scholarly journals Numerical Investigation on Multiphase Flows in Various Configurations of Microchannels Using Computational Fluid Dynamics

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 82
Author(s):  
Mohd Fadhil Majnis ◽  
Mohamad Rawad Jalwan

A two-dimensional domain of multiphase flow analyses in this study using the Volume of Fluid (VOF) model was carried out in order to simulate and predict the fluid flows and mixing performance of two miscible liquids in various microchannel configurations. The various microchannels configurations were designed accordingly and the simulation was carried out based on the justified conditions, assumptions and considerations by using the commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software, FLUENT. The grid type and size of the computational domain were verified in terms of stability by performing the grid independence analysis. The result showed that static mixing would be possible to achieve in various configurations of microchannels, however, the simulation results predicted that it appeared to be more efficient in complex and retrofitted microchannels. It showed the potential to promote and enhance chaotic advection, compositions distribution, and diffusivity as compared to basic microchannels that are mostly dependent only on the injection focus. Furthermore, the Reynolds number appeared to be a significant factor to enhance the mixing performance in microchannel beside the configurations.

Author(s):  
Palani Sivashanmugam ◽  
S. Prabhakaran

Agitated vessels are often used for homogenization of the miscible liquids in chemical, biochemical, and food industries. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a useful tool for studying fluid flows, including those of mixing systems. It is particularly powerful where the ability exists to corroborate model results with available data. The CFD simulation was carried out for Rushton and Smith turbines agitators. The standard k-? model has been used for turbulence modeling. The data obtained by simulation are matching with the literature experimental value for standard baffle with the discrepancy of less than +_4.5% for power number. The simulated results for agitated vessel with short baffle (non-standard) are agreeing with the literature values within plus or minus 5% for Power Number.


Processes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 1236
Author(s):  
Hamid Mortazavi ◽  
Leila Pakzad

Oscillatory baffled reactors (OBRs) have attracted much attention from researchers and industries alike due to their proven advantages in mixing, scale-up, and cost-effectiveness over conventional stirred tank reactors (STRs). This study quantitatively investigated how different mixing indices describe the mixing performance of a moving baffle OBR using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). In addition, the hydrodynamic behavior of the reactor was studied, considering parameters such as the Q-criterion, shear strain rate, and velocity vector. A modification of the Q-criterion showed advantages over the original Q-criterion in determination of the vortices’ locations. The dynamic mesh tool was utilized to simulate the moving baffles through ANSYS/Fluent. The mixing indices studied were the velocity ratio, turbulent length scale, turbulent time scale, mixing time, and axial dispersion coefficient. We found that the oscillation amplitude had the most significant impact on these indices. In contrast, the oscillatory Reynolds number did not necessarily describe the mixing intensity of a system. Of the tested indices, the axial dispersion coefficient showed advantages over the other indices for quantifying the mixing performance of a moving baffle OBR.


2004 ◽  
Vol 127 (2) ◽  
pp. 349-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Vahdati ◽  
A. I. Sayma ◽  
C. Freeman ◽  
M. Imregun

This paper describes a novel way of prescribing computational fluid dynamics (CFD) boundary conditions for axial-flow compressors. The approach is based on extending the standard single passage computational domain by adding an intake upstream and a variable nozzle downstream. Such a route allows us to consider any point on a given speed characteristic by simply modifying the nozzle area, the actual boundary conditions being set to atmospheric ones in all cases. Using a fan blade, it is shown that the method not only allows going past the stall point but also captures the typical hysteresis loop behavior of compressors.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yali Zhang ◽  
Haihua Xu ◽  
Harrif Santo ◽  
Kie Hian Chua ◽  
Yun Zhi Law ◽  
...  

Abstract The interaction between two side-by-side floating vessels has been a subject of interest in recent years due floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) developments. The safety and operability of these facilities are affected by the free-surface elevation in the narrow gap between the two vessels as well as the relative motions between the vessels. It is common practice in the industry to use potential flow models to estimate the free-surface responses in the gap under various wave conditions. However, it is well-known that any potential flow models require calibration of viscous damping, and model tests are carried out to provide a platform to calibrate the potential flow models. To improve beyond the potential flow models, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models will be required. However, the large computational efforts required render the conventional CFD approaches impractical for simulations of wave-structure interactions over a long duration. In this paper, a developed coupled solver between potential flow and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model is presented. The potential flow model is based on High-Order Spectral method (HOS), while the CFD model is based on fully nonlinear, viscous and two phase StarCCM+ solver. The coupling is achieved using a forcing zone to blend the outputs from the HOS into the StarCCM+ solver. Thus, the efficient nonlinear long time simulation of arbitrary input wave spectrum by HOS can be transferred to the CFD domain, which can reduce the computational domain and simulation time. In this paper, we make reference to the model experiments conducted by Chua et al. (2018), which consist of two identical side-by-side barges of 280 m (length) × 46 m (breadth) × 16.5 m (draught) tested in regular and irregular wave conditions. Our intention is to numerically reproduce the irregular wave conditions and the resulting barge-barge interactions. We first simulate the actual irregular wave conditions based on wave elevations measured by the wave probes using the HOS solver. The outputs are subsequently transferred to the CFD solver through a forcing zone in a 2D computational domain for comparison of the irregular wave conditions without the barges present. Subsequently, a 3D computational domain is set up in the CFD with fixed side-by-side barges modelled, and the interaction under irregular waves is simulated and compared with the experiments. We will demonstrate the applicability of the HOS-StarCCM+ coupling tool in terms of accuracy, efficiency as well as verification and validation of the results.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuang Han ◽  
Runhua Yang ◽  
Chaobo Li ◽  
Lixin Yang

