Gas Flow Research Articles

Oxidation Study and Mechanism Analysis of Desulfurization Ash in Dense-Phase Tower

Dense-phase-tower desulfurization technology is an emerging semi-dry flue-gas desulfurization ash process, i.e., the flue gas is allowed to enter the desulfurization tower from the bottom up and, at the same time, is sprayed with a desulfurizing agent that undergoes an acid–base reaction with the flue gas in the ascent process. The calcium sulfite and calcium sulfate produced by the reaction and the part of the desulfurization agent that is not involved in the reaction will enter the subsequent dust removal system, and what is retained is the by-product desulfurization ash. This desulfurization ash contains a large amount of calcium sulfite, which leads to its unstable nature; it is easily oxidized and expands in volume, and, if used in the field of building materials, it will lead to cracking and other problems, so it is difficult to effectively use it. In order to solve this problem, XRF, XRD, and iodometric and other analytical methods were used to determine the specific composition of desulfurization ash, and the muffle furnace and vertical tube furnace were used to study the thermal oxidative modification of calcium sulfite in desulfurization ash, to investigate the effects of the oxygen content, reaction temperature, medium flow rate, and chloride content on the oxidation of calcium sulfite, and to analyze the thermodynamics in the high-temperature oxidation reaction. The results showed that the oxidation rate of calcium sulfite increased with higher reaction temperatures. Increased oxygen content promoted the oxidation rate, particularly at low oxygen levels. The oxidation rate of calcium sulfite correlated positively with the medium flow rate until a rate of 75 mL·min− was reached. At a reaction temperature of 420 °C and a gas flow rate of 85 mL·min−1, the oxidation conversion efficiency exceeded 89%. Chloride content significantly reduced the oxidation rate of calcium sulfite, although this inhibition weakened at temperatures above 500 °C. Kinetic analysis suggested that the oxidation reaction of calcium sulfite predominantly occurred below 500 °C. These findings have both theoretical and practical implications for the thermal oxidation treatment and disposal of desulfurization ash.

Effects of Process-Induced Defects on the Corrosion of Additively Manufactured Stainless Steel 304L

Abstract This study investigates the impact of process-induced defects such as gas pores, lack of fusions, and surface roughness on corrosion behavior of stainless steel 304L (SS304L) fabricated by laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing. Specimens are printed with optimized process parameters but selected from different locations on the build plate. Parallel and perpendicular surfaces to the build direction are investigated and compared with corrosion properties of wrought SS304L in 5wt.% NaCl. The results reveal significant difference in corrosion behavior among specimens due to variations in their defect features. Pitting potential, pit initiation, and growth rates are found to be influenced by specimen location on the build plate. The specimen located in downstream of the shielding gas flow shows the least corrosion resistance. While no clear trends are observed between some corrosion properties and defect features, other properties show strong correlations. For example, no trend is observed for the corrosion properties in relation to pore average area fraction. However, strong correlations are observed for the corrosion properties as functions of defects maximum area. Corrosion properties linearly deteriorate as the defects maximum area increases. Roughness shows a mixed relationship with pitting potential. Comprehensive discussions on all these effects are presented.

Observation of gas flow around plants using Schlieren imaging system and high-refractive-index gas

The fruits of many plant are carried and flowers are also swayed by the wind. If the flow of air around plants can be visualized, the science behind it will be interestingly illustrated. In this study, the gas flow around cherry blossom fruits, clover flowers, maple seed propellers, and dandelion pappi as spherical and propeller-shaped samples is demonstrated using a Schlieren optical system and a high-refractive-index gas. The observed gas flow corresponding to the sample shape was well characterized by fluid dynamics features such as the Coandă effect. The results of experiments in which the flow of gas around plants is visualized are useful as a scientific education material for fluidics and optics.

