Numerical modeling of manifold design and flow uniformity analysis of an external manifold solid oxide fuel cell stack

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technique and experimental measurement are combined to investigate the effects of several geometric parameters on flow uniformity and pressure distribution in an external manifold solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stack. The model of numerical simulation is composed of channels, tubes and manifolds based on a realistic 20-cell stack. Analysis results show that gas resistance in the channel can improve the flow uniformity. However, channel resistance only has a limited effect under high mass flow rate. With the increase of inlet tube diameter, the flow uniformity improves gradually but this has little impact on pressure drop. On contrary, the larger diameter of outlet tube reduces the pressure drop effectively with minor improvement on flow uniformity. The dimensions of the flared inlet tube and the round perforated sheet in the manifold are designed to optimize both flow uniformity and pressure drop. Practical experimental stack is established and the velocity in the outlet of the channel is measured. The trends of the experimental measurements are corresponding well with the numerical results. The investigation emphasizes the importance of geometric parameters to gas flow and provides optimized strategies for external manifold SOFC stack.     

Systematic assessment of the anode flow field hydrodynamics in a new circular PEM water electrolyser

In this work, we investigated the key underlying flow characteristics of a circular unit cell proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolyser. In particular, we focused on investigating anode flow field design using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tool. Transient, 3D single phase fluid flow simulation results were presented, and in-house experiments were conducted for validation against CFD simulation data identifying key performance parameters of the PEM water electrolyser: uniform water distribution, pressure drop and hydraulic retention time. The effects of the water flow rate, inlet and outlet sizing and different number of inlet and outlet configurations were considered. The main observation from the study was discussed to provide insight into the factors affecting the flow pattern. Among the studied flow field design cases, it was found that the average pressure drop decreased with increase in number of inlets, also flow profile can be grouped into different set, depending on number of inlets. The correlation between pressure drop and mean velocity profile for different inlet and outlet configurations provides a useful basis to properly design the high performance PEM water electrolyser.     

核设施排风主烟囱退役去污通风模拟分析

核设施排风烟囱在核设施运行的过程中,不可避免地受到放射性污染。针对外部为混凝土结构的放射性污染烟囱拆除时的通风系统,采用CFD模拟仿真的方法,通过改变通风出口风速及出口高度,对烟囱拆除时的内部气流组织及压力的影响因素进行分析。结果表明:通过抬高1 m或降低1 m的退役烟囱出风口标高对通风时的烟囱内部气流组织及压力影响甚微;每改变2 m/s的出口风速,可以使烟囱顶部的负压升高或降低约20 Pa,并能显著改变烟囱内部的旋涡流场。此结果可为放射性污染混凝土烟囱退役工程方案奠定科学的理论基础。     

Numerical study of the inlet/outlet arrangement effect on microchannel heat sink performance

In this study, fluid flow and heat transfer in microchannel heat sinks are numerically investigated. The three-dimensional governing equations for both fluid flow and heat transfer are solved using the finite-volume scheme. The computational domain is taken as the entire heat sink including the inlet/outlet ports, inlet/outlet plenums, and microchannels. The particular focus of this study is the inlet/outlet arrangement effects on the fluid flow and heat transfer inside the heat sinks.The microchannel heat sinks with various inlet/outlet arrangements are investigated in this study. All of the geometric dimensions of these heat sinks are the same except the inlet/outlet locations. Because of the difference in inlet/outlet arrangements, the resultant flow fields and temperature distributions inside these heat sinks are also different under a given pressure drop across the heat sink. Using the averaged velocities and fluid temperatures in each channel to quantify the fluid flow and temperature maldistributions, it is found that better uniformities in velocity and temperature can be found in the heat sinks having coolant supply and collection vertically via inlet/outlet ports opened on the heat sink cover plate. Using the thermal resistance, overall heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop coefficient to quantify the heat sink performance, it is also found these heat sinks have better performance among the heat sinks studied. Based on the results from this study, it is suggested that better heat sink performance can be achieved when the coolant is supplied and collected vertically.     

