Flow characteristics at low Reynolds number around two in-line circular cylinders with slits

This study investigated numerically the characteristics of laminar flow around two identical circular cylinders placed in tandem, with slits of the same width through their respective axis. The center to center distance between the cylinders and the slit orientation were varied to study their effects on the flow structure, lift and drag, and vortex shedding characteristics. It was found that three flow regimes could be distinguished, the transitions between which could be indicated by the sudden changes in drag and lift. Asymmetrically, configured slits destabilized the stagnant region between cylinders;whereas in-line slits connect the two cylinders to act as a single elongated bluff body, even at large cylinder separation, by stabilizing the stagnant region in between. These in turn strongly modified the transition between flow regimes. Vortex shedding was also strongly influenced by both slit configuration and cylinder separation.

Simulation of gas-solid flow characteristics of the circulating fluidized bed boiler under pure-oxygen combustion conditions

Under the pressure of carbon neutrality,many carbon capture,utilization and storage technologies have witnessed rapid development in the recent years,including oxy-fuel combustion(OFC)technology.However,the conventional OFC technology usually depends on the flue gas recirculation system,which faces significant investment,high energy consumption,and potential low-temperature corrosion problem.Considering these deficiencies,the direct utilization of pure oxygen to achieve particle fluidization and fuel combustion may reduce the overall energy consumption and CO_(2)-capture costs.In this paper,the fundamental structure of a self-designed 130 t·h^(-1) pure-oxygen combustion circulating fluidized bed(CFB)boiler was provided,and the computational particle fluid dynamics method was used to analyze the gas-solid flow characteristics of this new-concept boiler under different working conditions.The results indicate that through the careful selection of design or operational parameters,such as average bed-material size and fluidization velocity,the pure-oxygen combustion CFB system can maintain the ideal fluidization state,namely significant internal and external particle circulation.Besides,the contraction section of the boiler leads to the particle backflow in the lower furnace,resulting in the particle suspension concentration near the wall region being higher than that in the center region.Conversely,the upper furnace still retains the classic core-annulus flow structure.In addition to increasing solid circulation rate by reducing the average bed-material size,altering primary gas ratio and bed inventory can also exert varying degrees of influence on the gas-solid flow characteristics of the pure-oxygen combustion CFB boiler.

NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF FLOW CHARACTERISTICS IN BLOCKING OF THE YANGTZ RIVER OF THE TGP

Some novel techniques of computational fluid dynamics are used to establish a mathematical model for the open diversion channel with two embankments in river blocking.The technique of boundary fitted coordinate system is used to overcome the difficulties resulting from the complicated shapes of natural river boundaries;the method of alternating direction implicit finite difference scheme is used to solve the partial differential equations in the transformed plane;and the technique of moving boundary is used to deal with the river bed exposed to water surface.This model has been used to predict the flow characteristics in the blocking of the Yangtz river in the Three Gorge Project (TGP).Comparison between the computed and experimental data shows a satisfactory agreement.

EXPERIMENT ON FLOW CHARACTERISTICS OF SYNTHETIC JET DRIVEN BY PIEZOELECTRIC MEMBRANE

The characteristics of the flowfields of a synthetic jet actuator are experimentally investigated with the slot-nozzle driven by the piezoelectric membrane. The particle image velocimetry （PIV） and the hot-wire anemometer are utilized to measure the flowfields and the velocity profiles of the actuator with different actuating factors. Analytical results show that pairs of counter-rotating vortices are generated near the nozzle. With the development of the synthetic ject, the synthetic jet rapidly spreads in the slot-width direction; while in the slot-length direction, it contracts firstly and slowly spreads. The centerline velocity distribution has a up-down tendency varying with axial distances, and accelerates to its maximum at z/b= 10. The transverse velocity profile across the slot-width is centro-symmetric and self-similar. However, the velocity profiles across the slot-length are saddle-like near the nozzle. It shows that there are two resonance frequencies for the actuator. If the actuator works with the resonance frequency, the vorticity and the velocity of the synthetic jet are higher than those of other frequencies. Compared with the continuous jet, the synthetic jet shows special flow characteristics.

EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS OF CAVITATION EFFECTS ON FLOW CHARACTERISTICS OF SMALL ORIFICES AND VALVES IN WATER HYDRAULICS

The flow characteristics and cavitation effects of water passing throughsmall sharp-edged cylindrical orifices and valves of different shapes in water hydraulics areinvestigated. The test results using orifices with different aspect ratios and different diametersshow that the flow coefficients in the case of non-cavitating flow are larger than that of flow inthe case of cavitation occurrence. The flow coefficients of flow with cavitation initially decreaseas Reynolds number increases and ultimately tend to be of constant values close to contractioncoefficient. Large aspect ratio has an effect of suppressing cavitation. The experimental resultsabout disc valves illustrate that the valves with sharp edge at large opening are less affected bycavitation than that at small opening. Throttle with triangle notch has better anti-cavitationability than that with square notch. The flowrate of the throttle with square notch is significantlyaffected by the flow direction or the flow passage shape.

Influence of Blade Thickness on Transient Flow Characteristics of Centrifugal Slurry Pump with Semi-open Impeller

As the critical component, the impellers of the slurry pumps usually have blades of a large thickness. The increasing excretion coefficient of the blades affects the flow in the impeller resulting in a relatively higher hydraulic loss, which is rarely reported. In order to investigate the influence of blade thickness on the transient flow characteristics of a centrifugal slurry pump with a semi-open impeller, transient numerical simulations were carried out on six impellers, of which the meridional blade thickness from the leading edge to trailing edge varied from 5-10 mm, 5-15 mm, 5-20 mm, 10-10 mm, 10-15 mm, and 10-20 mm, respectively. Then, two of the six impellers, namely cases 4 and 6, were manufactured and experimentally tested for hydraulic performance to verify the simulation results. Results of these tests agreed reasonably well with those of the numerical simulation. The results demonstrate that when blade thickness increases, pressure fluctuations at the outlet of the impeller become severe. Moreover, the standard deviation of the relative velocity in the middle portion of the suction sides of the blades decreases and that at the outlet of the impeller increases. Thus, the amplitude of the impeller head pulsation for each case increases. Meanwhile, the distribution of the time-averaged relative flow angle becomes less uniform and decreases at the outlet of the impeller. Hence, as the impeUer blade thickness increases, the pump head drops rapidly and the maximum efficiency point is offset to a lower flow rate condition. As the thickness of blade trailing edge increases by 10 mm, the head of the pump drops by approximately 5 m, which is approximately 10 % of the original pump head. Futhermore, it is for the first time that the time-averaged relative flow angle is being considered for the analysis of transient flow in centrifugal pump. The presented work could be a useful guideline in engineering practice when designing a centrifugal slurry pump with thick impeller blades.

Numerical investigation of laminar heat transfer and nanofluid flow between two porous horizontal concentric cylinders

In this study, the laminar heat transfer and nanofluid flow between two porous horizontal concentric cylinders was investigated. The problem is investigated in two different geometries and the Re=10, 25, 50, 75, 100 and volume fraction 0, 0.2%, 0.5%, 2% and 5% that related to copper nanoparticles, and porous medium porosity of 0.5 and 0.9. Compared to the first geometry, the convective coefficient in the second geometry increases by 8.3%, 7% and 5.5% at Reynolds numbers of 100, 75 and 50, respectively. Comparison of the outlet temperatures for two heat fluxes of 300 and 1200 W/m^2 indicates a 2.5% temperature growth by a fourfold increase in the heat fluxes. Also, the higher Nusselt number is associated with the second geometry occurring at porosities of 0.9 and 0.5, respectively. In both geometries, the Nusselt number values at the porosity of 0.9 are higher, which is due to the increased nanofluid convection at higher porosities. The velocity of the nanofluid experiences a two-fold increase at the outlet compared to its inlet velocity in the first geometry and for both porosities. Similarly, a three-fold increase was achieved in the second geometry and for both porosities.

