CFD Method Research Articles

Analysis of the influence of bottom flow holes in control rod guide tubes on flow field and control rod displacement

During the operation of pressurized water reactors, flow-induced vibration issues are commonly encountered, where control rod components vibrate due to the impact of coolant flow, leading to wear, thereby posing a threat to the safe operation of the reactor. This paper conducts a detailed numerical simulation of the flow field and force distribution inside a full-scale lower control rod guide tube based on the CFD method. The fluid–structure interaction analysis is performed to reveal the influence of cross-flow under various operating conditions on the vibration and displacement of control rods. The research subject consists of 24 control rods, one continuous guide section, and six control rod guide cards. The lower part of the guide tube has two flow holes on each surface, with one assumed to be a cross-flow inlet and the others as outlets. The results indicate that when considering the cross-flow effect at the flow holes, 90 % of the coolant flows out from other flow holes at the bottom of the guide tube, resulting in increased transverse velocity at the bottom and the presence of numerous vortices. The magnitude and location of the force exerted on the control rod by coolant impact are correlated. The control rod closest to the inlet of the flow hole experiences the greatest force, approximately 5.35 times the average at other positions. At a cross-flow velocity of 0.4 m/s and a low frequency of 10 Hz, the maximum displacement of the control rod is 0.3355 mm.

Results on the Use of an Original Burner for Reducing the Three-Way Catalyst Light-Off Time

Individual road mobility comes with two major challenges: greenhouse gas emissions related to global warming and chemical pollution. For the pollution reduction in the spark ignition engine vehicle, the standard and reliable aftertreatment technology is the three-way catalytic converter (TWC). However, the TWC starts to convert once an optimal temperature, usually known as the light-off temperature, is reached. There are many methods to reduce the warm-up period of the TWC, among which is using a burner. The initial question underlying this study was to see if the use of a relatively straightforward extra-combustion device mounted upstream the TWC, without complex elements, was able to serve the purpose of reducing the light-off time. Consequently, an original burner was designed and investigated numerically via the CFD method and experimentally via measurements of the temperature evolution within a TWC, along with the emissions specific to the burner’s operation. The main findings of this study are: (1) the CFD-based examination is a good way to decide on how to achieve the so-called fit-for-purpose internal aerodynamics of the burner (i.e., to obtain a homogeneous mixture) and (2) to reach the light-off temperature, conventionally taken as 500 K, the burner was operated for 5.2 s, i.e., 3.6 g of gasoline injected, 2.7 g of CO2 and 1.351 g of CO, respectively, emitted. Moreover, this study identified measures for improving the burner’s design as well as an enhanced procedure for the burner’s operating control both aiming to produce a cleaner combustion during the TWC pre-heating.

Numerical Simulation Investigation of Wind Field Characteristics and Acceleration Effects over V-Shaped Hills

Wind energy resources play an important role in sustainable development, and the accelerating effect of wind has been found in V-shaped hills, which informs the siting of wind turbines in this type of terrain. The wind field around the V-shaped hill was simulated using the CFD method. The impact of wind angle, hill pinch angle, and the distance between the hills on the wind field around the V-shaped hill was investigated. Wind acceleration effects at specific locations were studied and analyzed, and these findings were compared with established codes. It was observed that the wind speed at the hill’s top under each wind angle is significantly higher compared to other areas. Additionally, the acceleration ratio at the top generally exhibits a decreasing trend with increasing height. If the wind angle is 15° and the pinch angle is greater than or equal to 15°, or if the distance between the hills is less than or equal to 50 m, the wake zone will gradually transition from two to one. The distance between the hills minimally affects the acceleration ratio at the mid-height and top of the hill. Several codes exhibit inconsistency in specifying acceleration effects in hilly terrain. The findings in this paper align most closely with the American code at the base of the hill. At the hill’s top, the American code is the lowest above 100 m, while the Chinese code is the highest below 100 m. The findings in this paper fall between those of the Japanese and Australian codes. The formulas for the variation in wind speed acceleration ratio at typical locations with respect to height and the angle between the hills are provided.

