S.V. Prabhu

Bio: S.V. Prabhu is an academic researcher from Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. The author has contributed to research in topic(s): Heat transfer & Nusselt number. The author has an hindex of 31, co-authored 168 publication(s) receiving 3766 citation(s). Previous affiliations of S.V. Prabhu include Nokia & Indian Institutes of Technology.

Experimental investigations on single stage modified Savonius rotor

Abstract: Conventional Savonius or modified forms of the conventional Savonius rotors are being investigated in an effort to improve the coefficient of power and to obtain uniform coefficient of static torque. To achieve these objectives, the rotors are being studied with and without central shaft between the end plates. Tests in a closed jet wind tunnel on modified form of the conventional Savonius rotor with the central shaft is reported to have a coefficient of power of 0.32. In this study, modified Savonius rotor without central shaft between the two end plates is tested in an open jet wind tunnel. Investigation is undertaken to study the effect of geometrical parameters on the performance of the rotors in terms of coefficient of static torque, coefficient of torque and coefficient of power. The parameters studied are overlap ratio, blade arc angle, aspect ratio and Reynolds number. The modified Savonius rotor with an overlap ratio of 0.0, blade arc angle of 124° and an aspect ratio of 0.7 has a maximum coefficient of power of 0.21 at a Reynolds number of 1,50,000, which is higher than that of conventional Savonius rotor (0.19). Correlation is developed for a single stage modified Savonius rotor for a range of Reynolds numbers studied.

Experimental study and theoretical analysis of local heat transfer distribution between smooth flat surface and impinging air jet from a circular straight pipe nozzle

Abstract: An experimental investigation is performed to study the effect of jet-to-plate spacing and Reynolds number on the local heat transfer distribution to normally impinging submerged circular air jet on a smooth and flat surface. A single jet from a straight circular nozzle of length-to-diameter ratio (l/d) of 83 is tested. Reynolds number based on nozzle exit condition is varied between 12,000 and 28,000 and jet-to-plate spacing between 0.5 and 8 nozzle diameters. The local heat transfer characteristics are estimated using thermal images obtained by infrared thermal imaging technique. Measurements for the static wall pressure distribution due to impinging jet at different jet-to-plate spacing are made. The local heat transfer distributions are analyzed based on theoretical predictions and experimental results of the fluid flow characteristics in the various regions of jet impingement. The heat transfer at the stagnation point is analyzed from the static wall pressure distribution. Semi-analytical solution for heat transfer in the stagnation region is obtained assuming an axisymmetric laminar boundary layer with favourable pressure gradient. The heat transfer in the wall jet region is studied considering fluid flow over a flat plate of constant heat flux. However, heat transfers in the transition region are explained from reported fluid dynamic behaviour in this region. Correlations for the local Nusselt numbers in different regions are obtained and compared with experimental results.

Performance tests on helical Savonius rotors

Abstract: Conventional Savonius rotors have high coefficient of static torque at certain rotor angles and a negative coefficient of static torque from 135° to 165° and from 315° to 345° in one cycle of 360°. In order to decrease this variation in static torque from 0° to 360°, a helical Savonius rotor with a twist of 90° is proposed. In this study, tests on helical Savonius rotors are conducted in an open jet wind tunnel. Coefficient of static torque, coefficient of torque and coefficient of power for each helical Savonius rotor are measured. The performance of helical rotor with shaft between the end plates and helical rotor without shaft between the end plates at different overlap ratios namely 0.0, 0.1 and 0.16 is compared. Helical Savonius rotor without shaft is also compared with the performance of the conventional Savonius rotor. The results indicate that all the helical Savonius rotors have positive coefficient of static torque at all the rotor angles. The helical rotors with shaft have lower coefficient of power than the helical rotors without shaft. Helical rotor without shaft at an overlap ratio of 0.0 and an aspect ratio of 0.88 is found to have almost the same coefficient of power when compared with the conventional Savonius rotor. Correlation for coefficient of torque and power is developed for helical Savonius rotor for a range of Reynolds numbers studied.

Influence of the deflector plate on the performance of modified Savonius water turbine

Abstract: Savonius rotor is simple in design and easy to fabricate at a lower cost. The basic driving force of Savonius rotor is drag. The drag coefficient of a concave surface is more than the convex surface. Hence, the advancing blade with concave side facing the water flow would experience more drag force than the returning blade, thus forcing the rotor to rotate. Net driving force can be increased by reducing the reverse force on the returning blade. This can be realized by providing flow obstacle to the returning blade. The objective of the present work is to find out the optimal position of the deflector plate upstream to the flow which would result in maximum power generated by the rotor. Experimental investigations are carried out to study the influence of the location of the deflector plate on the performance of a modified Savonius rotor with water as the working medium at a Reynolds number of 1.32 × 10 5 . Eight different positions of the deflector plate are attempted in this study. Results conclude that deflector plate placed at its optimal position increases the coefficient of power by 50%. Maximum coefficient of power is found to be 0.21 at a tip speed ratio of 0.82 in the presence of deflector plate. Two stage and three stage modified Savonius rotors are tested to study the influence of deflector plate at the optimal position. Maximum coefficient of power improves by 42%, 31% and 17% with deflector plate for two stage 0° phase shift, 90° phase shift and three stage modified Savonius rotor respectively.

Survey on measurement of tangential momentum accommodation coefficient

Abstract: The value of tangential momentum accommodation coefficient (TMAC) is required while prescribing the boundary condition for flow of gases in the slip and transition flow regimes. The precise determination of its value is important for several other applications as well. This article reviews the experimental techniques employed by researchers over the decades to measure this coefficient and the values reported in the literature, with relevance to calculation of the slip velocity. The review shows that the value of TMAC is dependent on a number of parameters including nature of the gas, pressure of the gas, material of the surface, surface cleanliness and roughness, and surface temperature. For monatomic gases, the TMAC at about 0.93 is almost constant with respect to the Knudsen number, and this value can be employed for most commonly available surface materials. However, for nonmonatomic gases, TMAC decreases with an increase in Knudsen number; a correlation of TMAC with Knudsen number for this class of ga...

