Amplitude Of Pressure Oscillations Research Articles

Effect of diameter and inclination of steam injection pipe on chugging dynamics in direct contact condensation

Low mass flux of steam and high degree of subcooling are the prominent factors for occurrence of unstable direct contact condensation, commonly known as chugging, when steam is injected into a subcooled water pool. Such an arrangement is typically used in the pressure suppression pool of the primary containment vessel in a boiling water reactor. With an attempt to identify the conditions of minimum pressure oscillations during the chugging regime, the present study investigates the effect of internal diameter (0.5–1 in.) and inclination (8.75˚) of steam injection pipe on steam bubble dynamics, pressure transients and heat transfer characteristics at different steam mass flow rates (5–25 kg/hr) and submergence depths of steam pipe (1–13 cm) within the water pool. The study reveals that the condensation cycle time decreases with a decrease in the internal diameter of the pipe. Furthermore, the frequencies of fluctuations in the interfacial area of the steam bubble and pressure transients in the steam pipe exhibit an increasing trend with an increase in steam mass flow rate and a decrease in internal diameter of the steam injection pipe. The chugging frequencies in the inclined and vertical orientation of steam injection pipe lie within the range of 0.5–3 Hz. The average heat transfer coefficient increases with an increase in the internal diameter of pipe and steam mass flow rate. The amplitude of pressure oscillations has decreased significantly whereas heat transfer coefficient has increased marginally upon changing the orientation of steam injection pipe from vertical to inclined. Therefore, smaller diameter and inclined orientation of steam injection pipe are favourable for mitigation of pressure oscillations in applications of direct contact condensation.

Numerical study on the effect of mass flux on the low frequency pressure oscillation occurred in oxygen jet condensation

AbstractIn the delivery pipeline of cryogenic liquid rockets, low‐frequency pressure oscillation always occurs with the oxygen jet condensation. It is a potential hazard to the normal operation of the propulsion system. It is necessary to study the characteristic of low‐frequency pressure oscillation precisely, especially the influence factors of frequency and amplitude. Aiming at the effect of mass flux on low‐frequency pressure oscillation, an oxygen injection condensation simulation is carried out based on a modified mass transfer model. The height function method is adopted to calculate the interfacial curvature, which is the key factor to capture the characteristic of pressure oscillation. The numerical result indicates that there are two typical oxygen jet condensation patterns under different mass fluxes: suck‐back chugging and slight pulsation. The amplitude of suck‐back chugging is 30–120 kPa, while that of slight pulsation is 1–3 kPa. When it comes to suck‐back chugging, the liquid oxygen suck‐back flow phenomenon occurs. The upper and lower boundaries are found to distinguish the suck‐back chugging and slight pulsation patterns, which are caused by the turbulent effect of liquid oxygen and the subcooling of liquid oxygen, respectively. The highest amplitude of pressure oscillation is about 114 kPa, appearing at the intersection of the upper and lower boundary. It is the most dangerous operation condition, which should be avoided in the design of the propulsion system. These conclusions provide sufficient theoretical guidance for the design of the cryogenic liquid rocket.

Experimental investigation of a novel standing-wave thermoacoustic engine based on PCHE and supercritical CO2

The pursuit of high amplitude and low onset temperature difference is one important topic in thermoacoustic engines. In this paper, a novel standing-wave thermoacoustic engine is constructed working with supercritical CO2, whose core components are integrated as a printed circuit heat exchanger (PCHE). Our experimental results confirm that at any location on the resonator, the pressure obeys a cosine law with time, and the whole pressure field exhibits a seesaw-like spatiotemporal behavior. Under a fixed charging mass, the amplitude of pressure oscillation increases with temperature difference, obeying a power law relation. The maximum amplitude achieved in this work is 0.419 MPa at a temperature difference of 151.0 °C and a mean pressure of 9.621 MPa. Besides, the frequency with an average of 7.6 Hz shows weak variations. The onset temperature difference decreases as the critical pressure is approached, and the minimum value achieved is 14.8 °C. Moreover, the cooling effect of oscillating CO2 to the high-temperature portion of the stack is revealed, causing the strongly nonlinear temperature profile along the stack. This paper manifests that supercritical CO2 and PCHE are highly prospective to be employed in thermoacoustic devices.