Study on performance of scroll compressor for micro-refrigeration systems by CFD method

Study on performance of scroll compressor for micro-refrigeration systems by CFD method

Effects of Homogeneous and Inhomogeneous Roughness on the Ship Resistance

Ship hull roughness can significantly increase the ship resistance. The roughness caused by biofouling attached to the ship hull is not uniform but has a random distribution. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the inhomogeneous surface roughness distribution affects the ship resistance and the various resistance components. The KRISO container ship (KCS) is considered as a case study. To model the inhomogeneous surface roughness, the ship hull is divided into three segments with equal wetted surface area. Combinations of three roughness heights, denoted as P, Q, and R with ks values of 125 μm, 269 μm, and 425 μm, respectively, are considered to obtain homogeneous and inhomogeneous roughness arrangements (PPP, QQQ, RRR, PQR, PRQ, QPR, QRP, RPQ, and RQP). CFD method is utilized in this study, utilizing RANS equations and k-ω SST turbulence model. A VoF method is used to model the free surface. CFD simulation results show that for the homogeneous roughness, the total resistance coefficient CT increases with increasing ks (PPP < QQQ < RRR), as expected. For the inhomogeneous roughness, the friction resistance coefficient CF increases in the order PQR < PRQ < QPR < QRP < RPQ < RQP, consistent with results from earlier studies. In all the cases, the friction resistance (CF) is the dominant component of the total resistance. As Re increases from 2.2 x 109 to 2.7 x 109, the percentage of the friction resistance decreases, while the percentage of the wave resistance increases. The viscous-pressure resistance decreases slightly as Re increases from 2.2 x 109 to 2.7 x 109.

Dynamic characteristics analysis of shock absorber based on fluid simulation

Pneumatic spring dampers are extensively utilized within hydraulic systems, and the flow characteristics of the internal oil play a crucial role in determining noise and vibration levels. To validate the mechanical structure's reliability, the shock absorber was simplified and the fluid domain was extracted using a CFD method. The velocity field and pressure field under different conditions were then simulated and analyzed. A finite element model of the flow field was established, and its accuracy was verified by comparing simulation results of gas side pressure with experimental results. According to the working principle of the oil-gas spring, dynamic active surfaces in contact with the main piston and dynamic driven surfaces in contact with the floating piston were defined, determining moving conditions for dynamic grids. The results indicate that as the diameter of flow channels increases, there is a decrease in average pressure drop within the oil chamber (i.e., pressure loss within the flow field). Additionally, as bend angle increases, average pressure drop decreases. However, optimization effects become less significant beyond a certain bend angle.

Analysis of aerodynamic characteristics of drone wing based on CFD

In order to improve the aerodynamic characteristics of the drone wings, CFD method was used to simulate and calculate the lift coefficient, drag coefficient, and lift-drag ratio under different relative inflow velocities, as well as the velocity and pressure fields under different attack angles. Modal calculations were conducted on the wing to obtain the first four modal shapes, providing a basis for analyzing flutter characteristics. An iterative calculation method of incompressible potential flow-boundary layer based on surface element method was combined with the software XFOIL to optimize the airfoil at low wind speeds. The results indicate that the airfoil is susceptible to stall at high angles of attack, with the pressure of the separation flow being nearly equivalent to that at the separation point. Subsequent to separation, there is an increase in differential pressure resistance, resulting in a marked rise in the drag coefficient. At the optimized angle of attack, the lift-drag ratio of the optimized wing increases by 12.58 %, while there is a decrease of 0.084 % in lift coefficient and an increase of 11.21 % in drag coefficient.

Experimental and computational study of aerodynamic loads on the NATO Generic Destroyer

This paper describes a detailed study into the aerodynamic loading of a 150 m long conceptual combat ship known as the NATO Generic Destroyer. Results are presented from a wind tunnel experiment in which the drag and side forces, and the roll and yaw moments, were measured around the 360° azimuth using a 0.75 m long model of the ship. Surface pressures were also measured between 0° and 180°, using 252 pressure taps distributed over the surface of the ship. The measured loads and surface pressures are shown to agree reasonably well, for most wind directions, with those predicted by a steady RANS CFD method. An unexpected result was found in the drag measurements, whereby the force was found to be towards the stern for wind directions up to 120°, i.e., with a wind component towards the bow. The reason for this apparent anomaly was explained by considering the flow field and the surface pressures acting on the ship for wind angles between 90° and 135°. The primary purpose of the paper is to make available a set of high-quality aerodynamic load measurements for a well-defined ship geometry, which is freely accessible, thereby providing a test case for CFD validation.

