A heat transfer model for biological wastewater treatment system

A heat transfer model for predicting the water temperature of aeration tank in a biological wastewater treatment plant is presented. The heat transfer mechanisms involved in the development of the heat transfer model include heat gains from solar radiation and biochemical reaction and heat losses from evaporation, aeration, wind blowing and conduction through tank walls. Several empirical correlations were adopted and appropriate assumptions made to facilitate the model development. Experiments were conducted in the biological wastewater treatment plant of a chemical fiber company over a year's period. The operational, weather and temperature data were registered. The daily water temperature data were averaged over a month period and compared with the theoretical prediction. Excellent agreement has been obtained between the predicted and measured temperatures, verifying the proposed heat transfer model.     

Computational study of a pitching bio-inspired corrugated airfoil

The phenomenon of insect flight has been of scientific interest for many years and is more recently inspiring modern engineering devices such as Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs). Insect flight is characterized by unsteady fluid dynamics at low Reynolds numbers. The importance of viscous effects to the successful flapping flight of insects has been identified and with the current state of computing and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) these effects can now be studied in detail. The present work attempts to simplify this complex phenomenon by considering symmetric oscillating rotational motion of a wing (pitching). What is of interest in this study is how the shape of a corrugated idealized insect wing affects the performance and flow characteristics around the pitching wing. Two dimensional CFD on an oscillating wing has been performed and reported. Measurements were taken to ensure the accuracy of the computational solution and the results validated against experimental PIV results. A range of frequencies and rotational amplitudes have been investigated. Lift and drag coefficients have been analyzed for all cases to quantify the effects of unsteady flow features on the performance of the oscillating wing. It was found that the wing shape used in this study resulted in the viscous features formed on the top of the wing exhibiting high sensitivity to the oscillating conditions and these influenced the performance of the wing. The flow features formed on the bottom of the wing remained similar throughout the cases tested. In the pitching regime this wing profile did not perform as well as published results for smooth airfoils in terms of thrust and propulsion efficiency. However this may be due to reduced frequency effects becoming important at our high pitching amplitude which need to be investigated further. There may be other oscillatory regimes that more accurately represent flapping flight in which the corrugated foil outperforms a smooth counterpart but these are yet to be investigated. Further research in this area may help answer the question as to how evolutionarily significant other benefits of a corrugated wing, such as being light and strong, are compared to its aerodynamic properties, the present results seem to favor the former.     

Computational and experimental study of a railplug igniter

The plasma plume generated by a new type of high energy igniter known as the railplug is examined. The railplug is a miniaturized railgun that has the potential for improving ignition characteristics of combustible mixtures in engines. The objective of the study is to gain an understanding of the characteristics of the plasma created by a transparent railplug and to validate a multidimensional computer simulation of the plasma and shock fronts. The nature of the plume emitted by the railplug was examined for three levels of electrical energy while firing into air at a pressure of 1 atm. The computer model is to be used to predict trends in railplug performance for various railplug designs, energies, and ambient conditions. The velocity of the plasma movement inside a transparent railplug was measured, as well as the velocity of the plume ejected from the cavity. A shock is produced at the initiation point of the arc and propagates down the cavity, eventually exiting the plug. The velocity of the shock was both measured experimentally and simulated by the model. The computer simulation produces a mushroom-shaped plasma plume at the railplug exit similar to that observed in the shadowgraph photos. The simulation also reproduced the toroidal circulation observed at the plug exit in the shadowgraphs, the radial expansion, and the penetration depth of the plume. The trend of linearly increasing plasma kinetic energy with stored electrical energy predicted by the simulation was verified by shadowgraph photos. The agreement between the experiments and the simulations suggests that the multidimensional model holds promise as a predictive design tool.     

Computational and experimental study of annular photo-reactor hydrodynamics

The performance of ultraviolet (UV) reactors used for water treatment is greatly influenced by the reactor hydrodynamics due to the non-homogeneity of the radiation field. Reliable modeling of the reactor flow structures is therefore crucial for the design process. In this study, the turbulent flow through two characteristic annular UV-reactor configurations, with inlets concentric (L-shape) and normal (U-shape) to the reactor axis, was investigated through computational fluid dynamic (CFD). The modeling results were evaluated with the velocity profiles from particle image velocimetry (PIV) experiments. The influence of mesh structure and density, as well as three turbulence models: Standard κ–, Realizable κ–, and Reynolds stress model (RSM), on the simulation results were evaluated. Mesh-independent solutions were achieved at mean cell volumes of 5 × 10⁻⁹ m³. The Realizable κ– displayed the best overall match to the experimental PIV measurements. In general, the CFD models showed a close agreement with the experimental data for the majority of the reactor domain and captured the influences of reactor configuration and internal reactor structures on the flow distribution. The validated CFD hydrodynamic models could be integrated with kinetic and radiation distribution models for UV-reactor performance simulation.     

