Study on the Vortex in a Pump Sump and Its Influence on the Pump Unit

The vortex in a pump sump is a negative problem for the pump unit, which can lead to the decline of pump performance. Focusing on the internal pressure characteristics of the floor-attached vortex (FAV) and its influence on the pump unit, the FAV was analyzed adopting the previously verified numerical simulation method and experiment. The results show that the pressure in the vortex core gradually decreases with time, drops to a negative pressure at the development stage, and then reaches the lowest pressure during the continuance stage. When the negative pressure of the vortex tube is around the vaporization pressure of the continuance stage, it can cause a local cavitation at the impeller inlet. The evolution of the FAV is accompanied by a change of pressure gradient in the vortex core which is discussed in detail. This research provides theoretical guidance for a better understanding of the vortex characteristics and the optimal design for the pump.

A Smart Energy Recovery System to Avoid Preheating in Gas Grid Pressure Reduction Stations

Preheating is often required to prevent hydrate formation during the pressure reduction process in a natural gas distribution network’s pressure reduction station. This paper examines an energy recovery method to avoid the cost and energy consumption of this preheating. The primary aim is to assess the techno-economic feasibility of an energy recovery system based on the Ranque–Hilsch vortex tube coupled to a heat exchanger for large-scale application to the gas grid. To this end, a techno-economic model of the entire energy recovery system was included in an optimisation procedure. The resulting design minimises the payback period (PP) when the system is applied to the pressure reduction stations belonging to a particular gas grid. The pressure reduction stations always operate at an outlet pressure above atmospheric pressure. However, available performance models for the Ranque–Hilsch vortex tube do not permit prediction at backpressure operation. Therefore, a novel empirical model of the device is proposed, and a cost function derived from several manufacturer quotations is introduced for the first time, to evaluate the price of the Ranque–Hilsch vortex tubes. Finally, a nearly complete set of pressure reduction stations belonging to the Italian natural gas grid was chosen as a case study using actual operating parameters collected by each station’s grid manager. The results indicate that the environmental temperature strongly affects the technical and economic feasibility of the proposed energy recovery system. In general, pressure reduction stations operating at an ambient temperature above 0 °C are economically desirable candidates. In addition, the higher the energy recovery system convenience, the higher the flow rate and pressure drop managed by the station. In the Italian case study, 95% of preheating costs could be eliminated with a PP of fewer than 20 years. A 40% preheating cost saving is still possible if the maximum PP is limited to 10 years, and a small but non-negligible 3% of preheating costs could be eliminated with a PP of fewer than 4.5 years.

Influence of flow parameters in the dual nozzle CO2-based vortex tube cooling system during turning of Ti-6Al-4V

Dual nozzle vortex tube cooling system (VTCS) is developed to improve the machinability of Ti-6Al-4V where cold-compressed CO2 gas is used as a coolant. The cooling effect is produced by the process of energy separation in the vortex tube and the coolant is supplied into the machining zone to remove the generated heat in machining. In this study, the responses such as cutting force (Fz), cutting temperature (Tm), and surface roughness (Ra) are analyzed by considering coolant inlet pressure, cold fraction, and nozzle diameter as input variables. Further optimization is performed for the input variables using the genetic algorithm technique, and the results at optimum conditions are compared with those of dry cutting. From the results, lower cutting force is observed at lower coolant pressure and cold fraction and higher nozzle diameter. The cutting temperature is minimized by increasing coolant pressure and cold fraction and by decreasing nozzle diameter. A better surface finish is observed at high coolant pressure and cold fraction and lower nozzle diameters. It is observed from the response surface method (RSM) that the coolant pressure is most significantly affecting all the responses. At optimum conditions, the cutting temperature and surface roughness are 35.6% and 66.14%, respectively, lower than dry cutting due to the effective cooling and lubricating action of the CO2 gas, whereas cutting force observed under the VTCS is 18.6% higher than that of dry cutting because of the impulse force of the coolant VTCS and thermal softening of the workpiece in dry cutting.

Radius of influence of a vortex

Using the pressure profile in and around a vortex tube a simple relation for the radius of influence of the vortex has been derived. The results have been applied to assess the region of maximum devastation in a tornado. The analysis reveals that the occurrence of 'eye wall' region in a tropical cyclone is a hydrodynamical phenomenon.