Tangential inlet cyclone separators with low solid loading

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (7) ◽  
pp. 2090-2116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riccardo Amirante ◽  
Paolo Tamburrano

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose an effective methodology for the industrial design of tangential inlet cyclone separators that is based on the fully three-dimensional (3D) simulation of the flow field within the cyclone coupled with an effective genetic algorithm. Design/methodology/approach The proposed fully 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model makes use of the Reynold stress model for the accurate prediction of turbulence, while the particle trajectories are simulated using the one-way coupling discrete phase, which is a model particularly effective in case of low concentration of dust. To validate the CFD model, the numerical predictions are compared with experimental data available in the scientific literature. Eight design parameters were chosen, with the two objectives being the minimization of the pressure drop and the maximization of the collection efficiency. Findings The optimization procedure allows the determination of the Pareto Front, which represents the set of the best geometries and can be instrumental in taking an optimal decision in the presence of such a trade-off between the two conflicting objectives. The comparison among the individuals belonging to the Pareto Front with a more standard cyclone geometry shows that such a CFD global search is very effective. Practical implications The proposed procedure is tested for specific values of the operating conditions; however, it has general validity and can be used in place of typical procedures based on empirical models or engineers’ experience for the industrial design of tangential inlet cyclone separators with low solid loading. Originality/value Such an optimization process has never been proposed before for the design of cyclone separators; it has been developed with the aim of being both highly accurate and compatible with the industrial design time.

Author(s):  
Imen Amdouni ◽  
Lilia El Amraoui ◽  
Frédéric Gillon ◽  
Mohamed Benrejeb ◽  
Pascal Brochet

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop an optimal approach for optimizing the dynamic behavior of incremental linear actuators. Design/methodology/approach – First, a parameterized design model is built. Second, a dynamic model is implemented. This model takes into account the thrust force computed from a finite element model. Finally, the multiobjective optimization approach is applied to the dynamic model to optimize control as well as design parameters. Findings – The Pareto front resulting from the optimization approach (or the parallel optimization approach,) is better than the Pareto, which is obtained from the only application of MultiObjective Genetic Algorithm (MOGA) method (or parallel MOGA with the same number of optimization approach objective function evaluations). The only use of MOGA can reach the region near an optimal Pareto front, but it consumes more computing time than the multiobjective optimization approach. At each flowchart stage, parallelization leads to a significant reduction of computing time which is halved when using two-core machine. Originality/value – In order to solve the multiobjective problem, a hybrid algorithm based on MOGA is developed.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mustafa Tolga Tolga Yavuz ◽  
İbrahim Özkol

Purpose This study aims to develop the governing differential equation and to analyze the free vibration of a rotating non-uniform beam having a flexible root and setting angle for variations in operating conditions and structural design parameters. Design/methodology/approach Hamiltonian principle is used to derive the flapwise bending motion of the structure, and the governing differential equations are solved numerically by using differential quadrature with satisfactory accuracy and computation time. Findings The results obtained by using the differential quadrature method (DQM) are compared to results of previous studies in the open literature to show the power of the used method. Important results affecting the dynamics characteristics of a rotating beam are tabulated and illustrated in concerned figures to show the effect of investigated design parameters and operating conditions. Originality/value The principal novelty of this paper arises from the application of the DQM to a rotating non-uniform beam with flexible root and deriving new governing differential equation including various parameters such as rotary inertia, setting angle, taper ratios, root flexibility, hub radius and rotational speed. Also, the application of the used numerical method is expressed clearly step by step with the algorithm scheme.


2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 854-871
Author(s):  
S. Khodaygan

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a novel Kriging meta-model assisted method for multi-objective optimal tolerance design of the mechanical assemblies based on the operating conditions under both systematic and random uncertainties. Design/methodology/approach In the proposed method, the performance, the quality loss and the manufacturing cost issues are formulated as the main criteria in terms of systematic and random uncertainties. To investigate the mechanical assembly under the operating conditions, the behavior of the assembly can be simulated based on the finite element analysis (FEA). The objective functions in terms of uncertainties at the operating conditions can be modeled through the Kriging-based metamodeling based on the obtained results from the FEA simulations. Then, the optimal tolerance allocation procedure is formulated as a multi-objective optimization framework. For solving the multi conflicting objectives optimization problem, the multi-objective particle swarm optimization method is used. Then, a Shannon’s entropy-based TOPSIS is used for selection of the best tolerances from the optimal Pareto solutions. Findings The proposed method can be used for optimal tolerance design of mechanical assemblies in the operating conditions with including both random and systematic uncertainties. To reach an accurate model of the design function at the operating conditions, the Kriging meta-modeling is used. The efficiency of the proposed method by considering a case study is illustrated and the method is verified by comparison to a conventional tolerance allocation method. The obtained results show that using the proposed method can lead to the product with a more robust efficiency in the performance and a higher quality in comparing to the conventional results. Research limitations/implications The proposed method is limited to the dimensional tolerances of components with the normal distribution. Practical implications The proposed method is practically easy to be automated for computer-aided tolerance design in industrial applications. Originality/value In conventional approaches, regardless of systematic and random uncertainties due to operating conditions, tolerances are allocated based on the assembly conditions. As uncertainties can significantly affect the system’s performance at operating conditions, tolerance allocation without including these effects may be inefficient. This paper aims to fill this gap in the literature by considering both systematic and random uncertainties for multi-objective optimal tolerance design of mechanical assemblies under operating conditions.