Experimental study of ventilated cavity flow over a 3-D wall-mounted fence

Ventilated cavity flow over a fixed height 3-D wall-mounted fence is experimentally investigated in a cavitation tunnel for a range of free-stream conditions. The impact of 3-D effects on cavity topology is examined, along with the dependence of the cavitation number and drag on the volumetric flow rate coefficient, fence height based Froude number and vapour pressure based cavitation number. Three different flow regimes are identified throughout the range of cavitation numbers for a particular free-stream condition. Generally, the cavity has a typical re-entrant jet closure the intensity of which is found to increase linearly with increasing Froude number. This increase in re-entrant jet intensity causes an increase in drag with Froude number for constant volumetric flow rate coefficient. At low Froude numbers the closure mechanism transitions from a single to a split re-entrant jet. The parameters used to characterize the cavity topology show a linear dependence on Froude number irrespective of the closure mode. The cavity topology and drag are found to be independent of vapour pressure based cavitation number.     

Computational study of curved shock–vortex interaction

The interaction between a curved shock wave and a compressible vortex is numerically investigated. The investigation concentrates on the local deformation of the shock structure due to the shock–vortex interaction. The essentially non‐oscillatory (ENO) scheme is used to solve the unsteady two‐dimensional Euler equations. A curved shock wave is obtained by the diffraction of an initially planar shock wave around a right‐angled corner and then allowed to interact with a strong compressible vortex superimposed on the flow. The same vortex affects the shock wave differently depending on the placement of the vortex because of the varying strength of the shock wave. This effect could range from a non‐symmetric deformation of the shock wave to a local disruption in the shock structure depending on the strength of the shock wave in the interaction region. This process leading to a local disruption in the shock structure is analyzed in detail. It is shown that such a disruption in the shock structure can be predicted by simple one‐dimensional considerations. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Y型通风采煤工作面瓦斯爆炸传播规律模拟研究

针对Y型通风采煤工作面的瓦斯爆炸传播规律,利用Fluent模拟软件,结合余吾煤矿N2105工作面实际情况开展了数值模拟研究。结果表明：模拟结果与前人的实验结果之间的最大相对误差为11.3%,最小相对误差仅为1.7%,验证了数学模型的可靠性;确定了瓦斯爆炸数值模拟最合理的关键参数网格尺寸、迭代步长和点火温度分别为0.4 m、0.10 ms和1 800 K;进风顺槽、胶带顺槽、回风巷道和工作面的瓦斯爆炸超压峰值与爆源之间的距离符合指数函数关系,到达超压峰值所需时间与爆源之间的距离符合线性函数关系;距巷道分叉口7.5 m处,工作面超压衰减率为41.03%,胶带顺槽超压衰减率为25.99%,发生爆炸时胶带顺槽内更危险;工作面分叉处湍流区由右侧逐渐向左侧移动,且巷道分叉处超压峰值会增大;回风巷道火焰消散时间最短,胶带顺槽火焰消散时间次之,工作面火焰消散时间最长;胶带顺槽和回风巷道火焰消散方向与瓦斯爆炸初期火焰传播方向相反,工作面火焰消散方向与瓦斯爆炸初期火焰传播方向一致。

     

Computational methods for global analysis of homoclinic and heteroclinic orbits: A case study

In earlier paper we have developed a numerical method for the computation of branches of heteroclinic orbits for a system of autonomous ordinary differential equations in ⁿ . The idea of the method is to reduce a boundary value problem on the real line to a boundary value problem on a finite interval by using linear approximation of the unstable and stable manifolds. In this paper we extend our algorithm to incorporate higher-order approximations of the unstable and stable manifolds. This approximation is especially useful if we want to compute center manifolds accurately. A procedure for switching between the periodic approximation of homoclinic orbits and the higher-order approximation of homoclinic orbits provides additional flexibility to the method. The algorithm is applied to a model problem: the DC Josephson Junction. Computations are done using the software package AUTO.     

