CFD investigation of flow inversion in typical MTR research reactor undergoing thermal–hydraulic transients

Three dimensional CFD full simulations of the fast loss of flow accident (FLOFA) of the IAEA 10 MW generic MTR research reactor are conducted. In this system the flow is initially downward. The transient scenario starts when the pump coasts down exponentially with a time constant of 1 s. As a result the temperatures of the heating element, the clad, and the coolant rise. When the flow reaches 85% of its nominal value the control rod system scrams and the power drops sharply resulting in the temperatures of the different components to drop. As the coolant flow continues to drop, the decay heat causes the temperatures to increase at a slower rate in the beginning. When the flow becomes laminar, the rate of temperature increase becomes larger and when the pumps completely stop a flow inversion occurs because of natural convection. The temperature will continue to rise at even higher rates until natural convection is established, that is when the temperatures settle off. The interesting 3D patterns of the flow during the inversion process are shown and investigated. The temperature history is also reported and is compared with those estimated by one-dimensional codes. Generally, very good agreement is achieved which provides confidence in the modeling approach.     

A multicontinuum approach for the problem of filtration of oily‐water systems across thin flat membranes: II. Validation and examples

In this second part, a validation exercise is conducted to investigate the accuracy of the multicontinuum approach in estimating the permeation capacity of membranes used for the filtration of oily‐water systems. Comparisons with the experimental works found in the literature reveals that the multicontinuum approach is quite accurate and show excellent match. Although the comparisons with the experimental data have been with respect to macroscopic integral variables, like the rejection capacity of membranes, the multicontinuum approach provides myriad information about the permeation process that have neither been presented nor even measured. Such detailed information has been highlighted in two examples. Details about which of the oil continua is going to be rejected or permeated through which porous membrane continuum are obtained. Furthermore, the flux of each oil continuum through every porous membrane continua is likewise obtained. These informations are then lumped to calculate the rejection capacity of membranes. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 64: 1095–1105, 2018     

A comprehensive experimental and artificial network investigation of the performance of an ultrafiltration titanium dioxide ceramic membrane: application in produced water treatment

This work is an experimental investigation of the effects of the operating conditions on the performance of a novel titanium‐based ceramic ultrafiltration membrane used to treat field produced water. To design the experiments and optimize the operating conditions, the Taguchi method was used to predict the optimal operating conditions. Under optimal conditions, an almost oil free permeation is obtained (98.93%) along with the removal of more than 99% for the total organic carbon (TOC), a high turbidity removal (99.82%) and a good salinity rejection for a UF membrane. The membrane was capable of treating a high steady flux of 441 L/m² h with an overall flux decay of 28.6%. The Hermia’s cake formation model fitted the flux declining behaviour better than the three other associated models. Finally, four different techniques based on artificial intelligence (AI) methods were used to fit the flux declining behaviour. They seem to outperform the simple Hermiaˊs model for the modelling of oily water filtration.     

Two-tier pressure consolidation operation method for hydrogen refueling station cost reduction

An operation strategy known as two-tier “pressure consolidation” of delivered tube-trailers (or equivalent supply storage) has been developed to maximize the throughput at gaseous hydrogen refueling stations (HRSs) for fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). The high capital costs of HRSs and the consequent high investment risk are deterring growth of the infrastructure needed to promote the deployment of FCEVs. Stations supplied by gaseous hydrogen will be necessary for FCEV deployment in both the near and long term. The two-tier pressure consolidation method enhances gaseous HRSs in the following ways: (1) reduces the capital cost compared with conventional stations, as well as those operating according to the original pressure consolidation approach described by Elgowainy et al. (2014) [1], (2) minimizes pressure cycling of HRS supply storage relative to the original pressure consolidation approach; and (3) increases use of the station's supply storage (or delivered tube-trailers) while maintaining higher state-of-charge vehicle fills.     

A multicontinuum approach for the problem of filtration of oily water systems across thin flat membranes: I. The framework

A multicontinuum model is built to estimate the permeate flux of an oily water system across a thin flat membrane in cross filtration methodology is demonstrated. Several continua are constructed to represent droplet and pore‐size distribution of both the dispersed oil phase and the porous membrane, respectively. The possible permeation of the oil phase has been divided into three criteria. In the first criterion, oil droplets of a given size range may permeate through a given size range of the porous membrane, in the second criterion, oil droplets of another size range may be rejected through another pore size range, and in the third criterion, oil droplets may break apart leaving a tail inside the pore space, which will eventually permeate, and the rest will sweep off due to shear stress. These protocols identify the methodology of the proposed multicontinuum approach, which is introduced in this first part. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 4604–4615, 2017     

Techno-economic analysis of conventional and advanced high-pressure tube trailer configurations for compressed hydrogen gas transportation and refueling