Experimental comparison of foam flow and gas flow in municipal solid waste

Experimental comparison of foam flow and gas flow in municipal solid waste

Direct growth of highly oriented GaN thin films on silicon by remote plasma CVD

We report on low-temperature (500 °C) and low-pressure (0.3 mbar) direct growth of GaN thin films on silicon (100) substrates using remote plasma chemical vapour deposition (RP-CVD). In the custom-designed reactor, an RF inductively coupled plasma is generated remotely from the substrate’s area to facilitate the decomposition of group-V precursor, N2 with added H2, while group-III precursor trimethylgallium (TMGa), is directly injected into the growth chamber mixed with H2 carrier gas. Growth parameters such as RF power, process pressure and gas flow rates have been optimized to achieve a film growth rate of about 0.6 µm h−1. Several characterization techniques were used to investigate the plasma and the properties of the grown thin films in terms of their crystallinity, morphology, topography, and composition. The films are highly textured with a preferential orientation along the c-axis of the wurtzite structure. They present a small roughness in the nanometer range and a columnar microstructure with a grain size of one hundred nanometer, and a gallium polarity (+c plane oriented). Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and nuclear reaction analysis show that the chemical composition is homogeneous through the depth of the layer, with a III/V ratio close to 1, a very low content of oxygen (below the detection limit ∼1%) and a carbon content up to 11%. It was shown that the increase of plasma power helps to reduce this carbon contamination down to 8%. This research paves the way for a growth method compatible with cost reduction of III–V thin film production achieved through reduced gas consumption facilitated by RP-CVD operation at low pressure.

Self-modification of Defective TiO2 under Controlled H2/Ar Gas Environment and Dynamics of Photoinduced Oxygen Vacancies.

In recent years, defective TiO2 has caught considerable research attention because of its potential to overcome the limits of low visible light absorption and fast charge recombination present in pristine TiO2 photocatalysts. Among the different synthesis conditions for defective TiO2, ambient pressure hydrogenation with the addition of Ar as inert gas for safety purposes has been established as an easy to realize process. Whether the Ar gas might still influence the resulting photocatalytic properties and defective surface layer remains an open question. Here, we reveal that the gas flow ratio between H2 and Ar has a crucial impact on the defective structure as well as the photocatalyic activity of TiO2. In particular, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) in combination with electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) revealed a larger width of the defective surface layer when using a H2/Ar (50%-50%) gas mixture over pure H2. Here, a possible reason could be the increase in dynamic viscosity of the gas mixture when Ar is added. Additionally, photoinduced enhanced Raman spectroscopy (PIERS) is implemented as a complementary approach to investigate the dynamics of the defective structures under ambient conditions which cannot be effortlessly realized by vacuum techniques like TEM.

New insight and experimental study of ineffective void in hydrodynamic performance of countercurrent‐flow packing column

AbstractExtensive experimental research and hydrodynamic models have been proposed to guide the design of superior packings. However, most research has concentrated on the effective void (ε − H) of packing while ignoring the ineffective void (ε − H − HL), which causes discrepancies in hydrodynamic performance compared to actual observations. This study evaluated the hydrodynamic performance under diverse conditions considering the liquid holdup (H), pressure drop (ΔP), and gas flooding velocity (uf). A novel approach to hydrodynamic model construction is introduced by incorporating an ineffective void. The results indicate that at a constant hold‐up area, liquid flow (L) and viscosity (μ) significantly influence liquid hold up, moderated by the gas velocity in the flooding area. The pressure drop rises as the viscosity, gas flow rate, and liquid flow rate increase. Notably, a considerable pressure drop initiates flooding at the bottom of the absorber. Elevated liquid flow rates and viscosities correlate with higher ineffective void values (HL) in the packing column. At low gas flow rates, the gas flow rate marginally affects HL values. However, after the flooding point was achieved, the values of HL rapidly increased as the gas flow rate increased. Moreover, a linear relationship emerges between the liquid holdup and HL, as evidenced by the consistent variation in the liquid holdup and the F‐factor. Utilizing the ineffective void yields a more accurate fit for the experimental data, reducing the average absolute relative deviation to 10.2%, 7.4%, and 10.8%, respectively.

Forum: Infrastructure

It was Europe’s wake up call: the news reported that a huge gas pipeline running across the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany had exploded (Oltermann 2022). The explosion caused a release of gas and ruptured the pipeline, abruptly stopping the flow of gas. In the aftermath of the Russian attack and war on Ukraine, we have seen time and again how infrastructure becomes the main stage for power struggles and politics (infrastructure destroyed for various reasons) on the one hand, and how today’s infrastructures scale up to a global level and then back down to local arenas, affecting the lives of millions of people, on the other. While the pipeline explosion is only one recent example of the impact and mobilisation of infrastructures in today’s fragile global context, it well illustrates the ways in which infrastructures create and dismantle relationships, politics, connections, and disconnections, sometimes on a massive scale.

