Showing papers in "Journal of Thermal Science in 2006"

Unstable Head-Flow Characteristic Generation Mechanism of a Low Specific Speed Mixed Flow Pump

Abstract: This paper treats the flow instabilities in a mixed flow pump with a vaned diffuser. Test pump has a positive slope of a head-flow performance curve at 65% flow rate of BEP (Best Efficiency Point) because of a rotating stall. Dynamic Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and pressure fluctuation measurements are used for investigating the propagation mechanism of a rotating stall. It was found that unstable performance was caused by periodical large scale abrupt backflow generated from the vaned diffuser to the outlet of impeller. Further, the relation between the static pressure at the inlet of diffuser vane and the internal flow condition was clarified. From these experimental results, in order to improve the positive slope of a head-flow performance curve, to suppress the growth of strong vortex toward the inlet of diffuser vane was proved to be a key point.

Prediction of heat transfer rates for shell-and-tube heat exchangers by artificial neural networks approach

Abstract: This work used artificial neural network (ANN) to predict the heat transfer rates of shell-and-tube heat exchangers with segmental baffles or continuous helical baffles, based on limited experimental data. The Back Propagation (BP) algorithm was used in training the networks. Different network configurations were also studied. The deviation between the predicted results and experimental data was less than 2%. Comparison with correlation for prediction shows ANN superiority. It is recommended that ANN can be easily used to predict the performances of thermal systems in engineering applications, especially to model heat exchangers for heat transfer analysis.

Local entropy production in turbulent shear flows: A tool for evaluating heat transfer performance

Abstract: Performance evaluation of heat transfer devices can be based on the overall entropy production in these devices. In our study we therefore provide equations for the systematic and detailed determination of local entropy production due to dissipation of mechanical energy and due to heat conduction, both in turbulent flows. After turbulence modeling has been incorporated for the fluctuating parts the overall entropy production can be determined by integration with respect to the whole flow domain. Since, however, entropy production rates show very steep gradients close to the wall, numerical solutions are far more effective with wall functions for the entropy production terms. These wall functions are mandatory when high Reynolds number turbulence models are used. For turbulent flow in a pipe with an inserted twisted tape as heat transfer promoter it is shown that based on the overall entropy production rate a clear statement from a thermodynamic point of view is possible. For a certain range of twist strength there is a decrease in overall entropy production compared to the case without insert. Also, the optimum twist strength can be determined. This information is unavailable when only pressure drop and heat transfer data are given.

Study on shock wave and turbulent boundary layer interactions in a square duct at Mach 2 and 4

Abstract: In this paper, the outline of the Mach 4 supersonic wind tunnel for the investigation of the supersonic internal flows in ducts was firstly described. Secondly, the location, structure and characteristics of the Mach 2 and Mach 4 pseudo-shock waves in a square duct were investigated by color schlieren photographs and duct wall pressure fluctuation measurements. Finally, the wall shear stress distributions on the side, top and bottom walls of the square duct with the Mach 4 pseudo-shock wave were investigated qualitatively by the shear stress-sensitive liquid crystal visualization method. The side wall boundary layer separation region under the first shock is narrow near the top wall, while the side wall boundary layer separation region under the first shock is very wide near the bottom wall.

Computational Analysis of a Variable Ejector Flow

Abstract: The present study addresses a variable ejector which can improve the ejector efficiency and control the re-circulation ratio under a fixed operating pressure ratio. The variable ejector is a facility to obtain specific recirculation ratio under a given operating pressure ratio by varying the ejector throat area ratio. The numerical simulations are carried out to provide an understanding of the flow characteristics inside the variable ejector. The sonic and supersonic nozzles are adopted as primary driving nozzles in the ejector system, and a movable cone cylinder, inserted into a conventional ejector-diffuser system, is used to change the ejector throat area ratio. The numerical simulations are based on a fully implicit finite volume scheme of the compressible, Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations. The results show that the variable ejector can control the recirculation ratio at a fixed operating pressure ratio.