Numerical Simulation on Flow Past Two Side-by-Side Inclined Circular Cylinders at Low Reynolds Number

A series of three-dimensional numerical simulations is carried out to investigate the effect of inclined angle on flow behavior behind two side-by-side inclined cylinders at low Reynolds number Re=100 and small spacing ratio T/D=1.5 (T is the center-to-center distance between two side-by-side cylinders, D is the diameter of cylinder). The instantaneous and time-averaged flow fields, force coefficients and Strouhal numbers are analyzed. Special attention is focused on the axial flow characteristics with variation of the inclined angle. The results show that the inclined angle has a significant effect on the gap flow behaviors behind two inclined cylinders. The vortex shedding behind two cylinders is suppressed with the increase of the inclined angle as well as the flip-flop gap flow. Moreover, the mean drag coefficient, root-mean-square lift coefficient and Strouhal numbers decrease monotonously with the increase of the inclined angle, which follows the independent principle at small inclined angles.

Analysis of Gas-Solid Flow Characteristics in a Spouted Fluidized Bed Dryer by Means of Computational Particle Fluid Dynamics

In order to grasp the particle flow characteristics and energy consumption of industrial fluidized spouted beds,we conduct numerical simulations on the basis of a Computational Particle Fluid Dynamics(CPFD)approach.In particular,the traction model of Wen-Yu-Ergun is used and different inlet conditions are considered.Using a low-speed fluidizing gas,the flow state of the particles is better and the amount of particles accumulated at the bottom of the bed wall becomes smaller.For the same air intake,the energy loss of a circular nozzle is larger than that of a square nozzle.

EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF EFFECTS OF OPERATING CONDITIONS ON THE FLOW CHARACTERISTICS OF WATER HYDRAULIC THROTTLE

Experimental investigations are made on the effects of operating conditionson the flow characteristics of throttle when tap water is used as the working media. The researchedthrottles include cone poppet valve, ball valve, disc valve and dumping orifice. Operating conditionincludes poppet lift, working media, back pressure, medium temperature, etc. Because the vapourouspressure of water is much higher than that of oil, cavitation is easier to occur in water hydraulicelements and systems, so the effects of operating conditions on the cavitation characteristics ofthrottle are also researched.

Experimental Study on the Flow Around Two Tandem Cylinders with Unequal Diameters

In this paper, flow around two circular cylinders in tandem arrangement with unequal diameters has been investigated using the particle image velocimetry technique(PIV) in a water channel. The upstream to downstream diameter ratio was kept constant at d/D = 2/3, the centre-to-centre distance was varied from 1.2D to 5D and the Reynolds number was varied from 1200 to 4800. The flow characteristics were analyzed through ensemble-averaged patterns of velocity, vorticity, normalized Reynolds stress contours and streamlines. Based on ensemble-averaged and instantaneous flow fields, different flow patterns, including single-wakeshedding at small spacing ratio, bi-stable flow behavior(alternating behavior of reattachment and vortex shedding) at intermediate spacing ratio and co-shedding pattern at large spacing ratio were observed. The effects of Reynolds number and the centre-to-centre spacing ratio on flow patterns and turbulent characteristics were also investigated. It was found that the diameter ratio appears to have a certain effect on the flow patterns at intermediate spacing ratios, where the reattachment of shear layer depends on the lateral width of the wake flow in the lee of the upstream cylinder. Extensive discussion on the distributions of Reynolds stress and turbulent kinetic energy was presented.

Experimental Study on the Flow Characteristics of a Plate with a Mechanically Choked Orifice

The mechanically choked orifice plate (MCOP) is a new type of device for flow control by which choking conditionsfor incompressible fluids can be obtained with relatively small pressure losses. Given the lack of relevant results anddata in the literature, in the present study, we concentrate on the experimental determination of the flow coefficientfor the annular orifice, the pressure distribution in the MCOP, and the characteristics of the choked flow itself. Asconfirmed by the experimental results, the Reynolds number, the orifice plate thickness, the plug taper, and theeccentricity have an obvious influence on the aforementioned flow coefficient. The pressure drop in the MCOPis mainly generated near the orifice plate, and the pressure upstream of the orifice plate is slightly reduced in theflow direction, while the pressure downstream of the orifice plate displays a recovery trend. The choked flow rateof the MCOP can be adjusted by replacing the spring with a maximum flow control deviation of 4.91%.

