Numerical Analysis of Steady Smoldering of Biomass Rods

Understanding the steady mechanism of biomass smoldering plays a great role in the utilization of smoldering technology.In this study numerical analysis of steady smoldering of biomass rods was performed.A two-dimensional(2D)steady model taking into account both char oxidation and pyrolysis was developed on the basis of a calculated propagation velocity according to empirical correlation.The model was validated against the smoldering experiment of biomass rods under natural conditions,and the maximum error was smaller than 31%.Parameter sensitivity analysis found that propagation velocity decreases significantly while oxidation area and pyrolysis zone increase significantly with the increasing diameter of rod fuel.

Numerical analysis of matrix swelling and its effect on microstructure of digital coal and its associated permeability during CO_(2)-ECBM process based on X-ray CT data

Matrix swelling effect will cause the change of microstructure of coal reservoir and its permeability,which is the key factor affecting the engineering effect of CO_(2)-ECBM technology.The Sihe and Yuwu collieries are taken as research objects.Firstly,visualization reconstruction of coal reservoir is realized.Secondly,the evolution of the pore/fracture structures under different swelling contents is discussed.Then,the influence of matrix phase with different swelling contents on permeability is discussed.Finally,the mechanism of swelling effect during the CO_(2)-ECBM process is further discussed.The results show that the intra-matrix pores and matrix-edge fractures are the focus of this study,and the contacting area between matrix and pore/fracture is the core area of matrix swelling.The number of matrix particles decreases with the increase of size,and the distribution of which is isolated with small size and interconnected with large size.The swelling effect of matrix particles with larger size has a great influence on the pore/fracture structures.The number of connected pores/fractures is limited and only interconnected in a certain direction.With the increase of matrix swelling content,the number,porosity,width,fractal dimension,surface area and volume of pores/fractures decrease,and their negative contribution to absolute permeability increases from 0.368% to 0.633% and 0.868%-1.404%,respectively.With the increase of swelling content,the number of intra-matrix pores gradually decreases and the pore radius becomes shorter during the CO_(2)-ECBM process.The matrix continuously expands to the connected fractures,and the width of connected fractures gradually shorten.Under the influence of matrix swelling,the bending degree of fluid flow increases gradually,so the resistance of fluid migration increases and the permeability gradually decreases.This study shows that the matrix swelling effect is the key factor affecting CBM recovery,and the application of this effect in CO_(2)-ECBM process can be discussed.

VIBRATION NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF COUNTER-ROTATING TURBINE WITH WAKE-FLOW USING FLUID-STRUCTURE INTERACTION METHOD

The design of counter-rotating turbine is one of new techniques to improve the thrust-weight ratio of jet propulsion engines.Numerical analysis of a low pressure（LP）counter-rotating turbine rotor blade is presented by using ANSYS/CFX software.Interaction of aerodynamics and solid mechanics coupling in the computation is applied.In some rating of turbine,stress distribution and vibration characteristics of low pressure turbine（LPT）blade are computed.The wake aerodynamic forces and LPT blade vibration are transformed in frequency domain using fast Fourier transform（FFT）method.The results show that under wake aerodynamic force excitation,the first order modal vibration is more easily aroused and the higher order response cannot be ignored.Moreover,with different temperature fields,the vibration responses of blade are also different.

Numerical Analysis of a Spiral-groove Dry-gas Seal Considering Micro-scale Effects

A dry-gas seal system is a non-contact seal technology that is widely used in different industrial applications.Spiral-groove dry-gas seal utilizes fluid dynamic pressure effects to realize the seal and lubrication processes,while forming a high pressure gas film between two sealing faces due to the deceleration of the gas pumped in or out.There is little research into the effects and the influence on seal performance,if the grooves and the gas film are at the micro-scale.This paper investigates the micro-scale effects on spiral-groove dry-gas seal performance in a numerical solution of a corrected Reynolds equation.The Reynolds equation is discretized by means of the finite difference method with the second order scheme and solved by the successive-over-relaxation（SOR） iterative method.The Knudsen number of the flow in the sealing gas film is changed from 0.005 to 0.120 with a variation of film depth and sealing pressure.The numerical results show that the average pressure in the gas film and the sealed gas leakage increase due to micro-scale effects.The open force is enlarged,while the gas film stiffness is significantly decreased due to micro-scale effects.The friction torque and power consumption remain constant,even in low sealing pressure and spin speed conditions.In this paper,the seal performance at different rotor face spin speeds is also described.The proposed research clarifies the micro-scale effects in a spiral-groove dry-gas seal and their influence on seal performance,which is expected to be useful for the improvement of the design of dry-gas seal systems operating in the slip flow regime.

