Uncertainty analysis of flow rate measurement for multiphase flow using CFD

The venturi meter has an advantage in its use,because it can measure flow without being much affected by the type of the measured fluid or flow conditions.Hence,it has excellent versatility and is being widely applied in many industries.The flow of a liquid containing air is a representative example of a multiphase flow and exhibits complex flow characteristics.In particular,the greater the gas volume fraction（GVF）,the more inhomogeneous the flow becomes.As a result,using a venturi meter to measure the rate of a flow that has a high GVF generates an error.In this study,the cause of the error occurred in measuring the flow rate for the multiphase flow when using the venturi meter for analysis by CFD.To ensure the reliability of this study,the accuracy of the multiphase flow models for numerical analysis was verified through comparison between the calculated results of numerical analysis and the experimental data.As a result,the Grace model,which is a multiphase flow model established by an experiment with water and air,was confirmed to have the highest reliability.Finally,the characteristics of the internal flow Held about the multiphase flow analysis result generated by applying the Grace model were analyzed to find the cause of the uncertainty occurring when measuring the flow rate of the multiphase flow using the venturi meter.A phase separation phenomenon occurred due to a density difference of water and air inside the venturi,and flow inhomogeneity happened according to the flow velocity difference of each phase.It was confirmed that this flow inhomogeneity increased as the GVF increased due to the uncertainty of the flow measurement.

A Multiphase Wellbore Flow Model for Sour Gas “Kicks”

This study presents a new multiphase flow model with transient heat transfer and pressure coupling to simulate HTHP(high temperature and high pressure)sour gas“kicks”phenomena.The model is intended to support the estimation of wellbore temperature and pressure when sour gas kicks occur during drilling operation.The model considers sour gas solubility,phase transition and effects of temperature and pressure on the physical parameters of drilling fluid.Experimental data for a large-diameter pipe flow are used to validate the model.The results indicate that with fluid circulation,the annulus temperature with H2S kicks is the highest,followed by CO_(2),and CH_(4) is the lowest.The phase transition point of H2S is closer to wellhead compared with CO_(2),resulting in a faster expansion rate,which is more imperceptible and dangerous.With fluid circulation,the drilling fluid density and plastic viscosity both first decrease and then increase with the increase in the well depth.The bottom hole pressure when H2S kicks is greater than that for CO_(2) with the same amount of sour gas,and the pressure difference gradually increases with the increase of H2S/CO_(2) content.In addition,a parametric sensitivity analysis has been conducted to evaluate qualitatively and rank the influential factors affecting the bottom hole temperature and pressure.

Modeling and simulation of circulating fluidized bed reactors applied to a carbonation/calcination loop

A fluid dynamic model for a gas-solid circulating fluidized bed （CFB） designed using two coupled riser reactors is developed and implemented numerically with code programmed in Matlab. The fluid dynamic model contains heat and species mass balances to calculate temperatures and compositions for a carbonation/calcination loop process. Because of the high computational costs required to resolve the three-dimensional phenomena, a model representing a trade-offbetween computational time requirements and accuracy is developed. For dynamic processes with a solid flux between the two reactor units that depends on the fluid dynamics of both risers, a dynamic one-dimensional two-fluid model is sufficient. A two-fluid model using the constant particle viscosity closure for the stress term is used for the solid phase, and an algebraic turbulence model is applied to the gas phase. The numerical model implementa- tion is based on the finite volume method with a staggered grid scheme. The exchange of solids between the reactor units constituting the circulating fluidized bed （solid flux） is implemented through additional mass source/sink terms in the continuity equations of the two phases, For model validation, a relevant experimental analysis provided in the literature is reproduced by the numerical simulations, The numerical analysis indicates that sufficient heat integration between the two reactor units is important for the performance of the circulating fluidized bed system, The two-fluid model performs fairly well for this chemical process operated in a CFB designed as two coupled riser reactors. Further analysis and optimization of the solution algorithms and the reactor coupling strategy is warranted.

Numerical approach for modeling particle transport phenomena in a closed loop of a circulating fluidized bed

Numerical modeling of a large scale circulating fiuidized bed （CFB） imposes many complexities and difficulties. Presence of a dense solid phase, a variety of spatial and time scales as well as complex model geometries requires advanced numerical techniques. Moreover, the appropriate selection of a numerical model capable of solving granular flow, and geometrical model simplification can have a huge impact on the predicted flow field within the CFB boiler. In order to reduce the cost of the numerical simulations, the complex CFB boiler geometry is reduced to that of the combustion chamber. However, a question arises as to bow much one can simplify the geometrical model without losing accuracy of numerical simulations. To accurately predict the gas-solid and solid-solid mixing processes within subsequent sections of the CFB boiler （combustion chamber, solid separator, drain section）, a complete 3D geometrical model should be used. Nevertheless, because of the presence of various spatial and temporal scales within subsequent boiler sections, the complete model of the 3D CFB boiler is practically unrealizable in numerical simulations. To resolve the aforementioned problems, this paper describes a new approach that can be applied for complete boiler modeling. The proposed approach enables complex particle transport and gas flow problems within each of the boiler sections to be accurately resolved, It has been achieved by dividing the CFB boiler geometry into several submodels, where different numerical approaches can be used to resolve gas-solid transport. The interactions between computational domains were taken into account by connecting the inlets/outlets of each section using a set of user-defined functions implemented into the solution procedure. The proposed approach ensures stable and accurate solution within the separated boiler zones.

