Theoretical Analysis of CFD-DEM Mathematical Model Solution Change With Varying Computational Cell Size

Successful verification and validation is crucial to build confidence in the application of coupled Computational Fluid Dynamics - Discrete Element Method (CFD-DEM). Model verification includes ensuring a mesh-independent solution, which poses a major difficulty in CFD-DEM due to the complicated solution relationship with computational cell size. In this paper, we investigate the theoretical relationship between the solution and computational cell size by tracing the effects of a change in cell size through the mathematical model. The porosity profile for simulations of fixed-particle beds is determined to be Gaussian, and the average and standard deviation of the representative distribution are reported against cell size. We find the standard deviation of bed porosity increases exponentially as the cell size is reduced, and the drag calculations are very sensitive to changes in the porosity standard deviation, resulting in an exponential change in expected drag when the cell size is small relative to the particle diameter. The divided volume fraction method of porosity calculation is shown to be superior to the centred volume fraction method, as it reduces the porosity standard deviation. The sensitivity of five popular drag laws to changes in the porosity profile is presented, and the Ergun and Beetstra drag laws are shown to be the least sensitive to changes in the cell size.

Study on the Reduction of Pressure Fluctuation for a Double-Suction Centrifugal Pump With Staggered Blades

Due to the distinctive characteristic of massive flow rates, double-suction centrifugal pump has been extensively applied in lots of perspectives, such as drainage, irrigation, transportation projects and other hydraulic engineering realms. Nevertheless, the significance of the pressure fluctuation inside the double-suction centrifugal pump, which is getting more and more prominent under the soaring demands for low noise and comfortable living environment, could not be underestimated. Consequently, how to reduce the pressure fluctuation as far as possible and enhance the running stability of the pump is always the research hotspot. In this study, the double-suction centrifugal impeller with abominable vibration performance is redesigned to improve the internal flow and reduce the flow-induced noise. What’s addition, the two redesigned impellers wearing splitter blades were compared in staggered arrangement with different angles for the purpose of ulteriorly decreasing the pressure fluctuation. On the basis of Realizable k-ε model and SIMPLEC algorithm, the unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations (URANS) were resolved by means of CFD simulation and the flow performance and the vibration performance were validated with the experiments. The results illustrate that the redesigned impeller with multi-blade could raise the hydraulic performance and reduce the pressure fluctuation inside the pump. When the impeller of each side was laid with the staggered angle of 12 degrees, the pressure distribution tended to be more uniform and the pressure fluctuation was well ameliorated. Through the pressure fluctuation analysis in time domain and frequency domain, the pressure change inside the pumps could be evaluated quantitatively and accurately, hence different pumps could be contrasted in detail. The consequences of this paper could provide reference for pressure fluctuation reduction and vibration performance reinforcement of double-suction centrifugal pumps as well as other vane pumps.

Gas Carry-Under in GLCC for Separated and Recombined Outlet Configurations

Gas Carry-Under (GCU) is one of the undesirable phenomena that exists in the GLCC©1 even within the Operational Envelope (OPEN) for liquid carry-over. Few studies that are available on GLCC© GCU have been carried out when the GLCC© is operated in a metering loop configuration characterized by recombined outlets. In such configurations the gas and the liquid outlets of the GLCC are recombined downstream which acts as passive level control. However, studies have shown that the GLCC© OPEN increases significantly when active control strategies are employed. There has not been a systematic study aimed at analyzing the effect of control on the GCU in the GLCC. This study compares the previously published GLCC GCU swirling flow mechanism under recombination outlet configuration with data taken under the separated outlet configuration (control configuration). Experimental investigations for GCU are conducted in a state-of-the-art test facility for air-water and air-oil flow incorporating pressure and level control configurations. The experiments are carried out using a 3″ diameter GLCC© equipped with 3 sequential trap sections to measure simultaneously the Gas Volume Fraction (GVF) and gas evolution in the lower part of the GLCC. Also, gas trap sections are installed in the liquid leg of the GLCC© to measure simultaneously the overall GCU. The liquid level was controlled at 6″ below the GLCC© inlet for all experiments using various control strategies. Tangential wall jet impingement is the cause for entrainment of gas, thereby leading to GCU. 3 different flow mechanisms have been identified in the lower part of the GLCC and have significant effect on the GCU. Viscosity and surface tension are observed to affect the GCU. The extensive acquired data shed light on the complex flow behavior in the lower part of the GLCC© and its effect on the GCU of the GLCC©.