Numerical study on the integration of supersonic turbine guide vanes and three-dimensional hydrogen/air rotating detonation combustor

Hydrogen/air rotating detonation turbine engine is expected to become a new generation of aerospace power plant because of its compact structure, high cycle thermal efficiency, and superior thrust performance. It can also reduce fuel consumption, save energy, and reduce carbon emissions. However, the highly unsteady oscillation characteristics of the outlet flow of the rotating detonation combustor make it difficult to integrate the supersonic turbine with the rotating detonation combustor. In this paper, the supersonic turbine guide vanes are designed by the method of characteristics and Bessel parameterization and are integrated with three-dimensional hydrogen/air rotating detonation combustors for numerical studies. The effects of aligned mode and misaligned mode on the coupling of supersonic turbine guide vanes and rotating detonation combustor are discussed carefully. The results show that the supersonic turbine guide vanes can make the rotating detonation wave change from a single-wave mode to a double-wave alternating strength and weak propagation mode. It can effectively suppress the oscillation of the combustion chamber outlet airflow. In the aligned mode, the peak pressure at the outlet of the supersonic turbine is about 70% lower than that at the cascade inlet, the pressure oscillation amplitude is reduced by 93.33%, and the temperature amplitude is reduced by 23.81%; the average total pressure loss coefficient of the cascade is 11.63%. In the misaligned mode, compared with the cascade inlet, the peak value of the pressure signal at the cascade outlet decreases by about 50%, while the pressure oscillation amplitude decreases by about 33.33%, and the temperature oscillation amplitude decreases by 11.11%; the average total pressure loss coefficient of the cascade is 4.83%. The supersonic turbine guide vanes have a better suppression effect on the oscillation signal in the aligned mode, but the relative total pressure loss is relatively large. This is because that the oblique shock wave, channel shock wave, and supersonic turbine guide vanes interact to generate more complex wave system and secondary flow in the aligned mode. These features provide important reference information for the coupling of supersonic turbines and rotating detonation combustors.

Prediction of knock intensity and validation in an optical SI engine

To provide fundamental insights into the underlying mechanisms of knock occurrence in a spark-ignition (SI) engine, optical diagnostic measurements were performed at advanced spark timing under boosted conditions. Employing high-speed imaging, deflagration-to-detonation transition (DDT) processes were recorded. The states and locations of the unburned mixture more susceptible to autoignition were identified by statistically analyzing the recorded images of the spatial distribution of flame propagation and end-gas autoignition under distinct combustion modes. The relationships between the unburned mixture fraction (UMF) and two metrics associated with the knock intensity levels, namely the maximum amplitude of pressure oscillation (MAPO) and the peak in-cylinder pressure, Pmax, were examined. In contrast to common beliefs, we found that the knock intensity represented by MAPO is not strongly correlated with UMF because UMF alone is inherently insufficient to represent the thermo-chemical properties of the bulk mixture inhomogeneities and its chemical reactivity at the onset of end-gas autoignition occurrence. Instead, a much stronger correlation was found between UMF and a newly proposed normalized-peak-pressure metric, allowing an a prior prediction of Pmax, which is a critical parameter associated with the propensity of engine failure if Pmax exceeds the strength limit of the engine. To quantitatively predict MAPO under SI-engine conditions, a refined model was proposed by imposing the pressure and temperature traces into the zero-dimensional (0-D) reactor model, such that the thermochemical properties of the transient mixture state at the onset of end-gas autoignition are properly incorporated into the predictive criteria. The model was validated against a large experimental dataset consisting of 619 cycles under various operating conditions. The results show that the model can reliably predict the end-gas autoignition and the knock intensity levels dictated by MAPO regardless of the stochastic nature of the knock development process.