Computational study of reacting flow establishment in expansion tube facilities

We study the temporal evolution of the combustion flowfield established by the interaction of ram accelerator-type projectiles with an explosive gas mixture accelerated to hypersonic speeds in an expansion tube. The Navier-Stokes equations for a chemically reacting gas mixture are solved in a fully coupled manner using an implicit, time accurate algorithm. The solution procedure is based on a spatially second order, total variation diminishing scheme and a temporally second order, variable-step, backward differentiation formula method. The hydrogen-oxygen-argon chemistry is modeled with a 9-species, 19-step mechanism. The accuracy of the solution method is first demonstrated by several benchmark calculations. Numerical simulations of expansion tube flowfields are then presented for two different geometries: an axisymmetric projectile and a ram accelerator configuration. The development of the shock-induced combustion process is followed. The temporal variations of the calculated thrust and drag forces on the ram accelerator projectile are also presented. In the axisymmetric projectile case, which was designed to ensure combustion only in the boundary layer, the radial extent of the flame front during the initial transient phase was surprisingly large. In the ram accelerator configuration the flame propagated upstream along both the projectile and tube wall boundary layers, resulting in unstart. Received 25 September 1996 / Accepted 15 January 1997     

Computational study of shock wave focusing in a log-spiral duct

The mechanism of shock wave focusing in a two-dimensional log-spiral duct has been investigated here numerically using a finite volume method. This approach is based on a MUSCL TVD scheme with flux-vector splitting applied to the Euler equations. The isopycnics determined from the calculations are compared with the experimental results obtained by use of holographic interferometric photography and are found to be in excellent qualitative agreement with the experiments. The computational results clarify the details of the wave interactions very near to the focus. In particular, phenomena such as the formation of secondary shock waves prior to the implosion, their interaction with the reflected shock and the formation of vortices after the implosion have been examined.     

Computational study of shock wave control by pulse energy deposition

We have developed a computational code based on the axisymmetric Navier–Stokes equations with thermochemical kinetics for assessing wave drag reduction and other effects in pulse-energy deposition ahead of a bow shock by means of full simulations from generation of a laser-induced blast wave to interaction with the bow shock. Thermochemical nonequilibrium computations can reproduce the process of blast wave formation with laser ray tracing, and the computed low-density core inside the blast wave has a teardrop-like shape, depending on the laser input condition. The flowfield interacting with a bow shock formed in Mach 5 flow was computed. The result suggests that the shape of the low-density core affects the resultant wave drag, and parameters of an incident laser beam should be taken into account in exploring the optimal condition of the proposed wave-drag scheme.     

Computational and experimental study of supersonic flow over axisymmetric cavities

Laminar and turbulent computations are presented for annular rectangular-section cavities, on a body of revolution, in a Mach 2.2 flow. Unsteady ‘open cavity flows’ result for all laminar computations for all cavity length-to-depth ratios, L/D (1.33, 10.33, 11.33 and 12.33). The turbulent computations produce ‘closed cavity flows’ for L/D of 11.33 and 12.33. Surface pressure fluctuations at the front corner of the L/D = 1.33 cavity are periodic in some cases depending on the cavity length and depth, the boundary layer at the cavity front lip and the cavity scale. The turbulent computations are supported by experimental schlieren images, obtained using a spark light source, and time-averaged surface pressure data.     

On the numerical study of bubbly flow created by ventilated cavity in vertical pipe

The dispersion of bubbles into a down-liquid flow in a vertical pipe is investigated. At low flow rates, the intended design of a swarm of discrete bubbles is achieved. At high flow rates, a ventilated cavity is nonetheless formed, which is attached close to the gas sparger. Behind this ventilated cavity, three different flow regimes characterize the complex bubbly flow field downstream of the down-liquid flow: vortex region with high void fraction, transitional region and pipe flow region. In this study, a numerical model that solved the entire development of the gas–liquid flow including the extended single-phase liquid region upstream to the wall-jet and recirculating-vortex zones in order to allow a more realistic determination of the boundary conditions of the down-liquid flow was adopted. Coupling with the Eulerian–Eulerian two-fluid model to solve the respective gas and liquid phases, a population balance model was also applied to predict the bubble size distribution in the wake right below the cavity base as well as further downstream in the transitional and fully-developed pipe flow regions. The numerical model was evaluated by comparing the numerical results against the data derived from theoretical, numerical and experimental approaches. Prediction of the Sauter mean bubble diameter distributions by the population balance approach at different axial locations confirmed the dominance of breakage due to the high turbulent intensity below the ventilated cavity which led to the generation of small gas bubbles at high void fraction. Further downstream, the coalescence effect dominated leading to merging of the small bubbles to form bigger bubbles.     