Transporting compressed gaseous hydrogen in tube trailers to hydrogen refueling stations (HRSs) is an attractive economic option in early fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) markets. This study examines conventional (Type I, steel) and advanced (Type IV, composite) high-pressure tube trailer configurations to identify those that offer maximum payload and lowest cost per unit of deliverable payload under United States Department of Transportation (DOT) size and weight constraints. The study also evaluates the impacts of various tube trailer configurations and payloads on the transportation and refueling cost of hydrogen under various transportation distance and HRS capacity scenarios. Composite tube trailers can transport large hydrogen payloads, up to 1100 kg at 7300 psi (500 bar) working pressure, while steel tube trailer configurations are limited by DOT weight regulations and may transport a maximum hydrogen payload of approximately 270 kg. Using steel pressure vessels to transport hydrogen at high pressure is counterproductive because of the rapid increase in vessel weight with wall thickness. The most economic composite tube trailer configuration includes 30-inch-diameter vessels packed in a 3 × 3 array. A linear relationship between the deliverable payload and the capital cost of a composite tube trailer has been developed for configurations with the lowest cost-per-unit payload. The capital cost is approximately $1100 per kg of deliverable hydrogen payload. Considering the entire delivery pathway (including refueling), tube trailer configurations with smaller vessels packed in greater numbers enable higher payload delivery and lower delivery cost in terms of $/kg H₂, when delivering hydrogen over longer distances to large stations. Selection of the appropriate tube trailer configuration and corresponding hydrogen payload can reduce hydrogen delivery cost by up to 16%.     

Investigation of wind energy potentials in Brunei Darussalam

Conventional power generation mainly depends on natural gas and diesel oil in Brunei Darussalam. The power utility company is now thinking of power generation using natural wind. In this paper, wind energy, being one of the most readily available renewable energy sources, was studied. The wind characteristic, velocity and directions were studied using Weibull distribution based on the measurement of wind speed at two different locations in Brunei Darussalam. These wind speed distributions were modeled using the Wind Power program. The wind rose graph was obtained for the wind direction to analyze the wind power density onshore and offshore. Based on this analysis, it has been found that the wind speed of 3 to 5 m/s has a probability of occurrence of 40%. Besides, the annual energy production at a wind speed of 5 m/s has been found to be in the range between 1000 and 1500 kWh for both the locations in Brunei Darussalam.     

Consistent policy enforcement in distributed systems using mobile policies

This paper briefly traces the evolution of information system architectures from mainframe-connected terminals to distributed multi-tier architectures. It presents the challenges facing developers of multi-tier information systems in providing effective consistent data policy enforcement, such as access control in these architectures. Finally, it introduces “Mobile Policy” (MoP) as a potential solution and presents a framework for using mobile policy in the business logic tier of multi-tier information systems.     

Implicit Finite-Volume Scheme to Solve Coupled Saint-Venant and Darcy–Forchheimer Equations for Modeling Flow Through Porous Structures

In hydrodynamic modeling of flow through porous structures, the solution domain might encounter discontinuities. These include, for example, porous structure-open channel interface, porous dam-break, and heterogeneous porous structures. The treatment of discontinuity is challenging within a numerical scheme as it can be a source of instabilities. This study proposes a finite-volume method to solve coupled Saint-Venant and Darcy–Forchheimer equations for simulating free-surface flow through porous structures. For capturing shocks arising at discontinuous regions, an upwind scheme is utilized to maintain the solution monotone. Fully implicit methods can allow the choice of longer time steps. Since the current problem involves two nonlinear systems, namely the open-channel and seepage flow equations, the Picard method is adopted to linearize the system of equations. Unlike typical implicit schemes of seepage flows, herein, both flow depth and velocity matrices appear within the iterative process, threatening the convergence criterion. To converge iteration, the continuity equation's flux term is treated using the dynamic wave equation under the relaxation method. The present model is applicable to simulate gradually and rapidly unsteady flow through homogeneous and heterogeneous porous media under laminar, transitional, and fully developed turbulent flow regimes within various closed and/or open boundary conditions.

     

Simulation of buoyancy-induced turbulent flow from a hot horizontal jet简

Experimental visualizations and numerical simulations of a horizontal hot water jet entering cold water into a rectangular storage tank are described. Three different temperature differences and their corresponding Reynolds numbers are considered. Both experimental visualization and numerical computations are carried out for the same flow and thermal conditions. The realizable k-e model is used for modeling the turbulent flow while the buoyancy is modeled using the Boussinesq approximation. Polynomial approximations of the water properties are used to compare with the Boussinesq approximation. Numerical solutions are obtained for unsteady flow while pressure, velocity, temperature and turbulence distributions inside the water tank as well as the Froude number are analyzed. The experimental visualizations are performed at intervals of five seconds for all different cases. The simulated results are compared with the visualized results, and both of them show the stratification phenomena and buoyancy force effects due to temperature difference and density variation. After certain times, depending on the case condition, the flow tends to reach a steady state.