Numerical analysis of combustion process and pressure oscillation phenomena in low-pressure injection natural gas/diesel dual fuel low speed marine engine

Dual fuel strategy is a promising way to achieve low-carbon emission for marine engines, but engine knock restricts the compression ratio and engine thermal efficiency by adopting premixed combustion mode. Engine knock of natural gas/diesel dual fuel low speed marine engine is not well understood under high compression ratio. The characteristics of combustion process and pressure oscillation phenomena were investigated by varying compression ratio, pre-chamber number, energy proportion of pilot diesel with a single-cylinder engine model with numerical simulation. The results show that, with increase in pre-chamber number using the same energy proportion of pilot diesel under compression ratio of 16, the maximum amplitude of pressure oscillation can be significantly reduced from 0.62 MPa to 0.23 MPa in main chamber, while both resonance modes follow (1,0) mode. With double pre-chamber, when the energy proportion of pilot diesel increases from 0.6% to 1.2%, due to the stronger intensity of jet flame, the heat release rate is accelerated as well as the accumulation of H2O2 radical become less before high speed spontaneous combustion, resulting in lower amplitude of pressure oscillation. When the energy proportion of pilot diesel increases from 1.2% to 3.0%, excessive amount of pilot diesel cannot strengthen the jet flame obviously while the amplitude of pressure oscillation increases slightly. These results suggest that about 1.0% in energy proportion of pilot diesel should be optimal by considering the thermal efficiency, pressure oscillation and NOx emission together.

Knock metrics experimental evaluation for pre-chamber SI engines

The present study analyzes the occurrence of pressure oscillations in engines operating with pre-chambers at stoichiometric conditions, aiming to assess whether the increase in the amplitude of pressure oscillations detected by means of cylinder pressure measurements is related to knock, or it is a result of mass transfer from the pre-chamber to the main chamber. Initially, a literature review of the phenomenon is conducted and several knock indicators are used to evaluate experimental data obtained with a commercial four-cylinder SI engine, equipped with pre-chamber ignition system prototype, at 1500 rpm and 4 bar of IMEP. Among the knock indicators analyzed the excitations of resonance modes, the angle and time-based maximum pressure rise rate, maximum amplitude of pressure oscillations, ringing intensity, and adapted knock index can be cited. Furthermore, a study of the predominant pre-chamber ignition mechanism is carried out, distinguishing torch and jet ignition, which is also correlated with knock occurrence. Therefore, the present study shows the importance of conducting an individual knock analysis for each pre-chamber configuration and presents adequate tools for such a study, in order to guarantee engine integrity while exploring the benefits of the system, without limitations of inappropriate knock thresholds.

Knock recognition of knock sensor signal based on wavelet transform and variational mode decomposition algorithm

Natural gas has become the most widely used alternative energy for engines because of its low emission pollution and sufficient energy reserve. In order to improve the thermal efficiency of the natural gas engine, it is necessary to increase the compression ratio, but knock restricts the increase of the engine compression ratio. The main knock detection method of engine is to use knock sensor. However, the body vibration detected by the knock sensor contains a lot of interference noise, which brings bad effect on the accuracy of knock detection. Thus, in this paper, a knock recognition method based on wavelet transform (WT) and variational mode decomposition (VMD) algorithm is proposed to process the knock sensor signal and extract the knock feature. Based on the test bench of natural gas engine, experimental investigation of knock combustion characteristics was conducted by adjusting the spark timing, and simultaneously collects cylinder pressure signal and knock sensor signal. Burg algorithm based on Auto-regressive (AR) model was used to extract the knock characteristic frequency of the research engine. Then, wavelet transform and variational mode decomposition algorithm were employed to process the knock sensor signal to remove the interference noise and extract the knock feature. Maximum amplitude of pressure oscillation (MAPO) was selected as the knock intensity evaluation index of cylinder pressure signal. Then, taking the evaluation result of the knock intensity of cylinder pressure signal as reference, the root-mean-square of the knock characteristic signal was used as knock intensity evaluation index of knock sensor signal to determine the knock intensity classification of the knock sensor signal. The results show that the proposed method can effectively extract the knock feature from the knock sensor signal and realize the accurate engine knock recognition. The recognition accuracy is higher than the most existing knock recognition methods.