Numerical analysis and geophysical monitoring for stability assessment of the Northwest tailings dam at Westwood Mine

The Westwood Mine aims to reuse the tailings storage facility #1(TSF #1) for solid waste storage, but,downstream of the Northwest dike is considered critical in terms of stability. This paper uses numerical modeling along with geophysical monitoring for assessing the Northwest dike stability during the restoration phase. The impact of waste rock deposition in the upstream TSF #1 is considered. The geophysical monitoring is based on electrical resistivity methods and was used to investigate the internal structure of the dike embankment in different deposition stages. The numerical simulations were performed with SLOPE/W code. The results show a factor of safety well above the minimum recommended value of 1.5. Geophysical monitoring revealed a vertical variation in the electrical resistivity across the dike, which indicates a multilayer structure of the embankment. Without any current in situ data, the geophysical monitoring helped estimating the nature of the materials used and the internal structure of the embankment. These interpretations were validated by geological observation of geotechnical log of the embankment. Based on this study, it is recommended that the water polishing pond be partly filled before waste rock is deposited in TSF #1. In addition, to ensure the stability of the dike, the piezometric head monitoring prior to and during waste rock deposition is recommended.

Numerical analysis of surface subsidence in asymmetric parallel highway tunnels

Tunnelling related hazards are very common in the Himalayan terrain and a number of such instances have been reported. Several twin tunnels are being planned for transportation purposes which will require good understanding for prediction of tunnel deformation and surface settlement during the engineering life of the structure. The deformational behaviour, design of sequential excavation and support of any jointed rock mass are challenging during underground construction. We have raised several commonly assumed issues while performing stability analysis of underground opening at shallow depth. For this purpose, Kainchi-mod Nerchowck twin tunnels(Himachal Pradesh, India) are taken for in-depth analysis of the stability of two asymmetric tunnels to address the influence of topography, twin tunnel dimension and geometry. The host rock encountered during excavation is composed mainly of moderately to highly jointed grey sandstone, maroon sandstone and siltstones. In contrast to equidimensional tunnels where the maximum subsidence is observed vertically above the centreline of the tunnel, the result from the present study shows shifting of the maximum subsidence away from the tunnel centreline. The maximum subsidence of 0.99 mm is observed at 4.54 m left to the escape tunnel centreline whereas the maximum subsidence of 3.14 mm is observed at 8.89 m right to the main tunnel centreline. This shifting clearly indicates the influence of undulating topography and inequidimensional noncircular tunnel.

Numerical Analysis of Deteriorated Sub-sea Pipelines under Environmental Loads

The significant point is the bidirectional interaction technique in FSI analysis while investigating subsea corrosion effect. By this way, pipe environment is accurately modelled and fluid effects are also considered. The effect of external corrosion defects on structural behaviour of a pipeline is studied by creating a nonlinear numerical model based on the finite element method according to ABAQUS analysis program. Corrosion losses of sections are obtained from experimental results and applied to the model. Numerical model is formed by a span of sub-sea pipeline that is subjected to environmental loads. Seismic and wind-generated irregular wave loads are considered as environmental loads. Irregular wave is represented with equivalent eight regular waves via FFT. The pipe is modelled according to two different types which are non-corroded（intact） and corroded（deteriorated） to demonstrate corrosion effects on it. The visible type of corrosion in marine environment is named ‘pitting＇ corrosion, in which the material loss is locally interpenetrated over the surface. By considering this situation, the corroded and non-corroded pipes are modelled as 3D solid elements. The main point is revealing how the subsea corrosion affects the structural behaviour of pipelines on the basis of implementation of experimental results to a model structure due to changes of stresses and displacement.