Optimization and Investigation on the Impact of Centrifugal Impeller Blade Thickness Distribution on Hydro-Induced Vibration

The vibration performance of centrifugal impellers is of great importance for pumps in some application areas such as automobiles and ships. Apart from mechanical excitations for instance, unbalanced rotor and misalignment, attentions should be concentrated on the hydraulic excitations. The complex internal secondary flow in the centrifugal impeller brings degradation on both hydraulic and vibration performances. On the purpose of repressing the internal secondary flow and alleviating vibration, an attempt of optimization by controlling the thickness distribution of centrifugal impeller blade is given. The vibration performances of the impellers are investigated numerically and experimentally. Meanwhile, further study on the mechanism of the influence of the thickness distribution optimization on vibration is conducted. There is a relative velocity gradient from suction side (SS) to pressure side (PS) due to the Coriolis force, which causes non-uniformity of energy distribution. By means of thickness distribution optimization, the impeller blade angle on the PS and SS along the blade-aligned (BA) streamwise location is respectively modified and therefore the flow field can be improved.

Internal Flow Analysis in a Two-Channel Pump Used for Salt Transportation

Two-channel pumps usually have very complicated flow field due to the special impeller geometry. The present paper treats the internal flow analysis based on numerical simulation so as to investigate the pumping performance and passage erosion for a two-channel centrifugal pump used for transporting salt particles. The static state flows are calculated by applying RANS method and k-omega SST turbulence model. The numerical results indicate that there are strong circulation flows near the impeller inlet and blade pressure side, and zones with high turbulent kinetic energy near impeller exit when the pump is operated under the designed flow rate i.e. Qd. Pressure decay is also found at the rear part of blade pressure side. At the operation condition of 1.3Qd, the internal flow becomes better. Further, the numerical analysis based on Eulerian-Lagrangian method shows the trajectory of salt particle, salt particle concentration and erosion rate in the pump. It is noted that the salt particles go smoothly in the flow passage due to the large section size of the pump, and there is severe erosion at the blade leading edge and the wall of volute casing due to strong impingement and high particle concentration. Thus, these areas such as blade leading edge and the wall of volute casing are the zones with high erosion risk in the two-channel pump.

A Wall Film Model for Membrane Fouling

Deoiling of produced or impaired waters associated with oil and gas production represents a significant challenge for many companies. Centrifugation, air flotation, and hydrocyclone separation are the current methods of oil removal from produced water [1], however the efficiency of these methods decreases dramatically for droplets smaller than approximately 15–20 μm. More effective separation of oil-water mixtures into water and oil phases has the potential to both decrease the environmental footprint of the oil and gas industry and improve human well-being in regions such as the Gulf of Mexico. New membrane separation processes and design of systems with advanced flow management offer tremendous potential for improving oil-water separation efficacy. However, fouling is a major challenge in membrane separation [2]. In this study, the behavior of oil droplets and their interaction with crossflow filtration (CFF) membranes (including membrane fouling) is studied using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. A model for film formation on a membrane surface is proposed for the first time to simulate film formation on membrane surfaces. The bulk multiphase flow is modeled using an Eulerian-Eulerian multiphase flow model. A wall film is developed from mass and momentum balances [3] and implemented to model droplet deposition and membrane surface blockage. The model is used to predict film formation and subsequent membrane fouling, and allow to estimate the actual permeate flux. The results are validated using available experimental data.

