Gas Flow Pattern Research Articles

Effect of high fresh gas flow and pattern of breathing on rapid preoxygenation

Background and Aims:Preoxygenation is supplementation of 100% oxygen prior to induction of general anaesthesia to increase the body’s oxygen stores. Efficacy of preoxygenation can be increased by optimising fresh gas flow (FGF) rate and pattern of breathing.Methods:Based on pattern of breathing—Tidal Volume Breathing (TVB) or Deep Breathing (DB) and FGF-10 L/min or 15 L/min—100 subjects of the American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I/II posted for elective surgery were recruited and randomised into four groups: T10 - TVB with 10 L/min; D10 - DB with 10 L/min; T15 - TVB with 15 L/min; and D15 - DB with 15 L/min. A tight-fitting anaesthesia mask along with continuous positive airway pressure of 5 cm of H2O with 20° head-up was used for preoxygenation. The total time taken and the total number of breaths required to achieve end tidal oxygen concentration (EtO2) of 90% were noted. Exhaled tidal volume (Vte), end tidal carbon dioxide, fraction of inspired oxygen, and EtO2 were recorded at each breath. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used for inferential statistics and Tukey’s honestly significant difference (HSD) test was used to calculate mean difference in total time and number of breaths amongst the groups.Results:Total time taken was significantly low (P < 0.001) in DB compared to TVB (D10: 70.2 ± 19.91, D15: 68.4 ± 20.27 vs T10: 112.28 ± 47.96, T15: 113.6 ± 48.57 seconds). Number of breaths was significantly high (P < 0.001) in TVB with 22.84 ± 8.73, 23.76 ± 11.64, 10.56 ± 3.69, and 8.32 ± 1.8 in T10, T15, D10 and D15, respectively. Vte was significantly low in TVB (P < 0.001).Conclusion:Rapid preoxygenation can be achieved by DB at high FGF of a minimum of 10 L/min.

Falling film co-current flow cyclone demister for separating high-boiling droplets: Gas-liquid flow pattern and performance

In many processes, the product gas stream contains liquid droplets that easily condense or solidify, which can deteriorate demister performance and even block equipment during gas–liquid separation. We proposed a falling film co-current flow cyclone demister (F2CFCD) to solve the above problems. The novel idea is that an additional stream of solvent fluid is added to the gas stream containing the droplets. After injecting the demister, the solvent fluid forms a film on the wall of F2CFCD. When the droplets are separated to the wall surface by centrifugal force, they are dissolved by the liquid film, thereby avoiding crust formation. In this work, the gas–liquid flow characteristics and the performance of F2CFCD are investigated numerically and experimentally. A hot-wire anemometer (HWA) is used to measure the gas velocity, and a conductivity method is used to measure the liquid film thickness. A coupled numerical model of the RSM-DPM and Eulerian wall film (EWF) model is applied to discuss the effect of the gas–liquid flow rate on the flow field in the demister. The liquid volume flow rates ranges from 0.5–10.5 m3/h, and the gas volume flow rates range from 640–894 m3/h. The gas flow pattern and the liquid film flow regimes are explored in the F2CFCD. A film thickness model is established to evaluate the average film thickness in the waterfall regime. Experimental observations illustrate that F2CFCD has a high separation efficiency for droplets under all conditions.

Parametric study of the influence of location and extension height of the rod interceptor on jet engine nozzle characteristics

Modern aircraft need increased maneuverability to maintain a competitive position. One way to improve this characteristic is to use methods to adjust the thrust vectors of a jet engine nozzle. One method of controlling nozzle thrust is the use of nozzle interceptors devices of various shapes that extend into the nozzle channel and cause an uneven distribution of pressure along the walls of the channel. The extension of the rod interceptor near the critical section of the nozzle creates a greater lateral force than the extension of the rod near the exit section. The dependence of the lateral force on the extension height is nonlinear. The article presents a description of a nozzle interceptor of a cylindrical shape extended from the channel wall. Numerical simulation of gas flow in the nozzle with a cylindrical interceptor was carried out. The patterns of gas flow in the channel and in the environment outside the nozzle are presented. The plots of the lateral and axial components of the thrust force against the interceptor rod length are also presented for both cases of the rod location. Rod interceptors can be used in combination with other correcting devices.

