Numerical modeling of hydrogen-rich gas production from gasoline autothermal reforming in a plug flow reactor for electric vehicles

Due to the increase in the greenhouse effect, lowering emissions is becoming a certain issue all over the world. It is a concern to develop alternative options to minimize the spread of exhaust gases. For this purpose, in this study, the plug flow reactor in the system consisting of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), reactor, electric motor, battery, burner, and the heat exchanger is considered. Numerical modeling of hydrogen gas generation in a plug flow reactor is studied. The reactor indicated on-board hydrogen gas generation for an electric motor automobile has not been modeled in the literature yet. Autothermal reforming of isooctane is simulated in the COMSOL multi-physics software program in the reactor particularly. Conversion of isooctane and H2O are examined at different overall heat transfer coefficients, input temperatures, and steam/carbon ratios. Also, there are certain differences between adiabatic and non-adiabatic conditions. The produced synthesis gas of hydrogen drastically increases in the non-adiabatic case. The obtained results from the model are compared with experimental data obtained from the literature. H2 production at the end of the autothermal reforming process indicates the power provided from the reactor can operate a motor of an automobile. In the study, the achieved power is 65.8 kW (88 HP) is sufficient for an automobile. Simulation results show that the reactor volume of 75 L supplies 0.18 mols−1 of H2 and 0.08 mols−1 of CO in the non-adiabatic case.

Influence of a thermal boundary layer on the thermal evolution of Uranus and Neptune

<p>It has been a long-standing challenge to reconcile the perceived similarities of Uranus and Neptune with their highly different intrinsic heat fluxes. Previous evolution calculations using the conventional assumption of an adiabatic interior yield too high present-day luminosities or - equivalently - too long cooling times for Uranus  (e.g. [1,2]). For Neptune, however, we found that similar assumptions yield too short cooling times [3].<br />One proposed mechanism for reproducing the observed brightness is a conducting interface between the hydrogen- and helium-rich outer part and the ice-rich inner part that would inhibit efficient energy transport across it [4]. In this work, we use our recently developed tool for modelling giant planets based on the Henyey-method for stellar <br />evolutions [5] to investigate such a conducting interface in the planet's interior, examining the influence of parameters such as assumed layer thickness and thermal conductivity on the cooling behaviour. <br />We find that even a thin conductive interface of a few kilometers has significant influence on the planetary cooling. Initially, the presence of such a boundary layer speeds up cooling, while after about 0.1-0.5 Gyr the cooling is slowed down drastically compared to the adiabatic case, similar to what was found for Saturn previously [6]. Our preferred solutions for Uranus suggest equilibrium evolution with the solar incident flux, while for Neptune, we find that plateaus in T<sub>eff</sub>(t) near its observed value require fine-tuned combinations of layer thickness and thermal conducitivity. </p> <p>[1] Fortney, Ikoma, Nettelmann, Guillot, and Marley (2011). ApJ 729, 32<br />[2] Nettelmann, Helled, Fortney, and Redmer (2013). Planet. Space Sci. 77, 143<br />[3] Scheibe, Nettelmann, Redmer (2019). A&A 632, A70<br />[4] Nettelmann, Wang, Fortney, Hamel, Yellamilli, Bethkenhagen, and Redmer (2016). Icarus 275, 107<br />[5] Henyey, Forbes, and Gould (1964). ApJ 139, 306<br />[6] Leconte and Chabrier (2013): Nat Geosci. 6, 023007</p>

Karmarkar scalar condition

In this work we present the Karmarkar condition in terms of the structure scalars obtained from the orthogonal decomposition of the Riemann tensor. This new expression becomes an algebraic relation among the physical variables, and not a differential equation between the metric coefficients. By using the Karmarkar scalar condition we implement a method to obtain all possible embedding class I static spherical solutions, provided the energy density profile is given. We also analyse the dynamic adiabatic case and show the incompatibility of the Karmarkar condition with several commonly assumed simplifications to the study of gravitational collapse. Finally, we consider the dissipative dynamic Karmarkar collapse and find a new solution family.

Aerosol–cloud closure study on cloud optical properties using remotely piloted aircraft measurements during a BACCHUS field campaign in Cyprus

In the framework of the EU-FP7 BACCHUS (impact of Biogenic versus Anthropogenic emissions on Clouds and Climate: towards a Holistic UnderStanding) project, an intensive field campaign was performed in Cyprus (March 2015). Remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS), ground-based instruments, and remote-sensing observations were operating in parallel to provide an integrated characterization of aerosol–cloud interactions. Remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) were equipped with a five-hole probe, pyranometers, pressure, temperature and humidity sensors, and measured vertical wind at cloud base and cloud optical properties of a stratocumulus layer. Ground-based measurements of dry aerosol size distributions and cloud condensation nuclei spectra, and RPA observations of updraft and meteorological state parameters are used here to initialize an aerosol–cloud parcel model (ACPM) and compare the in situ observations of cloud optical properties measured by the RPA to those simulated in the ACPM. Two different cases are studied with the ACPM, including an adiabatic case and an entrainment case, in which the in-cloud temperature profile from RPA is taken into account. Adiabatic ACPM simulation yields cloud droplet number concentrations at cloud base (approximately 400 cm−3) that are similar to those derived from a Hoppel minimum analysis. Cloud optical properties have been inferred using the transmitted fraction of shortwave radiation profile measured by downwelling and upwelling pyranometers mounted on a RPA, and the observed transmitted fraction of solar radiation is then compared to simulations from the ACPM. ACPM simulations and RPA observations shows better agreement when associated with entrainment compared to that of an adiabatic case. The mean difference between observed and adiabatic profiles of transmitted fraction of solar radiation is 0.12, while this difference is only 0.03 between observed and entrainment profiles. A sensitivity calculation is then conducted to quantify the relative impacts of 2-fold changes in aerosol concentration, and updraft to highlight the importance of accounting for the impact of entrainment in deriving cloud optical properties, as well as the ability of RPAs to leverage ground-based observations for studying aerosol–cloud interactions.

