Numerical and experimental validation of thermo-hygro-mechanical behaviour of wood during drying process

This research aims at developing a new approach able to simulate 3-D heat and moisture transfer coupled with the mechanical behaviour of a wood during drying process. From the moisture content and temperature profiles, a 3-D formulation and a relevant constitutive model are used to calculate the stress/strain evolution within the board due to shrinkage and external mechanical loading. This allows a fast, comprehensive and realistic model to be implemented. The mechanical model takes into account the hydrous, thermal, mechano-sorptive and elastic deformations, as well as the changes of wood properties, caused by these processes, e.g. porosity, permeability, stress–strain relation, etc. The mathematical model describing simultaneous unsteady heat and moisture transfer between a gas phase and a solid phase during heat treatment has been developed. The conservation equations for the wood sample are obtained using diffusion equation and the 3-D incompressible Navier–Stokes equations have been solved for the flow field. The constitutive equations are discussed in some detail. ANSYS-CFX10 commercial code was used to solve the hygro-thermal problem and FESh++ for the mechanical behaviour. Experimental results obtained regarding temperature, moisture content and deformation profiles during industrial drying of black spruce wood are compared with the numerical results. Satisfactory agreement is obtained over a range of drying air temperatures.     

Parameterization of aerosols from burning biomass in the Brazil-SR radiative transfer model

A new aerosol parameterization was developed and implemented for operational use with the BRASIL-SR model. The goal is to improve the assessment of solar energy resources in Brazil. Optical properties of the aerosols from burning biomass were obtained using software package OPAC and are in good agreement with previous field measurements made in Brazil. Three different mixture ratios of black carbon were used to cover the full range of typical measured values. The atmospheric transport model SMOKE provided the aerosol profile. An evaluating period of 11 days in August/1995 and ground measurements from six sites situated in Amazon region was used to validate the results. The global solar irradiation estimates obtained with new aerosol parameterization, presented smaller mean bias error in all ground sites. The correlation among estimates and measured values for surface global solar irradiation improved about 2.5 times by adopting an aerosol composition with 5% of black carbon.     

Numerical and experimental analysis of chemical dehydration, heat and mass transfers in a concrete hollow cylinder submitted to high temperatures

This paper presents a thermo-hydro-chemical model for concrete at high temperatures. Non-linear phenomena, heat and mass transfers, evolution of the phases constituting the porous medium are taken into account in a full three phases coupled analysis. The proposed model does not take into account mechanical aspects, i.e. the solid skeleton is considered as rigid. An experimental set-up and a numerical simulation are also presented. A hollow cylinder has been heated up to 523.15 K (250 °C) on the internal side and submitted to gas pressure/temperature measurements. A numerical simulation of the cylinder has been performed, showing a good correlation with the experimental observations.     

余热锅炉动态数学模型建立及仿真

采用集总参数法建立了余热锅炉动态模型。根据余热锅炉的工作原理和特性,以能量和质量守恒原理为基础,详细论述了其内部蒸发器系统和单相介质换热器的数学模型算法,简化了汽水系统结建模仿真的复杂度。仿真结果表明该模型具有较好的动态响应特性,且模型运行稳定。     

Evaluating the impact of canyon geometry and orientation on cooling loads in a high-mass building in a hot dry environment

In the present paper, thermal simulation software (IDA Indoor Climate and Energy, developed by EQUA, Sweden) was employed in order to evaluate the effect of different street canyon geometries and orientations on building cooling loads in a dry environment – Sede-Boqer, located in the Negev desert, Israel. A residential building was monitored from January to August 2006 to calibrate the thermal and energy simulations in summer, using diverse solar geometries and axis orientations as input data. Simulations were carried out using the local TMY, taking into account different aspect ratios (H/W): 0.33, 0.66, 1 and 2 and street axis orientations: east–west, north–south, northwest–southeast (parallel to prevailing wind) and northeast–southwest (perpendicular to prevailing wind). Results are shown in terms of energy consumption for cooling for each canyon configuration. From the obtained results, general recommendations can be traced for urban planning in arid regions, which could help promoting sustainable and energy-responsive buildings.     