NMR Analysis Method of Gas Flow Pattern in the Process of Shale Gas Depletion Development

Shale gas reservoirs have pores of various sizes, in which gas flows in different patterns. The coexistence of multiple gas flow patterns is common. In order to quantitatively characterize the flow pattern in the process of shale gas depletion development, a physical simulation experiment of shale gas depletion development was designed, and a high-pressure on-line NMR analysis method of gas flow pattern in this process was proposed. The signal amplitudes of methane in pores of various sizes at different pressure levels were calculated according to the conversion relationship between the NMR T 2 relaxation time and pore radius, and then, the flow patterns of methane in pores of various sizes under different pore pressure conditions were analyzed as per the flow pattern determination criteria. It is found that there are three flow patterns in the process of shale gas depletion development, i.e., continuous medium flow, slip flow, and transitional flow, which account for 73.5%, 25.8%, and 0.7% of total gas flow, respectively. When the pore pressure is high, the continuous medium flow is dominant. With the gas production in shale reservoir, the pore pressure decreases, the Knudsen number increases, and the pore size range of slip flow zone and transitional flow zone expands. When the reservoir pressure is higher than the critical desorption pressure, the adsorbed gas is not desorbed intensively, and the produced gas is mainly free gas. When the reservoir pressure is lower than the critical desorption pressure, the adsorbed gas is gradually desorbed, and the proportion of desorbed gas in the produced gas gradually increases.

Impact of ablation cell design in LA-ICP-MS quantification

The correlation between non-uniform gas flow patterns in large ablation cells and the resulting elemental fractionation is investigated and compared to two-volume ablation cells.

Process intensification of SO2/CO2 co-capture using microscale vortex flow contactor: Mass transfer behaviors, performance modeling, and flow simulation

To achieve the simultaneous desulfurization and decarbonization by a simple, compact, and low-energy-consumption way, a microscale vortex flow contactor was developed to determine the mass transfer performances of SO2/CO2 co-capture with NaOH solution. Their mass transfer behavior in varying operating parameters was examined in terms of the overall gas-phase mass transfer coefficient (Kga). It was found that the Kga ranges from 3.04 × 10−3 − 1.46 × 10−2 kmol/m3·s·kPa for SO2 capture and from 8.80 × 10−4 − 3.81 × 10−3 kmol/m3·s·kPa for CO2 capture, respectively. The Kga was mainly affected by the absorbent concentration, CO2 concentrations, and liquid–gas flow rates. Furthermore, a semi-empirical correlation was proposed to model their mass transfer performances. It showed the agreement between the measurement and prediction with R2 = 0.9851 for SO2 capture and R2 = 0.9904 for CO2 capture. Finally, the gas flow pattern inside the contactor was simulated using the computational fluid dynamics approach to address the role of gas vortex flow in mass transfer enhancement.

In-cylinder gas flow characteristics study of CI engine under motoring and pre-ignition firing conditions using a high-speed PIV

