Numerical Study of Thermal Convection in Boussinesq-Stokes Suspension Occupying a Rectangular Box

This paper is a Fourier–series assisted numerical study of two-dimensional thermal convection in Boussinesq–Stokes suspensions occupying a cavity. The suspension is modeled as a couple stress liquid. The horizontal walls of the cavity are assumed to be perfectly heat conducting and the vertical walls are non-uniformly heated to establish a linear temperature in the vertical direction. The critical Rayleigh number is obtained numerically as a function of couple stress parameter and aspect ratio, and the same is plotted graphically. The results of slender vertical cavity, classical Rayleigh-Be´nard convection, rectangular and square cavities of finite aspect-ratio heated from below are obtained as limiting cases of the study.

Effect of the Bottom and Top Configurations on Pool Film Boiling Around a Vertical Finite-Length Cylinder

The bottom configuration of a vertical finite-length cylinder is an important factor to examine the convective heat transfer by film boiling around a vertical finite-length cylinder, as the vapor generated under the bottom surface grows thicker during flowing upward along the vertical lateral surface and finally leaves the top surface as bubbles. In this study, four types of silver cylinder with a vertical lateral length equal to the diameter of 32mm were prepared for the possible combinations of bottom and top configurations: with a flat bottom and a flat top, with a flat bottom and a curved top, with a curved bottom and a flat top, and with a curved bottom and a curved top, where “flat” refers to “horizontal” and “curved” to “convex hemispherical”. Quenching experiments have been carried out for the test cylinders for saturated and subcooled water at atmospheric pressure. The initial temperature in the measurement is 600 °C. Boiling curves were obtained from the cooling curves measured using a K-type thermocouple inserted near the center on the axis of the test cylinder and the film boiling process was observed by still and high speed video cameras. The following results were obtained from the experiments using four types of test cylinder. 1. For saturated water, the test cylinders are entirely covered with a thick continuous vapor film, however, the effect of bottom configuration on film boiling heat transfer is appeared within 18% in terms of the wall heat flux averaged over the entire surface depending on the vapor fluid flow on the bottom and vertical lateral surfaces. 2. For the cylinders with a flat bottom surface, the wall heat flux averaged over the entire surface increases significantly with an increase in liquid sub cooling. This is attributed to that the convective heat transfer and the surface area ratio on the vertical lateral surface are predominant and govern the total heat transfer. 3. The effects of the cylinder top configurations on the film boiling heat transfer are small as the heat transfer on the top surface is small compared with that on the vertical lateral surface. 4. The differences between film boiling characteristics due to the bottom and top configurations are explained by examining the average heat transfer coefficient composed of the heat transfer coefficient and the surface area ratio on each surface. 5. The minimum wall superheat corresponding to the vapor-film-collapse is almost constant at 133K for four types of test cylinder in saturated water. In subcooled water, the minimum wall superheat for the cylinders with a flat bottom surface is larger than that for the cases with a convex hemispherical bottom surface.

Modeling Airflow Inside an Aircraft Interior With Multiple Inlets and Outlets

A model for predicting the airflow inside an aircraft interior is presented in this paper. The objective was to optimize the amount of air flowing inside the aircraft at the time of painting, in order to dry the paint effectively and to minimize hazardous effects on the painting crew. The hangar area was split into three regions such that three aircrafts were placed for the purpose of painting. The three regions were separated with curtains between them which acted as separators between the aircraft. A 3D model of the aircraft fuselage with its openings was developed. The fuselage has two pilot doors, two escape hatches and two rear doors on each side of the aircraft. There are two dog houses at the bottom of the aircraft as doors to cargo section of the aircraft. Air flowing over the aircraft on the exterior is forced through into the aircraft through these eight openings provided. Air is forced out through the dog houses. The analysis was carried out for seven different scenarios in which the pilot and rear doors were chosen to be closed randomly. Two major constraints to maintain a minimum velocity of 100fpm (0.51 m/sec) throughout the inside of the aircraft and 12000 cfm (5.64 m3/sec) of air at each exit (dog houses). A minimum of 12000 cfm (5.64 m3/sec) at each exit was available in all scenarios, but the minimum requirement of 100 fpm (0.51 m/sec) was satisfactorily achieved only in which all the doors were open.