Approximate solutions of the filtered radiative transfer equation in large eddy simulations of turbulent reactive flows

An analysis of the relevance of turbulence-radiation interaction in the numerical simulation of turbulent reactive flows is presented. A semi-causal stochastic model was used to generate a time-series of turbulent scalar fluctuations along optical paths of Sandia flame D, a widely studied piloted turbulent jet nonpremixed flame. The radiative transfer equation was integrated along these paths for every realization using a grid resolution typical of a direct numerical simulation. The correlated k-distribution method was employed to compute the radiative properties of the medium. The results were used to determine the ensemble average, as well as the extreme values, of quantities that indicate the importance of the turbulence-radiation interaction. Several approximate methods are then proposed to solve the filtered radiative transfer equation in the framework of large eddy simulations. The proposed methods are applicable along with combustion models that either assume the filtered probability density function of a conserved scalar or solve a transport equation for a joint scalar or joint scalar/velocity filtered density function. It is concluded that the errors resulting from neglecting the turbulence-radiation interaction in large eddy simulations are much lower than those found in Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes calculations. The optically thin fluctuation approximation may be extended to large eddy simulations yielding predictions in excellent agreement with the reference solution. If the turbulence-radiation interaction is accounted for using this approximation, the average relative error of the filtered total radiation intensity is generally below 0.3% for the studied flame.     

Generalization of the radiative fraction correlation for hydrogen and hydrocarbon jet fires in subsonic and chocked flow regimes

The radiative fraction is one key parameter to characterize the jet flame combustion dynamics and to calculate the thermal radiant heat emitted from jet fire. A theoretical analysis is conducted to clarify the key parameters that dominate the radiative fraction of jet fires, with discussion of the limitation of previous radiative fraction correlations. A completely new dimensionless group, consisting of the mass fraction of fuel at stoichiometric conditions, the density ratio of fuel gas to ambient air and the flame Froude number, is proposed to correlate the radiative fraction of jet fires. The current up-to-date experimental data are used to build the radiative fraction correlation that covers orifice exit diameters from one to hundreds of millimeter, hydrogen, methane and propane fuels, vertical and horizontal jets, buoyance- and momentum-controlled releases, subsonic, sonic and supersonic jets. It is found that the source Froude number can fit the radiative fraction of a particular fuel jet fire. However, the new dimensionless group can correlate the radiative fractions of fuel-different jet fires. The predictive capability of the new correlation exceeds that of previously published work based on the source Froude number only or the global residence time with/without correction factors.     

Computer modeling and experimental validation of a building-integrated photovoltaic and water heating system

A dynamic simulation model of a building-integrated photovoltaic and water heating system is introduced in this paper. The numerical model was developed based on the finite difference control volume approach. The integrated use of energy balance and fluid flow analysis allows the prediction of the system dynamic behavior under external excitations such as changes in weather, water consumption and make-up conditions. The validity of the modeling approach was demonstrated by comparing its predicted operating temperature changes and system daily efficiencies with the measured data acquired from an experimental rig at the City University of Hong Kong. The predictions from the model show good compliance with the experimental measurements.     

Changes in year-round air temperature and annual energy consumption in office building areas by urban heat-island countermeasures and energy-saving measures

This paper describes the effects of the installation of various countermeasures against urban heat-island (UHI) and energy-saving measures on UHI and global warming. A UHI and energy-consumption simulation model was developed by combining the one-dimensional meteorological canopy and building energy use models; further, the proposed model was expanded to evaluate the year-round air temperature and annual energy consumption. The simulation results showed that the humidification and albedo increase at building-wall surfaces reduced the total number of hours for which the air temperature was more than 30 °C during the daytime by more than 60 (h) per year. The UHI countermeasures reduced the annual energy-consumption despite causing a small increase during the winter period. However, they may result in certain unfavorable conditions for pedestrians. Energy-saving measures, on the other hand, reduce the total number of hours for which the air temperature is more than 30 °C by only a few hours per year. Thus, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the UHI countermeasures and measures against global warming by extending the calculation period from summer to an entire year.     

Simulation of heat and mass transfer in activated carbon tank for hydrogen storage

The charging process of hydrogen storage tank based on bed of activated carbon in a steel container at room temperature (295 K) and medium storage pressure (10 MPa) is simulated with an axisymmetric geometry model using the finite volume commercial solver Fluent. The mass flux profile at the entrance is established using user-defined functions (UDFs). The heat and mass transfer processes in the cylindrical steel tank packed with activated carbon are discussed considering the influence of viscous resistance and inertial resistance of the porous media. The velocity distribution and its effect on the temperature distribution are analyzed. The effects of the flow rate at the inlet and of the adsorption factor on the charging process are studied. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach based on finite volume simulations is used. Results show that the temperature near the bottom of the tank is higher than that at the entrance, temperature in the center of the tank is higher than that near the wall and rises somewhat faster along the axial compared to the radial direction. The highest hydrogen absolute adsorption occurs at the entrance of the tank. A good agreement is found between the simulation results and the available experimental data. The maximum magnitude of the axial velocity is much higher than that of the radial component, resulting in more heat energy transfer along the axial direction than radial direction. In addition, the pressure reaches equilibrium earlier when the mass flow is higher, and the temperature reaches a maximum value faster.     

