Simulation of supercritical water–hydrocarbon mixing in a cylindrical tee at intermediate Reynolds number: Impact of temperature difference between streams

The objective of this work is to study the impact of the temperature difference between the streams on the flow dynamics and mixing of supercritical water (SCW) and a model hydrocarbon (n-decane), under fully miscible conditions, in a small-scale cylindrical tee mixer (pipe ID = 2.4 mm), at an intermediate inlet Reynolds number of 500 using 3-D CFD simulations. When the water and n-decane streams enter the mixer at inlet temperatures of 800 K and 700 K respectively (ΔT = 100 K), the flow remains laminar and the variations of density and viscosity with temperature do not have a significant impact on the flow and mixing dynamics. However, when the water inlet temperature is 1000 K (ΔT = 300 K), the water–HC shear layer becomes unstable close to x = 5D downstream of the mixing joint followed by shear-layer rollup and transition to turbulence. This leads to significant enhancement in the mixing rate. However, in a simulation of SCW n-decane mixing with the same inlet conditions but with the physical properties held fixed at the inlet values (no variation with temperature), the shear layer remains stable and steady state is reached. It was found that, the large variation of temperature of 300 K within the mixing layer leads to an increase in the local fluid density and a decrease in the local fluid viscosity within the mixing layer attributed mainly to the cooling of water and the heating of n-decane respectively. These physical property variations result in an increase in the local Reynolds number within the shear layer rendering it unstable to perturbations in the flow. Thus, the variations in mixture density and viscosity with temperature under near-critical conditions were found to have a significant impact on the flow and mixing dynamics in the tee mixer.     

Numerical simulation of local and global mixing/segregation characteristics in a gas–solid fluidized bed

Researches on solids mixing and segregation are of great significance for the operation and design of fluidized bed reactors. In this paper, the local and global mixing and segregation characteristics of binary mixtures were investigated in a gas–solid fluidized bed by computational fluid dynamics-discrete element method (CFD-DEM) coupled approach. A methodology based on solids mixing entropy was developed to quantitatively calculate the mixing degree and time of the bed. The mixing curves of global mixing entropy were acquired, and the distribution maps of local mixing entropy and mixing time were also obtained. By comparing different operating conditions, the effects of superficial gas velocity, particle density ratio and size ratio on mixing/segregation behavior were discussed. Results showed that for the partial mixing state, the fluidized bed can be divided into three parts along the bed height: complete segregation area, transition area and stable mixing area. These areas showed different mixing/segregation processes. Increasing gas velocity promoted the local and global mixing of binary mixtures. The increase in particle density ratio and size ratio enlarged the complete segregation area, reduced the mixing degree and increased the mixing time in the stable mixing area.     

Measurements of wall shear stress in horizontal air–water bubbly flows

The mean and time-varying fluctuation property of local wall shear stress of horizontal air–water bubbly flows in a circular pipe of 35 mm I.D. is measured using a TSI-1268W hot film probe. Data are collected in both entrance and developed regions of the flows. The variation of wall shear stress with L/D is analyzed, and the entrance length is determined to be 52–65 D at present studies. It is found that the wall shear stress is not uniform around the pipe circumference due to the asymmetrical phase distribution in the flows. The mean shear stress tends to decrease circumferentially from the pipe bottom to top. An increase of air flow rate at a constant water flow rate would further lower the wall shear stress at the upper part of the pipe and at the same time raise the wall shear stress at lower part of the pipe in both entrance and developed regions. An increase of water flow rate at a constant air flow rate would result in an increase of wall shear stress at all circumferential positions. The statistical property of wall shear stress is also discussed.     

Photoelectrochemical performance of CdS nanorods grafted vertically aligned TiO2 nanorods

In this study, TiO₂ nanorods/CdS nanorods composite samples were successfully synthesized by grafting CdS nanorods on vertically aligned TiO₂ nanorods. A two-step hydrothermal method was used to prepare the samples. Some properties of the samples, such as morphological, structural, and optical properties were characterized by energy-dispersive X-ray detection, field emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. Moreover, photoelectrochemical properties were studied via current-voltage and photocurrent spectrum measurements. The results showed that CdS nanorods grafted on top of TiO₂ nanorods like a lawn. The amount grafted as well as the diameter and crystallinity of CdS nanorods increased first and then decreased as the grafting time increased, due to Ostwald ripening. Under the back-side illumination, the composite film with 2 h grafting time exhibited the highest photocurrent density which was almost twice of that of the pure TiO₂ nanorods.     

Exergetic analysis of transcritical CO2 residential air-conditioning system based on experimental data

The experimental system for the transcritical CO₂ residential air-conditioning with an internal heat exchanger was built. The effects of working conditions on system performance were experimentally studied. Based on the experimental dada, the second law analysis on the transcritical CO₂ system was performed. The effects of working conditions on the total exergetic efficiency of the system were investigated. The results show that in the studied parameter ranges, the exergetic efficiency of the system increases with the increases of gas cooler side air inlet temperature, gas cooler side air inlet velocity and evaporating temperature. And it will decrease with the increases of evaporator side air inlet temperature and velocity. Then, a complete exergetic analysis was performed for the entire CO₂ transcritical cycle including compressor, gas cooler, expansion valve, evaporator and internal heat exchanger under different working conditions. The average exergy loss in gas cooler is the highest one under all working conditions which is about 30.7% of the total exergy loss in the system. The second is the average exergy loss in expansion valve which is about 24.9% of the total exergy loss, followed by the exergy losses in evaporator and compressor, which account for 21.9% and 19.5%, respectively. The exergy loss in internal heat exchanger is the lowest one which is only about 3.0%. So in the optimization design of the transcritical CO₂ residential air-conditioning system more attentions should be paid to the gas cooler and expansion valve.     

