CFD Model Validation for a Benchmark Data of Texas A&M 1/16th Scaled VHTR Upper Plenum

Author(s):  
Prasad Vegendla ◽  
Rui Hu ◽  
Ling Zou

Abstract In High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors (HTGR), gas flow patterns are very complex and reduced order models (1D or 2D) may be too simplified to predict accurate reactor performance. 3D Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models can help provide the detailed information needed to optimize the reactor thermal performance. The main objective of this work is to validate the CFD models with data of a 1/16th scaled Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) upper plenum measured at Texas A&M University. In this paper, the flow characteristics of a single isothermal jet discharging into the upper plenum was investigated using Nek5000 Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) CFD tool. Several numerical simulations were performed for various jet Reynolds numbers ranging from 3,413 to 12,819. Grid independent study was performed. The numerical results of mean velocity, root-mean-square fluctuating velocity, and Reynolds stress were validated with the benchmark data. Good agreement was obtained between simulated and measured data for axial mean velocities, except near the upper plenum hemisphere. The maximum predicted errors for axial mean velocities at various normalized coolant channel diameter heights of 1, 5 and 10 are 1.56%, 1.88% and 3.82%, respectively. Also, the predicted root-mean-square fluctuating velocity and Reynolds stress are qualitatively agreed with the experimental data.

Author(s):  
J. S. Okpoko ◽  
H. A. P. Audu

In this study, the prediction of the concentration of gaseous pollutants around Ughelli West gas flow station in Delta State of Nigeria was carried out using Geostatistical technique in GIS environment. Since air pollutants negatively affect quality of air, lives and the environment, there is therefore the need to frequently monitor air quality, have thorough understanding of the pollutants’ concentration and their spatial distribution in an environment. The gaseous pollutants data of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), methane (CH4), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and ozone (O3), were obtained using Multi-parameter gas monitor while that of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) was obtained with SPM meter for a period of three months. Thermo Anemometer was used to obtain the values of wind speed, ambient temperature, atmospheric pressure and relative humidity. Artificial Neural Network designer software (Pythia) was used to validate the acquired field data; predict the concentration of the gaseous pollutants at selected distances from the flow station. The geospatial coordinates of the flow station were obtained using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers; the geospatial modelling and analysis were performed with ArcGIS software and ordinary kriging method of Geostatistical techniques. The results of the maximum concentration for the gaseous pollutants in the study area were 28.17 µg/m3, 19.44 µg/m3, 0.37 µg/m3, 49.81 µg/m3, 0.061 µg/m3 and 0.047µg/m3 for VOCs, CH4, NO2, PM2.5, O3 and SO2 respectively. The root mean square error for the concentration of the gaseous pollutants, ozone and sulphur (IV) oxide in the study area were 0.01618 and 0.008417 indicating a good interpolation model, while their root mean square standard errors, which show the reliability of the predicted values, were 0.70513551 and 0.8459251 respectively. These results conform with the report of other researchers that a better kriging method yields a smaller root mean square and a standard root mean square closer to one. The developed prediction maps for the gaseous pollutants in this study revealed that the study area will experience lower concentration of gaseous pollutants at a distance of 400 m and above.


2019 ◽  
Vol 862 ◽  
pp. 781-815 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Kuwata ◽  
Y. Kawaguchi

Lattice Boltzmann direct numerical simulation of turbulent open-channel flows over randomly distributed hemispheres at $Re_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D70F}}=600$ is carried out to reveal the influence of roughness parameters related to a probability density function of rough-surface elevation on turbulence by analysing the spatial and Reynolds- (double-) averaged Navier–Stokes equation. This study specifically concentrates on the influence of the root-mean-square roughness and the skewness, and profiles of turbulence statistics are compared by introducing an effective wall-normal distance defined as a wall-normal integrated plane porosity. The effective distance can completely collapse the total shear stress outside the roughness sublayer, and thus the similarity of the streamwise mean velocity is clearer by introducing the effective distance. In order to examine the influence of the root-mean-square roughness and the skewness on dynamical effects that contribute to an increase in the skin friction coefficient, the triple-integrated double-averaged Navier–Stokes equation is analysed. The main contributors to the skin friction coefficient are found to be turbulence and drag force. The turbulence contribution increases with the root-mean-square roughness and/or the skewness. The drag force contribution, on the other hand, increases in particular with the root-mean-square roughness whereas an increase in the skewness does not increase the drag force contribution because it does not necessarily increase the surface area of the roughness elements. The contribution of the mean velocity dispersion induced by spatial inhomogeneity of the rough surfaces substantially increases with the root-mean-square roughness. A linear correlation is confirmed between the root-mean-square roughness and the equivalent roughness while the equivalent roughness monotonically increases with the skewness. A new correlation function based on the root-mean-square roughness and the skewness is developed with the available experimental and direct numerical simulation data, and it is confirmed that the developed correlation reasonably predicts the equivalent roughness of various types of real rough surfaces.


Author(s):  
Ethan Kappes ◽  
Mateusz Marciniak ◽  
Andrew Mills ◽  
Robert Muyshondt ◽  
Stephen King ◽  
...  