Engine properties such as engine speed and fuel injection quantity may affect the swirl flow of diesel engines. In this paper, experiments are conducted at two engine rpm and various operation conditions. For instance, motoring with no fuel injected, pre-ignition firing conditions, in addition to different fuel quantities. In this experimental analysis, PIV technique is performed to observe the flow patterns of the charging gas. The obtained results indicate that the swirls behavior is similar under all operation conditions during the intake and compression strokes regardless of the engine speed. In comparison to pre-ignition firing process, generation of more swirl centers has been observed for both engine speeds i.e., 1000 rpm and 1500 rpm under motoring conditions. Additionally, at CA of 610 deg., the swirls centers were maintained for all configurations except for motoring conditions and lowest fuel quantity of 2 mg. Moreover, during expansion strokes for both engine speeds the least magnitude of velocity-vectors was observed under motoring condition. Nevertheless, the higher mean velocity-vectors among that of expansion stroke was observed under pre-ignition firing configuration. The obtained results suggest that, the movement of the induced swirl centers across the piston cavity during expansion to exhaust strokes and increasing the engine speed corresponded to an increase in the mean-velocity, swirl ratios, and TKE.

Simulation of Thermoplastic Powder Cold Spraying

The work is devoted to the deposition of composite powder materials by cold spray method. As a spraying material, a thermoplastic compound «WAY» for marking the roadway was used. An asphalt concrete was used as a substrate. As a result of experimental studies, the dependence of the deposition efficiency on the stagnation temperature of the working air in the ejector nozzle was obtained. The ANSYS Fluent package was used for evaluative modeling of the cold spraying process. Gas flow patterns were obtained in the computational domain without particles and taking into account the interaction of the flow with particles. The trajectory of the particles was calculated for various spraying parameters

Gas Migration Patterns with Different Borehole Sizes in Underground Coal Seams: Numerical Simulations and Field Observations

Gas flow in a coal seam is a complex process due to the complicated coal structure and the sorption characteristics of coal to adsorbable gas (such as carbon dioxide and methane). It is essential to understand the gas migration patterns for different fields of engineering, such as CBM exploitation, underground coal mine gas drainage, and CO2 geo-sequestration. Many factors influence gas migration patterns. From the surface production wells, the in-seam patterns of gas content cannot be quantified, and it is difficult to predict the total gas production time. In order to understand the gas flow patterns during gas recovery and the gas content variations with respect to production time, a solid-fluid coupled gas migration model is proposed to illustrate the gas flow in a coal seam. Field data was collected and simulation parameters were obtained. Based on this model, different scenarios with different borehole sizes were simulated for both directional boreholes and normal parallel boreholes in coal seams. Specifically, the borehole sizes for the directional boreholes were 10 m, 15 m, and 20 m. The borehole sizes for the normal parallel boreholes were 2 m, 4 m, and 6 m. Under different gas drainage leading times, the total gas recovery and residual gas contents were quantified. In Longwall Panel 909 of the Wuhushan coal mine, one gas drainage borehole and five 4 m monitoring boreholes were drilled. After six months of monitoring, the residual gas content was obtained and compared with the simulation results. Of the total gas, 61.36% was drained out from the first 4 m borehole. In this field study, the effective drainage diameter of the drainage borehole was less than 8 m after six months of drainage. The gas drainage performance was tightly affected by the borehole size and the gas drainage time. It was determined that the field observations were in line with the simulation results. The findings of this study can provide field data for similar conditions.

The gas flow pattern through small size Resistive Plate Chambers with 2 mm gap

A prototype of a single-gap glass Resistive Plate Chamber (RPC) is constructed by the authors. To find the requirements for better operation of the detector's gas system, we have simulated the flow of the Argon gas through the detector by using computational fluid dynamic methods. Simulations show that the pressure inside the chamber linearly depends on the gas flow rate and the chamber's output hose length. The simulation results were compatible with experiments. We have found that the pressure-driven speed of the gas molecules is two orders of magnitude larger in the inlet and outlet regions than the blocked corners of a 14 × 14 cm2 chamber, and most likely the difference in speed is higher for larger detectors and different geometries.

