Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer Behavior for Turbulent Flows in a Tube With Vortex Generator Pairs for an Efficient Heat Exchanger

Various technologies have been developed to enhance flow mixing and heat transfer in order to develop an efficient compact heat exchanging devices. Vortex generators/turbulent promoters generate the vortices which reduce the boundary layer thickness and introduce the better mixing of the fluid to enhance the heat transfer. In this research experimental investigations have been carried out to study the effect of delta winglet vortex generator pairs on heat transfer and flow behavior. To generate longitudinal vortex flow, two pairs of the delta winglet vortex generators (DWVG) with the length of 10mm and winglet-pitch to tube-diameter ratio (PR = 4.8) are mounted on the inner wall of a circular tube. The DWVG pairs with two different winglet-height to tube-diameter ratios (Blockage ratio, BR = 0.1 and 0.2), three attack angles (α = 10°, 20°, 30°) and three spacings between leading edges (S = 10, 15 and 20mm) are studied. The experiments were conducted with DWVGs pairs for the air flow range of Reynolds numbers 5000–25000. The influence of the DWVGs on heat transfer and pressure drop was investigated in terms of the Nusselt number and friction factor. The experimental results indicate that DWVG pair in a tube results in a considerable enhancement in Nusselt number (Nu) with some pressure penalty. It is found that DWVG increases Nu up to 85% over the smooth tube. It is also observed that Nusselt number increases with Re, blockage ratio and attack angle. Friction factor decreases with Re but increases with blockage ratio, spacing and attack angle. And 30° DWVG pair with S = 20mm, BR = 0.2 gets the highest friction factor. The Highest thermal performance enhancement (TPE) was noticed for α = 10°, S = 20mm, BR = 0.2 for turbulent flows. To obtain qualitative information on the flow behavior and vortex structures, flow was visualized by laser sheet using smoke as a tracer supplied at the entrance of the test section. The generation and development of longitudinal vortices influenced by DWVG pairs were clearly observed.

A Comparison of Strong and Weak Coupling Schemes for Computational Aeroelasticity in OpenFOAM

Two coupling schemes for fluid-structure interaction using the OpenFOAM structural solver sixDoF Rigid Body Motion are developed. The first scheme is developed by modifying the baseline leapfrog weak coupling scheme to minimize the lag between the fluid and structural solvers. The second is a strong coupling scheme based on the Crank-Nicolson method. The two newly implemented schemes and the baseline are compared through the aeroelastic simulation of a NACA 64A010 airfoil and the Benchmark Supercritical Wing. The aeroelastic solutions obtained using the newly implemented schemes exhibit significantly lower sensitivity to changes in time step size compared to the baseline weak coupling scheme. The modified weak coupling and strong coupling schemes perform comparably for the cases studied.

Comparative Evaluation of Single/Twin Round and Elliptic Jets Using Particle Image Velocimetry

Twin round and elliptic jets with nozzle spacing of S/d = 2.8 are investigated and the results are compared with those obtained from single jets. The measurements were performed at Re = 10000 using particle image velocimetry. The results show that the twin elliptic jets merge and combine faster than the round jets. However, the twin elliptic jets have lower spreading than their corresponding single jet but in the round jets it is opposite. The vortical structures obtained using swirling strength analysis are more intense in the elliptic jets compared with the round jets; consistent with their higher spreading. In the shear layers, the velocity skewness is considerably positive due to the diffusion of high-speed jet fluid towards the ambient. On the other hand, the streamwise skewness on the centerline is negative because of the entrainment of low-speed ambient fluid; resulting in centerline velocity decay. In addition, the joint and weighted joint probability density functions are used to understand the dominant events which contribute into the mixing of the jets with their surrounding fluid.

Numerical Analysis of Droplet Impact on a Smooth Slippery Surface

Spontaneous bouncing of a droplet that impacts a surface is a mechanism that occurs for the moderate range of droplet impact velocities and is caused by the formation of a stable air layer (cushion) between the droplet and the surface. This bouncing behavior is more pronounced on Lubricant Impregnated Surfaces (LISs) inspired by the natural non-wetting surface of the pitcher plant, which relies on the stable formation of a thin lubricant film across its surface. In this study, we performed modeling of the water-oil–air interfacial surfaces using the volume of fluid (VOF) methodology to simulate the impact of a water droplet onto a lubricant smooth surface with an oil as the lubricant. To resolve the effects of the air surrounding the droplet, computational cells were extensively small to capture the presence of the sub-micron layer of air trapped underneath the droplet during the impact. The model was able to capture the initiation and subsequent effect of the air cushion on the droplet hydrodynamics. We found that the stability of the air cushion and the impact dynamics are independent of the oil viscosity for specific thicknesses of lubricant layers, whereas the impact conditions such as velocity and droplet properties played a significant role on the outcome of droplet impact. Hence, the dynamics of a droplet falling on a specific thickness of oil film was influenced by the squeezed air trapped between the two immiscible fluid (water and oil). In addition, the formation of high pressure dimple region was evident, which in some cases lead to entrapment of the air bubble. Finally, we validated the results with the existing experimental data in the literature.