Hemodynamic responses to oscillatory thigh cuff inflations

Background. In the clinical setting, individuals have varying tolerance to hypovolemia induced by blood loss. Experimental generation of 0.1 Hz oscillations (~10-s cycle) in arterial pressure and cerebral blood flow via oscillatory lower body negative pressure (OLBNP) increases tolerance to this simulated hemorrhage, and protects cerebral tissue oxygenation. However, use of OLBNP as a method of inducing hemodynamic oscillations in the clinical setting is limited as: 1) it is a large and cumbersome technique, and; 2) it induces central hypovolemia, which would only worsen the magnitude of hemorrhage. In this study we evaluated a more clinically applicable method of inducing 0.1 Hz oscillations in arterial pressure and cerebral blood flow, using intermittent inflation of bilateral thigh cuffs. We hypothesized that the amplitude of arterial pressure and cerebral blood flow oscillations at 0.1 Hz would increase in response to repeated thigh cuff inflations at 0.1 Hz when compared with a baseline control condition. Methods. Ten healthy human subjects were tested (6 male, 4 female; 26.8 ± 4.1 y). Middle cerebral artery velocity (MCAv) was measured via transcranial doppler ultrasound, arterial pressure was measured via finger photoplethysmography, and end tidal CO2 (etCO2) was measured via capnography. Following a 10-min baseline period, intermittent thigh cuff inflations at 0.1 Hz and 230 mmHg (5-s inflation, 5-s deflation) were performed for 10-min (“oscillations”). 0.1 Hz oscillatory amplitude of mean arterial pressure and mean MCAv were quantified using Fast Fourier transformation during the last 5-min of baseline and the oscillatory period, and compared via two-tailed paired t-tests. Results. The amplitude of 0.1 Hz oscillations increased during the oscillatory period vs. baseline for mean arterial pressure (baseline: 1.7 ± 1.0 mmHg2 vs. oscillations: 9.0 ± 6.2 mmHg2; P = 0.004) and mean MCAv (baseline: 1.1 ± 0.6 (cm/s)2 vs. oscillations: 3.4 ± 3.1 (cm/s)2; P = 0.04). Absolute mean arterial pressure was similar between baseline and the oscillatory period (baseline: 97.2 ± 8.1 mmHg vs. oscillations: 99.1 ± 15.0 mmHg; P = 0.54), but absolute mean MCAv was lower during the oscillatory period (baseline: 61.7 ± 14.6 cm/s vs. oscillations: 53.2 ± 13.1 cm/s; P = 0.02). This reduction in mean MCAv was most likely due to hypocapnia (indexed by etCO2) induced by pacing the breathing of all subjects at ≥10 breaths/min (baseline: 33.2 ± 4.8 mmHg vs. oscillations 27.2 ± 4.5 mmHg; P = 0.005). Conclusions. Intermittent thigh cuff inflations at 0.1 Hz induced 0.1 Hz oscillations in both arterial pressure and cerebral blood flow when compared to baseline. These findings indicate that intermittent thigh cuff inflations could be developed as a method to induce pulsatile perfusion as a potential new therapy for individuals experiencing major blood loss. American Heart Association (Transformational Project Award) #19TPA34910073 and UNTHSC Physiology and Anatomy Seed Grant 2021 This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2023 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

