Proposed Computational Fluid Dynamics Model Research Articles

Analytical design and computational fluid dynamics analysis for optimizing fixed ventilation systems for power transformer: Numerical study and experimental validation

Despite the recognized fact that power transformers (PT) are highly efficient technology, part of their electrical energy is counted as heat losses. Therefore, the cooling system is a critical factor in the life span and performance of the PTs, and hence the adopted thermal energy design can be strongly effective. This study revolves around the innovative development of a novel generation of fixed ventilation fans for PTs, achieved through Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations and practical experiments. The proposed CFD model was developed adopting ANSYS FLUENT 19.2. The proposed CFD model was verified by comparing the numerical and experimental results of the cooling air temperature and velocity. A standard k-ε model was used to simulate the airflow of the investigated cooling system numerically. A thermal analysis of a four-sided power transformer was performed, and an analysis of the optimum position to install the cooling fan on the radiator was presented. The most effective number of used fans was also determined. The main results showed that two fans were found to be the best performance among the tested candidate alternatives. The two cooling fans’ size, material, and cover shape were also studied and added to the proposed model. Besides, the utilization of a thermoelectric generator was considered in this study in order to recycle some of the lost heat into output power. An experimental prototype mimicking the actual cooling system for the power transformer was designed and fabricated. Results showed that the selected material has achieved a high Calculated Factor of Safety (FoS) equal to 237, indicating that the utilization of the designed parts is of high safety.

Measurement and prediction of the detachment of Aspergillus niger spores in turbulent flows

Aspergillus niger (A. niger) spores can induce numerous health problems. Once the airflow-imposed drag force on an A. niger spore exceeds its binding force with the colony, the spore is detached. Turbulent flow may considerably increase the spore detachment. No method is currently available for prediction of the drag force on a spore and its detachment in turbulent flows. This investigation measured the turbulent velocities and detachment of A. niger colonies in a wind tunnel. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was employed to model an A. niger unit subjected to turbulent flow blowing. The top 1 % quantile instantaneous velocity of the turbulent flow was specified as the steady entry flow boundary condition for solving the peak velocity distribution and the peak drag forces onto spores. The predicted spore detachment ratios were compared with the measurement data for model validation. The results revealed that the spore detachment ratios with a turbulence intensity of 17 % to 20 % can be twice to triple the ratio with a turbulence intensity of approximately 1 %, when the average velocity for blowing remains the same. The proposed CFD model can accurately predict the detachment ratios of the A. niger spores. Environmental ImplicationSome people are sensitive to the Aspergillus niger (A. niger) spores, and excessive exposure can cause nasal congestion, skin tingling, coughing, and even asthma. Turbulent flow can considerably increase the spore detachment, due to the increased airflow-imposed drag force on the spores during turbulence. This investigation developed a numerical model to solve for the peak velocity distribution and the peak drag forces onto spores in turbulent flows to predict the spore detachment. With the numerical tool, the airborne fungal spore concentrations would be predictable, which paves a way for intelligent and precise control of fungal aerosol pollution.

Numerical study on the internal ventilation of the engine room of a ship under construction

Manual welding operations are performed inside the engine room of a liquefied natural gas carrier under construction. The welders are at risk of exposure to welding fumes in case of poor ventilation. Therefore, ventilation fans are installed at shipbuilding sites to improve indoor air quality. Although ensuring the respiratory health of welders is important, studies focusing on ventilation in the ship engine room have not been conducted. Therefore, the ventilation efficiency was evaluated herein based on the placement of ventilation fans to alleviate air stagnation using a computational fluid dynamic (CFD) model operating on Fluent. The mean age of air (MAA) was computed to assess the ventilation efficiency. In addition, particles with size and physical properties similar to welding fumes were sourced assuming 30 welders in the engine room. Results revealed that ventilation fan and/or exhaust in enclosed spaces contributes significantly to alleviating the MAA level. MAA and particle distribution did not correlate well due to the different properties of air and the iron oxide particle. Therefore, to determine the optimal ventilation fan displacement, particle motion should be studied along with performing MAA analysis. The proposed CFD model potentially guides to improvement of the working environments and respiratory health of welders.