Author(s):  
Pinaki Pal ◽  
Gaurav Kumar ◽  
Scott A. Drennan ◽  
Brent A. Rankin ◽  
Sibendu Som

Abstract Over the last two decades, detonation based propulsion has received a great deal of attention as a potential means to achieve significant improvement in the performance of air-breathing and rocket engines. Detonative combustion mode is particularly interesting due to the resulting pressure gain from reactants to products, faster heat release, decreased entropy generation, more available work and higher thrust compared to conventional deflagrative combustion. Rotating detonation engine (RDE) is one such novel combustor concept. Realistic RDE configurations utilize separate fuel and air injection schemes, hence are not perfectly premixed. Moreover, RDE performance is governed by a large number of design parameters and operating conditions. In this context, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has the potential to enhance the understanding of RDE combustion and aid future development/optimization of this technology. In the present work, a CFD model was developed to simulate a representative non-premixed RDE combustor. Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulations were performed for the full combustor geometry (including the separate fuel and air injection ports), with hydrogen as fuel and air as the oxidizer. Adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) was incorporated to achieve a trade-off between model accuracy and computational expense. A finite-rate chemistry model along with a 10-species detailed kinetic mechanism was employed to describe the H2-Air combustion chemistry. Two operating conditions were simulated, corresponding to the same global equivalence ratio of unity but different fuel and air mass flow rates. For both conditions, the capability of the model to capture the essential detonation wave dynamics was assessed. A validation study was performed against experimental data available on detonation wave frequency/height, reactant fill height, oblique shock angle, axial pressure distribution in the channel, and fuel/air plenum pressure. The CFD model predicted the sensitivity of these wave characteristics to the operating conditions with good accuracy, both qualitatively and quantitatively. The present CFD model offers a potential capability to perform rapid design space exploration and/or performance optimization studies for realistic full-scale RDE configurations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (10) ◽  
pp. 3857-3871 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rawya Ben Jaballah ◽  
Mohamed Bechir Ben Hamida ◽  
Jehad Saleh ◽  
Mohammed A. Almeshaal

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the enhancement of the performance of bubble absorber using hybrid nanofluid as a cooled NH3/H2O absorption system to reduce their size and to find the best fitting model. A numerical model for ammonia-water bubble absorber was developed to show the influence of operating conditions and design parameters on the absorber performance. Design/methodology/approach A finite difference numerical method is used to solve the numerical model. The model is subjected to the inlet conditions of liquid, vapor and coolant flow regimes. The absorber modeling was divided into small elements along the absorber length. Findings The model proposed is validated with previously published works. Then agreement between the both is considered as good. Research limitations/implications Numerical results/The use of hybrid nanofluids. Originality/value The results showed that the hybrid nanofluid is the best cooling medium. Very high heat transfer rates are obtained because of the high thermal conductivity and specific heat of hybrid nanofluid, and consequently, the absorber size decreases. It was also found that the absorber thermal load and the mass absorption flux increase with increasing of solid volume fraction. Also, the existence of an optimal absorber length was revealed, required for complete absorption when using hybrid nanofluid as a cooling medium. It is recommended that using hybrid nanofluid to remove the heat from the absorber is the best candidate for NH3/H2O absorption performance enhancement.


Author(s):  
Zijian Guo ◽  
Tanghong Liu ◽  
Wenhui Li ◽  
Yutao Xia

The present work focuses on the aerodynamic problems resulting from a high-speed train (HST) passing through a tunnel. Numerical simulations were employed to obtain the numerical results, and they were verified by a moving-model test. Two responses, [Formula: see text] (coefficient of the peak-to-peak pressure of a single fluctuation) and[Formula: see text] (pressure value of micro-pressure wave), were studied with regard to the three building parameters of the portal-hat buffer structure of the tunnel entrance and exit. The MOPSO (multi-objective particle swarm optimization) method was employed to solve the optimization problem in order to find the minimum [Formula: see text] and[Formula: see text]. Results showed that the effects of the three design parameters on [Formula: see text] were not monotonous, and the influences of[Formula: see text] (the oblique angle of the portal) and [Formula: see text] (the height of the hat structure) were more significant than that of[Formula: see text] (the angle between the vertical line of the portal and the hat). Monotonically decreasing responses were found in [Formula: see text] for [Formula: see text] and[Formula: see text]. The Pareto front of [Formula: see text] and[Formula: see text]was obtained. The ideal single-objective optimums for each response located at the ends of the Pareto front had values of 1.0560 for [Formula: see text] and 101.8 Pa for[Formula: see text].