Control of Dielectric Fluid Flow Distribution in Micro-Tubes With EHD Conduction Pumping: Numerical Study

The control of fluid flow distribution in micro-scale tubes is numerically investigated. The flow distribution control is achieved via electric conduction mechanism. In electrohydrodynamic (EHD) conduction pumping, when an electric field is applied to a fluid, dissociation and recombination of electrolytic species produces heterocharge layers in the vicinity of electrodes. Attraction between electrodes and heterocharge layers induces a fluid motion and a net flow is generated if the electrodes are asymmetric. The numerical domain comprises a 2-D manifold attached to two bifurcated tubes with one of the tubes equipped with a bank of uniquely designed EHD-conduction electrodes. In the absence of electric field, the total flow supplied at the manifold’s inlet is equally distributed among the tubes. The EHD-conduction, however, operates as a mechanism to manipulate the flow distribution to allow the flow through one branch surpasses the counterpart of the other branch. Its performance is evaluated under various operating conditions.

Schmidt-Boelter Heat Flux Gage Sensitivity Coefficients in Radiative and Convective Environments

Commercial Schmidt-Boelter heat flux gages are always calibrated by using a radiative heat flux source where convection is minimized. This is because one can establish a reliable link to a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) calibration standard. To the authors’ knowledge, no NIST traceable link exists for convective heat flux calibration. When heat flux gages are used in typical applications, convection is often not negligible. It has been common practice to assume that the sensitivity coefficient supplied by the manufacturer also applies for convective environments. This assumption is believed to be incorrect. If incorrect, this would result in uncertainties larger than typically reported (e.g., ±3%). This paper analyzes the heat transfer from an idealized Schmidt-Boelter heat flux gage. The analysis shows that the theoretical sensitivity coefficients in purely radiative and convective environments are not the same and, in fact, differ by the emissivity of the gage surface. The implication of this difference is that the accuracy specification supplied by the manufacturer (typically ± 3%) is not correct for measurement applications where convection is not negligible.

Fluidised Bed Combustion of Blends of Coal and Pressed Sugar Beet Pulp

It can be difficult to burn relatively cheap, poor quality, unprepared biomass materials in industrial heating processes because of their variable composition, relatively low calorific values and high moisture contents. Consequently the stability and efficiency of the combustion process can be adversely affected unless they are co-fired with a hydrocarbon support fuel. There is a lack of information on the “optimum” conditions for co-firing of coal and high moisture biomass as well as on the proportions of support fuel which should be used. This paper is therefore concerned with the pilot scale (<25 kW thermal input) fluidised bed combustion of blends of coal with pressed sugar beet pulp, a solid biomass with an average moisture content of 71%. The experimental work was undertaken in collaboration with British Sugar plc who operate a coal-fired 40 MW thermal capacity fluidised bed producing hot combustion gases for subsequent drying applications. The project studied the combustion characteristics of different coal and pressed pulp blends over a wide range of operating conditions. It was found that stable combustion could only be maintained if the proportion of pulp by mass in the blended fuel was no greater than 50%. However evaporation of the moisture in the pressed pulp cools the bed so that the excess air which is necessary to maintain a specified bed temperature at a fixed thermal input can be reduced as the proportion of biomass in the blended fuel is increased. Therefore, with a 50/50 blend the bed can be operated with 20% less fluidising air and this will be beneficial for the output of the full scale plant since at present the flow rate of the air and hence the amount of coal which can be burnt is restricted by supply system pressure drop limitations. A further benefit of co-firing pressed pulp is that NOx emissions are reduced by about 25%. Agglomeration of the bed can be a problem when co-firing biomass because of the formation of “sticky” low melting point alkali metal silicate eutectics which result in subsequent adhesion of the ash and sand particles. Consequently longer term co-firing tests with a 50/50 blended fuel by mass were undertaken. Problems of bed agglomeration were not observed under these conditions with relatively low levels of alkali metals in the ash.

