Effects of baffle position in serpentine flow channel on the performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells

This study used a three-dimensional numerical model of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell with five types of channels:a smooth channel(Case 1);eight rectangular baffles were arranged in the upstream(Case 2),midstream(Case 3),downstream(Case 4),and the entire cathode flow channel(Case 5)to study the effects of baffle position on mass transport,power density,net power,etc.Moreover,the effects of back pressure and humidity on the voltage were investigated.Results showed that compared to smooth channels,the oxygen and water transport facilitation at the diffusion layer-channel interface were added 11.53%-20.60%and 7.81%-9.80%at 1.68 A·cm^(-2)by adding baffles.The closer the baffles were to upstream,the higher the total oxygen flux,but the lower the flux uniformity the worse the water removal.The oxygen flux of upstream baffles was 8.14%higher than that of downstream baffles,but oxygen flux uniformity decreased by 18.96%at 1.68 A·cm^(-2).The order of water removal and voltage improvement was Case 4>Case 5>Case 3>Case 2>Case 1.Net power of Case 4 was 9.87%higher than that of the smooth channel.To the Case 4,when the cell worked under low back pressure or high humidity,the voltage increments were higher.The potential increment for the back pressure of 0 atm was 0.9%higher than that of 2 atm(1 atm=101.325 kPa).The potential increment for the humidity of 100%was 7.89%higher than that of 50%.

Protective effects of baffles with different positions,row spacings,heights on debris flow impact

The baffle effectively slowed down debris flow velocity,reduced its kinetic energy,and significantly shortened the distance of debris flow movement.Consequently,they are widely used for protection against natural hazards such as landslides and mudslides.This study,based on the threedimensional DEM(Discrete Element Method),investigated the impact of different baffle positions on debris flow protection.Debris flow velocity and kinetic energy variations were studied through single-factor experiments.Suitable baffle positions were preliminarily selected by analyzing the influence of the first-row baffle position on the impact force and accumulation mass of debris flow.Subsequently,based on the selected baffle positions and four factors influencing the effectiveness of baffle protection(baffle position(P),baffle height(h),row spacing(S_(r)),and angle of transit area(α)),an orthogonal design was employed to further explore the optimal arrangement of baffles.The research results indicate that the use of a baffle structure could effectively slow down the motion velocity of debris flows and dissipate their energy.When the baffle is placed in the transit area,the impact force on the first-row baffle is greater than that when the baffle is placed in the deposition area.Similarly,when the baffle is placed in the transit area,the obstruction effect on debris flow mass is also greater than that when the baffle is placed in the deposition area.Through orthogonal experimental range analysis,when the impact on the first row of baffles is used as the evaluation criterion,the importance of each influencing factor is ranked asα>P>S_(r)>h.When the mass of debris flow behind the baffle is regarded as the evaluation criterion,the rank is changed to P>α>S_(r)>h.The experimental simulation results show that the optimal baffle arrangement is:P_(5),S_(r)=16,α=35°,h=9.

Dynamic Response of A Group of Cylindrical Storage Tanks with Baffles Considering the Effect of Soil Foundation

The sloshing in a group of rigid cylindrical tanks with baffles and on soil foundation under horizontal excitation is studied analytically.The solutions for the velocity potential are derived out by the liquid subdomain method.Equivalent models with mass-spring oscillators are established to replace continuous fluid.Combined with the least square technique,Chebyshev polynomials are employed to fit horizontal,rocking and horizontal-rocking coupling impedances of soil,respectively.A lumped parameter model for impedance is presented to describe the effects of soil on tank structures.A mechanical model for the soil-foundation-tank-liquid-baffle system with small amount of calculation and high accuracy is proposed using the substructure technique.The analytical solutions are in comparison with data from reported literature and numerical codes to validate the effectiveness and correctness of the model.Detailed dynamic properties and seismic responses of the soil-tank system are given for the baffle number,size and location as well as soil parameter.