Temporally modulating laser pulses to stabilize LIBS measurement locations under large gas temperature gradients

In combustion research, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has been widely employed in local equivalence ratio measurement. However, the potential temperature gradients in the probe volume can significantly affect the shape of induced plasmas, resulting in unstable measurement locations. In this work, we improved the stability of measurement locations by modulating the laser pulse duration. In a hot-cold gas flow interface with large temperature gradients, when using the original laser pulse with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 4 ns, the locations of initial plasma core were insensitive to gradient variations; however, the plasma expansion behaviors differed significantly after 3 ns. The hot spots of plasmas diverged bi-directionally under high temperature, resulting in two-lobe structures and unstable measurement locations. After the laser pulse was modulated to a shorter duration using a pressure chamber, the plasma expansion was suppressed which constrained the plasma volume. Specifically, using a modulated pulse with a FWHM of 1.9 ns, the two-lobe structure was eliminated across the interface, and the standard deviation of measurement locations was reduced to 0.27 mm. The measured equivalence ratios across the interface showed favorable agreement with the simulation.

Numerical simulation of neutral gas dynamics in the W7-X sub-divertor

Abstract The present work presents a 2D and 3D modelling of the neutral gas flow in the sub-divertor region of the W7-X. The investigations have been done using the DIVGAS code. The complex 2D and 3D geometries of the divertor components in the sub-divertor region have been considered and the Standard and High-Iota magnetic configurations have been numerically simulated. The main objective of this study is to investigate the dynamics of neutral particles in the sub-divertor region including the effects due to geometry and toroidal and poloidal leakages located at the divertor targets and baffles on the achieved pumping efficiency. A sensitivity analysis has been performed for the effect of various geometrical and flow parameters on the pumping performance, under different plasma scenarios. The considered incoming fluxes in the sub-divertor range between 1020 to 1022 (H2/s). The main conclusions, which can be extracted from the present numerical analysis could be summarized as follows; a large fraction of incoming neutral particle flux i.e. > 70% on the low iota side and > 40% for the high iota side is leaked back to the main divertor region, while higher incoming neutral fluxes facilitate the increase of the pumped flux as well as the decrease of the outflux. It has been estimated that a small fraction ~3-4% of the incoming neutral flux is being pumped via the turbo-molecular pumps. The closure of the toroidal leakages as well as the inclination of the pumping gap panel by 9 o facilitate the increase of the pumped flux, but considering the all the engineering constraints, the latter option seems to be more easy to be implemented. For low incoming neutral fluxes (~1020 H2/s) and for the case of AEH section, free molecular flow conditions are estimated and therefore neutral-neutral collisions could be neglected. For higher incoming neutral fluxes and for both AEH and AEP sections neutral-neutral collisions play a significant role in the flow establishment. A comparison with available experimental measurements of the neutral pressure in the sub-divertor has been performed for Standard and High-Iota plasma discharges. The 3D DIVGAS simulations predict qualitatively the experimental data with relative deviation between 25 and 63%. All the above numerical findings will actively support the optimization of the W7-X particle exhaust, in view of the experimental campaign OP2.

Energy optimization of a non-aqueous solvent CO2 absorption system with pressure swing regeneration

This study focuses on optimizing the energy requirement in the post-combustion CO2 capture system using pressure swing regeneration through a model-based design (MBD). The simulation results highlight the significant impact of CO2 recovery, inlet gas and liquid flow rate, and CO2 concentration in the flue gas on the overall energy demand of the system. Moreover, an investigation into the de-sublimation chamber was undertaken, revealing a relationship between dry ice formation and the heat transfer between the LNG stream and CO2 in the heat exchanger. The parametric analysis study reveals that the sensible heat of the lean solvent is significantly influenced by the CO2 concentration in the liquid, consequently affecting the overall system energy. According to the results, the utilization of cold energy from LNG could save 80 % of the total energy requirement. The optimization results found the best working condition, which consumes energy of 0.190 GJ/ton CO2, 31 % lower than the basic scenario.

Lattice numerical modeling of the effects of synthetic gas flow rate and pre-existing cleat dimensions on the crack propagation and cavity growth in UCG process

Lattice numerical modeling of the effects of synthetic gas flow rate and pre-existing cleat dimensions on the crack propagation and cavity growth in UCG process

Spontaneous self‐assembly of magnetic nanoparticle chains, at the first stage of a gas aggregation source

AbstractThere is an increasing interest in magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) and self‐assembled MNP chains for applications in biomedicine, catalysis, and other technologically relevant applications. In this work, we report the spontaneous self‐assembly of MNPs at the top surface of the shield of a magnetron sputter head. The resulting nanostructures consisted of clustered nanoscale chains arranged in highly oriented microfibers, with lengths of micrometer order and diameters ranging from 20 to 600 nm. The intense magnetic field gradient around the sputter magnetron's head is the driving force of the self‐assembly process, also trapping species that would otherwise be lost in the carrier gas flow.

