicate that the effects of relative humidity and stoichiometry of inlet air are crucial to the overall fuel cell performance. The proposed model gives a more accurate treatment of the water transport in the cathode region, which enables an improved water management through an understanding of the effects of inlet conditions on the fuel cell performance.