Experimental Evaluation of Dual-Opposed Jet Mixer Pump Performance for Slurry Mixing

Author(s):  
Judith Ann Bamberger ◽  
Carl W. Enderlin

Million-gallon double-shell tanks at Hanford are used to store transuranic, high-level, and low-level radioactive wastes. These wastes consist of a large volume of salt-laden solution covering a smaller volume of settled sludge primarily containing metal hydroxides. These wastes will be retrieved and processed into immobile waste forms suitable for permanent disposal. Retrieval is an important step in implementing these disposal scenarios. The retrieval concept evaluated is to use submerged dual-nozzle jet mixer pumps with horizontally oriented nozzles located near the tank floor that produce horizontal jets of fluid to mobilize the settled solids. The mixer pumps are oscillated through 180° about a vertical axis so the high velocity fluid jets sweep across the floor of the tank. After the solids are mobilized, the pumps will continue to operate at a reduced flow rate producing lower velocity jets sufficient to maintain the particles in a uniform suspension (concentration uniformity). Several types of waste and tank configurations exist at Hanford. The jet mixer pump systems and operating conditions required to mobilize sludge and maintain slurry uniformity will be a function of the waste type and tank configuration. The focus of this work was to conduct a 1/12-scale experiment to develop an analytical model to relate slurry uniformity to tank and mixer pump configurations, operating conditions, and sludge properties. This experimental study evaluated concentration uniformity in a 1/12-scale experiment varying the Reynolds number (Re), Froude number (Fr), and gravitational settling parameter (Gs) space. Simulant physical properties were chosen to obtain the required Re and Gs where Re and Gs were varied by adjusting the kinematic viscosity and mean particle diameter, respectively. Test conditions were achieved by scaling the jet nozzle exit velocity in a 75-in. diameter tank using a mock-up of a centrally located dual-opposed jet mixer pump located just above the tank floor. Concentration measurements at sampling locations throughout the tank were used to assess the degree of uniformity achieved during each test. Concentration data was obtained using a real time in-situ ultrasonic attenuation probe and post-test analysis of discrete batch samples. The undissolved solids concentration at these locations was analyzed to determine whether the tank contents were uniform (≤ ±10% variation about mean) or nonuniform (> ±10% variation about mean) in concentration. Concentration inhomogeneity was modeled as a function of dimensionless parameters. The parameters that best describe the maximum solids volume fraction that can be suspended were found to be 1) the Fr based on nozzle average discharge velocity and tank contents level and 2) the dimensionless particle size based on nozzle diameter. The dependence on the jet Re does not appear to be statistically significant.

Author(s):  
Judith Ann Bamberger ◽  
Perry A. Meyer

Scaled mixing experiments were conducted to evaluate maintaining mobilized particles in a uniform suspension (the condition of concentration uniformity) using jet pumps to mix the suspension. The study experimentally evaluated uniformity in a 1/12-scale experiment varying the Reynolds number, Froude number, and gravitational settling parameter space. The product of the jet exit velocity and nozzle diameter (U0D0) was used to scale the experimental conditions. The test matrix included a full factorial test between 100% and 50% U0D0 and two half-factorial tests at 75% and 25% U0D0. Evaluating points at 75% U0D0 and 50% U0D0 allowed evaluation of curvature. Eliminating points at 25% U0D0 decreased the testing time by several weeks. Test conditions were achieved by varying the simulant viscosity (μ), the mean particle size (dp), and the jet nozzle exit velocity (U0). Concentration measurements at sampling locations throughout the tank were used to assess the degree of uniformity achieved during each test. Concentration data was obtained using a real time ultrasonic attenuation probe and discrete batch samples. The undissolved solids concentration at these locations was analyzed to determine whether the tank contents were uniform (< ±10% variation about mean) or nonuniform (> ±10% variation about mean) in concentration. Concentration inhomogeneity was modeled as a function of dimensionless groups. The two parameters that best describe the maximum solids volume fraction that can be suspended in a double-shell tank were found to be 1) the Froude number (Fr) based on nozzle velocity (U0) and tank contents level (H) and 2) the dimensionless particle size (dp/D0). The dependence on the Reynolds number (Re) does not appear to be statistically significant.


Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 1921
Author(s):  
Ameera F. Mohammad ◽  
Aya A-H. I. Mourad ◽  
Ali H. Al-Marzouqi ◽  
Muftah H. El-Naas ◽  
Bart Van der Bruggen ◽  
...  

Effective gas dispersion and liquid mixing are significant parameters in the design of an inert-particle spouted-bed reactor (IPSBR) system. Solid particles can be used to ensure good mixing and an efficient rate of mass and heat transfer between the gas and liquid. In this study, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) coupled with the discrete phase model (DPM) were developed to investigate the effect of the feed gas velocity (0.5–1.5 m/s), orifice diameter (0.001–0.005 m), gas head (0.15–0.35 m), particle diameter (0.009–0.0225 m), and mixing-particle-to-reactor-volume fraction (2.0–10.0 vol.%) on the solid mass concentration, average solid velocity, and average solid volume fraction in the upper, middle, and conical regions of the reactor. Statistical analysis was performed using a second-order response surface methodology (RSM) with central composite design (CCD) to obtain the optimal operating conditions. Selected parameters were optimized to maximize the responses in the middle and upper regions, and minimize them in the conical region. Such conditions produced a high interfacial area and fewer dead zones owing to good particle dispersion. The optimal process variables were feed gas velocity of 1.5 m/s, orifice diameter of 0.001 m, gas head of 0.2025 m, a particle diameter of 0.01 m, and a particle load of 0.02 kg. The minimum average air velocity and maximum air volume fraction were observed under the same operating conditions. This confirmed the novelty of the reactor, which could work at a high feed gas velocity while maintaining a high residence time and gas volume fraction.


Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 757
Author(s):  
Chunxia Yang ◽  
Shanshan Hou ◽  
Junhui Xu ◽  
Yuquan Zhang ◽  
Yuan Zheng ◽  
...  

When sand particles are entrained into carrier flow, such as liquid, a strong interaction occurs with the surface of the metallic material, resulting in serious erosion damage. However, the effect of the physical properties of particles and materials on erosion characteristics has not been well studied. In this paper, the erosion-wear behavior of a rotating disc surface under the action of solid–liquid two-phase flow was studied by using the discrete particle model (DPM). The wear effects on the surface of sample due to particle diameter (d = 0.1 mm, d = 0.2 mm, d = 0.3 mm, d = 0.4 mm), particle volume fraction (CV = 2%, CV = 3%, CV = 4%, CV = 5%), and particle inlet velocity (v = 1.05 m/s, v = 2.05 m/s, v = 3.05 m/s, v = 4.05 m/s) were analyzed using representative values of operating conditions of rotating machines. The results show that the wear amount increases exponentially with the radius, whilst the maximum wear amount increases faster than the average wear amount with the particle volume fraction. The surface wear grows inversely with the particle diameter but slightly with the particle inlet velocity. A case study of stainless steel samples at different radius positions on the surface of rotating disc is carried out using a mixed velocity of sand and water of 2.05 m/s, an average particle size of 0.1 mm, and a concentration of CV = 2.5%. The experiments show the wear amount increases with the radius on the surface of the rotating disc, just as predicted by the numerical simulation. Two important findings emerge from the study: (1) the wear morphology of the specimen surface develops from two to three regions; (2) when the basal body is rotating at high speed, the wear degree is influenced more by the circumferential than particle inlet velocity. The wear morphology was observed by using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). It exhibited a mixture of fine and coarse scratches and pits, and the distribution of these varied according to the radial distance of the disc.


