High Resolution 3-D Simulations of Venting in 18650 Lithium-Ion Cells

High temperature gases released through the safety vent of a lithium-ion cell during a thermal runaway event contain flammable components that, if ignited, can increase the risk of thermal runaway propagation to other cells in a multi-cell pack configuration. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of flow through detailed geometric models of four vent-activated commercial 18650 lithium-ion cell caps were conducted using two turbulence modeling approaches: Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) and scale-resolving simulations (SRS). The RANS method was compared with independent experiments of discharge coefficient through the cap across a range of pressure ratios and then used to investigate the ensemble-averaged flow field for the four caps. At high pressure ratios, choked flow occurs either at the current collector plate when flow through the current collector plate is more restrictive or the positive terminal vent holes when flow through the current collector plate is less restrictive. Turbulent mixing occurred within the vent cap assembly, in the jets emerging from the vent holes, and in recirculating zones directly above the vent cap assembly. The global maximum turbulent viscosity ratio (μT/μ) of the MTI, LG MJ1, K2, and LG M36 caps at pressure ratio of P1/P2 = 7 were 4,575, 3,360, 3,855, and 2,993, respectively. SRS and RANS simulations showed that both velocity magnitude and fluctuating velocity magnitude were lower for vent holes which are obstructed by the burst disk. SRS showed high levels of fluctuating velocity in the jets, up to 48.5% of the global maximum velocity. The present CFD models and the resulting insights provide the groundwork for future studies to investigate how jet structure and turbulence levels influence combustion and heat transfer in propagating thermal runaway scenarios.

Getting Your Perforations in a Line Can Mean More-Productive Fracturing

Want more production from a shale well? Consider lining up the perforations. A handful of speakers at the recent SPE Hydraulic Fracturing Technology Conference talked about improved fracturing results with oriented perforating—shooting the holes at the same place in the casing, often the top. This breaks from designs that arranged the holes in a helical pattern with each charge angled 60° from the previous one. “We did see indications we are getting better production from oriented perforating,” said Blake Horton, senior completions engineer for Ovintiv (SPE 204177). Production gains were also reported by ConocoPhillips which compared production from similar wells with and without oriented perforating. The analysis was designed to filter out differences in the geology, drilling, and completions. It concluded the value of the added production far exceeded the $20,000-per-well cost of installing the assembly, including a weight bar to tilt the perforating guns into position. “That’s less than the undiscounted value of 400 barrels of oil. An internal study indicated that ConocoPhillips improved estimated ultimate recovery (EUR) by a minimum of 5% when using high-side-oriented perforating,” said Dave Cramer, senior engineering fellow at ConocoPhillips and an early advocate for the method. “For an initial choked flow rate of 1,000 B/D, the payout on investment is 10 days or less,” he said. Ovintiv declined to provide a number, but Horton said ConocoPhillips’ estimate is within Ovintiv’s range based on similar comparisons of wells with and without oriented perforating. That number is at the low end of the estimates offered in discussions about oriented perforating performance at the conference. Higher estimates are questioned by those who doubt the test results can be sustained when the method is scaled up. What was certain is the number of users is rising and includes names such as Shell and Chevron. “We found that oriented perforating definitely helps to treat all the clusters,” said Jon Snyder, a staff completion engineer for ConocoPhillips who presented the paper, adding, “by oriented perforating we mean that when we are perforating, we aim for the high side of the wellbore” (SPE 204203). When Horton polled the audience at a recent talk, more than half of the respondents said they were using gun systems designed to orient the perforating charges at a target angle. “A year from now, few people will not be doing oriented perforating; the advantages of it are clear,” Cramer said. He has been promoting the idea within the company for years with mixed acceptance.

Development of Choked Flow in Variable Nozzle Radial Turbines

In commonly applied one-dimensional choking models for radial turbines, choked flow is assumed to appear in the geometrical throat of each stator and rotor. Coupled and complex three-dimensional effects are not considered. In order to analyze the internal aerodynamic in a radial turbine at off design conditions and before carrying out experimental tests, which in the case of automotive turbocharger are limited by their compact size, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations stand out as a useful tool. This paper presents the study of a variable geometry turbine (VGT) of a commercial turbocharger at off design conditions reaching choked flow, analyzing the presence of this limiting conditions in the stator and rotor under different operation points and VGT positions. Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) and unsteady RANS simulation have been performed to obtain the flow structures in stator and rotor. The results reveal that the choked effective area mostly depends on the stator vane position and pressure ratio. For the closed VGT position a standing shock wave appears on the stator suction side and expands through the vaneless space. For the opened VGT position the flow is choked at the rotor outlet. However, the evolution of the choked area highly depends on the rotational speed and the secondary flow. A strong interaction with the tip leakage vortex has been identified.

Sabot Discard Characteristics under Different Spin Rates of the Rifled Barrel Launching APFSDS

The sabot discard asymmetry caused by spinning affects the exterior ballistic characteristics and shooting accuracy of a gun with the rifled barrel. To gain a deeper understanding of the complex sabot discard performance for the armor-piercing, fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS), a numerical investigation is performed to assess the effects of the spin rate on the sabot discard characteristics. We obtain the calculation boundary by the interior ballistics and the firing conditions and carry out a numerical simulation under different spin rates using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and a dynamic mesh technique. We analyze four aspects of sabot discard characteristics, namely, sabot separation, rod surface pressure, rod aerodynamic parameters, and discarding quantization parameters. Computational results show that the sabot separation nearly presents perfect symmetry at 0 rad/s, and when the initial rate of the sabot increases, there is more obvious separation asymmetry, and it contributes to the relative position variation among the sabots and the rod. The distinction of rod surface pressure indicates that the choked flow is the strongest flow source, and the spin rate has almost no effect on the pressure of the rod front part. When the monitoring point moves towards the fins, the pressure distribution and intensity change more dramatically. The initial spin rate and separation asymmetry produce a variation in the surface pressure, which further influences the rod aerodynamic characteristics. The discarding quantization parameters exhibit a certain variation rule with its spin rate. 2,000 rad/s has a significant influence on the rod aerodynamic coefficients during the weak coupling phase. When the spin rate is in the range of 0–900 rad/s, the discarding characteristics remain the same. However, when the spin rate exceeds 900 rad/s, the separation time and aerodynamic impulse have a quadratic polynomial relationship with the rate. Additionally, a spin rate of 1,000 rad/s is the optimal value for a rifled barrel gun.

Ultra-high-speed TEHL characteristics of T-groove face seal under supercritical CO2 condition

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to acquire sealing properties of supercritical CO2 (S-CO2) T-groove seal under ultra-high-speed conditions by thermo-elastohydrodynamic lubrication (TEHL) analysis. Design/methodology/approach Considering the choked flow effect, the finite difference method is applied to solve the gas state equation, Reynolds equation and energy equation. The temperature, pressure and viscosity distributions of the lubricating film are analyzed, and sealing characteristics is also obtained. Findings The face distortions induced by increasing rotational speed leads to the convergent face seal gap. When the linear velocity of rotation exceeds 400 m/s, the maximum temperature difference of the sealing film is approximately 140 K, and the viscosity of CO2 is altered by 17.80%. Near the critical temperature point of CO2, while the seal temperature increases by 50 K, the opening force of the T-groove non-contact seal enhances by 20% and the leakage rate declines by 80%. Originality/value The TEHL characteristics of the T-groove non-contact seal are numerically analyzed under ultra-high-speed, considering the real gas effect and choked flow effect. In the supercritical conditions, the influence of rotational speed, seal temperature, seal pressure and film thickness on sealing performance and face distortions is analyzed.