Numerical simulation of fluid flow characteristics and ultrasonic cavitation performance in novel-designed stirred tank sonoreactor

A novel-designed stirred tank sonoreactor was developed to well solve large-scale dispersion of nanoparticles in liquid phase system. The fluid flow characteristics and ultrasonic cavitation performance in the sonoreactor were numerically simulated by CFD method. By comparing the pressure, cavitation bubble and velocity distribution under different situations, it is found that larger ultrasonic amplitude, relatively smaller ultrasonic frequency, higher saturated vapor pressure and lower viscosity of liquid medium are beneficial to ultrasonic cavitation. Besides, the acoustic flow action is strengthened with the increase of ultrasonic frequency and decrease of gas-liquid mixture's average density. For the designed sonoreactor, it is critical that high-frequency transducers should be determined near the bottom and upper region of the kettle, and large-amplitude transducers can be confirmed in the middle position. The research findings will provide theoretical and technical supports for developing state-of-the-art sonoreactors and optimizing ultrasonic process parameters in the industrialized preparation of nanocomposites.

Study on the Influence of Tip Clearance on Working Characteristics of High-Altitude Fan

To study the influence of tip clearance on the working characteristics of high-altitude fans, this paper takes the MIX-140 high-altitude fan as the research object. Five different tip clearance (TC) models are selected. The CFD method is used to analyze the changes in the working characteristics of the fan under different flow rates and TCs in ground and high-altitude environments. The reliability of the numerical method is verified through a fan test bench. The results show that the tip leakage flow caused by the TC will continuously deteriorate the working characteristics of the fan. Under the rated flow rate in the ground environment, for every doubling of the blade’s TC, the static pressure difference will decrease by 5%, the efficiency will decrease by 2%, and the power will decrease by 3%. In a high-altitude environment, the flow rate corresponding to the maximum shaft power point of the fan will continuously increase with an increase in the tip clearance, which will bring about additional energy consumption. For high-altitude fans, the deformation caused by the high-speed rotation of the impeller needs to be taken into account. Undoubtedly, it is advantageous to choose the smallest possible tip clearance value. The results of the analysis and test methods in this paper will provide a basis for designing the tip clearance of high-altitude fans.

Effects of propeller cavitation on ship propulsion performance in off-design operating conditions

The propeller cavitation is closely related with its hydrodynamic performance. When the propeller works in the cavitating flow, the propeller hydrodynamic performance, in terms of thrust and torque coefficients, is reduced due to the propeller cavitation. When the high-speed and high-power ship sails in adverse sea, the varying loads on propeller will cause severer cavitation on propeller. The reduction in propulsion performance caused by cavitation will further affect the propulsion system, impacting the ship sailing performance and safety. The VP1304 propeller cavitation CFD simulation are conducted to validate the CFD method. Furthermore, the influence of propeller advance ratio and cavitation numbers on the performance of low-speed high-power series propeller in cavitating flow are studied and illustrated. This influence of cavitation has also been transferred to the propulsion system and this process are calculated by the ship propulsion system numerical model. Additionally, the sailing performance of ship propulsion system under off-design conditions, where the cavitation is more likely to occur, has been investigated in this article. Under severe heavy load conditions, it can even result in a complete loss of propulsion capability, posing significant risks. Therefore, it is necessary to further optimize control strategies for the propulsion system to mitigate the hazards caused by cavitation.

