Computational-Analysis of the Non-Isothermal Dynamics of the Gravity-Driven Flow of Viscoelastic-Fluid-Based Nanofluids Down an Inclined Plane

The paper explores the gravity-driven flow of the thin film of a viscoelastic-fluid-based nanofluids(VFBN)along an inclined plane under non-isothermal conditions and subjected to convective cooling at the free-surface.The Newton’s law of cooling is used to model the convective heat-exchange with the ambient at the free-surface.The Giesekus viscoelastic constitutive model,with appropriate modifications to account for non-isothermal effects,is employed to describe the polymeric effects.The unsteady and coupled non-linear partial differential equations(PDEs)describing the model problem are obtained and solved via efficient semi-implicit numerical schemes based on finite difference methods(FDM)implemented in Matlab.The response of the VFBN velocity,temperature,thermal-conductivity and polymeric-stresses to variations in the volume-fraction of embedded nanoparticles is investigated.It is shown that these quantities all increase as the nanoparticle volume-fraction becomes higher.

Mixed convection in gravity-driven nano-liquid film containing both nanoparticles and gyrotactic microorganisms

Analysis of a gravity-induced film flow of a fluid containing both nanoparticles and gyrotactic microorganisms along a convectively heated vertical surface is presented.The Buongiorno model is applied. Two kinds of boundary conditions, the passive and the active boundary conditions, are considered to investigate this film flow phenomenon.Through a set of similarity variables, the ordinary differential equations that describe the conservation of the momentum, the thermal energy, the nanoparticles, and the microorganisms are derived and then solved numerically by an efficient finite difference technique.The effects of various physical parameters on the profiles of momentum, thermal energy,nanoparticles, microorganisms, local skin friction, local Nusselt number, local wall mass flux, and local wall motile microorganisms flux are investigated. It is expected that the passively controlled nanofluid model can be much more easily achieved and applied in real circumstances than the actively controlled model.

Metabolic uncoupler,3,3’,4’,5-tetrachlorosalicylanilide addition for sludge reduction and fouling control in a gravity-driven membrane bioreactor

The gravity-driven membrane bioreactor(MBR)system is promising for decentralized sewage treatment because of its low energy consumption and maintenance requirements.However,the growing sludge not only increases membrane fouling,but also augments operational complexities(sludge discharge).We added the metabolic uncoupler 3,3’,4f,5-tetrachlorosalicylanilide(TC$)to the system to deal with the mentioned issues.Based on the results,TCS addition effectively decreased sludge ATP and sludge yield(reduced by 50%).Extracellular polymeric substances(EPS;proteins and polysaccharides)decreased with the addition of TCS and were transformed into dissolved soluble microbial products(SMPs)in the bulk solution,leading to the break of sludge floes into small fragments.Permeability was increased by more than two times,reaching 60-70 L/m2/h bar when 10-30 mg/L TCS were added,because of the reduced suspended sludge and the formation of a thin cake layer with low EPS levels.Resistance analyses confirmed that appropriate dosages of TCS primarily decreased the cake layer and hydraulically reversible resistances.Permeability decreased at high dosage(50 mg/L)due to the release of excess sludge fragments and SMP into the supernatant,with a thin but more compact fouling layer with low bioactivity developing on the membrane surface,causing higher cake layer and pore blocking resistances.Our study provides a fundamental understanding of how a metabolic uncoupler affects the sludge and bio-fouling layers at different dosages,with practical relevance for in situ sludge reduction and membrane fouling alleviation in MBR systems.

Application of a hybrid gravity-driven membrane filtration and dissolved ozone flotation(MDOF)process for wastewater reclamation and membrane fouling mitigation

This study proposed a novel membrane filtration and dissolved ozone flotation integrated(MDOF) process and tested it at pilot scale. Membrane filtration in the MDOF process was operated in gravity-driven mode, and required no backwashing, flushing, or chemical cleaning. Because ozone was added in the MDOF process, ozonation, coagulation, and membrane filtration could occur in a single reactor. Moreover, in situ ozonation occurred in the MDOF process, which differs from the conventional pre-ozonation membrane filtration process. Significant enhancement of turbidity removal was further achieved through the addition of membrane filtration. Membrane fouling was mitigated in the MDOF process compared to the MDAF process. In situ ozonation in the MDOF process decreased the fluorescence intensity and transformed the high MW dissolved organics into small MW compounds. For the fouling layer, the extracellular polymeric substance(EPS) contents and cake layer morphology were analyzed. The results indicated that the contents of EPS decreased. Furthermore, a thinner and more loosely structured cake layer formed in the MDOF process. Because coagulation and ozonation occurred simultaneously in a single reactor, the generation of hydroxyl radicals was enhanced through the catalytic effect of Al-based coagulants on ozone decomposition, which further alleviated membrane fouling in the MDOF process.