Study on the Influence of Low-Frequency Flow Oscillation on the Atomization Characteristics of Gas-Centered Coaxial Centrifugal Nozzle

The dynamic atomization characteristics of gas center coaxial centrifugal nozzle under the condition of pressure oscillation in the supply system were studied by applying external excitation through the flow pulsator. Obtaining spray image by high-speed photography while using hydro-mechanical pulsator to get generate of supply system. The results show that the spray width changes periodically with low-frequency pressure oscillation. For self-pulsation sprays, it is challenging to maintain a “Christmas tree” shape with low-frequency oscillation. Pressure oscillation can effectively suppress spray self-pulsation. However, the pressure oscillation amplitude may be much larger than that of the self-pulsation itself. Therefore, the premise of applying this method is that the applied external excitation cannot stimulate or amplify the combustion instability. The gas post-pressure drop determines the amplitude and frequency of the self-pulsation, while the excitation frequency will slightly affect the amplitude and frequency of the self-pulsation.

Numerical modeling of knocking combustion in spark ignition engines

At present, around 85% of the 1.1 billion passenger cars in the world are powered by gasoline spark ignition (SI) engines. Engine downsizing coupled with boosted operation and transition to sustainable fuels is considered an attractive strategy to enhance power density and reduce fuel consumption of SI engines. However, these operating conditions result in severe thermodynamic conditions, thereby promoting the likelihood of abnormal combustion phenomena such as knock. The severity of knock can vary significantly, and the efficiency of engines at high loads is limited in practice by heavy knocking phenomena. Since, a thorough analysis of such recurrent but non-cyclic phenomena via experiments alone becomes highly cumbersome, in the present work, a multi-cycle large-eddy simulation study was performed to quantitatively predict cyclic variability in the combustion process and cyclic knock intensity variability in a direct injection spark-ignition engine. For both the mild knock and heavy knock conditions, the numerical results were validated against experimental measurements. Based on the simulation results, a correlation analysis was performed considering combustion phasing, peak cylinder pressure and maximum amplitude of pressure oscillation. Furthermore, a detailed three-dimensional spatial analysis illustrated the evolution of auto-ignition kernel development and propagation of pressure waves during knocking combustion.

Effects of knock intensity measurement technique and fuel chemical composition on the research octane number (RON) of FACE gasolines: Part 2 – Effects of spark timing

The Research and Motor Octane Number (RON, MON) characterize a fuel’s knock resistance by rating the knock intensity of a sample fuel relative to that of Primary Reference Fuels (PRF) in a Cooperative Fuel Research (CFR) Engine. A fuel’s octane number is regulated to prevent damage from autoignition leading to knocking combustion in spark-ignition engines. The operational differences between the standard RON rating and modern engine operation are explored in a three-part publication series. The previous study focused on the effects of lambda and knock characterization. This second study primarily focuses on the effects of spark timing on RON determination. Following the findings from the first publication, the knock intensity was captured by the knockmeter and by the maximum amplitude of pressure oscillations (MAPO) at the lambda of peak knock intensity and stoichiometry. Knock-limited spark advance tests were conducted for a set of seven Fuels for Advanced Combustion Engines (FACE) from the Coordinating Research Council (CRC) with varying chemical composition, PRFs, and Toluene Standardization Fuels (TSFs). For retarded spark timings, pre-spark low-temperature heat release was found for low RON PRFs. Low RON PRFs also showed knocking characteristics before reaching the center of combustion suggesting that the use of knock-limited spark advance (KLSA) was preferred over the knock-limited combustion phasing. Primarily paraffinic fuels tended towards increased pressure oscillations while dominantly aromatic fuels experienced higher pressure rise rates. A MAPO-based KLSA correlated best to Octane Index at a negative K-factor suggesting beyond RON operation despite being at otherwise RON conditions. At stoichiometry, the MAPO-based KLSA did neither correlate to RON nor Octane Index. Good agreement was found between KLSA-based effective RON from this study to the MAPO-based effective RON from the first study.