Complex geometries and randomly connected void spaces within packed beds have hindered efforts to characterize the underlying transport phenomena occurring within. In this communication, we present our experimental studies on a facility of randomly packed spheres that can be a representative of sections within a reactor core in a nuclear power plant. The results of high-fidelity velocity measurements can be seen using Time-Resolved Particle Image Velocimetry (TR-PIV) at the pore scales and near the wall boundary in the Matched Index of Refraction (MIR) facility. The MIR approach allows for a non-invasive analysis of the flow within packed spheres at the microscopic scales with high temporal and spatial resolution. Flow characteristics obtained from the TR-PIV measurements at various Reynolds numbers are presented. The results include the first- and second-order flow statistics, such as mean velocity, root-mean-square fluctuating velocity and Reynolds stresses. Effects of the wall boundary and Reynolds numbers on flow patterns are currently being investigated. Comparisons of the mean velocities, root-mean-square fluctuating velocities, and Reynolds stress components show the increase of flow mixing and turbulent intensities within the gaps between spheres in the packed bed. Sizes of recirculation regions, however, seem to be independent of the increase of Reynolds numbers.


2015 ◽  
Vol 780 ◽  
pp. 649-686 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. S. Srinivas ◽  
V. Kumaran

In comparison to the flow in a rigid channel, there is a multifold reduction in the transition Reynolds number for the flow in a microchannel when one of the walls is made sufficiently soft, due to a dynamical instability induced by the fluid–wall coupling, as shown by Verma & Kumaran (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 727, 2013, pp. 407–455). The flow after transition is characterised using particle image velocimetry in the $x{-}y$ plane, where $x$ is the streamwise direction and $y$ is the cross-stream coordinate along the small dimension of the channel of height 0.2–0.3 mm. The flow after transition is characterised by a mean velocity profile that is flatter at the centre and steeper at the walls in comparison to that for a laminar flow. The root mean square of the streamwise fluctuating velocity shows a characteristic sharp increase away from the wall and a maximum close to the wall, as observed in turbulent flows in rigid-walled channels. However, the profile is asymmetric, with a significantly higher maximum close to the soft wall in comparison to that close to the hard wall, and the Reynolds stress is found to be non-zero at the soft wall, indicating that there is a stress exerted by fluid velocity fluctuations on the wall. The maximum of the root mean square of the velocity fluctuations and the Reynolds stress (divided by the fluid density) in the soft-walled microchannel for Reynolds numbers in the range 250–400, when scaled by suitable powers of the maximum velocity, are comparable to those in a rigid channel at Reynolds numbers in the range 5000–20 000. The near-wall velocity profile shows no evidence of a viscous sublayer for $(yv_{\ast }/{\it\nu})$ as low as two, but there is a logarithmic layer for $(yv_{\ast }/{\it\nu})$ up to approximately 30, where the von Karman constants are very different from those for a rigid-walled channel. Here, $v_{\ast }$ is the friction velocity, ${\it\nu}$ is the kinematic viscosity and $y$ is the distance from the soft surface. The surface of the soft wall in contact with the fluid is marked with dye spots to monitor the deformation and motion along the fluid–wall interface. Low-frequency oscillations in the displacement of the surface are observed after transition in both the streamwise and spanwise directions, indicating that the velocity fluctuations are dynamically coupled to motion in the solid.


2013 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 563-572 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michal N. Glinka ◽  
Kim P. Cheema ◽  
Stephen N. Robinovitch ◽  
Andrew C. Laing

Safety floors (also known ascompliant floors) may reduce the risk of fall-related injuries by attenuating impact force during falls, but are only practical if they do not negatively affect balance and mobility. In this study, we evaluated seven safety surfaces based on their ability to attenuate peak femoral neck force during simulated hip impacts, and their influence on center of pressure (COP) sway during quiet and tandem stance. Overall, we found that some safety floors can attenuate up to 33.7% of the peak femoral impact force without influencing balance. More specifically, during simulated hip impacts, force attenuation for the safety floors ranged from 18.4 (SD 4.3)% to 47.2 (3.1)%, with each floor significantly reducing peak force compared with a rigid surface. For quiet stance, only COP root mean square was affected by flooring (and increased for only two safety floors). During tandem stance, COP root mean square and mean velocity increased in the medial-lateral direction for three of the seven floors. Based on the substantial force attenuation with no concomitant effects on balance for some floors, these results support the development of clinical trials to assess the effectiveness of safety floors at reducing fall-related injuries in high-risk settings.


Author(s):  
Dmitry V. Nesterovich ◽  
Oleg G. Penyazkov ◽  
Yu. A. Stankevich ◽  
M. S. Tretyak ◽  
Vladimir V. Chuprasov ◽  
...  

2012 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 379-384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Strzecha ◽  
Tomasz Koszmider ◽  
Damian Zarębski ◽  
Wojciech Łobodziński

Abstract In this paper, a case-study of the auto-focus algorithm for correcting image distortions caused by gas flow in high-temperature measurements of surface phenomena is presented. This article shows results of proposed algorithm and methods for increasing its accuracy.


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