Gas flow in ultra-tight shale strata

Abstract: We study the gas flow processes in ultra-tight porous media in which the matrix pore network is composed of nanometre- to micrometre-size pores. We formulate a pressure-dependent permeability function, referred to as the apparent permeability function (APF), assuming that Knudsen diffusion and slip flow (the Klinkenberg effect) are the main contributors to the overall flow in porous media. The APF predicts that in nanometre-size pores, gas permeability values are as much as 10 times greater than results obtained by continuum hydrodynamics predictions, and with increasing pore size (i.e. of the order of the micrometre), gas permeability converges to continuum hydrodynamics values. In addition, the APF predicts that an increase in the fractal dimension of the pore surface leads to a decrease in Knudsen diffusion. Using the homogenization method, a rigorous analysis is performed to examine whether the APF is preserved throughout the process of upscaling from local scale to large scale. We use the well-known pulse-decay experiment to estimate the main parameter of the APF, which is Darcy permeability. Our newly derived late-transient analytical solution and the late-transient numerical solution consistently match the pressure decay data and yield approximately the same estimated value for Darcy permeability at the typical core-sample initial pressure range and pressure difference. Other parameters of the APF may be determined from independent laboratory experiments; however, a pulse-decay experiment can be used to estimate the unknown parameters of the APF if multiple tests are performed and/or the parameters are strictly constrained by upper and lower bounds.

Dynamic behavior of a stand-alone hybrid power generation system of wind turbine, microturbine, solar array and battery storage

Abstract: This paper presents dynamic behavior and simulation results in a stand-alone hybrid power generation system of wind turbine, microturbine, solar array and battery storage. The hybrid system consists of a 195 kW wind turbine, an 85 kW solar array; a 230 kW microturbine and a 2.14 kAh lead acid battery pack optimized based on economic analysis using genetic algorithm (GA). At first, a developed Lyapunov model reference adaptive feedback linearization method accompanied by an indirect space vector control is applied for extraction of maximum energy from a variable speed wind power generation system. Then, a fuzzy logic controller is designed for the mentioned purpose and its performance is compared with the proposed adaptive controller. For meeting more load demands, the solar array is integrated with the wind turbine. In addition, the microturbine and the battery storage are combined with the wind and solar power generation system as a backup to satisfy the load demand under all conditions. A supervisory controller is designed in order to manage energy between the maximum energy captured from the wind turbine/solar arrays, and consumed energies of the load, dump load, battery state of charge (SOC), and generated energy by the microturbine. Dynamic modeling and simulation are accomplished using MATLAB Simulink™ 7.2.

A review on small scale wind turbines

Abstract: Meeting future world energy needs while addressing climatic changes has led to greater strain on conventional power sources. One of the viable sustainable energy sources is wind. But the installation large scale wind farms has a potential impact on the climatic conditions, hence a decentralized small scale wind turbines is a sustainable option. This paper presents review of on different types of small scale wind turbines i.e., horizontal axis and vertical axis wind turbines. The performance, blade design, control and manufacturing of horizontal axis wind turbines were reviewed. Vertical axis wind turbines were categorized based on experimental and numerical studies. Also, the positioning of wind turbines and aero-acoustic aspects were presented. Additionally, lessons learnt from various studies/countries on actual installation of small wind turbines were presented.

A review on the performance of Savonius wind turbines

Abstract: This paper presents a review on the performance of Savonius wind turbines. This type of turbine is unusual and its application for obtaining useful energy from air stream is an alternative to the use of conventional wind turbines. Simple construction, high start up and full operation moment, wind acceptance from any direction, low noise and angular velocity in operation, reducing wear on moving parts, are some advantages of using this type of machine. Over the years, numerous adaptations for this device were proposed. The variety of possible configurations of the rotor is another advantage in using such machine. Each different arrangement of Savonius rotor affects its performance. Savonius rotor performance is affected by operational conditions, geometric and air flow parameters. The range of reported values for maximum averaged power coefficient includes values around 0.05–0.30 for most settings. Performance gains of up to 50% for tip speed ratio of maximum averaged power coefficient are also reported with the use of stators. Present article aims to gather relevant information about Savonius turbines, bringing a discussion about their performance. It is intended to provide useful knowledge for future studies.

Infrared thermography for convective heat transfer measurements

Abstract: This paper deals with the evolution of infrared (IR) thermography into a powerful optical tool that can be used in complex fluid flows to either evaluate wall convective heat fluxes or investigate the surface flow field behavior. Measurement of convective heat fluxes must be performed by means of a thermal sensor, where temperatures have to be measured with proper transducers. By correctly choosing the thermal sensor, IR thermography can be successfully exploited to resolve convective heat flux distributions with both steady and transient techniques. When comparing it to standard transducers, the IR camera appears very valuable because it is non-intrusive, it has a high sensitivity (down to 20 mK), it has a low response time (down to 20 μs), it is fully two dimensional (from 80 k up to 1 M pixels, at 50 Hz) and, therefore, it allows for better evaluation of errors due to tangential conduction within the sensor. This paper analyses the capability of IR thermography to perform convective heat transfer measurements and surface visualizations in complex fluid flows. In particular, it includes the following: the necessary radiation theory background, a review of the main IR camera features, a description of the pertinent heat flux sensors, an analysis of the IR image processing methods and a report on some applications to complex fluid flows, ranging from natural convection to hypersonic regime.