Three-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics Calculations Research Articles

A process for an efficient heat release prediction at the concepts screening stage of gasoline engine development

In recent years, the exploration of new combustion technologies has accelerated in response to increasingly stringent emissions regulations and fuel economy demands. Virtual engineering tools, that enable the screening of novel hardware and engine calibrations at the early stage of engine development, have become imperative to meet new emission regulations. One-dimensional engine simulations are used at the start of the design of a new engine to define the overall combustion system geometries. Later, more complex three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics calculations are coupled to one-dimensional engine system codes to optimise initial concept geometries and define a system design ready for prototyping. To provide meaningful results, one-dimensional engine system codes often use empirical-based combustion models to calculate the engine burn rate. Moreover, realistic engine burn rates responses, for the entire engine map and for different calibrations, are required to provide three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics codes with correct boundary conditions during the design optimisation phase. Thus, the burn characteristic of new non-traditional combustion solution, for which little experimental data are available, needs to be initially assumed. To improve virtual development and reduce this uncertainty, the industry’s attention shifted towards quasi-dimensional combustion models capable of providing engine burn rate predictions. Within the quasi-dimensional modelling framework, turbulence models, adding extra user-input variables, are required to capture the effect of different combustion chamber geometries on the engine combustion rate. Rigorous validation of zero-dimensional turbulence models for different engine concepts and calibrations is therefore needed to enable quasi-dimensional combustion models to predict the engine burn rate. An alternative methodology, with limited dependency on previous test data, is required to enhance the exploration of novel combustion strategies and geometric architectures. An available process, based on a quasi-dimensional combustion stochastic reactor model, a one-dimensional engine system model and non-combusting three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics calculations, was used for this work. The approach uses limited non-combusting computational fluid dynamics calculations and a previously developed scaling factor response for the stochastic reactor model turbulence input ( τSRM) to quickly predict the engine rate of heat release. In this work, the scaling factor response was assessed against two different engine variants over a variety of engine operating conditions. Moreover, the same response was used to predict the effect of different bore-to-stroke ratios on the engine combustion rate and knock tolerance. Non-combusting computational fluid dynamics and one-dimensional engine system simulations have been carried out to investigate changes in turbulence characteristics due to different engine variants and bore-to-stroke ratios. It was shown that limited number of non-combusting computational fluid dynamics runs is required to characterise the in-cylinder turbulence for each explored engine variant. The scaling factor response was used to manipulate the turbulence input ( τSRM) resulting in good engine burn rates predictions for the explored engine variants and bore-to-stroke ratios. The presented methodology showed augmented predictive capabilities and has potential to move the engine development towards a less hardware dependent virtual approach, offering a practical solution for the exploration of new engine concepts.

The influence of the enrichment injection angle on the performance of a pre-chamber spark ignition natural-gas engine

Using an enriched pre-chamber is an effective way to extend the lean limit, to reduce the nitrogen oxide emissions and to avoid abnormal combustion in spark ignition natural-gas engines. Enrichment injection in the pre-chamber of a spark ignition natural-gas engine determines the flow field and the fuel–air mixture formation quality in the pre-chamber and has a profound influence on the combustion performance of the engine. In order to study the characteristics of enrichment injection in the pre-chamber of a natural-gas engine, two-dimensional particle image velocimetry measurements and three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics calculations were carried out. The influence of the enrichment injection angle on the engine performance was investigated with the aid of a computational fluid dynamics simulation tool. The results indicate that a change in the enrichment injection angle directly affects the gas motion, the fuel–air mixture formation, the flame propagation and the formation of nitrogen oxides in the pre-chamber and further influences the penetration of the flame jets, the combustion temperature distribution and the formation of nitrogen oxides in the main chamber. There is an optimal injection angle for this research engine. Of the four injection angles that were investigated, an injection angle of 14° results in the lowest nitrogen oxide emissions.