Effect of end plates on the performence of a wells turbine for wave energy conversion

Abstract: In order to improve the performance of the Wells turbine for wave energy conversion, the effect of end plates on the turbine characteristics has been investigated experimentally by model testing under steady flow conditions. The end plate attached to the tip of the original rotor blade is slightly larger than the original blade profile. The characteristics of the Wells turbine with end plates have been compared with those of the original Wells turbine, i.e., the turbine without end plate. As a result, it has been concluded that the characteristics of the Wells turbine with end plates are superior to those of the original Wells turbine and the characteristics are dependent on the size and position of end plate. Furthermore, the effect of annular plate on the turbine performance, which encircles the turbine and is attached to the tip, was investigated as an additional experiment. However, its device was not effective in improving the turbine characteristics.

Effect of streamwise fences on secondary flows and losses in a two-dimensional turbine rotor cascade

Abstract: To control secondary flows, streamwise fences were attached to end wall of a linear turbine rotor cascade. The cascade had 8 blades of 400 mm long and 175 mm chord. The blades deflected the flow by 120°. The fences were made out of 0.7 mm thick brass sheet and the heights of the fences were 14 mm, 18 mm respectively. The curvature of the fences was the same as that of the blade camber line. The fences were fixed normal to the end wall and at half pitch away from the blades. The experimental program consists of total pressure, static pressure measurements at the inlet and outlet of the cascade, by using five-hole probe. In addition, static pressure on the blade suction surface and pressure surface was also obtained. Fences are effective in preventing the movement of the pressure side leg of the horseshoe vortex. Consequently the accumulation of low energy fluid on the suction surface is minimised. End wall losses are reduced by the fences due to weakening of the end wall cross flow.

Optimization study of a Coanda ejector

Abstract: The Coanda effect has long been employed in the aerospace applications to improve the performances of various devices. This effect is the ability of a flow to follow a curved contour without separation and has well been utilized in ejectors where a high speed jet of fluid emerges from a nozzle in the ejector body, follows a curved surface and drags the secondary flow into the ejector. In Coanda ejectors, the secondary flow is dragged in the ejector due to the primary flow momentum. The transfer of momentum from the primary flow to the secondary flow takes place through turbulent mixing and viscous effects. The secondary flow is then dragged by turbulent shear force of the ejector while being mixed with the primary flow by the persistence of a large turbulent intensity throughout the ejector. The performance of a Coanda ejector is studied mainly based on how well it drags the secondary flow and the amount of mixing between the two flows at the ejector exit. The aim of the present study is to investigate the influence of various geometric parameters and pressure ratios on the Coanda ejector performance. The effect of various factors, such as, the pressure ratio, primary nozzle and ejector configurations on the system performance has been evaluated based on a performance parameter defined elsewhere. The performance of the Coanda ejector strongly depends on the primary nozzle configuration and the pressure ratio. The mixing layer growth plays a major role in optimizing the performance of the Coanda ejector as it decides the ratio of secondary mass flow rate to primary mass flow rate and the mixing length.

Investigation of surge behavior in a micro centrifugal compressor

Abstract: This paper reports the experimental and theoretical study of the surge occurred in prototyping an ultra micro centrifugal compressor. As the first step, the 10 times size model of an ultra micro centrifugal compressor having the 40 mm outer diameter was designed and manufactured. The detailed experimental investigations for the transient behavior of surge with several different values of B parameter were carried out. The experimental results during the surge were compared with those obtained by the non-linear lumped parameter theory in order to validate the effectiveness of the theoretical surge model for the micro centrifugal compressor. As a result, the quite different behavior of the surge appeared for the different values of B both in the experiment and in the analysis.

An experimental study on aerodynamic sound generated from wake interference of circular cylinder and airfoil vane in tandem

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to investigate the characteristics of aerodynamic sound generated from wake interference of circular cylinder and airfoil vane located in tandem and to clarify the generation mechanism of the sound source with discrete frequency. The effects of the interval between the cylinder and the airfoil on the characteristics of aerodynamic sound are investigated by acoustic measurement, flow visualization and exploration test of sound source. The relation between the flow field and the sound field with discrete frequency noise(DFN) is shown, and then it is found that the downstream airfoil works as the sound source of DFN, which has the frequency of vortex shedding from the upstream cylinder, when the interval of two bodies is longer than a critical distance.