Designing urban spaces and buildings to improve sustainability and quality of life in a warmer world

It is in cities that the negative impacts of a warming climate will be felt most strongly. The summer time comfort and well-being of the urban population will become increasingly compromised under future scenarios for climate change and urbanisation. In contrast to rural areas, where night-time relief from high daytime temperatures occurs as heat is lost to the sky, the city environment stores and traps heat and offers little respite from high temperatures. This urban heat island effect is responsible for temperature differences of up to 7 °C between cities and the country in the UK. We already have experience of the potential hazards of these higher temperatures. The majority of heat-related fatalities during the summer of 2003 were in urban areas.     

Heat transfer in HCCI multi-zone modeling: Validation of a new wall heat flux correlation under motoring conditions

The present study focuses on the development and a preliminary validation of a heat transfer model for the estimation of wall heat flux in HCCI engines via multi-zone modeling. The multi-zone model describes heat flow between zones and to the combustion chamber wall. Mass, species and enthalpy transfer, which affect the temperature field within the combustion chamber, are also considered between zones, accounting for the convective heat transfer terms. The multi-zone heat transfer model presented herein has been developed for HCCI combustion simulation and although it has been used in the past, its validation was based on cylinder pressure data under firing conditions. In the present study a more accurate validation of the model is conducted. This is achieved by comparing the multi-zone model heat loss rate predictions to the corresponding predictions of a validated CFD code. The cases examined correspond to actual motoring cases, against which the CFD code has been validated in a previous work. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis is presented, to assess the effect of the zone configuration, i.e. zone thickness and number, on the predicted heat loss rate and temperature profiles. In addition, a comparison is made between the results obtained from the proposed heat flux correlation and one in which the temperature gradient at the wall is approximated via finite differences.     

Detailed numerical simulation of radiative transfer in a nonluminous turbulent jet diffusion flame

Radiative transfer in a turbulent jet diffusion flame has been calculated using the discrete ordinates and the ray tracing. The radiative properties of the medium were computed using the correlated k-distribution method and the statistical narrow-band model. The interaction between turbulence and radiation was examined and ways to account for this interaction were compared. Calculations using a stochastic semicausal model were carried out to accurately simulate that interaction, and to provide reference solutions for evaluating the precision of simpler approaches. The models were applied to decoupled radiative transfer calculations in a flame, using experimental fields for temperature and species' concentrations as an input. The correlated k-distribution method, along with the full turbulence/radiation interaction, gave results in very good agreement with the statistical narrow band along with the stochastic model, but the total measured radiative heat loss was underestimated by ∼11.5%. This is likely to be mainly due to the need to extrapolate the data downstream of the last measured radial profile. Enhancement of the radiative heat loss due to turbulent fluctuations was almost 50% in this flame; this exceeds a previous estimate based on a simpler model for the radiative properties of a gas.     

Experimental validation of the coupled fluid flow, heat transfer and electromagnetic numerical model of the medium-power dry-type electrical transformer

This paper presents experimental validation of a numerical model of coupled processes within a three-phase medium-power dry-type electrical transformer. The analysis carried out employed a multi-disciplinary approach involving heat, fluid flow and electromagnetics. The thermal and fluid flow analysis was coupled with an electromagnetic model in order to examine the specific power losses within the coils and the core. The thermal boundary conditions, i.e. the local and temperature-dependent heat fluxes, were computed by considering a numerical model of the surrounding internal and external air. Moreover, separate numerical and analytical models were considered in order to obtain the anisotropic thermal conductivities for different types of coils and also for laminated cores. To validate the numerical model, experimental transformer temperature tests in the short-circuit, open-circuit, and under nominal parameters according to the current European Standards for dry-type transformers were performed. During the tests, temperatures were measured at selected points on elements of the transformer using thermocouples and thermometers, while on the external tank walls an infrared thermography was employed. The obtained numerical results showed that the prediction of the temperature distribution within the analyzed transformers and their surroundings was very accurate.     