Computational study of buoyancy effects in a laminar starting jet

Vortical structures formed in evolving jets are important in applications such as fuel injection in diesel engines and fuel leaks. When the jet fluid is different from the ambient fluid, the buoyancy can play an important role in determining the jet flow structure, and hence, the entrainment and fluid mixing processes. In the present study, a jet of helium injected in air is investigated, with emphasis placed on delineating the buoyancy effects on vector–scalar fields during the starting phase. We utilize a computational model, previously validated to predict the flow field of low-density gas jets. The model incorporates finite volume approach to solve the transport equation of helium mass fraction coupled with conservation equations of mixture mass and momentum. Computations were performed for a laminar jet to characterize the advancing jet front, and to capture the formation and propagation of vortex rings and the related pinch-off process. Results show significant effects of buoyancy on jet advancement, as well as on vorticity and helium concentration in the core of the vortex rings.     

Computational study of unsteady turbulent flows around oscillating and ramping aerofoils

The aim of this work is to computationally investigate subsonic and transonic turbulent flows around oscillating and ramping aerofoils under dynamic‐stall conditions. The investigation is based on a high‐resolution Godunov‐type method and several turbulence closures. The Navier–Stokes and turbulence transport equations are solved in a strongly coupled fashion via an implicit‐unfactored scheme. We present results from several computations of flows around oscillating and ramping aerofoils at various conditions in order to (i) assess the accuracy of different turbulence models and (ii) contribute towards a better understanding of dynamic‐stall flows. The results show that the employed non‐linear eddy‐viscosity model generally improves the accuracy of the computations compared to linear models, but at low incidence angles the Spalart–Allmaras one‐equation model was found to provide adequate results. Further, the computations reveal strong similarities between laminar and high‐Reynolds number dynamic‐stall flows as well as between ramping and oscillating aerofoil cases. Investigation of the Mach number effects on dynamic‐stall reveals a delay of the stall angle within a range of Mach numbers. Investigation of the reduced frequency effects suggests the existence of an (almost) linear variation between pitch rate and stall angle, with higher slope at lower pitch rates. The pitch rate affects both the onset of dynamic‐stall as well as the evolution of the associated vortical structures. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Computational study of bouncing and non-bouncing droplets impacting on superhydrophobic surfaces

We numerically investigate bouncing and non-bouncing of droplets during isothermal impact on superhydrophobic surfaces. An in-house, experimentally validated, finite element method-based computational model is employed to simulate the droplet impact dynamics and transient fluid flow within the droplet. The liquid–gas interface is tracked accurately in Lagrangian framework with dynamic wetting boundary condition at three-phase contact line. The interplay of kinetic, surface and gravitational energies is investigated via systematic variation of impact velocity and equilibrium contact angle. The numerical simulations demonstrate that the droplet bounces off the surface if the total droplet energy at the instance of maximum recoiling exceeds the initial surface and gravitational energy, otherwise not. The non-bouncing droplet is characterized by the oscillations on the free surface due to competition between the kinetic and surface energy. The droplet dimensions and shapes obtained at different times by the simulations are compared with the respective measurements available in the literature. Comparisons show good agreement of numerical data with measurements, and the computational model is able to reconstruct the bouncing and non-bouncing of the droplet as seen in the measurements. The simulated internal flow helps to understand the impact dynamics as well as the interplay of the associated energies during the bouncing and non-bouncing. A regime map is proposed to predict the bouncing and non-bouncing on a superhydrophobic surface with an equilibrium contact angle of 155°, using data of 86 simulations and the measurements available in the literature. We discuss the validity of the computational model for the wetting transition from Cassie to Wenzel state on micro- and nanostructured superhydrophobic surfaces. We demonstrate that the numerical simulation can serve as an important tool to quantify the internal flow, if the simulated droplet shapes match the respective measurements utilizing high-speed photography.     