Design and characterization of a silicon MEMS microvalve for proportional flow control based on electrostatic bending actuators

AbstractWe designed a MEMS microvalve based on the nanoscopic electrostatic drive (NED) technology (Nat Commun 6:10078, 2015). NED actuators, electrostatically controlled bending beams, are implemented in a clamped-clamped configuration. A normally open plunger valve was designed and characterized. The device is manufactured from silicon. Gas flow rates of up to 37 SCCM can be proportionally controlled between 10% and 100%. A 10% leakage is always present at low backpressures (< 10 kPa) and increases to roughly 20% at 75 kPa backpressure. The structure has been tested up to backpressures of 300 kPa without damage to the structures, but the leakage increases to over 95%. Our unprecedented microvalve concept shows that it is possible to manufacture all-silicon MEMS microvalves with proportional control of the flow rate. The presented work is a proof of concept to test the capabilities of the NED technology for the use in microvalves. There are plans to decrease the leakage in future designs by introducing an additional sealing layer as well as manufacturing a shutter instead of a plunger design.

Integrated performance of a modular biomass boiler with a combined heat and power industrial Rankine cycle and supplementary sCO2 Brayton cycle

Abstract In this paper, the integrated performance of a modular biomass boiler with an existing industrial Rankine steam heat and power cycle and a supplementary supercritical-CO2 (sCO2) Brayton cycle is analyzed. The aim is to leverage the high efficiency supplementary sCO2 cycle to increase net generation and energy efficiency from the existing biomass boiler. Two sCO2 heater configurations situated within the flue gas flow path are investigated, namely a single convective-dominant heater, and a dual heater configuration with a radiative and a convective heater. A quasi-steady-state 1D model was developed to simulate the integrated cycle, including detailed component characteristics for the Rankine and Brayton cycles. The model solves the mass, energy, momentum, and species balance equations. The system is analyzed for three cases: (i) the existing Rankine cycle without the sCO2 integration, (ii) with the single convective-dominant sCO2 heater configuration, and (iii) the dual sCO2 heater configuration. The results show the required rate of overfiring for the sCO2 configurations, with a 15.3% increase in fuel flowrate resulting in an additional 21.2% in net power output. The model quantifies the impact of the sCO2 heaters, with reduced heat uptakes for downstream boiler heat exchangers. Furnace water wall heat uptake increased due to overfiring, offsetting the reduced heat uptakes at downstream evaporative heat exchangers. The dual configuration has more impact on Rankine cycle operation due to the radiative sCO2 heater placement in front of the second superheater, absorbing some of the direct radiation from the furnace.

Study on the effect of arc chamber structures on the post-arc characteristics of generator circuit breaker

A generator circuit breaker (GCB) is installed at the outlet of generator. However, large-capacity GCBs are highly prone to post-arc thermal breakdown during the breaking process, and the gas flow field largely determines the probability of thermal breakdown occurrence. In this paper, the structure of the arc chamber in the GCB is optimized. From the perspective of accelerating the gas flow field, a “trumpet” shaped arc chamber structure is proposed. Using real SF6 gas physical parameters, a simulation model of the gas flow field is established. By comparing different arc chamber structures, the distributions of temperature and flow velocity varying with time are obtained, the movement of the arc is analyzed. Finally, the arc radius, convection flux density and conduction flux density are quantitatively calculated. Results of the research show that the convection flux density is much greater than the conduction flux density. Compared with the initial and “trumpet” structures, the “trumpet” structure arc radius is reduced by about 19 % and the convection flux density peak is increased by about 118 %. This enhanced the dissipation of post-arc energy, reducing the probability of post-arc thermal breakdown, and provided a reference for the subsequent design of the arc chamber in GCBs.