Numerical investigation of oxygen bubble condensation in subcooled quiescent liquid oxygen based on height function method

Bubble condensation is a fundamental issue in the direct contact condensation (DCC) process, which is extremely hard to predict due to the intense mass transfer and flow instability. Aiming at the cryogenic oxygen bubble evolution and pressure oscillation, a modified energy balance mass transfer model is adopted based on the height function method. The height function method is used to calculate the real-time interfacial curvature, modifying the mass transfer rate that emerged in CFD simulation. The modified model is validated to be convincing and accurate by a steam bubble condensation simulation. The results indicate that the cryogenic bubbles condense faster with a more intense mass transfer process, compared with the near-room-temperature mediums. The corresponding amplitude of pressure oscillation for the cryogenic mediums is approximately 3 ∼ 4 times as larger as that for near-room-temperature mediums. It is found that both the condensation rate and the frequency of pressure oscillation are repressed with the increase of bubble volume. That means that a big bubble condensation might produce a low-frequency pressure oscillation. In addition, both the condensation rate and the intensity of the pressure oscillation increase with the increase of subcooling. The average amplitude of pressure oscillation has a power function law with subcooling. These conclusions provide a theoretical basis for a deep understanding of the cryogenic DCC process.

Large-Eddy Simulations of Unsteady Reaction Flow Characteristics Using Four Geometrical Combustor Models

Combustion instability constitutes the primary loss source of combustion chambers, gas turbines, and aero engines, and it affects combustion performance or results in a sudden local oscillation. Therefore, this study investigated the factors affecting flame fluctuation on unsteady combustion flow fields through large-eddy simulations. The effects of primary and secondary holes in a triple swirler staged combustor on flame propagation and pressure fluctuation in a combustion field were studied. Moreover, the energy oscillations and dominant frequencies in the combustion field were obtained using the power spectral density technique. The results revealed a variation in the vortex structure and Kelvin–Helmholtz instability in the combustion field, along with a variation in the pressure pulsation during flame propagation under the influence of the primary and secondary hole structures. Additionally, the spatial distributions of pressure oscillation and heat release rate amplitude were obtained, revealing that the foregoing increased owing to the primary and secondary holes in the combustion field, reaching a peak in the shear layer and vortex structure regions.

Inhibiting the onset of thermoacoustic instability through targeted control of critical regions

This experimental study investigates the dynamical transition from stable operation to thermoacoustic instability in a turbulent bluff-body stabilised dump combustor. We conduct experiments to acquire acoustic pressure and local heat release rate fluctuations and use them to characterise this transition as we decrease the equivalence ratio towards a fuel-lean setting. More importantly, we observe a significant increase in local heat release rate fluctuations at critical locations well before thermoacoustic instability occurs. One of these critical locations is the stagnation zone in front of the bluff-body. By strategically positioning slots (perforations) on the bluff-body, we ensure the reduction of the growth of local heat release rate fluctuations at the stagnation zone near the bluff-body well before the onset of thermoacoustic instability. We show that this reduction in local heat release rate fluctuations inhibits the transition to thermoacoustic instability. We find that modified configurations of the bluff-body that do not quench the local heat release rate fluctuations at the stagnation zone result in the transition to thermoacoustic instability. We also reveal that an effective suppression strategy based on the growth of local heat release rate fluctuations requires an optimisation of the slots' area-ratio for a given bluff-body position. Further, the suppression strategy also depends on the spatial distribution of perforations on the bluff-body. Notably, an inappropriate distribution of the slots, which does not quench the local heat release rate fluctuations at the stagnation zone but creates new critical regions, may even result in a dramatic increase in the amplitudes of pressure oscillations.

Mathematical Modeling of Oscillometric Blood Pressure Measurement: A Complete, Reduced Oscillogram Model.