Simulation of heat transfer in a metal hydride reactor with aluminium foam

A 1-D model has been developed to evaluate various designs of metal hydride reactors with planar, cylindrical or spherical geometry. It simulates a cycling loop (absorption–desorption) focusing attention on the heat transfer inside the hydride bed, which is considered the rate-limiting factor. We have validated this model with experimental data collected on two reactors, respectively, containing 1 and 25 g of _LaNi5${\mathrm{LaNi}}_5$, the second being equipped with aluminium foam. The simulation program reproduces accurately our experimental results. The impact of the foam cell size has been studied. According to our model, the use of aluminium foam allows the reactor diameter to be increased by 7.5 times, without losing its performance.     

The role of turbulent fluctuations on radiative emission in hydrogen and hydrogen-enriched methane flames

A theoretical analysis is reported in the present work to quantify the increase of radiative emission due to turbulence for hydrogen and hydrogen-enriched methane diffusion flames burning in air. The instantaneous thermochemical state of the reactive mixture is described by a flamelet model along with a detailed chemical mechanism. The shape of the probability density function (pdf) of mixture fraction is assumed. The results show that turbulent fluctuations generally contribute to reduce the Planck mean absorption coefficient of the medium, in contrast with the blackbody emissive power, which is significantly increased by turbulence. If the turbulence level is relatively small, the influence of turbulence on the absorption coefficient is marginal. Otherwise, fluctuations of the absorption coefficient of the medium should be taken into account. The scalar dissipation rate and the fraction of radiative heat loss have a much lower importance than the turbulence intensity on the mean radiative emission.     

壁面模型对缸内传热多维瞬态数值模拟计算的影响

采用常规湍流模型对柴油机缸内传热过程进行多维瞬态模拟计算时,壁面模型的处理方式将直接影响到整个模拟计算的精度和准确性,为此本文利用多维瞬态模拟计算方法考察壁面模型对缸内传热模拟计算的影响。研究结果表明：壁面模型中复合壁函数法由于在近壁处湍能被修正,使缸内多维模拟计算结果更接近于试验值。     

车用内燃机冷却系的流动与传热仿真

本提出了车用内燃机冷却系的流动与传热仿真方法。采用一维的方法研究了车用内燃机冷却系的流动问题;采用集总参数法研究了车用内燃机冷却系的传热问题;将车用内燃机冷却系的流动问题与传热问题耦合起来作为一个系统,进行整体研究,建立了内燃机冷却系的流动与传热问题的整体模型。编制了计算程序。对某型坦克内燃机冷却系的流动与传热进行了实例计算,仿真结果与试验值符合较好。     

Three-dimensional simulation of heat and mass transport phenomena in planar SOFCs

High temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) represent a promising and efficient technology for electrochemical conversion of chemical energy of a fuel into electrical energy. The future development of such technology depends on the availability of detailed and efficient multi-dimensional modeling tools. In this paper, a new three-dimensional finite element algorithm, based on a detailed mathematical model for fuel cells and on the fully explicit Artificial Compressibility (AC) Characteristic Based Split (CBS) scheme, is employed for the effective and efficient modeling of heat and mass transport phenomena coupled with electrochemical reactions in SOFC. The thermal field in the fuel cell is analyzed and the influence of the operating temperature on the fuel cell overall performance is investigated. The three-dimensional results obtained in this work are also compared to the results carried out by employing the two-dimensional version of the present scheme. The results are validated against experimental data available in the literature.     

An experimental and theoretical investigation of the thermal treatment of wood (Fagus sylvatica L.) in the range 200-260 °C

A comprehensive heat and mass transfer computational model is used to analyse the intricate two-way coupling arising from the activated chemical reactions involved in the heat treatment of wood. The 2D version of a drying code known as TransPore is used to simulate the coupled heat and mass transfer phenomena. This code accounts for the internal pressure in the porous medium. The pyrolysis model describing the chemical reactions occurring in the main constituents within the cell walls of wood (cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignins) is derived using data taken from the literature. Refined computational strategies were required to address the two-way coupling between the heat and mass transfer and chemical mechanisms, including the thermal activation of the chemical reactions, together with the treatment of heat sources (or sinks) and the production of volatiles. The experimental set-up allows the overall weight loss, and the internal temperature and pressure at specific locations within the board to be determined during processing. The reported simulations highlight that the model is able to capture two particular phenomena observed during the heat treatment of wood: the double pressure peak due to water evaporation and volatiles production; and the temperature overshoot during the heat treatment phase.