Computational study of forced convective heat transfer in structured packed beds with spherical or ellipsoidal particles

Randomly packed bed reactors are widely used in chemical process industries, because of their low cost and ease of use compared to other packing methods. However, the pressure drops in such packed beds are usually much higher than those in other packed beds, and the overall heat transfer performances may be greatly lowered. In order to reduce the pressure drops and improve the overall heat transfer performances of packed beds, structured packed beds are considered to be promising choices. In this paper, the flow and heat transfer inside small pores of some novel structured packed beds are numerically studied, where the packed beds with ellipsoidal or non-uniform spherical particles are investigated for the first time and some new transport phenomena are obtained. Three-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations and RNG k–ε turbulence model with scalable wall function are adopted for present computations. The effects of packing form and particle shape are studied in detail and the flow and heat transfer performances in uniform and non-uniform packed beds are also compared with each other. Firstly, it is found that, with proper selection of packing form and particle shape, the pressure drops in structured packed beds can be greatly reduced and the overall heat transfer performances will be improved. The traditional correlations of flow and heat transfer extracted from randomly packings are found to overpredict the pressure drops and Nusselt number for all these structured packings, and new correlations of flow and heat transfer are obtained. Secondly, it is also revealed that, both the effects of packing form and particle shape are significant on the flow and heat transfer in structured packed beds. With the same particle shape (sphere), the overall heat transfer efficiency of simple cubic (SC) packing is the highest. With the same packing form, such as face center cubic (FCC) packing, the overall heat transfer performance of long ellipsoidal particle model is the best. Furthermore, with the same particle shape and packing form, such as body center cubic (BCC) packing with spheres, the overall heat transfer performance of uniform packing model is higher than that of non-uniform packing model. The models and results presented in this paper would be useful for the optimum design of packed bed reactors.     

华龙一号非能动安全壳热量导出系统热工水力特性研究

本文针对华龙一号非能动安全壳热量导出系统（PCS）,基于漂移流模型开发了一套一维自然循环瞬态计算程序。利用该程序对PCS内热工水力特性进行了分析研究,得到PCS自然循环流量、换热系数、换热器进出口温度、上升管路竖直段出口含气率及水箱水位等热工水力参数随PCS换热功率的变化。本文研究结果将为评估华龙一号PCS的换热能力提供可靠工具,对PCS的设计和改进也具有指导意义,并为后续开发能够模拟带有PCS的安全壳内热工水力行为的程序打下基础。     

The 20th anniversary of the Journal of Supercritical Fluids–A special issue on future directions in supercritical fluid science and technology

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Heat transfer characteristics during subcooled flow boiling of a kerosene kind hydrocarbon fuel in a 1 mm diameter channel

The subcooled flow boiling heat transfer characteristics of a kerosene kind hydrocarbon fuel were investigated in an electrically heated horizontal tube with an inner diameter of 1.0 mm, in the range of heat flux: 20–1500 kW/m², fluid temperature: 25–400 °C, mass flux: 1260–2160 kg/m² s, and pressure: 0.25–2.5 MPa. It was proposed that nucleate boiling heat transfer mechanism is dominant, as the heat transfer performance is dependent on heat flux imposed on the channel, rather than the fuel flow rate. It was found that the wall temperatures along the test section kept constant during the fully developed subcooled boiling (FDSB) of the non-azeotropic hydrocarbon fuel. After the onset of nucleate boiling, the temperature differences between inner wall and bulk fluid begin to decrease with the increase of heat flux. Experimental results show that the complicated boiling heat transfer behavior of hydrocarbon fuel is profoundly affected by the pressure and heat flux, especially by fuel subcooling. A correlation of heat transfer coefficients varying with heat fluxes and fuel subcooling was curve fitted. Excellent agreement is obtained between the predicted values and the experimental data.     

Experimental and kinetic modeling study of methyl butanoate and methyl butanoate/methanol flames at different equivalence ratios and C/O ratios

Premixed laminar methyl butanoate/oxygen/argon and methyl butanoate/methanol/oxygen/argon flames were studied with tunable synchrotron vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) photoionization and molecular-beam sampling mass spectrometry at 30 torr (4.0 kPa). Three flames were investigated in the experiment: MB (methyl butanoate) flame F1.54 (? = 1.54, C/O = 0.479), MB flame F1.67 (? = 1.67, C/O = 0.511) and MB/methanol flame F1.67M (? = 1.67, C/O = 0.479). By measuring the signal intensities at different distances from the burner surface, the mole fraction profiles of intermediates are derived. Experimental results show that the flame front shifts downstream and peak mole fractions of intermediates increase remarkably with the increase of equivalence ratio for pure MB fuel. When methanol is added, the peak mole fractions of most intermediates including those of soot precursors decrease remarkably at the same equivalence ratio, while peaks of soot precursors vary little (only slightly decreasing) at same C/O ratio. It is concluded that the formation of soot precursors is more sensitive to C/O ratio than to equivalence ratio. Besides, more CO₂ is produced near the burner surface in MB flame than that in MB/methanol flame, and this validates an early production of CO₂ in methyl ester oxidation. In addition, a modified MB detailed mechanism is used to model flame structure, and improved agreements between the experimental and predicted results are realized. Based on the simulation results, reaction flux and sensitivity are analyzed for CO₂ and C₃H₃, respectively.