Kraft recovery boiler operation with splash plate and/or beer can nozzles — a case study

In this work, we study a boiler experiencing upper furnace plugging and availability issues. To improve the situation and increase boiler availability, the liquor spray system was tuned/modified by testing different combinations of splash plate and beer can nozzles. While beer cans are typically used in smaller furnaces, in this work, we considered a furnace with a large floor area for the study. The tested cases included: 1) all splash plate nozzles (original operation), 2) all beer can nozzles, and 3) splash plate nozzles on front and back wall and beer cans nozzles on side walls. We found that operating according to Case 3 resulted in improved overall boiler operation as compared to the original condition of using splash plates only. Additionally, we carried out computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling of the three liquor spray cases to better understand the furnace behavior in detail for the tested cases. Model predictions show details of furnace combustion characteristics such as temperature, turbulence, gas flow pattern, carryover, and char bed behavior. Simulation using only the beer can nozzles resulted in a clear reduction of carryover. However, at the same time, the predicted lower furnace temperatures close to the char bed were in some locations very low, indicating unstable bed burning. Compared to the first two cases, the model predictions using a mixed setup of splash plate and beer can nozzles showed lower carryover, but without the excessive lowering of gas temperatures close to the char bed.

Development of the Method for Predicting and Calculating the Operation of Sorption Systems for Cleaning the Generator Gas based on Dolomite Use. Part II

At present, instead of a direct combustion of solid fuel, its thermochemical conversion is exten-sively used to produce a generator gas. The use of this technology is connected with the need for gas purification. One of the promising and widely spread sorbents for the purification of the generator gas is dolomite, whose particles compose the active component of the bed filters. Forecasting the technological characteristics of the functioning of the bed filters of a various de-sign is an extremely urgent task. The objective of the study is to develop a method for forecast-ing and calculating the operation of sorption systems for purification of the generator gas based on dolomite. It is achieved by constructing and verifying a mathematical model of the function-ing of the bed sorption filter with a radial-axial flow pattern of the generator gas through the do-lomite filling. The Markov chains theory of a mathematical apparatus is used to design the one-dimensional mathematical model of the process with discrete space and time. The main recurrent balance ratio is formed at each calculation step taking into account the current characteristics of the process, which makes the model nonlinear. The significance of the research is that an approach to the problem of increasing the reliability of the description and reliability of forecasting technological processes in a bed filter was proposed based on the construction of mathematical models of these processes, in which the filter is considered as a system with distributed characteristics, and the calculation was based on local exchange potentials between particles and gas.

Mesoscale analysis on clusters in conjunction with fast fluidized bed modeling

As a subsequent paper for “type-A-choking-oriented unified model for fast fluidization dynamics”, the present work aims to provide more systematic mesoscale analyses on clusters. Starting from theoretical derivations on idealized flow patterns of gas and solids around a single falling cluster; the momentum consumption due to particle circulation in clouds and the modification of flows by the constraint of driving force available in the bed were addressed. Complete compensation of the pressure-drop driven percolated gas in clusters by the reversely-penetrating particles was used for the ultimate closure of the model. An important finding of the present work, different from most empirical correlations, but verified by Wei and Zhu's latest experimental data and others, is that the cluster diameter does not vary monotonically with the mean solids holdup of the bed, but has a maximum value in between. Demonstrative calculations show that it is easy for Group A particles to enter the flow regime of high-density fast-fluidization as the circulating solids flux increases continuously, while fast fluidization for Group B particles tends to be stopped at Type C choking in advance. Compared with Group A particles, the clusters for Group B particles are less dense, but the penetration velocities of particles are higher, resulting in much larger dimensionless diameters of clusters. Finally, issues of pseudo-2D fast-bed modeling were discussed, and modeling of fast-beds with uneven flow fields was outlook briefly.