The Effects of Fluid Sloshing on Different Baffle Configurations in Storage Tanks Transported on Trucks during an Emergency Braking

Different Baffle designs usable in cylindrical and elliptical storage tanks carried by trucks often used for transporting inflammable liquid materials in Cameroon are investigated to evaluate their safest fluid sloshing damping response during emergency braking where the magnitude of sloshing waves are the greatest. The uncontrolled fluid sloshing creates thrust on the walls of the tanks usually felt externally on the truck carrying the tank and capable of hindering driver’s effort to maintain steer ability and improve on safety during critical braking moments. The study first passes through COMSOL, to expose the safest margin of each Baffle type at instantaneous fluid pressure wave propagation initiated at a single phase to reflect sloshing in the storage tank during an emergency braking by the truck carrying the tank. The vivid results can be seen in the domain of Acoustic Iso-surface Pressure response;but also acoustic Pressure and Sound pressure response are seen automatically. Secondly, through an experimental finding in which fluid is forced to pass through each Baffle and the resistance to fluid flow is a measured as it’s the Baffle’s damping ability. Either, the fluid is lost through the Baffle and by determination of the surface load exerted on each Baffle due to the reaction of the residual fluid acting on the surface of each Baffle after some of it is Lost, the individual sloshing damping abilities are exposed. By comparing the Experimental outcome with the computational response obtained, an ideal Baffle design is proposed for cylindrical and elliptical tanks and considered to respond to abrupt braking more effciently. The application of the Baffle designs with an average multiple holes rather than the usual face centered proved to be more effcient in fluid sloshing as they provide a more uniformly distributed damping pressure during fluid sloshing in the tank thereby reducing the magnitude of forward thrust that can be created by the conventional Baffle type during emergency braking hence contributing to improving safety. Mindful of the human, material and environmental damages that an accident involving mobile petroleum storage tanks can course, this study is therefore of great significance for design optimization by petroleum storage tank manufacturing companies in Cameroon.

Reduced power consumption in stirred vessel with high solid loading by equipping punched baffles

Solid-liquid suspension in stirred tank is a common operation in the chemical industry. The power consumption, flow pattern and flow field instability of three systems named as unbaffled stirred tank, traditional baffled stirred tank and punched baffled stirred tank(Pun-BST) were studied by using the computational fluid dynamic analysis. Results showed that perforating holes in the baffles could reduce power consumption of mixing. Meanwhile, the punched baffle system could maintain the solids in suspension as traditional baffle system. The results also showed that the baffles could increase the “effective flow” of stirred tank even though the whole velocity of the vessel is lower than un-baffled vessel. In addition, both the solid-liquid suspension and “effective flow” were related to instability of the flow field.Perfect solid-liquid suspension results always along with obvious instability of the flow field. But, the strengthening effect of punched baffle on flow field instability mainly happened in the near-wall area.It's because the collision and aggregation among sub-streams induced by holes intensified the unstable fluid flow. On the whole, the Pun-BST system provided much better mixing characteristics and recommended to apply in the industrial process.

Micro T-Mixer with Baffles: Effect of Baffle Height and Setting Angle on Mixing

Chaotic mixing in eight different types of micro T-mixer flow has been studied experimentally and numerically. The present experimental study was performed to visualize two-liquid flows in a micro T-mixer with baffles. The Reynolds number, baffle height and setting angle were varied to investigate their effect on the mixing performance. Three micro T-mixer models were produced, which are several centimeters long and have a rectangular cross-section of few millimeters a side. The mixing of two-liquid was measured using the laser induced fluorescence (LIF) technique. Moreover, three-dimensional numerical simulations were conducted with the open-source CFD solver, OpenFOAM, for the same configuration as used in the experiments to investigate the detailed mechanism of the chaotic mixing. As a result, it was found that the mixing of two-liquid is greatly improved in the micro T-mixer with baffle. The baffle height and setting angle show a significant influence on the mixing performance.

Performance comparison for oil-water heat transfer of circumferential overlap trisection helical baffle heat exchanger

The performance tests were conducted on oil–water heat transfer in circumferential overlap trisection helical baffle heat exchangers with incline angles of 12°, 16°, 20°, 24° and 28°, and compared with a segmental baffle heat exchanger. The results show that the shell side heat transfer coefficient h_o and pressure drop Δp_o both increase while the comprehensive index h_o/Δp_o decreases with the increase of the mass flow rate of all schemes. And the shell side heat transfer coefficient, pressure drop and the comprehensive index ho/Δpo decrease with the increase of the baffle incline angle at a certain mass flow rate. The average values of shell side heat transfer coefficient and the comprehensive index h_o/Δp_o of the 12° helical baffled scheme are above 50% higher than those of the segmental one correspondingly, while the pressure drop value is very close and the ratios of the average values are about 1.664 and 1.596, respectively. The shell-side Nusselt number Nu_o and the comprehensive index Nu_o·Eu_(zo)^(-1) increase with the increase of Reynolds number of the shell side axial in all schemes, and the results also demonstrate that the small incline angled helical scheme has better comprehensive performance.

