NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF FLOW OF PULP FIBER SUSPENSIONS IN STOCK PUMP WITH SEMI-OPEN IMPELLER

The flow of pulp fiber suspensions with a consistency below 5% through a pump falls into the turbulent region. The 2-phase 3D turbulent flow of the mixture is simulated in the hydraulic components composed by suction chamber, front board, semi-impeller and volute casing for the first time. The pseudo-fluid model and the k-ε turbulent model are modified. Phase coupled SIMPLE algorithm is applied to make pressure-velocity correction equation. Based on the results of the numerical simulation, the distribution of velocity, pressure and density of liquid and particle phase are compared and analyzed. The flow analysis in the tip between front board and impeller is emphasized, which reflects the advantage of semi-open impeller when it transports 2-phase medium. This calculation result will be helpful for the design of pump impeller and the establishment of design method of centrifugal stock pump.

SEMI-ACTIVE CONTROL OF VEHICLE SUSPENSION WITH MAGNETO-RHEOLOGICAL DAMPERS:PART III—EXPERIMENTAL VALIDATION

A hardware-in-the-loop （HIL） test and simulation platform is developed in the laboratory, so as to validate the performance characteristics of the proposed skyhook-based asymmetric semi-active controller in Part I, and examine the validity of the proposed MR-damper model in a system surrounding. A real-time monitor is designed to assess and monitor the responses of the quarter-vehicle model in the HIL platform, and to select the excitation, controller synthesis, and the output displays. A drive current circuit hardware employing PID feedback technique is developed to compensate for the time delays from the servo-controller and drive current circuit, in which a small resistance is integrated in the current amplifier circuit to provide the feedback signal. The experiments were performed to measure the responses of the quarter-vehicle MR-suspension models with fixed current and the proposed semi-active MR-damping variations, under harmonic, rounded pulse and random road excitations. The measured data were compared with the corresponding model results to examine the model and controller validity, and revealed generally good agreements in the model and tested results and very little sensitivity of the tested responses to variations in the sprung mass. The HIL test results validate the effectiveness of the proposed skyhook-based semi-active asymmetric controller and its high robustness against the vehicle load variations in view of the intelligent vehicle suspension design.

CFD simulation of particle suspension in a stirred tank

Particle suspension characteristics are predicted computationally in a stirred tank driven by a Smith turbine. In order to verify the hydrodynamic model and numerical method, the predicted power number and flow pattern are compared with designed values and simulated results from the literature, respectively. The effects of particle density, particle diameter, liquid viscosity and initial solid loading on particle suspension behavior are investigated by using the Eulerian-Eulerian two-fluid model and the standard k-ε turbulence model. The results indicate that solid concentration distribution depends on the flow field in the stirred tank. Higher particle density or larger particle size results in less homogenous distribution of solid particles in the tank. Increasing initial solid loading has an adverse impact on the homogeneous suspension of solid particles in a low-viscosity liquid, whilst more uniform particle distribution is found in a high-viscosity liquid.