Influence of Blood Glucose Level on the Scattering Coefficient of the Skin in Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

Various non-invasive glucose monitoring methods using near-infrared spectroscopy have been investigated although no method has been successful so far. Our previous study has proposed a new promising method utilizing numerically generated absorbance spectra instead of the experimentally acquired absorbance spectra. The method suggests that the correct estimation of the optical properties is very important for numerically generating the absorbance spectra. The purpose of this study is to measure the change in the optical properties of the skin with the change in the blood glucose level in vivo. By measuring the reflectances of light incident on the skin surface at two distances from the incident point, the optical properties of the skin can be estimated. The estimation is a kind of the inverse problem based on the simulation of light propagation in the skin. Phantom experiments have verified the method and in vivo experiments are to be performed.

Experimental Analysis of Thermal and Electric Transport Characteristics of Nano-Gaps

We conducted an experiment to demonstrate the thermoelectric nano-gap, which is recently expected to own high performance, in principle, because it does not have conductive heat flow between the high and low temperature region. In this study, the thermoelectric nano-gap is realized with a pair of probe and substrate where they are finely positioned. A temperature difference of ca. 10 K is imposed to the nano-gap under vacuum circumstances. A representative thermoelectric voltage, tunneling-current and gap were 250 μV, 0.3 nA and 50 nm. The obtained voltage and current, with assuming an effective probe-diameter of 10 nm, roughly agreed to a theoretical study (G. Despesse and T. Jager, J. Appl. Phys., Vol.96, p.5026-, 2004). However, the obtained gap was 25 times larger than that from the theoretical study.

Thermal Rectification in Graphene and Carbon Nanotube Systems Using Molecular Dynamics Simulations

We investigate the thermal rectification phenomena in asymmetric graphene and carbon nanotube systems using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The effects of various parameters, including mean temperature, temperature difference, and system size on rectification factor have been studied. In homogenous triangular graphene nanoribbons (T-GNR), the heat current is normally higher from wide to narrow end than that in the opposite direction, resulting in a positive rectification factor. The rectification factor increases further for a double layered T-GNR. It is also found that varying the parameters like mean temperature can result in reverse of the sign of thermal rectification factor. In the case of carbon nanotube (CNT)–silicon system, the heat current is higher when heat flows from CNT to silicon. The thermal rectification factor is almost independent of the diameter of CNT. In both cases, the rectification factor increases with the imposed temperature difference.

Measurements of Heat and Mass Transport Characteristics Through PEMFC GDL

For further improvement of PEMFC (Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell) performance, an optimal design based not only on empirical knowledge but also systematic physical laws and numerical simulation is desirable. However, even basic parameters such as mass transport and thermal characteristics through layers are not completely clear. A GDL (Gas Diffusion Layer) is one of the key components of PEMFC, and its property strongly affects the temperature distribution, diffusion limitation, and flooding. Thus, we measured the diffusivity and thermal conductivity inside a GDL and at its surface boundaries. Anisotropic diffusivity was observed inside the GDL. The measured diffusivities inside the GDL were 59% lower than the value without a GDL in the thickness direction and 25% lower in plane direction. The measured diffusive resistance at the GDL surface was not considerably different from that achieved through conventional laminar analysis, although some special effects would have been observed at the GDL surface because of its high porosity. Regarding the thermal characteristics, the contact resistance at the GDL surface was measured to be as large as the resistance inside the GDL. However, the contact resistance became extremely small when the GDL contained water.