Assessment of Different CFD Modeling and Solving Approaches for a Supersonic Steam Ejector Simulation

The effects of different modeling and solving approaches on the simulation of a steam ejector have been investigated with the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technique. The four most frequently used and recommended turbulence models (standard k-ε, RNG k-ε, realizable k-ε and SST k-ω), two near-wall treatments (standard wall function and enhanced wall treatment), two solvers (pressure- and density-based solvers) and two spatial discretization schemes ( the second-order upwind scheme and the quadratic upstream interpolation for convective kinematics (QUICK) of the convection term have been tested and compared for a supersonic steam ejector under the same conditions as experimental data. In total, more than 185 cases of 17 different modeling and solving approaches have been carried out in this work. The simulation results from the pressure-based solver (PBS) are slightly closer to the experimental data than those from the density-based solver (DBS) and are thus utilized in the subsequent simulations. When a high-density mesh with y+ < 1 is used, the SST k-ω model can obtain the best predictions of the maximum entrainment ratio (ER) and an adequate prediction of the critical back pressure (CBP), while the realizable k-ε model with the enhanced wall treatment can obtain the best prediction of the CBP and an adequate prediction of the ER. When the standard wall function is used with the three k-ε models, the realizable k-ε model can obtain the best predictions of the maximum ER, and the three k-ε models can gain the same CBP value. For a steam ejector with recirculation inside the diffuser, the realizable k-ε model or the enhanced wall treatment is recommended for adoption in the modeling approach. When the spatial discretization scheme of the convection term changes from a second-order upwind scheme to a QUICK scheme, the effect can be ignored for the maximum ER calculation, while only the CBP value from the standard k-ε model with the standard wall function is reduced by 2.13%. The calculation deviation of the ER between the two schemes increases with the back pressure at the unchoked flow region, especially when the standard k-ε model is adopted. The realizable k-ε model with the two wall treatments and the SST k-ω model is recommended, while the standard k-ε is more sensitive to the near-wall treatment and the spatial discretization scheme and is not recommended for an ejector simulation.

Numerical Simulation on the Boiling Flow Patterns of Al2O3-Water Nanofluid in Micro/Minichannel under Different Hypergravity Levels and Directions

Due to the influence of hypergravity that has a significant impact on the performance of heat exchanger in aircraft, which is crucial for electronic equipment on the plane and life safeties of pilots and passengers, a numerical study is conducted using Fluent 20R2 software to investigate boiling flow patterns under different gravity levels and directions. In this study, the thermophysical properties of nanofluids are analyzed, and select the most suitable theoretical model of thermal conductivity, viscosity, and surface tension for present simulations. Choose the grid structure of 122,116 after independence check for grid. The VOF approach is employed for present simulation, and the standard κ − ε turbulence model with nonequilibrium wall function is used. The UDFs for mass and energy source terms and thermophysical properties of nanofluid are developed for calculating the HTC of nanofluid. There are three different gravity directions with gravity levels from 1 g to 9 g. The results show that the flow pattern becomes the stratified flow with the gravity levels increasing when the hypergravity direction is perpendicular to the flow direction, and the HTCs decrease with the increment of gravity levels. The vapor-phase transform to circular when the hypergravity direction is the same as the flow direction, and the HTCs of the second half of the tube are decreasing with the increasing gravity levels. On the contrary, the vapor phase is elongated when the hypergravity direction is opposite to the flow direction, and the HTCs show the enhanced tendency.

MODEL- AND FULL-SCALE RANS SIMULATIONS FOR A DRIFT TANKER

The flow around a full-scale (FS) ship can be simulated by means of Reynolds-Averaged Naiver-Stokes (RANS) method, which provides a way to obtain more knowledge about scale effects on ship hydrodynamics. In this work, the viscous flow around a static drift tanker in full scale is simulated by using the RANS solver based on the open source platform OpenFOAM. The k - w SST model is employed to approximate the eddy viscosity. To reduce computational time, wall function approach is applied for the FS simulation. The flow around the ship in model scale is simulated as well, but without using any wall function, i.e., using Low-Reynolds number mode. In order to verify the computations, de- tailed studies on the computational grid including investigation of the sensitivity of computed forces to y+ (dimension- less distance of first grid point to wall) and grid dependency study are carried out. The computed forces are compared with available measured data. The scale effects are analysed and discussed by comparisons.

Modeling the airflow field of vortex spinning

Vortex spinning technology adopts a high-speed swirling airflow to rotate the fibers with open-ends to form yarn with real twists. The airflow behavior within the nozzle has a great effect on the yarn-formation process. In this study, a three-dimensional calculation nozzle model and corresponding three-dimensional airflow region model were established to enable the numerical calculation; airflow behavior—pressure, velocity, and the turbulent airflow field, and the streamline of airflow—was investigated in the presence of fiber bundles within the vortex spinning nozzle. Hybrid hexahedral/tetrahedral control volumes were utilized to mesh the grids in the calculation region. To consider airflow diffusion and convection in the nozzle, the Realizable k- ε turbulence model with wall function was adopted to conduct the calculation. Dynamic and static pressure values were obtained by numerical analysis to predict the action of the inner surface of nozzle and the wall resistance on the high-speed swirling airflow. The numerical simulation of dynamic airflow behavior can generate great insight into the details of airflow behavior and its distribution characteristics, and is helpful for understanding the spinning mechanism and promoting optimization of the spinning process.

Numerical Analysis of Gravitational Vortex Chamber

A rotating mass of fluid is known as vortex and the motion of the rotating mass of fluid is known as vortex motion. Vorticity is the circulation per unit area. In this research simulation of a vortex chamber is to be carried out in ANSYS CFD taking water as fluid domain for generating a water vortex that is capable enough to move a turbine for electricity generation. The CAD modelling of the setup was set down and simulation was done in fine mesh by taking suitable wall function in the model of a cylindrical chamber along with a rectangular channel with a contraction portion at the end of it where good amount of vortex generation was acquired by observing velocity and pressure by setting different parameters. The results shows the pressure and velocity contours with 3D velocity streamline flow and the curve of the velocity and pressure curve shows the decrease of pressure and increase of velocity from inlet to outlet that leads to a decent vortex generation.

Large Eddy Simulation with wall functions of Ahmed body

Large Eddy Simulation with Wall Function (WFLES) is known to be a cheap alternative to classical LES methods for simulation of flow where large and complex computational meshes are typically required. This makes it attractive for engineering applications. However experience of applying such methods to complex turbulent flows with flow separation and reattachment is still little-known in literature. In this work WFLES of flow around simplified car body with slant angle equal to 25 degrees and ReL = 2.8 · 106 is carried out on Octree mesh to demonstrate the capabilities and limitations of the method in such type of the flow. The results on a series of meshes show that even though the general flow topology is well captured, the critical part of the flow on the slant is hardly predicted even on 100 mln mesh. It is concluded that the prediction of separation above the slant requires significant mesh refinement even in the frame of WFLES.