Numerical study on particle motions in swirling flows in a cyclone separator

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to establish the high-accurate prediction method of particle separation in a cyclone separator. Numerical simulation of the swirling flows in a cyclone separator is performed by using a large eddy simulation (LES) based on a Smagorinsky model. The validity of the simulation and the complicated flow characteristics are discussed by comparison with experimental results. Moreover, particle motions are treated by a Lagrangian method and are calculated with a one-way method. A performance for particle separation is predicted from the results of the particle tracing. As results of our investigation, the influences of the inserted height of the outlet pipe on the performance for particle separation of cyclone separator are shown.

Fluid Flow and Infrared Image Analyses on Endwall Fitted with Short Rectangular Plate Fin

Abstract: An experimental investigation is carried out to study fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics on the endwall fitted with arrays (7×7) of short rectangular plate fins of different pattern (co-angular and zigzag) for different pitch ratio. Experiments were conducted in a rectangular duct of 50 mm height for an air flow of Reynolds number ranged from 18750 to 62500 based on the equivalent diameter and air velocity of the duct. Infrared image analysis technique was employed to make clear the characteristics of local heat transfer coefficients on fin base, endwall and overall surface. Flow pattern around the short rectangular plates were visualized by inducing fluorescent dye in a water channel and longitudinal vortices were observed. Increasing the distance between plates in flow direction causes heat transfer enhancement for co-angular pattern, while decreasing the distance causes heat transfer enhancement for zigzag pattern. Zigzag pattern with pitch ratio 2 is found to be more effective in heat transfer enhancement than any other cases investigated.

Aerodynamic performance and noise characteristics of a centrifugal compressor with modified vaned diffusers

Abstract: Improvement of aerodynamic performance and reduction of interaction tone noise of a centrifugal compressor with vaned diffusers are discussed by experiments and visualization techniques using a colored oil-film method. The focus of the research is concentrated on the leading edge shape of diffuser vanes that are deeply related to the generation mechanism of the interaction tone noise. The compressor-radiated noise can be reduced by more than ten decibels by using modified diffuser vanes which have 3-D tapered shapes on both pressure and suction surfaces of the leading edge. Furthermore, by adopting the proposed modified diffuser vanes, the secondary flow which is considered to be an obstruction of diffuser pressure recovery can be suppressed, and also the pressure decrease observed in the throat part of the diffuser flow passage is reducible. Thus, the proposed diffuser vanes show a favorable result for both noise and the aerodynamic performance of the centrifugal compressor, and offer a few basic guidelines for the diffuser vane design.

Computational and experimental study of pinch on the performance of a vaneless diffuser in a centrifugal compressor

Abstract: This study focuses on the vaneless diffuser of a centrifugal compressor. The examined stage consists of an unshrouded impeller, a parallel wall vaneless diffuser and a volute. The walls of the diffuser were movable allowing different pinch configurations to be investigated. The baseline geometry had no pinch i.e. the height of the diffuser was equal to the height of the impeller flow channel plus the axial running clearance. The work consists of both numerical and experimental parts. Quasi-steady, turbulent, fully 3D numerical simulations were conducted. The inlet cone, rotor and diffuser were modelled. Six different configurations were studied. The height of the pinch was altered and the pinch made to different walls was tested. Two of the numerically studied cases were also experimentally investigated. The overall performance of the compressor, the circumferential static and total pressure and the spanwise total pressure distribution before and after the diffuser were measured. The numerical and experimental studies showed that the pinch improved the efficiency of the compressor.

The response of a low speed compressor on rotating inlet distortion

Abstract: In multi-spool engines, the downstream compressor experiences a rotating inlet distortion if rotating stall occurs in upstream compressor, which may induce the instability of the whole compressor. In this paper, the compressor dynamic behavior is the major focus. The experiment was carried out on a single-stage low-speed axial-flow compressor. A rotating distortion generator equipped with different distortion sector(s) was designed to produce different rotating inlet distortion clockwise or counterclockwise with up to 100% of the compressor design speed. The distortion sector can be installed single or in some combination such as four sectors together. Three types of distortion sector/combination are used in the research work, which are single 30 degree sector, four 30 degree sectors and single 120 degree sector. It is found that the total pressure loss caused by rotating sector(s) increases when the distortion speed rises. For co-rotating distortions, all the three types of inlet distortion exhibited a peak in stall margin degradation when the distortion speed corresponded to roughly 50% of rotor speed. The two-dimensional numerical simulations of the compressor flow field clearly show the propagation of the disturbances trigged by the distortion sector(s).