Study on the surface structure effect of anode flow channel in proton exchange membrane fuel cell

The paper mainly discusses the transport behavior of hydrogen gas in the anode flow channel of the Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell. The flow pattern of hydrogen gas at the anode is affected by the surface structure of flow channel. In order to accurately simulate the transport characteristics of the hydrogen gas in the anode flow channel, a structured 3-D multi-block, staggered grid system is used for spatial discretization in numerical methods, and the finite volume method is used to sequentially iteratively solve the continuous and momentum conservation equations. The coupling between velocity and pressure in the flow field is calculated by the PISO algorithm. Two shapes design of three-dimensional smooth straight flow channel and three-dimensional bump straight flow channel are adopted in this paper. The hydrogen gas with Reynolds number 200 enters the smooth straight flow channel. The flow field inside the flow channel has been developed about 0.3 ms. At the same inlet Reynolds number and straight flow channels of three kind of bump height ratio (h/H=0.25, h/H=0.5, h/H=0.75), these calculation results are discovered that the height ratio of the bump increases and the backflow effect becomes more obvious. The current density of the Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell is further analyzed by the flow field variation in the bump flow channel.

Application of gas phase tracking approach in hydrodynamic simulation for gas–liquid two-phase flow in undulant pipelines

In this paper, we propose a new hydrodynamic model for gas–liquid two-phase flows in undulant pipelines based on the gas tracking method. The motion of three main forms of gas phase, including elongated bubbles, small bubbles, and gas pockets, is modeled by respective momentum equations. The mass transfer behaviors among the three gas forms, including interior mass transfer of single gas form, are considered. Therefore, the flow patterns along the pipeline can be predicted based on the gas tracking method. Afterward, the integrated pressure gradient of the gas–liquid two-phase flow in undulant pipelines can be obtained with the updated flow patterns. The model validation using the field data of a real pipeline in China shows that the accuracy of this model is within acceptable range. According to the simulation results, how the pipe terrain affects the gas transport and flow patterns is revealed, and sensitive analysis is carried out. These findings are of great practical value to obtain a deeper understanding of gas–liquid two-phase flows in undulant pipelines.

Wet gas measurements of long-throat Venturi Tube based on forced annular flow

A wet gas dual-parameter measuring device composed of a cyclone and a long-throated Venturi tube is proposed to overcome the difficulty of measuring the liquid content of wet gases and reduce the error caused by the wet gas flow pattern. The flow pattern is transformed into an annular flow by a cyclone. In this study, the proposed device was compared with a traditional non-cyclone long-throat Venturi tube; furthermore, the pressure difference ratio W between the contraction and expansion sections of the long-throat Venturi tube was introduced as a parameter. Through numerical simulations, the relationship between W, the gas Froude number, over-reading, and liquid-gas mass flow ratio was analyzed, and a new wet gas flow measurement model was established. The reliability of the measurement model was verified through indoor experiments. The experimental results showed that the traditional wet gas measurement device had gas phase and liquid phase errors of ±4.5% and ±10%, respectively; on the other hand, the cyclone-based wet gas measurement device had gas phase and liquid phase errors of ±3% and ±8%, respectively. Thus, the performance of the wet gas measurement device with the cyclone was higher than that of the traditional wet gas measurement device.

Experimental study on flow oscillating mechanism of non-condensable gas jet through one- or multi-hole sparger in quiescent water

Submerged gas jet plays a very important role in many industries occasion. It often causes load of pool structure induced by flow oscillation. Exploring the mechanism and key influencing factors of submerged non-condensable gas jet oscillation characteristics is of great significance to ensure the safe operation of the equipment. In the present work, the phenomenon of flow oscillation for non-condensable gas jet through a horizontal one- or multi-hole sparger from sonic to supersonic zone is studied experimentally. The steady and unsteady characteristic of flow process and flow structure are visualized by using high-speed camera, and pressure oscillation is obtained by simultaneous pressure measurement. Experimental results show that gas Froude number and sparger structure have great influence on the gas flow pattern. With Froude number increasing, gas flow pattern is obviously reinforced. Multi-hole sparger significantly weakens the gas jet behavior at horizontal direction away from holes comparing with one-hole sparger under the same Froude number. The spectrogram approaches of pressure oscillation indicates the dynamic pressure data contains two principal frequency components. First dominant frequency is identical with that of transient interfacial fluctuation, which is related to gas jet periodic expansion feedback and independent on Froude number and position. And second dominant frequency is not changed with the position, but decreases significantly with the increase of Froude number. Intensity of pressure oscillation increases with Froude number increasing and the distance from sparger decreasing. In addition, the multi-hole sparger can significantly reduce intensity of pressure oscillation under the same Froude number. Dimensionless relation is developed to evaluate the Froude number and sparger structure on the second dominant frequency and intensity of pressure oscillation. This study can be applied to well understanding of flow oscillation mechanism and provide technical support for looking for mitigation measures to reduce oscillation in the future.