2015 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 341-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Rouhani ◽  
M. J. Nategh

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the workspace and dexterity of a microhexapod which is a 6-degrees of freedom (DOF) parallel compliant manipulator, and also to investigate its dimensional synthesis to maximize the workspace and the global dexterity index at the same time. Microassembly is so essential in the current industry for manufacturing complicated structures. Most of the micromanipulators suffer from their restricted workspace because of using flexure joints compared to the conventional ones. In addition, the controllability of micromanipulators inside the whole workspace is very vital. Thus, it is very important to select the design parameters in a way that not only maximize the workspace but also its global dexterity index. Design/methodology/approach – Microassembly is so essential in the current industry for manufacturing complicated structures. Most of the micromanipulators suffer from their restricted workspace because of using flexure joints compared to the conventional ones. In addition, the controllability of micromanipulators inside the whole workspace is very vital. Thus, it is very important to select the design parameters in a way that not only maximize the workspace but also its global dexterity index. Findings – It has been shown that the proposed procedure for the workspace calculation can considerably speed the required calculations. The optimization results show that a converged-diverged configuration of pods and an increase in the difference between the moving and the stationary platforms’ radii cause the global dexterity index to increase and the workspace to decrease. Originality/value – The proposed algorithm for the workspace analysis is very important, especially when it is an objective function of an optimization problem based on the search method. In addition, using screw theory can simply construct the homogeneous Jacobian matrix. The proposed methodology can be used for any other micromanipulator.


Author(s):  
K. R. Mrinal ◽  
Md. Hamid Siddique ◽  
Abdus Samad

A progressive cavity pump (PCP) is a positive displacement pump and has been used as an artificial lift method in the oil and gas industry for pumping fluid with solid content and high viscosity. In a PCP, a single-lobe rotor rotates inside a double-lobe stator. Articles on computational works for flows through a PCP are limited because of transient behavior of flow, complex geometry and moving boundaries. In this paper, a 3D CFD model has been developed to predict the flow variables at different operating conditions. The flow is considered as incompressible, single phase, transient, and turbulent. The dynamic mesh model in Ansys-Fluent for the rotor mesh movement is used, and a user defined function (UDF) written in C language defines the rotor’s hypocycloid path. The mesh deformation is done with spring based smoothing and local remeshing technique. The computational results are compared with the experiment results available in the literature. Thepump gives maximum flowrate at zero differential pressure.


Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 536
Author(s):  
Kenneth A. Goldberg ◽  
Antoine Wojdyla ◽  
Diane Bryant

New, high-coherent-flux X-ray beamlines at synchrotron and free-electron laser light sources rely on wavefront sensors to achieve and maintain optimal alignment under dynamic operating conditions. This includes feedback to adaptive X-ray optics. We describe the design and modeling of a new class of binary-amplitude reflective gratings for shearing interferometry and Hartmann wavefront sensing. Compact arrays of deeply etched gratings illuminated at glancing incidence can withstand higher power densities than transmission membranes and can be designed to operate across a broad range of photon energies with a fixed grating-to-detector distance. Coherent wave-propagation is used to study the energy bandwidth of individual elements in an array and to set the design parameters. We observe that shearing operates well over a ±10% bandwidth, while Hartmann can be extended to ±30% or more, in our configuration. We apply this methodology to the design of a wavefront sensor for a soft X-ray beamline operating from 230 eV to 1400 eV and model shearing and Hartmann tests in the presence of varying wavefront aberration types and magnitudes.


Author(s):  
Andrea Milli ◽  
Olivier Bron

The present paper deals with the redesign of cyclic variation of a set of fan outlet guide vanes by means of high-fidelity full-annulus CFD. The necessity for the aerodynamic redesign originated from a change to the original project requirement, when the customer requested an increase in specific thrust above the original engine specification. The main objectives of this paper are: 1) make use of 3D CFD simulations to accurately model the flow field and identify high-loss regions; 2) elaborate an effective optimisation strategy using engineering judgement in order to define realistic objectives, constraints and design variables; 3) emphasise the importance of parametric geometry modelling and meshing for automatic design optimisation of complex turbomachinery configurations; 4) illustrate that the combination of advanced optimisation algorithms and aerodynamic expertise can lead to successful optimisations of complex turbomachinery components within practical time and costs constrains. The current design optimisation exercise was carried out using an in-house set of software tools to mesh, resolve, analyse and optimise turbomachinery components by means of Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes simulations. The original configuration was analysed using the 3D CFD model and thereafter assessed against experimental data and flow visualisations. The main objective of this phase was to acquire a deep insight of the aerodynamics and the loss mechanisms. This was important to appropriately limit the design scope and to drive the optimisation in the desirable direction with a limited number of design variables. A mesh sensitivity study was performed in order to minimise computational costs. Partially converged CFD solutions with restart and response surface models were used to speed up the optimisation loop. Finally, the single-point optimised circumferential stagger pattern was manually adjusted to increase the robustness of the design at other flight operating conditions. Overall, the optimisation resulted in a major loss reduction and increased operating range. Most important, it provided the project with an alternative and improved design within the time schedule requested and demonstrated that CFD tools can be used effectively not only for the analysis but also to provide new design solutions as a matter of routine even for very complex geometry configurations.


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