Dynamic PIV measurement of a compressible flow issuing from an airbag inflator nozzle

Abstract: Among many equipment for passenger safety, the air bag system is the most fundamental and effective device for an automobile. The inflator housing is a main part of the curtain-type air bag system, which supplies high-pressure gases in pumping up the air bag-curtain which is increasingly being adapted in deluxe cars for protecting passengers from the danger of side clash. However, flow information on the inflator housing is very limited. In this study, we measure the instantaneous velocity fields of a high-speed compressible flow issuing from the exit nozzle of an inflator housing using a dynamic PIV system. From the velocity field data measured at a high frame-rate, we evaluate the variation of the mass flow rate with time. The dynamic PIV system consists of a high-repetition Nd:YLF laser, a high-speed CMOS camera, and a delay generator. The flow images are taken at 4000 fps with synchronization of the trigger signal for inflator ignition. From the instantaneous velocity field data of flow ejecting from the airbag inflator housing at the initial stage, we can see a flow pattern of broken shock wave front and its downward propagation. The flow ejecting from the inflator housing is found to have very high velocity fluctuations, with the maximum velocity at about 700 m/s. The time duration of the high-speed flow is very short, and there is no perceptible flow after 100 ms.

Numerical study for hysteresis phenomena of shock wave reflection in overexpanded axisymmetric supersonic jet

Abstract: When the high-pressure gas is exhausted to the vacuum chamber from the supersonic nozzle, the overexpanded supersonic jet is formed at specific condition. In two-dimensional supersonic jet, furthermore, it is known that the hysteresis phenomena for the reflection type of shock wave in the flow field is occurred under the quasi-steady flow and for instance, the transitional pressure ratio between the regular reflection (RR) and Mach reflection (MR) is affected by this phenomenon. Many papers have described the hysteresis phenomena for underexpanded supersonic jet, but this phenomenon under the overexpanded axisymmetric jet has not been detailed in the past papers. The purpose of this study is to clear the hysteresis phenomena for the reflection type of shock wave at the overexpanded axisymmetric jet using the TVD method and to discuss the characteristic of hysteresis phenomena.

An extraction of the dominant rotor-stator interaction modes by the use of Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD)

Abstract: The Proper Orthogonal Decomposition method is applied to the instantaneous velocity field within the rotor-stator inter-row region of a high-speed high-pressure centrifugal compressor. The processed data come from experiments and numerical simulations. In comparison with a Fourier transform, the POD gives the best modal approximation for both initial fields, in terms of the energy expressed on any given number of modes to be taken into account: to reach 98% of the total energy of the velocity field, the required number of POD modes is up to nine times lower than the number of Fourier harmonics. The individual POD modes are given and show that the unsteady rotor-stator interaction is already present in the very first modes.

Shock wave smearing by passive control

Abstract: Normal shock wave, terminating a local supersonic area on an airfoil, limits its performance and becomes a source of high speed impulsive noise. It is proposed to use passive control to disintegrate the shock wave. Details of the flow structure obtained by this method are studied numerically. A new boundary condition has been developed and the results of its application are verified against experiments in a nozzle flow. The method of shock wave disintegration has been confirmed and detailed analysis of the flow details is presented. The substitution of a shock wave by a gradual compression changes completely the source of the high speed impulsive noise and bears potential of its reduction.

Effect of Turbulence on Flame Propagation in Cornstarch Dust-Air Mixtures

Abstract: Following the quantitative determination of dust cloud parameters, this study investigated the flame propagation through cornstarch dust clouds in a vertical duct of 780 mm height and 160×160 mm square cross section, and gave particular attention to the effect of turbulence on flame characteristics. The turbulence induced by dust dispersion process was measured using a particle image velocimetry (PIV) system. Upward propagating dust flames were visualized with direct light and shadow photography. The results show that a critical value of the turbulence intensity can be specified below which laminar flame propagation would be established. This transition condition is about 10 cm/s. The measured propagation speed of laminar flames appears to be in the range of 0.45–0.56 m/s, consistent with the measurements reported in the literature. For the present experimental conditions, the flame speed is little sensitive to the variations in dust concentration. Some information on the flame structure was revealed from the shadow records, showing the typical heterogeneous feature of dust combustion process.