Advanced 2D Computational Fluid Dynamics Model of an External Gear Pump Considering Relief Grooves

The article presents an advanced two-dimensional (2D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of an external gear pump which considers relief grooves. Relief grooves are limiting design features for the flow process of this type of pump, and their influence in existing studies is considered by a three-dimensional (3D) model only. The structural modification proposed by the authors is beyond the possibilities of real implementation, but it gives the possibility to precisely model the pump’s design features. In contrast to the existing studies (using 3D CFD), the proposed advanced 2D model requires significantly fewer computing resources. Numerical experiments were carried out using the 2D model at different pump operating modes depending on the rotation frequency (950–1450 min−1) and pressure load (5–150 bar). The numerical results were validated by a real-world experiment for the same pump operating modes using an existing laboratory experimental setup. An analysis of the CFD model and real experiment results was carried out by determining a quantitative index of match (FIT), which varies in the range of 97.93–99.82%. This proves the performance of the proposed CFD model, which can be further used as a part of more complex hydraulic systems models.

Multiphysics computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling of diclofenac amide removal by photocatalytic oxidation on Fe-TiO2/N-TiO2 thin films microreactor

An improved multiphysics computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model, which couples radiation field modeling, species transport, and kinetics was developed to determine the dark adsorption–desorption (kads,m kads,n, kdes,m, kdes,n) and apparent reaction rate (kapp) constants for the photocatalytic oxidation of diclofenac amide (DCFA) in a recirculating thin-film micro-slit reactor. The photocatalytic oxidation of DCFA under UV irradiation was investigated by changing the initial concentration (Co) (0.73–1.7 ppm) and recirculation flow rate (Q) (0.15–3.73 L h−1). The ratio of estimated adsorption–desorption rate constants by fitting the CFD model to experiments were kads,m/kads,n = 0.45, and kdes,m/kdes,n = 1.5, and kapp varied from 1.08 to 1.68 × 10-3 mmol m-3 h−1(W m−2)-0.5 with Q (0.15–3.73 L h−1). The CFD model unveiled the switch from mass transfer to kinetics-controlled oxidation of DCFA. The proposed CFD model can be employed as a rapid and flexible tool for the determination of intrinsic kinetic constants in photocatalytic thin-film MRs in the reaction kinetics regime.

PIGNN-CFD: A physics-informed graph neural network for rapid predicting urban wind field defined on unstructured mesh

Urban wind field plays an important role in quantitative assessment of urban environment. Compared to field measurement and wind tunnel experiment, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation having the advantages of low cost, repeatability and reliable precision is becoming a common scheme to model flow field of one fixed urban scenario, but still faces the problems of time-consuming computation and lack of scalability for practical engineering application. This paper proposes PIGNN-CFD, a novel physics-informed graph neural network for rapid predicting urban wind field based on irregular unstructured mesh data of CFD simulation. Specifically, a CFD model employing the unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations with the standard k-ε turbulence model, is constructed and then numerically solved by OpenFOAM to simulate urban wind field defined on unstructured mesh. After being validated by publicly available wind tunnel test data provided by the Architectural Institute of Japan (AIJ), the proposed CFD model is employed to build the training and test sample sets of urban wind fields by simulating the wind blowing through various randomly generated small-scale urban scenes. A novel physics-informed graph neural network, both approximating the training data and automatically satisfying the RANS equations, is designed and trained to perform wind field inference on unstructured mesh graph, and then scaled up to predict wind fields of arbitrary large-scale urban scenes. The predicted wind field results of two urban environments at different scales show that the well-generalized PIGNN-CFD model runs 1–2 orders of magnitude faster than the CFD model on which it is trained, while obtaining the consistent computational accuracy.