Oscillogram modeling is a powerful tool for understanding and advancing popular oscillometric blood pressure (BP) measurement. A reduced oscillogram model relating cuff pressure oscillation amplitude ( ∆O) to external cuff pressure of the artery ( Pe) is: [Formula: see text], where g(P) is the arterial compliance versus transmural pressure ( P) curve, Ps and Pd are systolic and diastolic BP, and k is the reciprocal of the cuff compliance. The objective was to determine an optimal functional form for the arterial compliance curve. Eight prospective, three-parameter functions of the brachial artery compliance curve were compared. The study data included oscillometric arm cuff pressure waveforms and invasive brachial BP from 122 patients covering a 20-120 mmHg pulse pressure range. The oscillogram measurements were constructed from the cuff pressure waveforms. Reduced oscillogram models, inputted with measured systolic and diastolic BP and each parametric brachial artery compliance curve function, were optimally fitted to the oscillogram measurements in the least squares sense. An exponential-linear function yielded as good or better model fits compared to the other functions, with errors of 7.9±0.3 and 5.1±0.2% for tail-trimmed and lower half-trimmed oscillogram measurements. Importantly, this function was also the most tractable mathematically. A three-parameter exponential-linear function is an optimal form for the arterial compliance curve in the reduced oscillogram model and may thus serve as the standard function for this model henceforth. The complete, reduced oscillogram model determined herein can potentially improve oscillometric BP measurement accuracy while advancing foundational knowledge.

Study on the Influencing Factors of the Response Characteristics of the Slide Valve-Type Direct-Acting Relief Valve with External Orifice

The slide valve-type direct-acting relief valve with external orifice (SVTDARVWEO) is widely used in hydraulic systems, and its response characteristics are influenced by key factors. It is of great significance to carry out research on the influencing factors of the response characteristics of the SVTDARVWEO. The working principle of the SVTDARVWEO is analyzed in the present study. The simulation model of the SVTDARVWEO is established using AMESim. The influence of the orifice diameter, viscosity coefficient, valve element mass, spring stiffness, oil seal length, and valve element diameter on the response characteristics of the SVTDARVWEO is studied. The results show that: (1) The smaller the orifice diameter is, the smaller the oscillation frequency, amplitude and maximum overshoot of pressure, flowrate, displacement and velocity are. (2) When the viscosity coefficient is 50 N/(m/s), 55 N/(m/s) and 60 N/(m/s), the pressure, flowrate, displacement and velocity oscillate periodically, but the amplitude of the oscillation decreases gradually, and the oscillation frequency is 250 Hz. When the viscosity coefficient is 60 N/(m/s), the pressure, flowrate, displacement and velocity will reach their respective stable values earlier. (3) When the valve element mass is 0.01 kg, 0.015 kg and 0.02 kg, the pressure, flowrate, displacement and velocity oscillate periodically, but the amplitude of oscillation decreases gradually. When the valve element mass is 0.01 kg, the pressure, flowrate, displacement and velocity will reach the stable value earlier. (4) The smaller the spring stiffness is, the greater the maximum overshoot of pressure, flowrate, displacement and velocity is, and the higher the number of oscillations to reach the stable value are, in addition to more time being required. (5) With the increase in oil seal length, the maximum overshoot of pressure and velocity, stability value of displacement also increase correspondingly. (6) With the increase in the valve element diameter, the stable value of pressure decreases, and the oscillation frequency of pressure, flowrate, displacement and velocity increase, but the oscillation amplitude decreases.