Design method of guide vane for Wells turbine

Abstract: Guide vanes are installed in the Wells turbine in order to improve its efficiency, self-rotating characteristics and off design performance with stall This work attempts to explain the role of these guide vanes on the basis of momentum theory It is shown that the upstream vanes are more effective in enhancing efficiency than the downstream ones A design method for guide vanes is suggested based on experimental data and potential theory Experimental studies carried out by the author confirm the theory proposed

Control of Collection Efficiency for Axial Flow Cyclone Dust Collectors with Fixed Guide Vanes and with Funnel Shaped Exit Pipes

Abstract: The experimental result of the collection efficiency of the axial flow cyclone with the fixed guide vanes is lower than that with the tangential inlet pipe to the cyclone body due to the weak angular momentum transfer given by flowing through the guide vanes. However, one of the interesting points is the control of the collection efficiency depended on the funnel shaped exit pipes. The collection efficiencies for these funnel shaped exit pipes are depended on the Froude number. Then, in this paper, the experimental results of the pressure drop and also the collection efficiency using the fly-ash particles and also the comparison of the calculated results of the collection efficiency with the experimental results are described in detail.

A study of the gas flow through a LNG safety valve

Abstract: A safety valve functions to control an upper limit of pressure inside the LNG line of transportation. If the pressure inside the safety valve nozzle exceeds a pre-determined value on the valve sheet which plugs the nozzle, an excess of LNG discharges through the gap between the nozzle exit and valve sheet. In this situation, the forces acting on the valve sheet are gasdynamic forces generated by the discharge of LNG and mechanical forces supported by the spring behind the valve sheet. The flow through the gap is very complicated, involving vortices, flow separation, and shock waves. These affect adversely on the system accompanying with noise and vibration. The present study aims at understanding the flow physics of safety valve. A computational work using the two-dimensional, axisymmetric, compressible Navier-Stokes equations is carried out to simulate the gas flow between the nozzle exit and valve sheet, and compared with the theoretical results. It has been found that there exists a distance between nozzle exit and valve sheet in which the thrust coefficient at the valve sheet increases abruptly.

Conjugate Heat Transfer Analysis of Film Cooling Flows

Abstract: The objective of this study is to evaluate the potential of various grids to satisfactorily simulate the development of a cooling film, using a coupled computation that takes into account the full geometry. Detailed computations of a single row of 30 degrees round holes on a flat plate are presented for blowing ratios of 0.764, 1.01 and 1.54. The simulation results are compared well with experimental data. The two-layer model gave more accurate results but consumed much more computational time than the standard wall functions. The k-e turbulence model with wall functions with appropriate values of y + is suitable for practical use. The results show the importance of the conjugate calculation for accurately describing the influence of the heat transfer within the cooling film.

Rotating stall and stall-controlled performance of a single stage subsonic axial compressor

Abstract: Activities by various authors on aerodynamics and control dynamics of rotating stall in axial compressor are first traced. Then, a process of stall cell evolution in a subsonic stage is discussed based on a 2-D CFD. A few numbers of vortices grow ahead of the rotor accumulating vorticity ejected from lightly stalled blades, and eventually organize a cell of circumferentially aligned huge vortices, which merge and recess repeatedly during the rotation. Such stall disturbance is intensified on trailing side of a circumferential inlet distortion and decays on the leading side. Considering these features, a new algorithm for stall warning is developed based on a correlation between pressure waveforms at each passing of a fixed blade. A remarkable change in the correlation level at near-stall provides a warning signal prior to the stall onset with sufficiently large time margin. This scheme is applied to achieve rotating stall prevention by actuating flaps installed on the hub. The last issue is on characteristics of forward swept blade which has much increased throttle margin with decreased tip loss. A 3-D computation shows that a secondary vortex generated in suction surface mid span interacts to reduce the tip leakage vortex that initiates the stall.