几何结构对贫油直喷燃烧室流场特性影响的研究

基于现有单点贫油直喷燃烧室,采用数值模拟方法研究了头部几何角度对燃烧室流场特性的影响。分别对比了冷态与燃烧态条件下不同头部几何角对燃烧室轴向速度分布、燃烧效率、总压损失等特性的影响。研究表明:在所研究的几何角度范围内,冷态下头部几何角度对回流区的长度影响很小,对回流区内轴向速度分布具有较大影响。燃烧态下随着头部几何角度的增加,回流区轴向尺寸逐渐增加,中轴线上轴向速度值逐渐降低。燃烧室的出口平均温度、燃烧效率、总压恢复系数基本保持不变,60°结构产生的NO_x生成量最低,30°结构产生的NO_x生成量最高。     

CFD investigation of the flow and heat transfer characteristics in a tangential inlet cyclone

This work presents a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) calculation to investigate the flow field and the heat transfer characteristics in a tangential inlet cyclone which is mainly used for the separation of the dens phase of a two phase flow. Governing equations for the steady turbulent 3D flow were solved numerically under certain boundary conditions covering an inlet velocity range of 3 to 30 m/s. Finite volume based Fluent software was used and the RNG k −  turbulence model was adopted for the modeling highly swirling turbulent flow. Good agreement was found between computed pressure drop and experimental data available in the literature. The structure of the vortices and variation of local heat transfer were studied under the effects of inlet velocity.     

Three—Dimensional Flow Characteristics in One Ceramic Candle Filter

INTRODUCTIONThe stringent regulation of CO2, SOx or NOx,which are the main cause of the environmental contamination, is getting strengthened to save earth.Since it has influence on the energy industries, Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) amongthe clean coal technologies has attracted the increasing attention to meet restrictions on the environmental contamination and to promote high efficiency. TheClean Coal Technology (CCT) requires a competenthot-gas cleanup facility …     

CFD and artificial neural network modeling of two-phase flow pressure drop

A large number of experiments in a 2 cm diameter and 6 m length tube were carried out in order to study the two-phase flow regimes and pressure drops in it. The two-phase flow in the experimental tube was modeled using commercial CFD code, Fluent 6.2. An Artificial Neural Network (ANN) with three inputs including gas and liquid velocities and tube slope was designed and trained to predict average pressure drop across the tube. The comparison between CFD and ANN predictions of pressure drops with experimental measurements shows that the CFD results are more accurate than the ANN evaluations for new conditions.     

Numerical study on pressure drop factor in the vent-cap of CDQ shaft

In CDQ （Coke Dry Quenching） shaft, the vent-cap with complex structure is installed in the cone-shaped funnel under the cooling chamber. It acts to introduce cooling gas and support the descending coke in the chamber. The designing and installation of vent-cap aim to get relatively uniform gas distribution, to reduce the temperature fluctuation of cokes at outlet and realize stable operation of CDQ apparatus. In this paper, the turbulent flow of gas in vent-cap of 1：7 scale CDQ experimental shaft is numerically simulated by using CFD （Computational Fluid Dynamics） software, CFX. The velocity field, the outlet flux distribution and the pressure drop factor of each outlet under three kinds of vent-cap （called high vent-cap, low vent-cap and elliptic vent-cap） are analysed and compared. The results turn out that the pressure drop factor of elliptic vent-cap is larger than the other two vent-caps, and that the pressure drop factors of high vent-cap and low vent-cap almost have the same value. While for a specified vent-cap, the pressure drop factor with pressing brick is larger than that without pressing brick. The work in this paper is valuable for the designing of vent-cap for large-scale CDQ shaft.     

罗茨泵内部流场数值模拟研究

罗茨泵在运行中由于各种原因会出现振动大、噪音大、泄漏等问题,获得罗茨泵的流动信息对预知及解决故障问题具有非常重要的意义,建立罗茨泵流场数学模型,用CFD软件对其内部流场进行模拟,获得并分析内部介质的压力场、速度场、流量脉动曲线、进出口压差对流量影响。研究结果表明:两转子间隙处压差最大,形成较高涡流;排气口两侧有明显的涡流;出口流量在转子转动初始阶段达到峰值;进口流量和进出口压差成反比,进口流量的脉动系数和进出口压差成正比。验证了CFD数值模拟的准确性,为对罗茨泵的进一步研究和整体优化奠定了基础。     

Numerical simulation and experimental research on heat transfer and flow resistance characteristics of asymmetric plate heat exchangers