Experimental Investigation on Flow Characteristics at Leeside of Suspended Flexible Curtain for Sedimentation Enhancement

A new patent registered device- suspended flexible curtain （SFC） for sedimentation enhancement is proposed in this paper, which consists of two parts： a light-weight curtain with sediment-passing windows and a heavy pillar for the device stability. The mechanism of trapping nearbed sediment by the SFC is such that a primary and a secondary circulations with horizontal hubs would be formed at the leeside when it is placed on beds in running flow; the velocities within the sediment-passing windows are locally accelerated, the nearbed sediments would be brought by the flow through the windows, and then settled down within the primary circulation zone. Experimental tests on hydraulic characteristics are conducted in a laboratory flume with rigid bed. It is found that the dimensions of the curtain and the sediment-passing windows determine the characteristics of the primary and the secondary circulations. The intensity of the primary and the secondary circulations is dominated by the size of the sediment-passing window. Whether the secondary circulation would contact the bed or not depends on the level of the sediment-passing window. The length and the height of the primary circulation zone demonstrate quasi linear relationships with the effective height of the SFC. And the tests on sandy bed flume show that the sediment deposition happens just in the primary circulation zone.

Uniformity evaluation and optimization of fluid flow characteristics in a seven-strand tundish

The effect of flow control devices（FCDs） on the uniformity of flow characteristics in a seven-strand symmetrical trapezoidal tundish was studied using both an experimental 1：2.5 hydraulic model and a numerical simulation of a 1：1 geometric model.The variation coefficient（CV） was defined to evaluate the flow uniformity of the seven-strand tundish.An optimized FCD configuration was proposed on the basis of the evaluation of experimental results.It is concluded that a turbulence inhibitor（TI） and U-type dam are essential to improve the uniformity of fluid flow in the seven-strand tundish.In addition,the configuration of inclination T-type dams with a height of 200 mm between the second and third strands and with a height of 300 mm between the third and fourth strands can minimize the proportion of dead zone.After optimizing the configuration of FCDs,the variation coefficient reduces below 20%of the mean value,and the average proportion of dead zone is just 14.6%;in addition,the temperature fluctuation between the strands could be controlled within 0.6 K.In summary,the uniformity of flow and temperature in the seven-strand tundish is greatly improved.

Flow Characteristics of Grains in a Conical Silo with a Central Decompression Tube Based on Experiments and DEM Simulations

Grains are widely present in industrial productions and processing,and are stored in silos.In the silo,auxiliary structures are added to achieve efficient production.However,little effort has been devoted to the influence of the internal structure of the silo on the granular flow.In this work,a silo with a central decompression tube is studied through experimental measurements and discrete element methods.Then,the influences of the central decompression tube on the flow behavior of grains and wall pressure are analyzed.Results show that the grains are in mass flow in the silo without a central decompression tube,while the grains are in funnel flow in the silo with a central decompression tube.Moreover,regardless of whether there is a central decompression tube in the silo,the maximum pressure appears at the top of the conical silo.In the lower part of the silo,the wall pressure of the silo with a central decompression tube is lower than that of the silo without a central decompression tube.Therefore,a silo with a central decompression tube is more conducive to grain storage and discharge than a silo without a central decompression tube.

Periodic flow characteristics during RH vacuum circulation refining

The circulation period of RH vacuum refining was studied to promote the refining efficiency. The influences of the lift gas flow rate and submersion depth of snorkels on the circulation period, and the relationship between mixing time and circulation flow were dis- cussed. The effects of the lift gas flow rate and submersion depth on the degassing rate in one circulation period were studied by water modeling. The results show that the circulation period is shortened by increasing the lift gas flow rate. The circulation period is the shortest when the submersion depth of snorkels is 560 mm. The whole ladle can be mixed thoroughly after three times of circulation. Increasing the lift gas flow rate can enhance the degassing rate of RH circulation.

A Numerical Investigation of Vortex-Induced Vibration Response and Fatigue Damage for Flexible Cylinders Under Combined Uniform and Oscillatory Flow

Vortex-induced vibration(VIV)for flexible cylinders under combined uniform and oscillatory flow is a challenging and practical issue in ocean engineering.In this paper,a time domain numerical model is adopted to investigate the characteristics of cross-flow VIV response and fatigue damage under different combined flow cases.Firstly,the adopted VIV model and fatigue analysis procedure are validated well against the published experimental results of a4-m cylinder model under pure oscillatory flows.Then,forty-five combined flow cases of the same cylinder model are designed to reveal the VIV response characteristics with different non-dimensional oscillation period T^*and combined ratio r.The combined flow cases are classified into three categories to investigate the effect of r on cylinder’s dynamic response,and the effect of T*is described under long and short period cases.Finally,fatigue analysis is carried out to investigate how the structural fatigue damage varies with the variations of r and T^*.The captured characteristics of structural response and fatigue damage are explained through the VIV mechanism analysis.