Computational fluid dynamics approach to study methane hydrate formation in stirred reactor

Hydrate formation management in oil and gas industries needs a detailed understanding of hydrate formation phenomena in terms of dynamics and kinetics aspects. Stirred reactors are one of the popular experimental systems to study hydrate formation/dissociation in terms of kinetics and thermodynamics mechanisms. Various processes/systems such as gas hydrate formation and decomposition phenomena in oil and gas facilities are simulated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). This research examines the hydrate formation in a stirred reactor for a water-methane system using the Eulerian multiphase flow model by employing CFD software (STAR CCM +). The developed numerical model incorporates the conservation equations of momentum, mass, and energy, where the hydrate equations, including mass transfer, hydrate kinetics, and heat of hydrate formation, are included in the governing equations. In this paper, the methane hydrate formation in the stirred reactor for the stirring rate of 300 RPM and volume fraction of 0.04 with a pressure of 5,500 kPa is simulated. Then, the simulation results are validated using the experimental data collected from the literature, resulting in an overall absolute average deviation percentage (AAD%) of 15.6 %. The influences of stirring rate (300 to 500 RPM), methane volume fraction (0.04 to 0.4), pressure (3,500 to 7,500 kPa), and subcooling (1.96 to 9.23 °C) are studied on the hydrate formation in the agitated reactor. The results reveal that the developed CFD model can predict the methane hydrate formation in the stirred reactor with acceptable precision. According to the simulation runs, methane hydrate is formed mainly near the walls and around the stirrer blades. In addition, an increase in subcooling, gas volume fraction, pressure, and stirring rate leads to more hydrate formation in the reactor with a constant temperature of 274.3 K. The maximum mass fraction of hydrate is observed for the case when the gas volume fraction and stirring rates are 0.4 and 900 RPM, respectively. However, the minimum value of methane hydrate is 0.092 g, where the volume fraction and impeller speed are 0.04 and 300 RPM.The findings of this study can help to further understand hydrate formation phenomena in oil and gas facilities. This model can provide oil and gas engineering sectors with effective strategies to control and manage gas hydrates. In addition, the proposed CFD model can be helpful for engineers and researchers in the petroleum industry to simulate hydrate formation in other complicated geometries in petroleum facilities.

CFD Investigation into Flow Characteristics of a Special Splash Lubrication in Light Helicopters

Lubricating oil flow characteristics are the primary concern in the main reducer of light helicopters. To improve the lubricating performance of the main reducer, a special lubrication system is innovatively constructed by adding two oil-guiding tubes to the hub of the output gear, and the influence of the oil-guiding tubes is investigated through CFD (computational fluid dynamics) techniques. A CFD model of the gearbox integrated with the VOF (volume of fluid) technique was established to explore the flow characteristics of the oil–air two-phase flow inside the gearing system. To validate the proposed CFD model, a specialized testing rig is devised and manufactured to examine the features of oil distribution. The effects of the structure parameters of the oil-guiding tubes and operating conditions on the lubrication performance are explored. Comparing experimental and numerical findings reveals that the inner diameter of the oil-guiding tube and the rotational speed of the driven gear have a significant influence on the lubrication performance. In contrast, the length of the installation end of the oil-guiding tube, its angle, and the oil-immersion depth show little impact.

Radial heat transport in a fixed-bed reactor made of metallic foam pellets: Experiment and particle-resolved computational fluid dynamics

Open-cell metallic foams in the shape of pelletized catalysts are regarded as potential catalyst substrates for the application in fixed-bed reactors. This work reports an experimental study and a detailed Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model to investigate the heat transfer performance of a fixed-bed reactor made of open-cell metallic foam pellets. The steady-state heat transfer behavior of a hot gas flowing through such a packed bed under wall-cooled conditions was examined. The proposed CFD model is in line with the particle-resolved CFD (PRCFD) approach that accounts explicitly for the random packing structure, so that the transport processes in the interstitial regions are fully resolved. The momentum and energy transports inside the highly porous foam particles are considered by closure equations based on the porous-media model. The Rigid Body Dynamics (RBD) method is adopted to create the packing geometry. The axial temperature and the pressure drop obtained by the CFD simulations show good agreement with experimental data. To evaluate the thermal performance, effective heat transport parameters in a packed bed such as the effective radial thermal conductivity and the apparent wall-fluid heat transfer coefficient are determined, with the aid of a 2D pseudo-homogenous plug-flow reactor model. The correlations for heat transport characteristics as a function of particle Reynolds number for the metallic foam packed bed are also presented.