Flow Pattern and Resistance Characteristics of Gas–Liquid Two-Phase Flow with Foam under Low Gas–Liquid Flow Rate

To reduce the cost of arranging air foam flooding equipment at each wellhead, a method of establishing centralized air foam flooding injection stations is proposed. The flow pattern and resistance characteristics of air foam flooding mixtures in different initial conditions are studied. Experimental results indicate that the probability density function of stratified flow is obtained by comparing stainless steel and transparent pipes. If the gas–liquid ratio is kept constant, then the shape of the probability density function remains unchanged in both stainless steel and transparent tubes. Meanwhile, the flow pattern under the gas–liquid ratio is determined by comparing the image recognition results with the probability density function, and a formula for calculating the resistance and pressure drop of the gas and liquid two-phase flow in the horizontal and upward pipes is established. Compared with the experiments, the error results of the calculation are small. Thus, the proposed equations can be used to predict the flow resistance of real air foam flooding.

Numerical simulation of gas-liquid two-phase flow in the micro-fracture networks in fractured reservoirs

The fracture network in fractured reservoirs is the main channel for fracturing fluid intrusion and gas flow, and the presence of liquid has a great influence on the gas flow pattern, and the gas flow shows more diversity in fluids with different properties such as fracturing fluid or formation water. In order to study the characteristics of gas-liquid two-phase flow in the microfracture network of the fractured gas reservoir, the topology of the microfracture network is simplified to T-junction and Y-junction. Based on the volume of fluid model, the gas-liquid two-phase flow interface is tracked. The model is solved by computational fluid dynamics software OpenFOAM, and the correctness of the model is verified by comparing it with laboratory microscopic experiment results. The flow characteristics of the gas phase in different fluids at the microscale and the influence of fluid parameters on flow pattern are analyzed. The results show that the properties of the liquid phase have a strong influence on the gas flow pattern, and the two-phase flow velocity and the properties of fluid parameters affect the gas flow to reach the stable state. The findings of this study can be used for reference to analyze the flow characteristics of gas in fracturing fluid and the flowback technology of fracturing gas well.

Effect of Argon Flow on Oxygen and Carbon Coupled Transport in an Industrial Directional Solidification Furnace for Crystalline Silicon Ingots

Transient global simulations were carried out to investigate the effect of argon flow on oxygen and carbon coupled transport in an industrial directional solidification furnace for quasi-single crystalline silicon ingots. Global calculation of impurity transport in the argon gas and silicon melt was based on a fully coupled calculation of the thermal and flow fields. Numerical results show that the argon flow rate affects the flow intensity along the melt–gas surface, but has no significant effect on the flow patterns of silicon melt and argon gas above the melt–gas surface. It was found that the evaporation flux of SiO along the melt–gas surface decreases with the increasing argon flow rate during the solidification process. However, the net flux of oxygen atoms (SiO evaporation flux minus CO dissolution flux) away from the melt–gas surface increases with the increasing argon flow rate, leading to a decrease in the oxygen concentration in the grown ingot. The carbon concentration in the grown ingot shows an exponential decrease with the increase of the argon flow rate, owing to the fact that the dissolution flux of CO significantly decreases with the increasing argon flow rate. The numerical results agree well with the experimental measurements.