Numerical investigation on pressure oscillations in steam condensation from injection of subcooled water

Steam-water direct contact condensation phenomenon is commonly found in many industries like chemical process industry, nuclear industry etc. In this work the injection of subcooled water into a steam filled pipe has been studied computationally. As a result of steam-water interaction within the pipe the pressure oscillates, which may cause damage to piping system or equipment. The effects of water inlet velocity, water inlet temperature, steam pressure and degree of steam superheating have been studied on the amplitude of pressure oscillations. The first and second dominant frequencies of pressure oscillations have also been obtained and studied. For most of the cases, the first dominant frequency peak was observed in the range ~ 0-1400 Hz whereas, the second dominant frequency peak was in the range ~ 2500 Hz – 3000 Hz. The first pressure peak was observed near the inlet of subcooled water such that its amplitude was increasing with increasing inlet water velocity but was nearly independent of inlet water temperature. Similarly, degree of steam superheating has no noticeable effects on pressure oscillations. It was observed that at a constant water temperature and water injecting velocity, the location of the pressure peaks was independent during the study. Further, the dominant frequency prediction map has been developed for the steam-water interaction in a pipe. The present study is assumed to be beneficial towards unfolds various important facts regarding steam-water interaction in the relevant industrial applications.

Effects of split injection strategy on combustion stability and GHG emissions characteristics of natural gas/diesel RCCI engine under high load

Natural gas/diesel RCCI mode is considered as a high-efficiency clean low-temperature combustion strategy with great application prospects. In order to solve the problem that RCCI engines are prone to knock combustion under high load, the effects of diesel start of main-injection (SOImain), start of pilot-injection (SOIpilot) and pilot-injection quantity (PIQ) on in-cylinder combustion and pollutant emissions of RCCI engine were systematically investigated. Results show that the advance of SOImain effectively reduces CO, HC, soot and CH4 emissions of RCCI engine, but increases knock tendency and NOx emissions. Split injection strategy makes combustion exothermic of RCCI mode present two-stage heat release phenomenon. When SOIpilot is advanced from −15°CA ATDC to −27°CA ATDC, the IMEP and combustion pressure peak increase, the knock tendency significantly decreases, and CO, HC, soot and CH4 emissions are reduced by 55.6%, 43.1%, 28.8% and 39.1% respectively. With the increase of PIQ, the in-cylinder combustion of RCCI engine gradually changes from single-stage to two-stage heat release, the ignition delay is shortened, and the knock tendency is enhanced. Compared with single injection strategy, split injection strategy can simultaneously reduce HC, CO and greenhouse gas emissions, as well as maximum pressure oscillation amplitude and pressure rise rate in RCCI mode.

Effect of ignition position on the combustion instability of premixed methane-air in a semiopen duct

Experiments were conducted in a semiopen chamber to investigate the combustion instabilities of methane-air mixtures. The effect of ignition position (IP for short, i.e., the distance between ignition source and the closed end of a channel) on the characteristics of the pressure waveform of premixed stoichiometric methane-air mixture combustion is investigated in detail. The results reveal that the pressure waveforms demonstrate periodic oscillations when the ignition position is at the half-part of the duct on the side of the open end. The maximum pressure for the oscillating cases is 2.38 times that for the nonoscillating cases, and the maximum rate of pressure rise for the oscillating cases is one order of magnitude higher than that for the nonoscillating cases. The instant of burnout of the methane-air mixture escaping earlier from the open end coincides with the onset of the periodic oscillation. Then, the pressure oscillation is amplified with the exponentially growing amplitude through the flame-pressure interaction. The oscillation amplitude increases as the ignition position shifts toward the open end of the duct. The flame trajectory shows an intimate link with the pressure profile. The oscillating flame velocity precedes the oscillating pressure signal by a 180° phase shift. It is corroborated that the oscillation period depends on the length of the unburnt gas column located between the closed-end and the flame front, irrespective of the ignition position. The pressure oscillation amplitude is a linear function of the frequency. The growth rate of pressure oscillation is calculated through the velocity coupling mechanism. It is shown that the experimental growth rate is compatible with the calculated growth rate for premixed methane combustion. Front ignition produces the highest acoustic energy and thus a higher maximum combustion pressure.