Numerical Simulation of Two-Dimensional Flow over Three Cylinders by Lattice Boltzmann Method

The numerical simulation using the multiple relaxation time lattice Boltzmann method （MRT-LBM） is carried out for the purpose of investigating the two-dimensional flow around three circular cylinders. Among these three circular cylinders, one of the three cylinders on which a forced in-line vibrating is used to do this research and attempt to find out the effects of the moving cylinder and the other two rigid cylinders on the wake characteristics and vortex formation. As a benchmark problem to discuss the problem of lift coefficient r.m.s for these cylinders with spacing ratios T/ D between other rigid side-by-side cylinders, and the calculation is carried out with two compared cases at Reynolds number of 100, two of the cylinders are rigid and the other one is an in-line vibrated cylinder lying downstream, in addition, forced vibrating amplitude and frequency are A/D = 0.5 and fv= 0.4 （where A is the forced amplitude, D is the cylinder diameter, and fv stands for the vibrating frequency, respectively）. The calculated results not only indicate that the spacing ratios T/D （T is the center-to-center spacing between the two upstream cylinders） have influence on the wake patterns and the formation of vortex shedding, but also analyze the lift coefficient r.m.s for the three cylinders with the spacing ratios S/D （where S is the center-to-center spacing between the center of upstream two side-by-side cylinders and downstream cylinder）.

Influence of sand content on the flow characteristics of soft soil under cyclic and high-frequency vibration

The flow characteristics of foundation soils subjected to train loads can present engineering hazards in highspeed railways.In order to verify the feasibility of blending coarse sand in modifying soft subsoil,undrained pulling sphere tests were carried out and the train loads were simulated through localized and cyclic vibration at various frequencies.Laboratory testing results indicate that the fl ow characteristics of soft soil can be signifi cantly enhanced by high-frequency vibration;meanwhile the continuous increase in fl ow characteristics caused by cyclic vibration may be an important reason for the long-term settlement of soft subsoil.The infl uence of sand content on fl ow characteristics is also studied in detail,and it is shown that the addition of coarse sand can weaken the fl ow characteristics of soft soil induced by sudden vibration at lower than 50 Hz.Under the condition of cyclic vibration,the growth of the fl ow characteristics of sand-clay mixtures is mainly caused by the fi rst-time vibration in the cycle,and the increase in sand content can make the fl ow characteristics present a faster convergent tendency.

Influence of matrix physical properties on flow characteristics in dual network model

The tight oil formation develops with microfractures and matrix pores,it is important to study the influence of matrix physical properties on flow characteristics.At first,the representative fracture and matrix samples are selected respectively in the dual media,the fracture and matrix digital rocks are constructed with micro-CT scanning at different resolutions,and the corresponding fracture and matrix pore networks are extracted,respectively.Then,the modified integration method is proposed to build the dual network model containing both fracture and matrix pore-throat elements,while the geometric-topological structure equivalent matrix pores are generated to fill in the skeleton domain of fracture network,the constructed dual network could describe the geometric-topological structure characteristics of fracture and matrix pore-throat simultaneously.At last,by adjusting the matrix pore density and the matrix filling domain factor,a series of dual network models are obtained to analyze the influence of matrix physical properties on flow characteristics in dual-media.It can be seen that the matrix system contributes more to the porosity of the dual media and less to the permeability.With the decrease in matrix pore density,the porosity/permeability contributions of matrix system to dual media keep decreasing,but the decrease is not significant,the oil-water co-flow zone decreases and the irreducible water saturation increases,and the saturation interval dominated by the fluid flow in the fracture keeps increasing.With the decrease in matrix filling domain factor,the porosity/permeability contributions of matrix system to dual media decreases,the oil-water co-flow zone increases and the irreducible water saturation decreases,and the saturation interval dominated by the fluid flow in the fracture keeps increasing.The results can be used to explain the dual-media flow pattern under different matrix types and different fracture control volumes during tight oil production.