Interactions of Flow Structure With Nano- and Micro-Particles in Turbulent Channel Flows

This study is concerned with the effects of the flow structures including the near-wall coherent eddies in turbulent channel flows on the dispersion and deposition of nano- and micro-particles. A pseudo-spectral computational code was used for direct numerical simulations (DNS) of the Navier-Stokes equations and the corresponding time histories of the instantaneous fluid velocities were evaluated. Under the oneway coupling assumption, the trajectories of a wide range of particle sizes from 10 nm to 80 μm with dimensionless relaxation time of 2.2e−6 to 142 were obtained by solving the particle equation of motion including Stokes drag and Brownian excitations. Dispersion and deposition of particles in the turbulent flow were evaluated and the effects of turbulence structure on different size particles were studied. The simulation results showed that the concentration distribution of small particles that behave like fluid tracer particles were quite random. However, the preferential concentrations appeared as the dimensionless relaxation time increased to 2–20. In particular, the influence of coherent structures in the near-wall regions was clearly detectable on the concentration distribution of particles, as well as, in their deposition pattern. For τ+ = 20 particles due to the increase of relaxation time and inertia of particles, the small-scale turbulent features were filtered out and only the effect of large-scale turbulent eddies could be identified. For τ+ = 2–20 particles, the ensemble/time average of the position of the deposited particles showed specific spacing which was comparable to the size of the near-wall coherent structures.

Interactional Effects of Inlet Guide Vane and Blade Angle on Hydraulic Performance Characteristics of a Submersible Axial-Flow Pump

This study aims to evaluate effects of blade pitch and inlet guide vane (IGV) angle on the performance characteristics of a submersible axial-flow pump. According to the results of the previous study, the efficiency at the design and over-load conditions were significantly affected by the angle of IGV due to change in the incidence angle. To investigate the interactional effects of IGV and blade angle are analyzed using three-dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations with shear stress transport turbulence model. The hexahedral grids are used in the computational domain and a grid-dependency test is performed to obtain an optimal number of the grids. In this study, combinations of three different blade angles and two different IGV angles are tested. Adjusting angle of IGV increases the total pressure of the pump with a blade pitch increase, which can increase the efficiency of the pump in operating range.

Investigations on Flow Characteristics in Diffuser-Discharge-Channel of Volute Casing

The volute casing used in centrifugal pumps is efficient for the transformation of kinetic energy into pressure energy, however, its asymmetric hydraulic design makes the flow in diffuser-discharge-channel (DDC) inhomogeneous, resulting in unsatisfactory flow patterns. In this study, the unsteady numerical simulations are carried out to investigate the transient flow characteristics in DDC. The accuracy of numerical results is found to agree well with experimental performance and pressure fluctuations. It is observed that the flow in DDC is significantly uneven. At the elbow of DDC, the static pressure on the volute left side (VL) is larger than the volute right side (VR) due to the flow impact and flow separation respectively. Thereby, this high-pressure gradient induces the secondary flow on the cross sections of DDC. Further, there is an obvious dependency of pressure fluctuations in the discharge pipe on the strong interaction between the impeller and tongue, in which four small peaks and four large peaks can be observed. At each moment, the pressure on VL gradually decreases from the inlet of discharge pipe to the pump outlet, while it increases on VR, finally, two sides tend to be the same. The pressure fluctuation intensity gradually becomes equivalent-distributed. In particular, it should be noticed that the energy loss in the diffuser part is larger than the discharge pipe, which requires a redesign concerning hydraulic performance. This study can help to better understand the transient flow characteristics and provide guidance for reducing flow loss in the volute casing.

Hybrid LES/RANS Model for Simulation of Particle Dispersion and Deposition

Particle dispersion and deposition in a modeled room was investigated using the Lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) in conjunction with the hybrid RANS/LES turbulence model. For this new model a combination of LES and RANS models was used to reduce the computational cost of using the full LES in the entire domain. Here the near wall region was simulated by the RANS model, while the rest of the domain was analyzed using the LES model within the framework of the LBM. The k-ε turbulence model was applied in the RANS region. For using the k-ε model in the LBM framework, two additional distribution functions for k and ε were defined. For the LES region the sub-grid scale turbulence effects were simulated through a Smagorinsky model. To study the particle dispersion and deposition in the modeled room, particles with different sizes (diameters of 10nm to 10 μm) were investigated. The simulated results for particle dispersion and deposition showed that the predictions of the present hybrid method were quite similar to the earlier LES-LBM. In addition, the predictions of the hybrid model for the particle deposition and dispersion were closer to the LES simulation results compared to those of the k-ε model. It was shown that the Brownian excitation is very important for nanoparticles and the number of deposited particles for 10nm particles is higher than those for the larger 100nm and 1μm particles. The deposition rate for 10 μm particles is also high due to the inertial effects.