Author(s):  
Wim-Paul Breugem ◽  
Vincent van Dijk ◽  
René Delfos

A computationally efficient Immersed Boundary Method (IBM) based on penalized direct forcing was employed to determine the permeability of a real porous medium. The porous medium was composed of about 9000 glass beads with an average particle diameter of 1.93 mm and a porosity of 0.367. The forcing of the IBM depends on the local solid volume fraction within a computational grid cell. The latter could be obtained from a high-resolution X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) scan of the packing. An experimental facility was built to determine the permeability of the packing experimentally. Numerical simulations were performed for the same packing based on the data from the CT scan. For a scan resolution of 0.1 mm the numerical value for the permeability was nearly 70% larger than the experimental value. An error analysis indicated that the scan resolution of 0.1 mm was too coarse for this packing.


2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 777-788 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.Z. Liang

The structure of the interlayer between matrix and inclusions affect directly the mechanical and physical properties of inorganic particulate-filled polymer composites. The interlayer thickness is an important parameter for characterization of the interfacial structure. The effects of the interlayer between the filler particles and matrix on the mechanical properties of polymer composites were analyzed in this article. On the basis of a simplified model of interlayer, an expression for estimating the interlayer thickness ([Formula: see text]) was proposed. In addition, the relationship between the [Formula: see text] and the particle size and its concentration was discussed. The results showed that the calculations of the [Formula: see text] and thickness/particle diameter ratio ([Formula: see text]) increased nonlinearly with an increase of the volume fraction of the inclusions. Moreover, the predictions of [Formula: see text] and the relevant data reported in literature were compared, and good agreement was found between them.


Author(s):  
Eyup Kocak ◽  
Ulku Ece Ayli ◽  
Hasmet Turkoglu

Abstract The aim of this paper is to introduce and discuss prediction power of the multiple regression technique, Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Interface System (ANFIS) methods for predicting the forced convection heat transfer characteristics of a turbulent nano fluid flow a pipe. Water and Al2O3 mixture is used as the nano fluid. Utilizing FLUENT software, numerical computations were performed with volume fraction ranging between 0.3% and 5%, particle diameter ranging between 20 and 140 nm and Reynolds number ranging between 7000 and 21000. Based on the computationally obtained results, a correlation is developed for Nusselt number using the multiple regression method. Also, based on the CFD results different ANN architectures with different number of neurons in the hidden layers and several training algorithms (Levenberg-Marquardt, Bayesian Regularization, Scaled Conjugate Gradient) are tested to find the best ANN architecture. In addition, Adaptive Neuro-fuzzy Interface System (ANFIS) is also used to predict the Nusselt number. In the ANFIS, number of clusters, exponential factor and Membership Function (MF) type are optimized. The results obtained from multiple regression correlation, ANN and ANFIS were compared. According to the obtained results, ANFIS is a powerful tool with a R2 of 0.9987 for predictions.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 771-785
Author(s):  
Hongbin Zhao ◽  
Yu Cao ◽  
Chang Liu ◽  
Xiang Qi

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the performance of coke oven gas (COG)-combined cooling, heating and power (CCHP) system and to mainly focus on studying the influence of the environmental conditions, operating conditions and gas conditions on the performance of the system and on quantifying the distribution of useful energy loss and the saving potential of the integrated system changing with different parameters.Design/methodology/approachThe working process of COG-CCHP was simulated through the establishment of system flow and thermal analysis mathematical model. Using exergy analysis method, the COG-CCHP system’s energy consumption status and the performance changing rules were analyzed.FindingsThe results showed that the combustion chamber has the largest exergy loss among the thermal equipments. Reducing the environmental temperature and pressure can improve the entire system’s reasonable degree of energy. Higher temperature and pressure improved the system’s perfection degree of energy use. Relatively high level of hydrogen and low content of water in COG and an optimal range of CH4volume fraction between 35 per cent and 46 per cent are required to ensure high exergy efficiency of this integration system.Originality/valueThis paper proposed a CCHP system with the utilization of coke oven gas (COG) and quantified the distribution of useful energy loss and the saving potential of the integrated system under different environmental, operating and gas conditions. The weak links of energy consumption within the system were analyzed, and the characteristics of COG in this way of using were illustrated. This study can provide certain guiding basis for further research and development of the CCHP system performance.