Performance comparison of heat exchangers using sextant/trisection helical baffles and segmental ones

The shell side flow fields of both sextant and trisection helical baffle heat exchangers are presented on meridian and multilayer hexagon slices.It verifies that the performance of sextant schemes is better than those of the other kinds of helical baffle heat exchangers.The main mechanisms are due to the restricted leakage flow in the minimized gaps with increased baffle number and by one row of tubes dampen the leakage flow in the circumferential overlapped area of the adjacent helical baffles.The performance features were simulated on two different angled sextant helical heat exchangers and each compared with two trisection ones of either identical helical pitch or identical incline angle.The results verified that the performances of helical heat exchangers are mainly determined by the helical pitch rather than the baffle incline angle.The average values of comprehensive index hoΔpo-1/3 of the trisection helical schemes T-24.1°and T-29.7°are correspondingly 3.47%and 3.34%lower than those of the sextant ones X-20°and X-25°with identical helical pitches.The comparison results show that the average values of shell side h.t.c.hoand comprehensive index hoΔpo-1/3 of the optimal dual helix sextant scheme DX30°are respectively 7.22%and 23.56%higher than those of the segment scheme S100.

Investigation of the Effects of Baffles on the Shallow Water Sloshing in A Rectangular Tank Using A 2D Turbulent ISPH Method

Liquid sloshing is a common phenomenon in the liquid tanks transportation. Liquid waves lead to fluctuating forces on the tank wall. Uncontrolled fluctuations lead to large forces and momentums. Baffles can control these fluctuations. A numerical method, which has been widely used to model this phenomenon, is Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics(SPH). The Lagrangian nature of this method makes it suitable for simulating free surface flows. In the present study, an accurate Incompressible Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics(ISPH) method is developed and improved using the kernel gradient correction tensors, particle shifting algorithms, k–ε turbulence model, and free surface particle detectors. Comparisons with the experimental data approve the ability of the present algorithm for simulating shallow water sloshing. The main aim of this study is to investigate the effects of the vertical baffle on the damping of liquid sloshing. Results show that baffles number has a major role in sloshing fluctuation damping.

Effects of Perforated Baffle on Reducing Sloshing in Rectangular Tank:Experimental and Numerical Study

A liquid sloshing experimental rig driven by a wave-maker is designed and built to study liquid sloshing problems in a rectangular liquid tank with perforated baffle. A series of experiments are conducted in this experimental rig to estimate the free surface fluctuation and pressure distribution by changing external excitation frequency of the shaking table. An in-house CFD code is also used in this study to simulate the liquid sloshing in three-dimensional （3D） rectangular tank with perforated baffle. Good agreements of free surface elevation and pressure between the numerical results and the experimental data are obtained and presented. Spectral analysis of the time history of free surface elevation is conducted by using the fast Fourier transformation.

Effects of operational factors on soluble microbial products in a carrier anaerobic baffled reactor treating dilute wastewater

The effects of feed strength, hydraulic residence time （HRT）, and operational temperatures on soluble microbial product （SMP） production were investigated, to gain insights into the production mechanism. A carrier anaerobic baffled reactor （CABR） treating dilute wastewater was operated under a wide range of operational conditions, namely, feed strengths of 300-600 mg/L, HRTs of 9- 18 h, and temperatures of 10-28℃. Generally, SMP production increased with increasing feed strength and decreasing temperature. At high temperature （28℃）, SMP production increased with decreasing HRT. As the temperature was decreased to 18 and 10℃, the SMP production was at its peak for 12 h HRT. Therefore, temperature could be an important determinant of SMP production along with HRT. A higher SMP to soluble chemical oxygen demand （SCOD） ratio was found at high temperature and long HRT because of complete volatile fatty acid degradation. SMP accounted for 50%-75% of the SCOD in the last chamber of the CABR. As a secondary metabolite, some SMP could be consumed at lower feed strength.