An insight about roll damping within the second generation intact stability criteria

AbstractDespite the recognized complexity to estimate the damping influence on ship roll motion, some efficient semi-empirical methodologies have been developed along the years to this purpose. CFD methods, in principle the most appropriate tools to predict roll damping, are not a favorite option in preliminary design at present due to their implications in terms of complexity and computational time. In this paper, an integration of the semi-empirical Ikeda’s simplified method has been formulated with modification of the bilge keels and lift components, following a contribution found in the literature and relevant for Ro–Ro ships. Moreover, with focus on damping evaluation, the second generation intact stability criteria (SGISc) have been investigated: the second-level vulnerability criteria for dead ship condition and parametric roll have been applied to a Ro–Ro passenger ship. Both the consolidated and the new proposed roll damping prediction methods have been implemented in order to appreciate their effects on the final outcome.

Research on parametric roll of the polar environmental transport ship based on time-domain Rankine panel method

In this study, the roll damping of a polar environmental transport ship (PETS) is estimated using viscous CFD method, and the parametric roll is simulated based on time-domain Rankine panel method. This method's reliability is validated by contrasting the simulation results with the experimental data of C11 container ship. The roll damping of C11 container ship is estimated using CFD method and improved Ikeda's method, respectively. Then, the time-domain Rankine panel method is adopted to simulate the roll motions of C11 container ship, and the simulation results are contrasted with experimental data. It confirms that the roll damping is calculated by CFD method and the roll motions of ships are simulated based on time-domain Rankine panel method has good applicability. Finally, the influence of wave steepness, wavelength, and the ratio of encounter frequency ωe to natural roll frequency ωroll on the parametric roll of PETS are studied. It is found that the maximum roll angle of PETS increases along with wave steepness. As the wavelength increases, the possibility of parametric roll for PETS is also increasing. When the parametric roll of PETS occurs, the ωe/ωroll tends to increase.

Ship hydrodynamic performance analysis and model construction based on CFD method

Abstract CFD method has the advantages of high forecast accuracy, wide applicability, strong stability of calculation results, and low cost, and nowadays it has been widely used in various fields. The CFD method has many advantages when applied to ship hydrodynamic performance analysis, specifically to ship hydrodynamic performance prediction, problem mechanism research, and performance optimization. Based on this, this paper utilizes the CFD method to carry out a model analysis of ship hydrodynamic performance. By analyzing the propeller efficiency, the reasoning force and torque of the double propeller in the symmetric case are decreased. However, the efficiency is improved by 1.4% compared with the asymmetric case, which shows that the method adopted in this paper can effectively improve the ship hydrodynamic force. Through the above research, we aim to provide a certain reference for the improvement of ship hydrodynamic performance.

Resistance performance study and hull form optimization of aquaculture vessel by CFD method

Abstract Aquaculture vessel is a novel form of deep-sea aquaculture engineering with a wide range of applications. The resistance performance of the aquaculture vessel was studied by the computational fluid dynamics method and compared with the experiment. Two optimization schemes, namely, straight bow and bulbous bow, are designed to optimize the original design, focusing on improving the bow profile. The effectiveness of the two optimization schemes in terms of resistance reduction was evaluated by the CFD method. The resistance calculated by numerical calculations was found to be in good agreement with the experimental results. The bulbous bow scheme reduces resistance better than the upright scheme, with a resistance reduction of 2.92% at 11 kn. This study can guide the overall design of an aquaculture vessel.

Research and thermal comfort analysis of the air conditioning system of the Ferris wheel car based on thermoelectric cooling

To solve the problem of thermal discomfort caused by the lack of cooling facilities on the Ferris wheel and to investigate the effect of the coupling effect of thermoelectric modules on the thermoelectric cooling (TEC) system, this paper proposes a two-module thermoelectric cooling and air-conditioning system that can be applied to the Ferris wheel. Firstly, the experimental platform was established to test the performance parameters of the TEC system and reveal the influence of the thermoelectric module (TEM) coupling effect on the system performance. Then, the thermal environment inside the Ferris wheel was simulated using the CFD method and human thermal comfort was evaluated. The results show that when the voltage of TEM1 and TEM2 is 10V and 6V respectively, the thermoelectric cooling and air-conditioning system has the best working performance, and the coefficient of performance (COP) is 0.43. And the human thermal comfort deviation AEQT is 0.29, which is in a comfortable state under the action of the air-conditioning system.