Control of separation flows of turbine-blade-tip turbines by splitter blades

Gas turbines cannot be directly reversed, and the astern operation of gas turbines still requires additional power transmission equipment to be achieved. To compensate for this deficiency, the application of turbine-blade-tip turbine in gas turbines was proposed. Turbine-blade-tip turbines have the characteristics of extremely low solidity and extremely high diameter-span ratio. Compared with conventional turbine blades, the capacity of turbine blades to restrain gas flow is greatly weakened, the separation flow is obvious when going astern, resulting in low efficiency. For the control problem of low solidity turbine-blade-tip turbines separation flow, a splitter blade control strategy is selected to suppress the separation flow. Adding a splitter blade between original rotor blades effectively improves the ability of rotor blades to restrain gas flow, significantly reduces separation phenomena, and significantly improves efficiency. As the axial chord length of the splitter blade shortens, the inhibitory effect on the separation flow decreases, and the ability of splitter blades to improve the efficiency gradually descends.

Destruction of n-hexane from the air stream by pulsed discharge plasma: Modelling and key process parameters optimization by CCD-RSM

In this study, a Dielectric-Barrier Discharge (DBD) plasma reactor was used for the degradation of n-hexane from an air stream. a Central Composite Design (CCD) based Response Surface Methodology (RSM), (CCD-RSM) was utilized to explore the effects of experimental parameters including discharge voltage, initial concentration, gas flow rate, relative humidity and their interactions on the reactor performance. The proposed optimization model showed a satisfactory correlation between the predicted and actual results. According to the results, discharge voltage was the most significant parameter affecting the removal efficiency, CO2 selectivity and the level of O3 and NOx formation, whereas energy yield was mainly influenced by gas flow rate and initial concentration. At optimized conditions (discharge voltage of 8.5 kV, inlet concentration of 94.3 ppm, relative humidity of 55 % and gas flow rate of 733.16 ml/min with combined desirability of 0.921), removal efficiency of 92.57 %, CO2 selectivity of 58.87 %, energy efficiency of 0.25 g/kWh, O3 formation of 140.88 mg/m3 and NOx formation of 122.46 ppm were obtained. Water vapour significantly increased the removal efficiency and CO2 selectivity as well as reduced O3 and NOx. The results revealed that the CCD-RSM provided the optimum process parameters for the Non-Thermal Plasma (NTP) system.

Characterization of cascaded arc He plasma in a compact linear plasma device using voltammetry and optical emission spectroscopy

Cascaded arc plasma has been widely applied in linear plasma devices (LPDs) to produce high flux plasma for the study of plasma-material interaction. In this work, cascaded arc He plasma produced in an LPD with a compact arrangement is investigated by voltammetry and optical emission spectroscopy (OES). The results show that the cathode potential increases with the discharge current while it firstly decreases and then increases as increasing the gas flow rate. A local reverse electric field is observed at low gas flow rates between two cascaded plates (i.e. floating electrodes) near the cathode. The OES’ results reveal that as the gas flow rate increases, the intensity of He I lines increases and the electron excitation temperature (T exc ) decreases. As increasing the discharge current, the intensity of He lines exhibits various trends at different gas flow rates, showing a monotonic decline at 1.94 slm and a first increase followed by a reduction at 3.52 slm. The T exc increases with the discharge current. These findings could preliminarily shed light on the properties of cascaded arc of He plasma in the compact LPD and aid in the optimization of the device to generate the high-flux divertor-relevant plasma.

Effect of SiC addition on laser-based CoNi binary alloy coatings on Ti-6Al-4V alloy

AbstractThis research explores the impact of variations in laser scanning speed and the incorporation levels of SiC-Ni-Co powders on Ti-6Al-4V alloy using laser surface cladding technique. Key parameters, including a consistent laser power of 700 W, a 4 mm beam spot size, a powder feed rate of 1.0 g/min, and a gas flow rate of 3 L/min, along with fixed powder compositions, were maintained. The laser scanning speeds were adjusted to 0.4 m/min, 0.8 m/min, and 1.2 m/min. Microstructural analyses were carried out using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) while Vickers microhardness was employed to assess coating hardness, and corrosion properties were evaluated using a linear potentiodynamic polarization technique. Following the corrosion attack, the protective oxides formed were identified through SEM and X-ray diffractometer (XRD). The results revealed a strong metallurgical relationship between the clad layer and the substrate, demonstrating the effectiveness of the laser-clad technique. Particularly, the highest laser scan speed exhibited the most significant improvements in hardness and corrosion resistance. The coatings displayed an average hardness value of 1269.20 HV0.1, a notable fourfold increase compared to the substrate's value of 334 HV0.1. Concerning corrosion, a clear correlation emerged between scan speed and polarization resistance, confirming that higher scan speeds could lead to enhanced polarization resistance.