Influence of Wall Proximity on the Wake Dynamics Behind a Square Cylinder

In the present study, the effects of wall proximity on the wake dynamics behind a square cylinder subjected to a thick upstream turbulent boundary layer were experimentally investigated using particle image velocimetry. The Reynolds number based on the free-stream velocity and the cylinder height (h) was 12750 while the ratio of the turbulent boundary layer thickness to the cylinder height was 3.6. The gap distance (G) between the bottom face of the cylinder and the wall was varied, resulting in gap ratios (G/h) of 0, 0.3, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 8.0. The flow topological differences among the various gap ratios were analyzed in terms of the mean flow and Reynolds stresses. The results show that as the cylinder approaches the wall, the mean flow becomes increasingly asymmetric about the horizontal centerline of the cylinder and the size of the mean separation bubbles in the cylinder wake increases. Also, the magnitudes of the Reynolds stresses decrease with decreasing gap ratio. For G/h > 0, the distributions of the streamwise Reynolds normal stress and Reynolds shear stress are concentrated along the upper and lower separated shear layers, resulting in characteristic double peaks. The distributions of the vertical Reynolds normal stress, however, are concentrated in the wake about the horizontal centerline of the cylinder and reveal only single peaks.

Effects of wall proximity on the airflow in a vertical solar chimney for natural ventilation of dwellings

This study investigates performance of a vertical solar chimney, which absorbs solar energy and induces airflow for natural ventilation and cooling of dwellings, under effects of walls neighboring to its air channel. A computational fluid dynamics model was developed to predict induced flow rate and thermal efficiency of a vertical solar chimney with four types of nearby walls: a vertical wall to which the solar chimney was attached, a horizontal plate above the outlet of the air channel, a horizontal plate, and a horizontal wall below the inlet of the air channel. Examined factors included the heat flux in the air channel, the chimney height, the air gap, the distance of the walls, and the location of the heat source in the air channel. The results showed that effects of the wall proximity were modulated by the location of the heat source and the ratio G/ H between the air gap and the chimney height. Particularly, performance of the chimney was enhanced when the heat source was on the opposite side of the vertical wall and when G/ H was large.

An Experimental and Numerical Study on Supported Ultra-Lean Methane Combustion

With a much larger global warming potential (GWP) and much shorter lifespan, the reduction of methane emissions offers an additional opportunity and a relatively quick way of mitigating climate change in the near future. However, the emissions from coal mining in the form of ventilation air methane (VAM), usually in ultra-lean concentration, pose the most significant technical challenge to the mitigation of methane emission. Therefore, a better understanding of ultra-lean methane combustion is essential. With three 5 mm × 50 mm rectangle cross-section slot jets, a novel sandwich-type triple-jet burner is proposed to provide stable combustion of an ultra-lean methane–air mixture with equivalence ratios from 0.3 to 0.88, and 0.22 in extreme conditions. The ultra-lean methane flame in the center of the triple-jet burner is supported by the two lean outer flames at an equivalence ratio φ = 0.88. The flow field and combustion chemical reactions are predicted by detailed numerical simulation with GRI-Mech 3.0 reaction mechanisms. Two-dimensional numerical results are validated with those obtained by experimental particle image velocimetry (PIV), as well as visual flame height and temperature measurements. An ultra-lean methane–air mixture has to burn with external support. In addition, the ultra-lean flame is non-propagating with a relatively low temperature. The ultra-lean center flame is seen to start from the outer flame and incline perfectly to the post-flame temperature and OH concentration profiles of the outer lean flame. The adjacent stronger flame provides heat and active radicals, such as OH and HO2, from the post-flame region and in the wall proximity of the gap between the adjacent flame and the central ultra-lean jet to initiate and maintain the combustion of the central ultra-lean flame. The outstanding wall-proximity radical of HO2 is found to be the main contributor to the initiation and stabilization of the central ultra-lean flame by providing a low-temperature oxidation of fuel through the following reaction: HO2 + CH3 ⇔ OH + CH3O. The major chemical reaction paths contributing to fuel decomposition and oxidation of the supported ultra-lean center flame are also identified and delineated.