The asymmetric plate heat exchanger (APHE) has the possibility of achieving balanced pressure drops on both hot and cold sides for situations with unbalanced flow, which may in turn enhance the heat transfer. In this paper, the single-phase water flow and heat transfer of an APHE consisted of two types of plates are numerically (400≤Re≤12000) and experimentally (400≤Re≤ 3400) investigated. The numerical model is verified by the experimental results. Simulations are conducted to study the effects of N, an asymmetric index proposed to describe the geometry of APHEs. The correlations of the Nusselt number and friction factor in the APHEs are determined by taking N and working fluids into account. It is found that an optimal N exists where the pressure drops are balanced and the heat transfer area reaches the minimum. The comparison between heat transfer and flow characteristics of the APHEs and the conventional plate heat exchanger (CPHE) is made under various flow rate ratios of the hot side and the cold side and different allowable pressure drops. The situations under which APHE may perform better are identified based on a comprehensive index Nu/f^1/3.     

Experimental investigation of the effect of channel length on performance and water accumulation in a PEMFC parallel flow field

Longer channels within serpentine flow fields are highly effective at removing liquid water slugs and have little water accumulation; however, the long flow path causes a large pressure drop across the cell. This results in both a significant concentration gradient between the inlet and outlet, and high pumping losses. Parallel flow fields have a shorter flow path and smaller pressure drop between the inlet and outlet. This low pressure drop and multiple routes for reactants in parallel channels allows for significant formation of liquid water slugs and water accumulation. To investigate these differences, a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell parallel flow field with the ability to modify the length of the channels was designed, fabricated, and tested. Polarization curves and the performance, water accumulation, and pressure drop were measured during 15 min of 0.5 A cm⁻² steady-state operation. An analysis of variance was performed to determine if the channel length had a significant effect on performance. It was found that the longer 25 cm channels had significantly higher and more stable performance than the shorter 5 cm channels with an 18% and an 87% higher maximum power density and maximum current density, respectively. Channel lengths which result in a pressure drop, across the flow field, slightly larger than that required to expel liquid water slugs were found to have minimal water accumulation and high performance, while requiring minimal parasitic pumping power.     

Numerical simulation of fluid–structure interaction in stenotic arteries considering two layer nonlinear anisotropic structural model

The unsteady non-Newtonian blood flow in symmetric stenotic arteries is numerically simulated considering fluid–structure interaction (FSI) using the code ADINA. A two layer hyperelastic anisotropic structural model is used for the compliant arterial wall. The pressure used as outlet boundary condition was obtained running a CFD simulation for each stenosis with a physiologically-realistic time variation of pressure at inlet for different velocities. The obtained pressure drop increases in potential form with the inlet velocity for a fixed stenosis severity. The FSI results show that the maxima velocity and WSS at throat increase in exponential form with stenosis severity. The minimum and maximum effective stress at throat for stenosis severity of S = 70% ranged between 47 kPa and 96 kPa at diastole and systole, respectively.     

An air filter pressure loss model for fan energy calculation in air handling units

Air filters consume a significant part of the fan power in air handling systems. Due to lack of suitable models, the fan energy associated with the filter pressure drop is often estimated based on average airflow and average pressure drop across the filter. Since the pressure drop varies nonlinearly with airflow and the filter resistance varies with dirt build‐up, current methods often produce erroneous results. This paper presents a new air filter pressure loss model that has been developed and verified using experimental data. The model projects the pressure losses across the filter for both constant and variable airflows. The inputs to the model are the airflow rate, the time of use, the initial design and final pressure losses at the design flow rate, and the coefficient of a power law regression of pressure loss as a function of airflow rate. The air filter pressure loss model may be implemented in hourly building energy simulation programs that perform hourly simulation at the air handling unit level. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

挖掘机用复杂结构排气消声器的CFD仿真研究

建立了某挖掘机用复杂结构排气消声器的仿真模型,并利用CFD技术对消声器某入口流速下的流场进行了仿真,分析了该消声器内部气体的流动特性及压力分布特性,通过追踪消声器内部气体的踪迹发现内部的漩涡产生了较大噪声及压力损失,随着入口气体流速的增大,消声器出入口压力及总体压力损失都呈类 似于抛物线的规律变化.研究了试验和仿真环境中,不同工况下消声器的压力损失,各种工况中,误差率在最低速时仅为5.5%,最高速时达到了20.5%,说明入口流速对于仿真结果有很大的影响.研究表明CFD方法研究消声器压力损失的有效性.     