Oscillatory flow in thermoacoustic sound wave generator

Abstract: Oscillatory flow in a thermoacoustic sound wave generator is described. The thermoacoustic sound wave generator plays an important role in thermoacoustic equipment. The heat exchange between the working fluid and the stack, the acceleration and deceleration of the working fluid and viscous friction loss both in the stack and in the resonance tube influence the performance of the thermoacoustic sound wave generator. Particularly, oscillatory flow significantly influences the heat exchange mechanism between the working fluid and the stack. Temporal changes in pressure and velocity are sinusoidal inside the resonance tube. Flow forms an oscillatory jet just behind the tube outlet, and becomes intermittent far downstream outside the resonance tube. The open-end corrections of 0.63R, that is, the region where oscillatory flow characteristics are maintained downstream in spite of being outside the tube outlet, are confirmed by velocity measurements and flow visualization. Also, they are almost equal to acoustical theoretical results.

Numerical simulation of double-diffusive dynamical model of a solar pond considering the effect of turbidity and wind

Abstract: A solar pond, typical double-diffusive system, is a stable heat source that can collect and store the solar energy. When the thermal stable condition is not satisfied at the interface, the upper and lower convective zone (UCZ and LCZ) will erode the middle non-convective zone (NCZ), resulting in a drop or even a collapse of the thermal performance of solar pond. Wind strongly affects the erosion of NCZ from the entrainment of UCZ. The double-diffusion of heat and salt plays an important role in the erosion of NCZ from the entrainment of the lower-convective zone (LCZ). The turbidity of saline water in the pond not only could lower the thermal performance of solar pond, but have effect on the entrainment mechanism. In this paper, based on the double-diffusive model along with the wind-driven turbulent entrainment model, the effects of turbidity and external wind etc. on the thermal performance of solar pond and the entrainment mechanism are analyzed with the numerical simulation.

Temperature Distribution and Heat Saturating Time of Regenerative Heat Transfer

Abstract: In this paper, heat transfer of the ceramic honeycomb regenerator was numerically simulated based on the computational fluid dynamics numerical analysis software CFX5. The longitudinal temperature distribution of regenerator and gas were obtained. The variation of temperature with time was discussed. In addition, the effects of some parameters such as switching time, gas temperature at the inlet of regenerator, height of regenerator and specific heat of the regenerative materials on heat saturating time were discussed. It provided primarily theoretic basis for further study of regenerative heat transfer mechanism.

Heat transfer augmentation in developing flow through a ribbed square duct

Abstract: An experimental study is conducted to investigate the heat transfer augmentation in developing turbulent flow through a ribbed square duct The duct is made of 16mm thick bakelite sheet The bottom surface of the ribbed wall having rib pitch to height ratio of 10 is heated by passing a c current to the heater placed under it The uniform heating is controlled using a digital temperature controller and a variac The results of ribbed duct are compared with the results of a smooth duct under the same experimental conditions It is observed that the heat transfer augmentation in ribbed duct is better than that of the smooth duct At Re=50 × 104, the mean temperature of air flowing through the ribbed duct increases by 245 percent over the smooth duct, whereas in the ribbed duct Nusselt number increases by 1514 percent than that of the smooth duct with a 6 percent increase in pressure drop

Velocity measurement of induced flow by a laser focusing shock wave

Abstract: The objective of this study is to apply the shock wave for control in a micro channel. The shock wave was generated by a laser focusing of pulsed laser beam in the channel. Using a pulse laser to generate a shock wave, a non-stationary flow was induced in the small space between the parallel plates. The spherical and cylindrical shock propagations were observed with schlieren method. The shock Mach number decreases with time and approaches to unity. As reported in the previous investigations, the shock speed was attenuated in a short distance and time. In the present experiment, It was not found a remarkable difference in the shock speed between the spherical and cylindrical shock experiments. Subsequently, the flow induced by the cylindrical shock wave was studied using PIV technique. A smoke tracer was used in the experiment and its velocity was measured within 100 μs. A numerical simulation was carried out to investigate the momentum relaxation between the gas and smoke particle. A suitable shock initiation model was introduced in the simulation. The experimental results show that a wide acceleration and deceleration zone exist behind the shock wave. Also, the relaxation distance in the experimental data is much longer than that in numerical simulation.