Wettability is an important property of solid surfaces and is widely used in many industries. In this work, seven silicon microstructure surfaces were made by plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) technology. The experimental contact angles and theoretical contact angles of various surfaces were compared, which indicated that the classical theory had great limitations in predicting the static contact angles of complex structures. A parameterized microstructure surface was established by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) with a volume-of-fluid (VOF) model to analyze the reasons for the differences between experimental and theoretical contact angles. Comparing the results of experiments and simulations, it was found that the VOF model can simulate the contact angle of these surfaces very well. The geometrical models of the different microstructures were simplified, and waveforms of the surfaces were obtained.


Author(s):  
Ian Torotwa ◽  
Changying Ji

In this study, turbulent flow fields in a baffled vessel stirred by counter-axial flow impeller have been investigated in comparison to the Rushton turbine. The resultant turbulence was numerically predicted using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Turbulence models were developed in ANSYS Fluent 18.1 solver using the Navier-Stokes equation with the standard k-ε turbulence model. The Multiple Reference Frame (MRF) approach was used to simulate the impeller action in the vertical and horizontal planes of the stirred fluid volume. Velocity profiles generated from the simulations were used to predict and compare the performance of the two designs. To validate the CFD model, the simulation results were compared with experimental results from existing work and a satisfactory agreement was established. It was concluded that the counter-axial flow impeller could provide better turbulence characteristics that would improve the quality of mixing systems.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (24) ◽  
pp. 8810
Author(s):  
Lorenzo Maccioni ◽  
Franco Concli

The lubrication of the mechanical components reduces friction, and increases the efficiency and the reliability. However, the interaction of moving components with the lubricant leads to power losses due to viscous and inertial effects. Nowadays, the study of lubricant behavior can be carried out through computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. Nevertheless, the modeling of the computational domain within complex mechanical systems (e.g., ordinary, planetary and cycloidal gearboxes, roller bearings, and pumps) requires the exploitation of specific CFD techniques. In the last decades, many mesh-based or meshless approaches have been developed to deal with the complex management of the topological changes of the computational domain or the modeling of complex kinematics. This paper aims to collect and to classify the scientific literature where these approaches have been exploited for the study of lubricated mechanical systems. The goal of this research is to shed a light on the current state of the art in performing CFD analysis of these systems. Moreover, the objective of this study is to stress the limits and the capabilities of the main CFD techniques applied in this field of research. Results show the main differences in terms of accuracy achievable and the level of complexity that can be managed with the different CFD approaches.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jung-Eun Kang ◽  
Jae-Jin Kim

<p>  In this study, we analyzed the observation environments of the automated synoptic observing systems (ASOSs) using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model, focusing on the observational environments of air temperatures, wind speeds, and wind directions. The computational domain sizes are 2000 m × 2000 m × 750 m, and the grid sizes are 10 m × 10 m × 5 m in the x-, y-, and z- directions, respectively. We conducted the simulations for eight inflow directions (northerly, northeasterly, easterly, southeasterly, southerly, southwesterly, westerly, northwesterly) using the ASOS-observation wind speeds and air temperatures averaged in August from 2010 to 2019. We analyzed the effects of the surrounding buildings and terrains on the meteorological observations of the ASOSs, by comparing the wind speeds, wind directions, and air temperatures simulated at the ASOSs with those of inflows. The results showed that the meteorological observation environments were quite dependent on whether there existed the obstacles and surface heating on their surfaces at the observation altitude of the ASOSs.</p>


2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (7) ◽  
pp. 1242-1260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hala Al-Fulaij ◽  
Andrea Cipollina ◽  
Giorgio Micale ◽  
Hisham Ettouney ◽  
David Bogle

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to focus on simulation of wire mesh demisters in multistage flash desalination (MSF) plants. The simulation is made by the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software. Design/methodology/approach – A steady state and two-dimensional (2D) model was developed to simulate the demister. The model employs an Eulerian-Eulerian approach to simulate the flow of water vapor and brine droplets in the demister. The computational domain included three zones, which are the vapor space above and below the demister and the demister. The demister zone was modeled as a tube bank arrange or as a porous media. Findings – Sensitivity analysis of the model showed the main parameters that affect demister performance are the vapor velocity and the demister permeability. On the other hand, the analysis showed that the vapor temperature has no effect on the pressure drop across the demister. Research limitations/implications – The developed model was validated against previous literature data as well as real plant data. The analysis shows good agreement between model prediction and data. Originality/value – This work is the first in the literature to simulate the MSF demister using CFD modeling. This work is part of a group effort to develop a comprehensive CFD simulation for the entire flashing stage of the MSF process, which would provide an extremely efficient and inexpensive design and simulation tool to the desalination community.


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