Author(s):  
Annette Volk ◽  
Urmila Ghia

Successful verification and validation is crucial to build confidence in the application of coupled Computational Fluid Dynamics - Discrete Element Method (CFD-DEM). Model verification includes ensuring a mesh-independent solution, which poses a major difficulty in CFD-DEM due to the complicated solution relationship with computational cell size. In this paper, we investigate the theoretical relationship between the solution and computational cell size by tracing the effects of a change in cell size through the mathematical model. The porosity profile for simulations of fixed-particle beds is determined to be Gaussian, and the average and standard deviation of the representative distribution are reported against cell size. We find the standard deviation of bed porosity increases exponentially as the cell size is reduced, and the drag calculations are very sensitive to changes in the porosity standard deviation, resulting in an exponential change in expected drag when the cell size is small relative to the particle diameter. The divided volume fraction method of porosity calculation is shown to be superior to the centred volume fraction method, as it reduces the porosity standard deviation. The sensitivity of five popular drag laws to changes in the porosity profile is presented, and the Ergun and Beetstra drag laws are shown to be the least sensitive to changes in the cell size.


Author(s):  
Bhaskar Ale ◽  
Carl-Ernst Rousseau

Hollow particulate composites are lightweight, have high compressive strength, are low moisture absorbent, have high damping materials, and are used extensively in aerospace, marine applications, and in the manufacture of sandwich composites core elements. The high performance of these materials is achieved by adding high strength hollow glass particulates (microballoons) to an epoxy matrix, forming epoxy-syntactic foams. The present study focuses on the effect of volume fraction and microballoon size on the ultrasonic and dynamic properties of Epoxy Syntactic Foams. Ultrasonic attenuation coefficient from an experiment is compared with a previously developed theoretical model for low volume fractions that takes into account attenuation loss due to scattering and absorption. The guidelines of ASTM Standard E 664-93 are used to compute the apparent attenuation. Quasi-static compressive tests were also conducted to fully characterize the material. Both quasi-static and dynamic properties, as well as coefficients of attenuation and ultrasonic velocities are found to be strongly dependent upon the volume fraction and size of the microballoons.


Author(s):  
David Marten ◽  
Alessandro Bianchini ◽  
Georgios Pechlivanoglou ◽  
Francesco Balduzzi ◽  
Christian Navid Nayeri ◽  
...  

Interest in vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs) is experiencing a renaissance after most major research projects came to a standstill in the mid 90’s, in favour of conventional horizontal-axis turbines (HAWTs). Nowadays, the inherent advantages of the VAWT concept, especially in the Darrieus configuration, may outweigh their disadvantages in specific applications, like the urban context or floating platforms. To enable these concepts further, efficient, accurate, and robust aerodynamic prediction tools and design guidelines are needed for VAWTs, for which low-order simulation methods have not reached yet a maturity comparable to that of the Blade Element Momentum Theory for HAWTs’ applications. The two computationally efficient methods that are presently capable of capturing the unsteady aerodynamics of Darrieus turbines are the Double Multiple Streamtubes (DMS) Theory, based on momentum balances, and the Lifting Line Theory (LLT) coupled to a free vortex wake model. Both methods make use of tabulated lift and drag coefficients to compute the blade forces. Since the incidence angles range experienced by a VAWT blade is much wider than that of a HAWT blade, the accuracy of polars in describing the stall region and the transition towards the “thin plate like” behaviour has a large effect on simulation results. This paper will demonstrate the importance of stall and post-stall data handling in the performance estimation of Darrieus VAWTs. Using validated CFD simulations as a baseline, comparisons are provided for a blade in VAWT-like motion based on a DMS and a LLT code employing three sets of post-stall data obtained from a wind tunnel campaign, XFoil predictions extrapolated with the Viterna-Corrigan model and a combination of them. The polar extrapolation influence on quasi-steady operating conditions is shown and azimuthal variations of thrust and torque are compared for exemplary tip-speed ratios (TSRs). In addition, the major relevance of a proper dynamic stall model into both simulation methods is highlighted and discussed.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document