Practical Thermal Systems Research Articles

Numerical simulation of complex transport phenomena arising in practical thermal systems

PurposeThis paper seeks to discuss the numerical modeling of the transport processes that frequently arise in practical thermal systems and involve complexities such as property variations with temperature or with the shear rate in the flow, complicated regions, conjugate mechanisms, chemical reactions and combined mass transfer, and intricate boundary conditions.Design/methodology/approachThe basic approaches that may be adopted in order to study such processes are discussed. Considerations for accurate numerical modeling are also discussed. The link between the process and the resulting product is critical in many systems such as those in manufacturing. The computational difficulties that result from the non‐Newtonian behavior of the fluid or from the strong temperature dependence of viscosity are considered in detail. Similarly, complex geometry, free surface flow, moving boundaries, combined mechanisms, and simulation of appropriate boundary conditions are important in several processes and are discussed.FindingsSome of the important techniques to treat the problems that arise in numerical simulation are presented. Common errors that lead to inaccurate or invalid results are outlined. A few practical processes are considered in greater detail to quantify and illustrate these approaches. Validation of the numerical model is a particularly important aspect and is discussed in terms of existing results, as well as development of experimental arrangements to provide inputs for satisfactory validation.Originality/valuePractical thermal processes involve a wide variety of complexities. The paper presents some of the important ones and discusses approaches to deal with them. The paper will be of particular value to the numerical simulation of complicated thermal processes in order to design, control or optimize them to achieve desired thermal processing.

An examination of exergy destruction in organic Rankine cycles

The exergy topological method is used to present a quantitative estimation of the exergy destroyed in an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) operating on R113. A detailed roadmap of exergy flow is presented using an exergy wheel, and this visual representation clearly depicts the exergy accounting associated with each thermodynamic process. The analysis indicates that the evaporator accounts for maximum exergy destroyed in the ORC and the process responsible for this is the heat transfer across a finite temperature difference. In addition, the results confirm the thermodynamic superiority of the regenerative ORC over the basic ORC since regenerative heating helps offset a significant amount of exergy destroyed in the evaporator, thereby resulting in a thermodynamically more efficient process. Parameters such as thermodynamic influence coefficient and degree of thermodynamic perfection are identified as useful design metrics to assist exergy-based design of devices. This paper also examines the impact of operating parameters such as evaporator pressure and inlet temperature of the hot gases entering the evaporator on ORC performance. It is shown that exergy destruction decreases with increasing evaporator pressure and decreasing turbine inlet temperatures. Finally, the analysis reveals the potential of the exergy topological methodology as a robust technique to identify the magnitude of irreversibilities associated with real thermodynamic processes in practical thermal systems. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Simulation-based optimization of thermal systems

This paper considers the design and optimization of thermal systems on the basis of the mathematical and numerical modeling of the system. Many complexities are often encountered in practical thermal processes and systems, making the modeling challenging and involved. These include property variations, complicated regions, combined transport mechanisms, chemical reactions, and intricate boundary conditions. The paper briefly presents approaches that may be used to accurately simulate these systems. Validation of the numerical model is a particularly critical aspect and is discussed. It is important to couple the modeling with the system performance, design, control and optimization. This aspect, which has often been ignored in the literature, is considered in this paper. Design of thermal systems based on concurrent simulation and experimentation is also discussed in terms of dynamic data-driven optimization methods. Optimization of the system and of the operating conditions is needed to minimize costs and improve product quality and system performance. Different optimization strategies that are currently used for thermal systems are outlined, focusing on new and emerging strategies. Of particular interest is multi-objective optimization, since most thermal systems involve several important objective functions, such as heat transfer rate and pressure in electronic cooling systems. A few practical thermal systems are considered in greater detail to illustrate these approaches and to present typical simulation, design and optimization results.