Simulation of flows with moving contact lines on a dual-resolution Cartesian grid using a diffuse-interface immersed-boundary method

In this paper, we investigate flows with moving contact lines on curved solid walls on a dual-resolution grid using a diffuse-interface immersed-boundary（DIIB） method. The dual-resolution grid, on which the flows are solved on a coarse mesh while the interface is resolved on a fine mesh, was shown to significantly improve the computational efficiency when simulating multiphase flows. On the other hand, the DIIB method is able to resolve dynamic wetting on curved substrates on a Cartesian grid, but it usually requires a mesh of high resolution in the vicinity of a moving contact line to resolve the local flow. In the present study, we couple the DIIB method with the dual-resolution grid, to improve the interface resolution for flows with moving contact lines on curved solid walls at an affordable cost. The dynamic behavior of moving contact lines is validated by studying drop spreading, and the numerical results suggest that the effective slip length λ_n can be approximated by 1.9Cn, where Cn is a dimensionless measure of the thickness of the diffuse interface. We also apply the method to drop impact onto a convex substrate, and the results on the dual-resolution grid are in good agreement with those on a single-resolution grid. It shows that the axisymmetric simulations using the DIIB method on the dual-resolution grid saves nearly 60% of the computational time compared with that on a single-resolution grid.

Modeling the electrostatic effect on the hydrodynamic behavior in FCC risers： From understanding to application

A CFD simulation was proposed to investigate the electrostatic effect on the hydrodynamic behavior of turbulent gas-solid flow in FCC risers. The simulation was first verified using the open experimental data with expected electrostatic effects observed in FCC risers. The influences of several operating parameters on the degree of electrification in FCC risers were analyzed, such as surface charge densities, pressure, gas velocity. It was noted that the gas velocity played a highly significant role compared with solid flux, while the effect of pressure was relatively weak. Further analysis showed that a much stronger electrostatic effect was found in small-scale FCC risers than their large-scale counterparts, and in addition, the major regions affected by the electrostatic charge depend on the scale of the riser. Finally, an external electric field was applied to optimize the flow field distribution in the FCC riser. The results of the electrostatic effects on the hydrodynamic behaviors in FCC risers are of great use in providing a reference for the optimization of FCC risers and their scaling.

NUMERICAL STUDY OF THE PITCHING MOTIONS OF SUPERCAVITA-TING VEHICLES

The pitching motions of supercavitating vehicles could not be avoided due to the lost water buoyancy. In order to have some insight for the design of the supercavitating vehicles, the fixed frequency and free pitching motions are investigated. A numerical predicting method based on the relative motion principle and the non-inertia coordinate system is proposed to simulate the free pitching motions of supercavitating vehicles in the longitudinal plane. Homogeneous and two fluid multiphase models are used to predict the natural and the ventilated supercavitating flows. In the fixed frequency pitching motions, a variety of working conditions are considered, including the pitching angular velocities and the supercavity scales and the results are found to be consistent with the available experimental results in literature. The mesh deformation technology controlled by the moment of momentum equation is adopted to study the free pitching motions and finally to obtain the planing states proposed by Savchenko. The numerical method is validated for predicting the pitching motions of supercavitating vehicles and is found to enjoy better calculation efficiency as comparing with the mesh regeneration technology.

Simulations of sorbent regeneration in a circulating fluidized bed system for sorption enhanced steam reforming with dolomite

In this work,the sorption enhanced steam reforming (SESR) method was developed for improved hydrogen (H2) production,and the drawbacks of conventional steam reforming processes on H2 yield and purity were overcome.However,the SESR process is discontinuous and requires regeneration after sorbent saturation with CO2.The circulating fluidized bed reactor (CFBR) system has previously been proposed for continuous H2 production,with both reforming and sorbent regeneration occurring simultaneously.The main aim of this work was to determine the feasibility and performance of SESR with a proper design and conditions in conjunction with the CFBR system.The reforming riser and bubbling bed regenerator are studied separately but related to each other.Two-dimensional transient models using the Euler-Euler approach and kinetic theory of granular flow were used for fluid dynamic simulations combined with the decarbonation kinetics of dolomite,to investigate a conceptual regenerator system and determine its key conditions.A mixture of the Ni-based catalyst and dolomite from the risers was injected with a flux of 200 kg/(m2 s) and a catalyst to sorbent ratio of 2.54 kg/kg.A double-stage bubbling bed regenerator system was designed with 1.2 m width,0.8 m bed height,a gas inlet velocity of 0.2 m/s and solid preheating at 950 ℃.The used dolomite was regenerated with an assumed CaO conversion of 3%;the almost fresh dolomite was then released with good mixing of the catalyst and sorbent.

Modelling the bed characteristics in fluidised-beds for top-spray coating processes

A particle sub-model describing the bed characteristics of a bubbling fluidised bed is presented. Atomisation air, applied at high pressures via a nozzle positioned above the bed for spray formation, is incorporated in the model since its presence has a profound influence on the bed characteristics, though the spray itself is not yet considered. A particle sub-model is developed using well-known empirical relations for particle drag force, bubble growth and velocity and particle distribution above the fluidised-bed surface. Simple but effective assumptions and abstractions were made concerning bubble distribution, particle ejection at the bed surface and the behaviour of atomisation air flow upon impacting the surface of a bubbling fluidised bed, The model was shown to be capable of predicting the fluidised bed characteristics in terms of bed heights, voidage distributions and solids volume fractions with good accuracy in less than 5 min of calculation time on a regular desktop PC. It is therefore suitable for incorporation into general process control models aimed at dynamic control for process efficiency and product quality in top-spray fluidised bed coating processes.