Aerosol–Cloud Closure Study on Cloud Optical Properties using Remotely Piloted Aircraft Measurements during a BACCHUS Field Campaign in Cyprus

In the framework of the EU-FP7 BACCHUS project, an intensive field campaign was performed in Cyprus (2015/03). Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS), ground-based instruments, and remote-sensing observations were operating in parallel to provide an integrated characterization of aerosol-cloud interactions. Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) were equipped with a 5-hole probe, pyranometers, pressure, temperature and humidity sensors, and measured updraft velocity at cloud base and cloud optical properties of a stratocumulus layer. Ground-based measurements of dry aerosol size distributions and cloud condensation nuclei spectra, and RPA observations of vertical wind velocity and meteorological state parameters are used here to initialize an Aerosol–Cloud Parcel Model (ACPM) and compare the in situ observations of cloud optical properties measured by the RPA to those simulated in the ACPM. Two different cases are studied with the ACPM, including an adiabatic case and an entrainment case, in which the in-cloud temperature profile from RPA is taken into account. Adiabatic ACPM simulation yields cloud droplet number concentrations at cloud base (ca. 400 cm−3) that are similar to those derived from a Hoppel minimum analysis. Cloud optical properties have been inferred using the transmitted fraction of shortwave radiation profile measured by downwelling and upwelling pyranometers mounted on a RPA, and the observed transmitted fraction of solar radiation is then compared to simulations from the ACPM. ACPM simulations and RPA observations show better agreement when associated with entrainment compared to that of an adiabatic case. The mean difference between observed and adiabatic profiles of transmitted fraction of solar radiation is 0.12, while this difference is only 0.03 between observed and entrainment profiles. A sensitivity calculation is then conducted to quantify the relative impacts of two-fold changes in aerosol concentration, and updraft velocity to highlight the importance of accounting for the impact of entrainment in deriving cloud optical properties, as well as the ability of RPAs to leverage ground-based observations for studying aerosol–cloud interactions.

The effect of wall temperature distribution on streaks in compressible turbulent boundary layer

The thermal boundary condition at wall is very important for the compressible flow due to the coupling of the energy equation, and a lot of research works about it were carried out in past decades. In most of these works, the wall was assumed as adiabatic or uniform isothermal surface; the flow over a thermal wall with some special temperature distribution was seldom studied. Lagha studied the effect of uniform isothermal wall on the streaks, and pointed out that higher the wall temperature is, the longer the streak (POF, 2011, 23, 015106). So, we designed streamwise stripes of wall temperature distribution on the compressible turbulent boundary layer at Mach 3.0 to learn the effect on the streaks by means of direct numerical simulation in this paper. The mean wall temperature is equal to the adiabatic case approximately, and the width of the temperature stripes is in the same order as the width of the streaks. The streak patterns in near-wall region with different temperature stripes are shown in the paper. Moreover, we find that there is a reduction of friction velocity with the wall temperature stripes when compared with the adiabatic case.

On the route to extinction in non-adiabatic flames from competitive exothermic reactions

We consider non-adiabatic combustion waves arising from two-step competitive exothermic reaction schemes. A numerical method is employed to study the behaviour of this system and we show that the inclusion of heat loss can lead to a period-doubling route to the termination of the propagating flame front. The nature of oscillations becomes more complex with increasing loss of heat until the system can no longer sustain a propagating front. In other words, beyond some critical value of heat loss, extinction of the combustion reaction would occur. For the non-adiabatic case, particularly close to the extinction threshold, large excursions in temperature and wave speed above those observed for the adiabatic case can occur. Such behaviour close to extinction may have implications for safety or industrial processes.

Scaling of Adiabatic Effectiveness and Net Heat Flux Reduction From Near Ambient to Engine Temperatures

The present work computationally examines the scaling of a fan-shaped hole’s film-cooling performance from a near ambient temperature to an engine temperature on a flat plate. Heat flux distributions for both film-cooled and non-film-cooled cases were computed for several isothermal boundary conditions. Cases with engine representative freestream temperatures and near ambient temperatures were examined. This study first shows that the adiabatic wall temperatures interpolated from the isothermal results were lower than those measured directly using an adiabatic wall boundary condition. This was due to the presence of a thermal boundary layer in the isothermal results, which would not develop for the adiabatic case. As a result, the adiabatic effectiveness found with adiabatic models will not represent the true thermal condition found in the engine. Finally, this study shows that both the adiabatic effectiveness interpolated from the isothermal results and Net Heat Flux Reduction can be scaled from low temperature to high temperature by proper non-dimensional matching.