CFD Modeling and Simulation of the Axial Dispersion Characteristics of a Fixed-Bed Reactor.

In this study, the axial dispersion characteristics of a fixed-bed reactor with different packed structures were investigated via computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation. The discrete element method was employed to develop the physical model of a fixed bed. Then, CFD simulations were performed to investigate the flow resistance coefficient under different Reynolds numbers. The prediction values were in fair agreement with those calculated by the Carman equation, thereby validating the proposed CFD model. The tracer pulse method and the step method were employed to evaluate the residence time distribution characteristics in the fixed-bed reactors where the mean residence time and axial dispersion coefficient were calculated. The distribution characteristics of the tracer concentration and fluid velocity were also obtained and used to explain the mixing performance of the fixed bed. This simulation study can contribute to the optimization design and scaling up of reactors with porous packed structures.

2D CFD Simulation of Dynamic Heat Transfer in an Open-Type Refrigerated Display Cabinet

This study uses a simplified two-dimensional time-dependent computational fluid dynamic (CFD) model to study the influence of wall shelf configuration and outtake honeycomb inclination angle on the performance of the air curtain in an open-type semi-vertical refrigerated display cabinet. Numerical simulation results show that changing the angle, along with changing the shelf configuration, can reduce the temperature of the intake air grille and improve the warm/cold air ratio. The average temperature of the simulated food products decreased by 1.2 °C compared to the unmodified display cabinet and began to meet the requirements of the temperature category 3M0. The proposed CFD model was validated by the experimental results. The simulation results obtained are important for cabinet design to improve product storage quality and reduce energy consumption.

Numerical simulation of nonlinear phenomena in a standing-wave thermoacoustic engine with gas-liquid coupling oscillation

• A CFD model of gas-liquid standing-wave thermoacoustic engine is developed and experimentally verified. • Time-domain impedance boundary condition is employed to truncate the modelling of liquid column. • Entire transient evolution of self-excited thermoacoustic oscillation from onset to saturation is captured. • Three different acoustic streamings are observed through inspecting the time-averaged mass flux field. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model based on the compressible, nonlinear Navier-Stokes equations is developed to simulate the nonlinear phenomena in a gas-liquid standing-wave thermoacoustic engine, which employs gas as the working fluid and liquid as the phase-matching element. The CFD model is well validated when comparing the simulated onset and steady-state performances with those measured from a real experimental system. Based on the CFD model, the nonlinear phenomena of the engine are analyzed from three aspects. Firstly, the nonlinear dynamic phenomena of self-excited thermoacoustic oscillation from onset to saturation are investigated, focusing on onset temperature difference and steady-state pressure amplitude. Then, the nonlinear acoustic phenomena of the engine operating at steady state are analyzed. The steady-state fluctuating pressure is decomposed into a superimposition of the acoustic modes with different frequencies, which reveals the existence of high-order harmonics. Finally, the nonlinear hydrodynamic phenomena including multi-dimensional flow effect and mass streaming are observed by examining the steady-state flow fields in the engine. The proposed CFD model provides an effective approach to comprehending the mechanism of nonlinear phenomena in gas-liquid coupling thermoacoustic engines.

CFD modeling and simulation of the hydrodynamics characteristics of packed column with structured sinusoidal corrugated sheets packings

In this study, the hydrodynamics characteristics of packed column with structured sinusoidal corrugated sheets packings were investigated by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling and simulation method. The proposed CFD model was first validated by comparing simulation results with those of experimental data in terms of pressure drop under different inlet gas velocities. Then the effects of wave length, amplitude, angle and placement method on dry pressure drop were studied by control variable method. The relationship between F factor and pressure drop with different packing structures were investigated. The flow fields of pressure and velocity were analyzed and then used to calculate the resistance coefficient of structured packings. This simulation study can contribute to the evaluation and optimization of multiphase flow characteristics and the mass transfer performance of packed column.