Drawdown mechanism of light particles in baffled stirred tank for the KR desulphurization process

To improve the efficiency of the desulfurization process, the drawdown mechanism of light particles in stirred tank is studied in this paper. For both up and down pumping modes, the just drawdown speeds(Njd) of floating particles in transformative Kanbara Reactor(KR) are measured in one and four baffled stirred tanks experimentally. Then numerical simulations with standard k-ε model coupled with volume of fluid model(VOF) and discrete phase model(DPM) are conducted to analyze the flow field at the just drawdown speed Njd. The torques on the impeller obtained from experiments and simulations agree well with each other, which indicates the validity of our numerical simulations. Based on the simulations, three main drawdown mechanisms for floating particles, the axial circulation, turbulent fluctuation and largescale eddies, are analyzed. It's found that the axial circulation dominates the drawdown process at small submergence(S = 1/4 T and 1/3 T) and the large-scale eddies play a major role at large submergence(S = 2/3 T and 3/4 T). Besides, the turbulent fluctuation affects the drawdown process significantly for up pumping mode at small submergence(S = 1/4 T and 1/3 T) and for down pumping mode at large submergence(S = 2/3 T and 3/4 T). This paper helps to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the KR desulphurizer drawdown process in the baffled stirred tank.

Industrially Experimental Investigations and Development of the Curve-ROD Baffle Heat Exchanger

The conventional heat exchanger with segmental baffles is prone to bring forth fluid-induced vibration of heat transfer tubes and increase the pressure drop of shell-side greatly at higher fluid flow velocity. In order to avoid the above defects, the ROD-baffle heat exchanger has been developed. However, its collocation of heat transfer tubes is conventionally in square, which leads to fewer heat transfer area per unit volume. Based on the ROD-baffle heat exchanger, a new type curve-ROD baffle has been developed, and an industrial investigation of the curve-ROD baffle heat exchanger with normal triangular collocation has been carried into execution. In this paper, two equations using the Reynolds number were acquired to predict the heat transfer coefficients of the shell-side and tube-side. The experimental results show that the shell-side heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of the curve-ROD baffle heat exchanger are superior to those of the segmental baffle one.

Optimization of Baffled Rectangular and Prismatic Storage Tank Against the Sloshing Phenomenon

The fluid motion in partially filled tanks with internal baffles has wide engineering applications. The installation of baffles is expected to reduce the effect of sloshing as well as the consequent environmental damages. In the present study, a series of experimental tests are performed to investigate the sloshing phenomenon in a baffled rectangular storage tank. In addition, the sloshing phenomenon is also modeled by using Open Foam. Based on the experimental and numerical studies, optimization of the geometric parameters of the tank is performed based on some criteria such as tank area, entropy generation, and the horizontal force exerted on the tank area due to the sloshing phenomenon.The optimization is also carried out based on the entropy generation minimization analysis. It is noted that the optimum baffle height is in the range of h_b/h_w=0.5-0.75 in the present study(where h_b and h_w are the baffle height and water depth, respectively). Based on the results, the optimal design of the tank is achieved with R_A= 0.9-1.0(where R_A=L/W, L and W are the length and width of the tank, respectively). The results also show that the increase of h_b can lead to a decrease of the maximum pressure and horizontal force exerted on the tank. It is also noted that the horizontal force exerted on the tank firstly continues to increase as the sway motion amplitude increases.However, as the normalized motion amplitude parameter, a/L(The parameter a is the motion amplitude), exceeds0.067, the effect of motion amplitude on the force is not obvious. The same optimization is also performed in the multiple-variable-baffled tank and prismatic storage tank.

Effects of Temperature and Hydraulic Residence Time (HRT) on Treatment of Dilute Wastewater in a Carrier Anaerobic Baffled Reactor

Objective To examine the effect of hydraulic residence time （HRT） on the performance and stability, to treat dilute wastewater at different operational temperatures in a carrier anaerobic baffled reactor （CABR）, and hence to gain a deeper insight into microbial responses to hydraulic shocks on the base of the relationships among macroscopic performance, catabolic intermediate, and microcosmic alternation. Methods COD, VFAs, and microbial activity were detected with constant feed strength （300 mg/L） at different HRTs （9-18 h） and temperatures （10℃-28℃） in a CABR. Results The removal efficiencies declined with the decreases of HRTs and temperatures. However, the COD removal load was still higher at short HRT than at long HRT. Devastating reactor performance happened at temperature of 10℃ and at HRT of 9 h. HRTs had effect on the VFAs in the reactor slightly both at high and low temperatures, but the reasons differed from each other. Microbial activity was sensitive to indicate changes of environmental and operational parameters in the reactor. Conclusion The CABR offers to certain extent an application to treat dilute wastewater under a hydraulic-shock at temperatures from 10℃to 28℃.