Simulation study of a dual-cavity window with gravity-driven cooling mechanism

Utilization of high temperature cooling sources or natural energy sources can potentially contribute to improving energy efficiency in buildings.In this study,a dual-cavity window with gravity-driven cooling mechanism(GDC window)was proposed to integrate the low-grade cooling sources into the glazing system for improving the thermal performance of the window.The embedded pipes circulated with low-grade cooling water are the key component of GDC window,which can remove the absorbed solar heat and reduce the heat gain through the window.A numerical model based on CFD simulation was developed to analyze the flow characteristic and heat transfer within the GDC window.Model validation was conducted by comparing the simulation results with measurement data obtained from previous study.Numerical simulations were carried out to compare the thermal performance of GDC window with that of conventional blinds window.Sensitivity analysis was performed to evaluate the influence of some design parameters on the flow characteristic and thermal performance of GDC window.The simulated results show that compared with the blinds window,the GDC window reduces 57.4%and 40.4% of heat gain in summer for the low-grade cooling water of 18℃ and 25℃;respectively.Reducing the flow resistance within the GDC window is significant for improving the heat removal performance of the embedded pipes.This study provides an alternative solution to integrate the low-grade cooling sources into the glazing system for enhancing the energy-efficiency and decreasing the building energy demand in cooling-dominated buildings.

Comparison of Heat Transfer in Gravity-Driven Granular Flow near Different Surfaces

Heat transfer in gravity-driven granular flow has been encountered in many industrial processes,such as waste heat recovery and concentrated solar power.To understand more about Moving Bed Heat Exchanger (MBHE) applied in this field,numerical simulation was carried out for the characteristics of granular flow near different surfaces through discrete element method (DEM).In this paper,both the performances of particles motion and heat transfer were investigated.It's found that,even though the macroscopic granular flow is similar to fluid,there is still obvious discrete nature partly.The fluctuations of parameters in granular flow are inevitable which is more obvious in the circular tube cases.A special phenomenon,where competition motion is found,is resulted from discrete nature of particles.In terms of heat transfer,overall heat transfer coefficients for plate are higher than that of tube owing to better contact between particles and wall.However,due to competition motion,particles in high temperature tend to contact the tube,which is beneficial to heat transfer in some local zones.The heat transfer characteristics above will also affect the temperature distribution near the outlet of different geometries.

Prediction of Wavy Liquid Film Profile for Thin Film on a Falling Film Absorber

A hydrodynamic model of thin, laminar, gravity-driven, wavy-film flow over a vertical plate was considered. To make advantage of the cyclic boundary conditions and due to the nature of the wavy flow, a solution based on a Fourier series was implemented. Two representative cases of practical importance were studied;Re = 25, Re = 100. This range of Reynolds numbers is of the most practical importance in the process industry. Multiple solutions were obtained. Most of these solutions are mathematically correct but physically are not. It is observed that realistic wave profiles are always obtained once we approach the Froude number corresponding to thin film.

Detailed mapping of the surface rupture of the 12 February 2014 Yutian M_s7.3 earthquake,Altyn Tagh fault,Xinjiang,China

Large-scale detailed mapping plays a key role in revealing the rupture characteristics and mechanisms of strong earthquakes.Relatively few studies have been performed on the surface ruptures of large earthquakes in central and western Tibet due to its remote nature and high elevation.Based on high-resolution unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV)photography,we mapped the coseismic surface rupture of the 2014 Yutian M_s7.3 earthquake.Along the western Altyn Tagh fault system,the earthquake produced~37 km of surface rupture along the South Xor Kol fault(southern section S1),Xor Kol fault(central section S2)and Ashikule fault(northern section S3).Section S1 has a 16-km-long surface rupture with an average sinistral offset of 52±25 cm and a maximum offset of~90 cm,while section S3 has a 14.2-km-long surface rupture with an average sinistral offset of 36±21 cm and a maximum offset of~84 cm.A compilation of 5308 cracks yields an average crack width along the southern section of 85±71 cm and a maximum width of~700 cm;the average width along the central section is 39±21 cm,and the maximum width is 243 cm;and the average width along the northern section is 61±44 cm with a maximum of~340 cm.In addition,the average cumulative opening across rupture zone is 3.4±2.9 m along the southern section,with a maximum of~17 m;4.3±3.6 m along the central section,with a maximum of~13 m;and 1.7±1.6 m along the northern section,with a maximum of~6 m.Evidently,the average crack width and cumulative opening decrease towards bends and steps along the fault.A global synthesis of surface rupture distributions corresponding to strike-slip earthquakes indicates that the rupture zone is wider near the complex parts of fault geometries(such as bends,steps and fault bifurcations)than along straight sections,suggesting that the fault geometry has an obvious control on the surface rupture width.The widespread cracks at the intersection between the Xor Kol and South Xor Kol faults may indicate that an extensional regime is more likely to produce distributed offfault deformation,which provides an observational constraint for the numerical simulation of dynamic rupture on a fault.In addition to coseismic surface rupture,the Yutian earthquake also produced a large number of gravity-driven slides on alluvial fans with gentle slopes.The friction efficiency of the water-bearing salt layer beneath fans could decrease the sliding threshold and trigger instability under surface shaking.These distributed deformations and gravity-driven slides reflect the coupling between the rupture propagation and fault geometry and indicate that the rupture may have propagated in two directions along the Ashikule fault after passing through a step.Therefore,the investigation of coseismic surface rupture provides important observational constraints on the dynamic rupture process.