Computational fluid dynamic modeling of methane hydrate formation in a subsea jumper

Gas hydrate in subsea pipelines is a serious flow assurance issue that may impose operational challenges to offshore petroleum production and transportation. The effects of fluid properties on hydrate formation in complex geometries such as jumpers are not fully understood. This study aims to assess hydrate formation in the jumper for the water-methane system using the Eulerian multiphase flow model through employing computational fluid dynamic (CFD) software (STAR CCM+). The numerical model is developed through consideration of transport phenomena equations, including conservation of mass, momentum, and energy in which mass transfer, hydrate reaction kinetics model, and heat of hydrate formation are incorporated in the multiphase flow equations in the form of source terms in the CFD software. In this study, first, the hydrate mass fraction for the fluid velocity of 5 m/s with an inlet temperature of 7 °C and a gas volume fraction of 0.2 is calculated. The sensitivity analysis is then performed considering the influences of changes in the inlet fluid velocity, gas volume fraction, inlet temperature, and subcooling on the hydrate formation. The results reveal that the developed CFD model is capable of predicting hydrate formation behaviors in the jumper with acceptable precision. An increase in the liquid inlet velocity and gas inlet temperature lowers the amount of hydrate formed in the jumper. In contrast, an increase in the subcooling and gas volume fraction leads to more hydrate formation. The proposed CFD model can be successfully used to simulate hydrate formation in pipelines under various process and thermodynamic conditions so that it can help to find reliable/effective methods for hydrate management.

Study of the Hydrodynamic Characteristics of Non‐Newtonian Polymer Solution Fluid in Concentric Annulus Using Computational Fluid Dynamics Methods

AbstractNon‐Newtonian fluids flowing in a concentric annulus have been widely observed in industrial chemical processes. In this study, the hydrodynamic characteristics of a non‐Newtonian fluid (polymer solution) in concentric annulus are investigated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling and numerical simulation methods. First, a simple grid independence analysis is carried out to select appropriate grid parameters. Then the rationality of the proposed CFD model is confirmed by the near‐wall velocity profiles. Based on the validated model, the effects of the fluid properties and radius ratio on the flow structure characteristics are studied at various inlet velocities. According to the simulated flow fields (i.e., velocity, pressure, strain rate, and wall shear stress), the flow pattern, flow resistance, and residence time distribution characteristics are analyzed in the laminar and turbulent regimes. The presented results show that non‐Newtonian fluids have unique flow behaviors in concentric annulus when compared with Newtonian fluids.

Printing quality improvement for laser-induced forward transfer bioprinting: Numerical modeling and experimental validation

Laser-induced-forward-transfer (LIFT)-based laser assisted bioprinting (LAB) has great advantages over other three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting techniques, such as none-contact, free of clogging, high precision, and good compatibility. In a typical LIFT based LAB process, a jet flow transfers the bioink from the ribbon to the substrate due to bioink bubble generation and collapse, and the printing quality is highly dependent on the jet flow regime (stable or unstable), so it is a great challenge to understand the connection between the jet flow and the printing outcomes. To tackle this challenge, a novel computational-fluid-dynamics (CFD)-based model was developed in this study to accurately describe the jet flow regime and provide guidance for optimal printing process planning, and a great agreement with the difference of less than 14% can be achieved when the length of induced jet is compared with experiments. By adopting the printing parameters recommended by the CFD model, the printing quality was greatly improved by forming a stable jet regime and organized printing patterns on the substrate, and the size of printed droplet could also be accurately predicted using the CFD simulation results through a static equilibrium model. Then, a well-organized pattern with alphabets “UT-CUMT” according to the chosen printing parameters was successfully printed. The ultimate goal of this research is to develop a solid connection between mechanical engineering community and bioprinting community by utilizing the proposed CFD model to direct the LAB process and eventually improve the quality of bioprinting.