Parametric study on Tesla valve with reverse flow for hydrogen decompression

Recharge mileage is of great importance for a hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle. High pressure hydrogen storage can increase the recharge mileage significantly. Before hydrogen flows into the fuel cell, a decompression process is necessary. To overcome the seal of the piping system and realize the decompression, Tesla valve can be well used, since it is a type of check valve without moving parts, and when there is a reverse flow, large pressure drop appears between the inlet and outlet. In order to obtain a better pressure drop performance for a Tesla valve, in this paper, the structural parameters including the hydraulic diameter, the valve angle, and the inner curve radius are investigated for a large range of inlet velocities. The results indicate that a small hydraulic diameter and small inner curve radius but large valve angle can provide a higher pressure drop under a large inlet velocity, while the pressure drop under different structural parameters barely changes under a small inlet velocity (less than 100 m/s). Besides, there is a low-pressure zone behind the outlet of the bend channel, which should be paid attention. This work can be referred by the further applications of Tesla valves in hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles for hydrogen decompression.     

Hydrogen decompression analysis by multi-stage Tesla valves for hydrogen fuel cell

Hydrogen fuel cell is an ideal power source for electric vehicles. For a hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle, the hydrogen is reserved in a high pressure level to promote the recharge mileage while relatively low-pressure hydrogen is demanded for proper functioning of the fuel cell stack, so that decompression of hydrogen is needed before hydrogen flowing into the fuel cell. With a reverse flow through Tesla valves, there appears a large pressure drop between the inlet and outlet, which can be used for hydrogen decompression nicely. However, a single-stage Tesla valve cannot meet the pressure drop requirement, so multi-stage Tesla valves are utilized. In this paper, numerical simulations of reversed hydrogen flow through multi-stage Tesla valves are carried out. The stage number of multi-stage Tesla valves and the inlet/outlet pressure ratio are both studied, and the distributions of temperature, pressure, and velocity inside multi-stage Tesla valves are all investigated. Results show that as the stage number increases or the inlet/outlet pressure ratio decreases, the pressure and the velocity inside multi-stage Tesla valves decrease, and the less the stage number, the more possibility for the velocity higher than local acoustic speed. Besides, a power-law relationship between the flow rate, the stage number and pressure ratio is summarized.     

Dominant frequency of pressure drop signal as a novel diagnostic tool for the water removal in proton exchange membrane fuel cell flow channel

In this work, a transparent assembly was self-designed and manufactured to perform ex situ experimental study on the liquid water removal characteristics in PEM fuel cell parallel flow channels. It was found that the dominant frequency of the pressure drop across the flow channels may be utilized as an effective diagnostic tool for water removal. Peaks higher than 1 Hz in dominant frequency profile indicated water droplet removals at the outlet, whereas relatively lower peaks (between 0.3 and 0.8 Hz) corresponded to water stream removals. The pressure drop signal, although correlated with the water removal at the outlet, was readily influenced by the two phase flow transport in channel, particularly at high air flow rates. The real-time visualization images were presented to show a typical water droplet removal process. The findings suggest that dominant frequency of pressure drop signal may substitute pressure drop as a more effective and reliable diagnostic tool for water removal in PEM fuel cell flow channels.     

折弯弓形折流板换热器流动换热性能研究

为了提高折流板换热器的换热性能,改变了折流板换热器的折弯夹角和折流板间距,利用ANSYS Fluent对换热器壳程流体流动与换热过程进行模拟,分析了不同折流板折弯夹角α (110°,135°,170°和180°)、折流板间距（250,300和350 mm)和雷诺数（10 000,20 000和50 000）对换热器壳程压力、速度和温度的影响。结果表明：增大雷诺数对改善流动死区有很大的作用,雷诺数为50 000时的流动死区相对于雷诺数为10 000时面积减小较大;随着夹角α的减小,折流板背流侧的流动死区面积逐渐减小、换热器的表面传热系数和进出口压降力越大,夹角α为110°时出口温度最小、进出口压降最大,夹角α为135°时PEC最大且换热器综合性能最优;折流板间距增大,压力变化梯度减小,压差变化幅度减小,壳程出口温度变化不成正比关系,间距为300 mm时出口温度最低。