Comparison of Two Active Flow Control Mechanisms of Pure Blowing and Pure Suction on a Pitching NACA0012 Airfoil at Reynolds Number of 1 × 106

In this study, we have applied and compared two active flow control (AFC) mechanisms on a pitching NACA0012 airfoil at Reynolds number of 1 × 106 using 2-D computational fluid dynamics (CFD). These mechanisms are continuous blowing and suction which are applied separately on the airfoil which pitches around its quarter-chord in a sinusoidal motion. The location for suction and blowing was determined in our previous study based on the formation of a counter clock-wise vortex near the leading-edge. In our current study, we have compared the effectiveness of pure blowing and pure suction in suppressing the dynamic stall vortex (DSV) which is the main contributor to the drag increase, particularly near the maximum angle of attack (AOA) and in early downstroke motion. The blowing/suction slot is considered as a dent on the airfoil surface which enables the AFC to perform in a tangential manner. This configuration would allow blowing jet to penetrate further downstream and was shown to be more effective compared to a cross-flow orientation. We have compared the two aforementioned mechanisms in terms of hysteresis loops of lift and drag coefficients and have demonstrated the dynamics of flow in controlled and uncontrolled situations.

The Influence of Wrap Angle of Blade on the Internal Flow Field and Hydraulic Performance of Double Suction Pump

In order to study the influence rule of wrap angle of blade on the internal flow field and hydraulic performance of double suction pump, 5 kinds of wrap angles of blade with 100°, 110°, 120°, 130° and 140° are designed in this paper. The turbulence model and the grid type are analyzed, the performance of ES350-575 double suction pump is obtained by employ the software CFX. The static pressure and velocity distributions in the cross-section are analyzed. Therefore, the optimal model is obtained, and the relevant external characteristic test is conducted. The result shows that the reasonable increase of the wrap angle of blade can enhance the performance of the pump effectively, which can improve the static pressure and velocity distributions of the internal flow field.

Detailed Pressure Measurements During the Transition to Rotating Stall in an Axial Compressor: Influence of the Throttling Process

This paper presents experimental unsteady pressure measurements gathered on a single stage axial compressor during pre-stall and transition to stall operations. The aim of this study is to analyze the transition from a stable operating point to the fully developed rotating stall regime, and more specifically, the effect of the throttling process on the development of the instabilities. To do so, experiments have been repeated leading the compressor to stall operations with various throttling speed. On one hand, this paper analyses the effect of the throttling speed on the dynamic of the instability development from the first detection of spike type precursors to completely developed rotating stall. On the other hand, a stall warning signal based on the correlation of the instantaneous pressure signal with a reference pressure signal is built. The influence of the location of the pressure transducer used for the warning signal is first analyzed. Then an analysis of the effect of the throttling process on the time between the warning signal and the effective stall development is proposed.

Analysis of Transient Two-Phase Flow in Pressure Safety Valve Outlet Headers

To protect a pressurized system from overpressure, one of the most established strategies is to install a Pressure Safety Valve (PSV). Therefore, the excess pressure of the system is relieved through a vent pipe when PSV opens. The vent pipe is also called “PSV Outlet Header”. After the process starts, a transient two-phase flow is formed inside the outlet header consisting of high speed pressurized gas interacting with existing static air. The high-speed jet compresses the static air towards the end tail of the pipe until it is discharged to the ambiance and eventually, the steady state is achieved. Here, this transient process is investigated both analytically and numerically using the method of characteristics. Riemann’s solvers and Godunov’s method are utilized to establish the solution. Propagation of shock waves and flow property alterations are clearly demonstrated throughout the simulations. The results show strong shock waves as well as high transient pressure take place inside the outlet header. This is particularly important since it indicates the significance of accounting for shock waves and transient pressure, in contrast to commonly accepted steady state calculations. More precisely, shock waves and transient pressure could lead to failure, if the pipe thickness is chosen only based on conventional steady state calculations.

A Method for Tracking a Solid Body in a Fluid Field in Immersed Boundary Methods

Immersed boundary method has got increasing attention in modeling fluid-solid body interaction using computational fluid dynamics due to its robustness and simplicity. It usually simulates fluid-solid body interaction by adding a body force in the momentum equation. This eliminates the body conforming mesh generation that frequently requires a very labor-intensive and challenging task. But accurately tracking an arbitrary solid body is required to simulate most real world problems. In this paper, a few methods that are used to track a rigid solid body in a fluid domain are briefly reviewed. A new method is presented to track an arbitrary rigid solid body by solving a transformation matrix and identifying it using a level set function. Knowing level set function, the solid volume fraction can be derived if needed. A three-dimensional example is used to study a few methods used to represent and solve the transformation matrix, and demonstrate the presented new method.

Effect of Corner-Arc on the Flow Structures Around a Square Cylinder

In this paper, flow structures around a corner modified square cylinder (side dimension, Bo) are presented and discussed. Cylinders with various corner arcs (circular) were considered (arc radius ‘r’). For various Corner Ratios (CR = r/Bo), values ranging from 0 to 0.5, flow visualization experiments were conducted in a water channel and the results are reported at Re = 2100 (based on Bo). Results presented are for two cases (a) stationary cylinders reporting the values of CD (coefficient of drag), St (Strouhal no.), and D (vortex size) and (b) oscillating cylinders at fe/fs = 1 (fe is the cylinder excitation frequency and fs is the vortex shedding frequency) and a/Bo = 0.8 (a is the cylinder oscillation amplitude). The work is aimed to explore the most effective configuration for drag reduction. Cylinder with corner ratio of 0.2 is proved to be the most effective one among the cases considered in this study with 19.3% drag reduction. As a major highlight, in contrast to the results of the previous studies, current study do not reveal a monotonous decrease of drag with increasing corner modification. Instead, it is shown here that, there is a specific value of CR ratio where the drag is the minimum most. A peculiar type of vortex structure was observed in the cases of stationary cylinders with CR > 0.2, contributing to the increase in drag. In the case of oscillating cylinders, description of one complete cycle for all CR ratios at various time instances are presented. The near-wake structures were observed to be dependent on the CR ratio. Counter intuitively, cylinder oscillation does not bring major difference in vortex size compared to the stationary case.