Efficacy of coupling heat recovery ventilation and fan coil systems in improving the indoor air quality and thermal comfort condition

Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR) systems are gaining increasing interest in buildings with low energy demand, for improvement of the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) and reduction of the ventilation energy loss. In retrofitted buildings, MVHRs are often integrated with an additional air heater to cover space heating demand. Hence, evaluation of the interactions between MVHR and heat emitter, and their effects on indoor airflow characteristics is of significant importance. The present study aims to investigate effects of a combined MVHR-fan-coil system in heating mode on IAQ and thermal comfort parameters inside a retrofitted room, by means of a computational fluid dynamic (CFD) code. The proposed CFD model is validated by comparing the numerical results with experimental data. The results yielded by numerical simulations allow evaluating the indoor environmental quality characteristics as well as addressing the MVHR and fan coil interactions. The results indicate that the airflow discharged from the fan coil could have a significant impact on the age of the air; while it provides a desirable thermal comfort condition within the room, it may hinder to some extent delivery of the fresh air to the occupied zone due to creation of counterflow fields. Furthermore, it is shown that although increasing the fan speed (ON mode) would slightly enhance the air change efficiency, the OFF mode yields not only a better distribution of the fresh air but also a higher ventilation efficiency than when fan coil operates.

CFD modeling of liquid entrainment through vertical T-junction of fourth stage automatic depressurization system (ADS-4)

In this study, a three-dimensional (3D) transient computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model is presented to investigated liquid entrainment in gas–liquid flow through vertical T-junction of fourth stage automatic depressurization system (ADS-4) in AP1000. A specialized CFD model for the liquid entrainment phenomenon study, which is based on coupled Eulerian-Eulerian VOF (volume of fluid) formulation with suitable interfacial drag and standard κ-ε turbulence model for each phase was proposed. The entrainment rate was calculated and results were validated with ADETEL experimental data, which was built at XJTU-NuTheL. The good agreement between CFD calculations and experimental data demonstrated that the proposed CFD model could reasonably predict entrainment within the studied range. The effect of vertical to horizontal branch diameter ratio and gas mass flow rates on liquid entrainment were also studied. In addition, the liquid volume fraction distributions and velocity field were investigated to develop an understanding of the entrainment process. The relatively high demand for computational resources due to very small timestep size and small grid size to accommodate high flow velocities was found to be a challenge.

Numerical Model to Analyze the Physicochemical Mechanisms Involved in CO2 Absorption by an Aqueous Ammonia Droplet.

CO2 is the main anthropogenic greenhouse gas and its reduction plays a decisive role in reducing global climate change. As a CO2 elimination method, the present work is based on chemical absorption using aqueous ammonia as solvent. A CFD (computational fluid dynamics) model was developed to study CO2 capture in a single droplet. The objective was to identify the main mechanisms responsible for CO2 absorption, such as diffusion, solubility, convection, chemical dissociation, and evaporation. The proposed CFD model takes into consideration the fluid motion inside and outside the droplet. It was found that diffusion prevails over convection, especially for small droplets. Chemical reactions increase the absorption by up to 472.7% in comparison with physical absorption alone, and evaporation reduces the absorption up to 41.9% for the parameters studied in the present work.

Estimation of physical properties and hydrodynamics of slurry bubble column reactor for catalytic hydrocracking of vacuum residue

Vacuum residue (VR) was subjected to catalytic hydrocracking with H2 in a pilot-scale slurry bubble column reactor (SBCR) with 0.05 m diameter and 2 m height at 425 °C and 160 bar in the homogeneous regime. The gas holdup (αG) and composition of the product classified into five pseudo-components were measured in the SBCR. The physical properties such as density, viscosity, and surface tension of VR (feed) were analyzed prior to a three-dimensional Eulerian computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation to predict axial and radial hydrodynamics in the SBCR. Rather than considering the hydrocracking reactions in the CFD model, a reaction-mixture model was used to predict the variation of the axial physical properties as the reaction progresses. A customized drag coefficient based on experimental data was applied to the CFD model. The value of αG predicted by the CFD model at a superficial gas velocity of 6.4 mm/s was 6.2% which is comparable to the experimental value (6.6%). The Sauter mean diameter and specific surface area were estimated to be 1.2 mm and 304 m2/m3, respectively. The proposed CFD model, which was integrated with the axial physical properties but decoupled from chemical reaction, successfully predicted the hydrodynamics of the H2-VR SBCR.