Numerical investigation on the slamming loads of a truncated trimaran hull entering regular waves

For ship slamming, waves can disturb the water entry progress and thus affect the slamming load characteristics. This paper studied the slamming loads of a trimaran entering regular waves based on the CFD method. The results of a trimaran model impacting calm water and wedge impacting waves are used to verify the present method. The free surface evolution and load characteristics of the trimaran model considering wave effects are discussed. The results showed that the position at which the structure touches the wave surface depends on the formation, deformation and escape of bubble flows, which cause obvious asymmetrical flow. The enclosure of the air cavity induces a step increase in pressure, and the pressure peak appears when the bubble fully escapes. Three typical positions, wave crest, wave cross and wave through, are chosen to explore the influence of waves on slamming loads. The impact load shows a 98% difference at different wave locations. In ship load forecasting, the position of the waves relative to the hull is noteworthy. The influence of the water entry velocity on the slamming load is further discussed. Bubble retention related to the water entry velocity is the key factor affecting the peak load.

Flow characteristics inside rectangular Tesla valve with different width-to-narrow ratios

To investigate the influence of the flow channel’s width-to-narrow ratio on the Tesla valve’s flow characteristics, this paper establishes five Tesla valve models with different width-to-narrow ratios. Employing the laminar flow model, CFD methods were used to numerically simulate both the forward and reverse flows through the Tesla valve across a spectrum of width-to-narrow ratios, ranging from 0.2 to 1. The results reveal the flow trends in the straight or arc channels show opposite variation patterns when flowing in forward and reverse directions. The flow rate passing through straight channel is more sensitive to the response of a small width-to-narrow ratio. Irrespective of the flow direction, as the width-to-narrow ratio increases, the fluid flow within the valve demonstrates increasingly pronounced stratification. The pressure curve of the diversion section assumes an “∞” shape in forward flow, whereas in reverse flow, it assumes a “flat plate” shape.

Numerical investigation of the performance and flow field of an annular jet pump with throat aeration

The method of throat aeration was used to improve the performance of the annular jet pump (AJP). In order to study the influence of throat aeration on the performance and flow field of the AJP, the CFD method was used. The results show that at a low flow rate ratio ( q) the appropriate aeration rate can narrow or even eliminate the recirculation region. Meanwhile, the efficiency of AJP is improved at a medium-to-high q. Notably, the maximum increase in efficiency is 7.32% at q = 0.7 and the optimal aeration rate should be between 1% and 2%. Since the dynamic viscosity of air is much lower than water, a small amount of air attached to the wall can reduce friction loss. The air flows along the wall after the air aerated into the throat, reducing the shear stress between the high-speed jet and the wall. At a low q, most of the area in the throat is the high efficiency drag reduction region which the drag reduction rate exceeds 80%. Moreover, the high efficiency drag reduction region extends toward the diffuser when the q is high. In addition, throat aeration can optimize the pressure distribution near the wall and axis.

Investigation of the hydraulic performance heat improvement in 3D pipe by variable of novel twisted tape configurations based on CFD and DoE analysis methods

Enhancing heat transfer is a key area that is closely related to economically efficient systems in various forms of energy saving. The insert of twisted are regarded as thermal method. Goal of the current study was to thoroughly assess how using several approaches at the same time affected the tube heat exchanger’s thermal flow, and thermal enhancement. Different twisted configurations were used such as twisted width, thickness of twisted, turn numbers, and thickness of inward are the modified geometrical parameters. Design of the experiments approach is used to investigate how different geometrical parameters affect the improvement of heat and hydraulic thermofluid pattern in twisted tube heat exchangers as the output variables. The Response Surface technique was also used to investigate and identify various outcome models. Taguchi analysis was applied to optimize the experimental design by investigating changes and executing orthogonal arrays. Additionally, the experimental study design was the orthogonal array L16. The performance parameter was optimized separately, and then the DoE methodology was combined with Taguchi method (TM) and response surface methodology (RMS) to optimize all parameters. In this work, the ideal twisted tape design is discovered through the application of CFD numerical approach in conjunction with RSM and TM. Compared results to traditional pipe, improvement in heat is roughly 42.81 % and 42.72 % for temperature differentials and heat transfer rate performance, respectively.