Hydrodynamic characteristics of a four-compartment periodic anaerobic baffled reactor

Periodic anaerobic baffled reactor （PABR） is a novel reactor based on the design concept of anaerobic baffled reactor （ABR）. Residence time distribution （RTD） studies on both clean and working reactors at the same hydraulic residence time （HRT） of 2 d were carded out to investigate the dead spaces and mixing patterns in PABRs at different organic loading rates （OLRs） in various switching manners and frequencies. The results showed that the fraction of dead space in PABR was similar to that in ABR, which was low in comparison with other reactor designs. Dead space may be divided into two categories, hydraulic and biological. In RTD studies without biomass, the hydraulic dead space in the PABR run in an ＂every second＂ switching manner with T = 2 d was the lowest whereas that in the PABR run in a T = ∞ （ABR） switching manner was the highest. The same trend was obtained with the total dead space in RTD studies with biomass no matter what the OLR was. Biological dead space was the major contributor to dead space but affected decreasingly at higher OLR whichever switching manner the PABR run in. The flow patterns within the PABRs were intermediate between plug-flow and perfectly mixed under all the conditions tested,

Effect of the Inclination of Baffles on the Power Consumption and Fluid Flows in a Vessel Stirred by a Rushton Turbine

The role of baffles in mechanically stirred tanks is to promote the stability of power drawn by the impeller and to avoid the fluid swirling, thus enhancing mixing. The present paper numerically investigates the baffles effects in a vessel stirred by a Rushton turbine. The geometric factor of interest is the baffle inclination which is varying between 25°, 32.5°, 45°, 70° and 90° at different impeller rotational speeds. The impeller rotational direction has also been varied. The vortex size and power consumption were evaluated for each geometrical configuration. It was found that the best configuration is the baffle inclination by = 70° at a negative angular velocity.

CFD simulation study of the effect of baffles on the fluidized bed for hydrogenation of silicon tetrachloride

In this study,the effect of channel baffles and louver baffles on the flow pattern in the large-scale industrial fluidized beds was studied by computational fluid dynamics(CFD)methods.Then,the effect of flow pattern on the chemical reaction performance was studied for the first time.Simulation results showed that the gas velocity distributed more uniformly,solid particles dispersed more homogeneously and aggregation scarcely occurred in the fluidized bed with louver baffles than that with channel baffles.The residence time distribution indicated that louver baffles remarkably suppressed gas back-mixing in comparison with channel baffles.The reasonable agreements of pressure distribution and reaction results between the simulation in the bed with channel baffles and the data on a large-scale industrial apparatus demonstrated the accuracy of the CFD model.The predicted conversion of SiCl_(4) in the bed with louver baffles(27.44%)was higher than that with channel baffles(22.69%),indicating that louver baffles markedly improved the performance of the fluidized bed.This study could provide useful information for future structural improvements of baffles in large-scale fluidized beds.

ACOUSTIC REFLECTION FROM A BAFFLED ELASTIC/PIEZOELECTRIC PLATE

A finite difference/boundary integral procedure to determine theacoustic reflected pressure from a fluid-loaded bi-laminated plate isdescribed. The bi-laminate is composed of a piezoelectric layer andan elastic layer in contact with the fluid, and is held by anacoustically hard baffle. In the numerical model, the fluid pressureat fluid/solid interface is replaced by a continuum of point sourcesweighted by the normal acceleration of the elastic plate, and thegoverning equation system is solved in the solid domain.

Hierarchy and subsurface correlation of muddy baffles in lacustrine delta fronts： a case study in the X Oilfield, Subei Basin, China

Muddy baffles are one of the major geological factors controlling the underground fluid flow as well as the remaining oil distribution. This study used detailed drilling data from the E1f1 reservoir in the X Oilfield, Subei Basin, China, to investigate the hierarchical muddy baffles developed on lacustrine delta fronts and their precise cross-well correlation.According to the theories on allogenic and autogenic cycles as well as the genesis and scales of muddy baffles, five orders of muddy baffles were classified, which provided various degrees of difficulty when attempting interwell correlation. Under the guidance of a reliable stratigraphic model, the precise cross-well correlation of muddy baffles could be achieved and the key point of establishment of this stratigraphic model was to calculate foreset angles of hierarchical muddy baffles during deposition. During calculation, the relationships between sediment flow direction, higher-order strata dipping direction,well types and well trajectory direction should all be taken into consideration and some other angles（referred to here as θ1,θ2 and θ3） should also be measured. Such new methods of cross-well correlation for hierarchical muddy baffles could greatly reduce the uncertainties and multiple solutions, which in turn would be significant for efficient development and oil recovery enhancement in the reservoirs.