Experimental study of the effects of temperature variation on droplet size and wetness fraction in a low-pressure model steam turbine

The three-stage low-pressure model steam turbine at the Institute of Thermal Turbomachinery and Machinery Laboratory (ITSM) was used to study the impact of three different steam inlet temperatures on the homogeneous condensation process and the resulting wetness topology. The droplet spectrum as well as the particle number concentration were measured in front of the last stage using an optical-pneumatic probe. At design load, condensation starts inside the stator of the second stage. A change in the steam inlet temperature is able to shift the location of condensation onset within the blade row up- or downstream and even into adjoining blade passages, which leads to significantly different local droplet sizes and wetness fractions due to different local expansion rates. The measured results are compared to steady three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics calculations. The predicted nucleation zones could be largely confirmed by the measurements. Although the trend of measured and calculated droplet size across the span is satisfactory, there are considerable differences between the measured and computed droplet spectrum and wetness fractions.

Review on gas-liquid mixing analysis in multiscale stirred vessel using CFD

This review aims to establish common approaches and equations used in computational fl uid dynamics (CFD) analysis for gas-liquid mixing operations and investigate their strengths and weaknesses. The review concluded that with a suffi cient computing strength, Eulerian-Lagrangian approaches can simulate detailed fl ow structures for dispersed multiphase fl ow with high spatial resolution. Turbulence is an important factor in fl dynamics, and literature confi rmed that k- e is the most widely used turbulence model. However, it suffers from some inherent shortcomings that stemmed from the assumption of isotropy of turbulence and homogenous mixing, which is suitable for very high Reynolds number in unbaffl ed stirred vessels. In CFD simulations for gas-liquid systems in stirred vessels, bubble size distribution is the most important parameter; hence, different techniques for formulation of bubble size equations have been investigated. These techniques involve source and sink terms for coalescence or breakup and provide a framework in which the population balance method together with the coalescence and breakup models can be unifi ed into three-dimensional CFD calculations. Different discretization schemes and solution algorithms were also reviewed to confi rm that third-order solutions provide the least erroneous simulation results.

Unsteady Flow and Dynamic Behavior of Ultrashort Lomakin Gas Bearings

Ultrashort microscale high-speed gas bearings exhibit a whirl instability limit and dynamic behavior much different from conventional hydrostatic gas bearings. In particular, the design space for a stable high-speed operation is confined to a narrow region and involves a singular behavior. The previously developed ultrashort gas bearing theory (Liu et al. (2005, “Hydrostatic Gas Journal Bearings for Micro-Turbomachinery,” ASME J. Vibr. Acoust., 127(2), pp. 157–164)) assumed fully developed flow in the journal bearing gap. There is experimental evidence that this assumption might not be fully applicable for the relatively short flow-through times in such bearings. This has an impact on the estimation of whirl instability onset, bearing operability and power requirements. In this paper, unsteady flow effects in the bearing gap are investigated with the goal to quantify their impact on the bearing dynamic behavior. It is shown that although three-dimensional flow calculations in the ultrashort journal bearing are necessary to quantify the onset of whirl instability, the underlying mechanisms can be qualitatively described by the impulsive starting of a Couette flow. Using this description, two time scales are identified that govern the journal bearing dynamic behavior: the viscous diffusion time and the axial flow-through time. Based on this, a reduced frequency parameter is introduced that determines the development of the flow field in the journal bearing and, together with bearing force models, yields a criterion for whirl instability onset. Detailed three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics calculations of the journal bearing flow have been conducted to assess the criterion. A singular behavior in whirl ratio as a function of the reduced frequency parameter is observed, verifying the refined stability criterion. Using high-fidelity flow calculations, the effects of unsteady journal bearing flow on whirl instability limit and bearing power loss are quantified, and design guidelines and implications on gas bearing modeling are discussed. The stability criterion is experimentally validated demonstrating repeatable, stable high-speed operation of a novel microbearing test device at whirl ratios of 35.