Computational study of the axial instability of rimming flow using Arnoldi method

Axial instability of rimming flow has been investigated by solving a linear generalized eigenvalue problem that governs the evolution of perturbations of two‐dimensional base flow. Using the Galerkin finite element method, full Navier–Stokes equations were solved to calculate base flow and this base flow was perturbed with three‐dimensional disturbances. The generalized eigenproblem formulated from these equations was solved by the implicitly restarted Arnoldi method using shift‐invert technique. This study presents instability curves to identify the critical wavelength of the neutral mode and the critical β, which measures the importance of gravity relative to viscosity. The axial instability of rimming flow is examined and three‐dimensional flow was reconstructed by using eigenvector and growth rate at a critical wave number. The critical β value in the axial instability analysis was observed to be comparable to the onset β value of the transition between the bump and the homogeneous film state in 2‐D base flow calculations. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Computational study of planar shock wave interacting with elliptical heavy gas bubble

Acta Mechanica Sinica - High-precision numerical methods are utilized to study the shock waves interacting with an elliptical heavy bubble. The influence of different bubble gases (SF $$_6$$ and...     

Computational study of microparticle effect on self-propelled jumping of droplets from superhydrophobic substrates

We present three-dimensional numerical simulations, employing a lattice Boltzmann method for three-phase system of liquid, gas, and solid, and investigate the influence of a solid particle on the dynamic and departure of a droplet after coalescence on superhydrophobic substrates. A particle can be removed autonomously by the jumping motion of the droplet, which partially or fully covers the particle. This spontaneous removal from superhydrophobic substrates is achieved by converting surface energy to kinetic energy, independent of gravity. We discussed the effect of size, wettability and initial placement of particle on the evolution of lateral and vertical motion of the droplet. The results indicate that the droplet with a fully immersed particle, as in the floating mechanism, reaches to the same equilibrium height as a particle-free droplet. However, the droplet with a partially immersed particle, as in the lifting mechanism, can have a substantial jumping velocity compared to a particle-free droplet. As the size of the partially immersed particle approaches its critical limit, which is equal to the size of the droplet, the droplet jumping and transport from the substrate is enhanced. Besides the particle size, the particle wettability can result in a considerable droplet jumping velocity. A particle with a neutrally wetting contact angle (i.e. 90°) is found to elevate the transport of the droplet to a higher distance from the substrate relative to a partially wetting case (i.e. 60°). In the lifting removal mechanism, unlike the floating removal mechanism, the particle initial placement is highly critical for the detachment of the merged droplet from the substrate, as well as the elevation of the detached droplet to a longer distance from the substrate. For a partially immersed particle, the critical particle initial position from the substrate above which the droplet-particle system does not jump away from the substrate is independent of particle size and wettability and is about 1.5r_d where r_d is the initial size of the droplet.     

Computational study of a supersonic free jet rotating perpendicular to the streamwise direction

We study the flow structure of supersonic jets rotating perpendicular to the streamwise direction using RANS simulations, and we assess the performance of different turbulence model rotation corrections. The Coriolis and centrifugal terms were added to the equations of motion to perform calculations in this non-inertial (rotating) frame of reference. An explicit, cell-centred, finite-volume numerical method, coupled to a k?ε turbulence model, was used for the computations. The turbulence model rotation corrections of Howard et al. (1980), Park and Chung (1999), and Cazalbou et al. (2005) were attempted. In the absence of experimental data for jets rotating perpendicular to the streamwise direction, the rotation corrections were examined against the available measurements of a swirling jet; the comparison of the numerical and experimental data indicates that the Cazalbou et al. (2005 Cazalbou, J.B. 2005. Two-equation modeling of turbulent rotating flows. Physics of Fluids, 17(5): 1–14. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and Park and Chung (1999 Park, J.Y. and Chung, M.K. 1999. A model for the decay of rotating homogeneous turbulence. Physics of Fluids, 11(6): 1544–1549. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) corrections improve the performace of the turbulence model. Simulations were then run of a supersonic jet rotating perpendicular to the stream direction at 0, 50, 100 and 150 rad/s, using no turbulence model rotation correction, and using the three rotation corrections. The results indicate that the Cazalbou et al. (2005 Cazalbou, J.B. 2005. Two-equation modeling of turbulent rotating flows. Physics of Fluids, 17(5): 1–14. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) correction is more physical than the other two, as it yields results that are qualitatively consistent with the known effects of rotation: that turbulence is enhanced and suppressed on the concave and convex sides of a rotating jet centreline, respectively, and that the effect of rotation saturates as the rotation rate increases. The findings are in qualitative agreement with the available literature.