Toward understanding the dissociation of I2 in chemical oxygen-iodine lasers: Combined experimental and theoretical studies

The dissociation of I2 molecules at the optical axis of a supersonic chemical oxygen-iodine laser (COIL) was studied via detailed measurements and three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics calculations. The measurements, briefly reported in a recent paper [Rybalkin et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 89, 021115 (2006)] and reanalyzed in detail here, revealed that the number N of consumed O2(aΔg1) molecules per dissociated I2 molecule depends on the experimental conditions: it is 4.5±0.4 for typical conditions and I2 densities applied for optimal operation of the COIL but increases at lower I2 densities. Comparing the measurements and the calculations enabled critical examination of previously proposed dissociation mechanisms and suggestion of a mechanism consistent with the experimental and theoretical results obtained in a supersonic COIL for the gain, temperature, I2 dissociation fraction, and N at the optical axis. The suggested mechanism combines the recent scheme of Azyazov and Heaven [AIAA J. 44, 1593 (2006)], where I2(A′Π2u3), I2(AΠ1u3), and O2(aΔg1,v) are significant dissociation intermediates, with the “standard” chain branching mechanism of Heidner III et al. [J. Phys. Chem. 87, 2348 (1983)], involving I(P1∕22) and I2(XΣg+1,v).

Investigation of gas diffusion media inside PEMFC using CFD modeling

The performance of a gas diffusion layer comprised of a macro porous and micro porous layer has been studied both experimentally and by numerical simulation. Experimental data at different humidification conditions have been compared to full cell, three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics calculations to validate the physical model of the cell. Local distributions of current density, electrochemical variables, temperature, and gas composition are discussed in detail. Model calculations agree well with experimental data and the solutions with and without the micro porous layer show that this layer has an effect on the overall performance and the local distributions show differences. The effect of hydrogen dilution is also explored in this paper with micro/macro gas diffusion media. The results reveal that proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) performance depends not only on the oxygen but also on the hydrogen partial pressure.

Three-dimensional CFD calculations for designing large food chillers

In industry solid foods such as vegetables and meat are mostly air-chilled and stored in refrigerated rooms. Plant performance depends on heat and water exchanges between the air and the products and thus on the spatial distribution of the air parameters: velocity, turbulence intensity, temperature and relative humidity. In theory the transient behaviour of chillers could be calculated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) codes, but current computer capacity and the inaccuracy of models for evaluating heat and mass transfer coefficients make them inapplicable to very large rooms containing hundreds of individual products. To overcome these limits a four-step calculation is proposed to assess how changes in chiller design and operating conditions affect chilling kinetics: (1) 3D calculation of the air velocity field with a CFD code, (2) deduction of an average air velocity map, (3) determination of heat and mass transfer coefficients in relation to the air velocity map using independent measurements, and (4) calculation of the product chilling kinetics using specific software. This procedure was applied to a pork chiller containing 290 carcasses. Two design cases differing in inlet air direction and flow rate, and two functioning modes, batch and continuous, were analysed. A fairly good agreement was observed between the calculated and measured air velocities. It was shown from temperature and weight loss kinetics that with this type of design, batch chilling can only be achieved overnight at the cost of overcooling for low weight carcasses, and increased weight losses.

High-performance chemical oxygen-iodine laser using nitrogen diluent for commercial applications

A chemical oxygen-iodine laser (COIL), the VertiCOIL device, was transferred from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and made operational. The performance of the high-power VertiCOIL laser was measured with nitrogen diluent, New nozzle designs were investigated and implemented to optimize nitrogen performance, Nitrogen diluent chemical efficiencies of 23% were achieved; these are the highest reported chemical efficiencies with room-temperature nitrogen diluent. A long duration, high chemical efficiency test was demonstrated with nitrogen diluent; a chemical efficiency of 18.545 at 30 mmol/s of chlorine was maintained for 35 min. The highest performance was obtained with new iodine injector blocks and a larger throat height. The new iodine injector blocks moved the injectors closer to the throat by 0.7 cm and the throat height was increased from 0.897 to 1.151 cm (0.353 to 0.453 in). The performance enhancements were in qualitative agreement with the system design predictions of the Blaze II chemical laser model. Three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics calculations using the general aerodynamic simulation program code confirmed the principle design change of moving the iodine injectors closer to throat.