Shaking table test and numerical analysis of a 1:12 scale model of a special concentrically braced steel frame with pinned connections

This paper describes shaking table tests of a 1：12 scale model of a special concentrically braced steel frame with pinned connections, which was fabricated according to a one-bay braced frame selected from a typical main factory building of a large thermal power plant. In order to investigate the seismic performance of this type of structure, several ground motion accelerations with different levels for seismic intensity Ⅷ, based on the Chinese Code for Seismic Design of Buildings, were selected to excite the model. The results show that the design methods of the members and the connections are adequate and that the structural system will perform well in regions of high seismicity. In addition to the tests, numerical simulations were also conducted and the results showed good agreement with the test results. Thus, the numerical model is shown to be accurate and the beam element can be used to model this structural system.

A Method Combining Numerical Analysis and Limit Equilibrium Theory to Determine Potential Slip Surfaces in Soil Slopes

This paper describes a precise method combining numerical analysis and limit equilibrium theory to determine potential slip surfaces in soil slopes. In this method, the direction of the critical slip surface at any point in a slope is determined using the Coulomb’s strength principle and the extremum principle based on the ratio of the shear strength to the shear stress at that point. The ratio, which is considered as an analysis index, can be computed once the stress field of the soil slope is obtained. The critical slip direction at any point in the slope must be the tangential direction of a potential slip surface passing through the point. Therefore, starting from a point on the top of the slope surface or on the horizontal segment outside the slope toe, the increment with a small distance into the slope is used to choose another point and the corresponding slip direction at the point is computed. Connecting all the points used in the computation forms a potential slip surface exiting at the starting point. Then the factor of safety for any potential slip surface can be computed using limit equilibrium method like Spencer method. After factors of safety for all the potential slip surfaces are obtained, the minimum one is the factor of safety for the slope and the corresponding potential slip surface is the critical slip surface of the slope. The proposed method does not need to pre-assume the shape of potential slip surfaces. Thus it is suitable for any shape of slip surfaces. Moreover the method is very simple to be applied. Examples are presented in this paper to illustrate the feasibility of the proposed method programmed in ANSYS software by macro commands.

Numerical Analysis of Interaction Between Pile-Supported Pier and Bank Slope

Two and three-dimensional finite element analysis programs for pile-soil interaction are compiled. Duncan-Chang's Model is used. The construction sequence of the pier is modeled. The pile-soil interface element is used. The influence of the combination type of piles on the deformation of bank slope and pile behaviour is analyzed. Different designs of a pile-supported pier are compared thoroughly. Calculation results show that the stresses and displacements of the pile are directly related to the distance from the bank slope and the direction of inclination. An inclined prop pile set in the rear platform would remarkably reduce the stresses of piles and the displacement of the pier.

Numerical analysis of dynamic variation of weld pool geometry in fully-penetrated TIG welding

A mathematical model is developed for numerical analysis of thermal process in TIG welding with a moving arc, which is considered the double-elliptic distribution for both arc heat flux and arc pressure. An adjusting factor is introduced into the expression of arc pressure. The domain within which the arc heat flux is distributed non-symmetrically due to arc moving is selected appropriately, and three conditions for the domain to meet are described. The latent heat is taken into consideration by liquid fraction method. The dynamic development of weld pool geometry during TIG welding is analyzed numerically, and the effect of arc moving on the weld pool geometry is discussed. The experimental results show that the numerical analysis accuracy is obviously improved through taking the above-mentioned measures.

Numerical analysis on coal-breaking process under high pressure water jet

Based on the theory of nonlinear dynamic finite element,the control equation ofcoal and water jet was acquired in the coal breaking process under a water jet.The calculationmodel of coal breaking under a water jet was established;the fluid-structure couplingof water jet and coal was implemented by penalty function and convection calculation.The dynamic process of coal breaking under a water jet was simulated and analyzed bycombining the united fracture criteria of the maximum tensile strain and the maximal shearstrain in the two cases of damage to coal and damage failure to coal.

NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL FLUID FLOW AND HEAT TRANSFER IN TIG WELD POOL WITH FULL PENETRATION

A model is established to analyze three-dimensional fluid flow and heat transfer in TICweld pools with full penetration.It considers the deformation of the molten pool surfaceat the condition of full penetrated workpieees,takes the are pressure as the drivingforce of the pool surface deformation,and determines the surface configuration of weldpool based on the dynamic balance of arc pressure,pool gravity and surface tension atdeformed weld pool surface. The SIMPLER algorithm is used to calculate the fluid flowfield and temperature distribution in TIG weld pools of stainless steel workpieces.TIGwelding experiments are made to verify the validity of the model.It shows the calculatedresults by the model are in good agreement with experimental measurements. professor,Dept of Welding Engineering,Harbin Institute of Technology,Harbin 150006,China

Numerical Analysis of Dynamic Behavior of RC Slabs Under Blast Loading

In order to reduce economic and life losses due to terrorism or accidental explosion threats, reinforced concrete （RC） slabs of buildings need to he designed or retrofitted to resist blast loading. In this paper the dynamic behavior of RC slabs under blast loading and its influencing factors are studied. The numerical model of an RC slab subjected to blast loading is established using the explicit dynamic analysis software. Both the strain rate effect and the damage accumulation are taken into account in the material model. The dynamic responses of the RC slab subjected to blast loading are analyzed, and the influence of concrete strength, thickness and reinforcement ratio on the behavior of the RC slab under blast loading is numerically investigated. Based on the numerical results, some principles for blast-resistant design and retrofitting are proposed to improve the behavior of the RC slab subjected to blast loading.

Numerical analysis of factors affecting the range of heat transfer in earth surrounding three subways

In order to examine the factors which affect the range of heat transfer in earth surrounding subways, FLAC3D was adopted in this study to analyze these factors, under different conditions, in a systematic manner. When we compare these numerical tests, the results show that the main factors, affecting the heat transfer range are the thermal properties of the surrounding earth, the initial ground temperature and the temperature in the tunnel. The heat transfer coefficient between air and linings has little effect on the temperature distribution around the tunnel. The current results can provide a reference for improving the thermal environment in subways and optimizing the design of subwav ventilation and air conditioning.

NUMERICAL ANALYSIS ON THREE-DIMENSIONAL FLOW FIELD OF TURBINE IN TORQUE CONVERTER

Three-dimensional flow field of turbine in torque converter is simulated by numerical calculation in order to improve the performance of torque converter. Calculation model of a torque converter is presented based on the mixing-plane technology. In the calculation of flow field, the 3D N-S equations are separated by finite-volume method and solved by semi-implicit method for pressure-linked equations（SIMPLE）. Based on flow field calculation, the flow field of turbine is simulated. The velocity and pressure in the flow field of turbine are analyzed. The external performance of the torque converter is also calculated. Results of flow simulation show that there are secondary flow, off flow and velocity gradient in turbine passage. The validity of numerical simulation is verified by comparing the results of numerical simulation with experiment data.

Numerical Analysis of Hydrodynamic Pressure Induced by Fluid-Solid Impact

As a further development of the authors' work (Huang and Qian, 1993), in this paper a new numerical method based on the time domain boundary element technique is proposed for solving fluid-solid coupling problems, in which a rigid body impacts normally on the calm surface of a half-space fluid. A fundamental solution to the half-space potential flow problem is first derived with the method of images. Then, an equivalent boundary integral equation in the Laplace transform domain is established by means of Green's second identity. Through the inverse Laplace transform and discretization in both time and boundary of the fluid region, the numerical calculation for the problem under consideration has been carried out. Several examples demonstrate that the present method is more efficient than existing ones, from which it is also seen that the shape of the impacting body has a considerable effect on the total impact force.

Numerical analysis and field monitoring tests on shallow tunnels under weak surrounding rock

The Jianpudong No. 4 tunnel is a shallow tunnel, which belongs to Shaoshan County scenic highway in Hunan province, China and whose surrounding rock is weak. According to its characteristics, the field monitoring tests and numerical analysis were done. The mechanical characteristics of shallow tunnels under weak surrounding rock and the stress-strain rule of surrounding rock and support were analyzed. The numerical analysis results show that the settlement caused by upper bench excavating accounts for 44% of the total settlement, and the settlement caused by tunnel upper bench supporting accounts for 56% of the total settlement. The maximum axial force of shotcrete lining is 177.2 k N, which locates in hance under the secondary lining. The maximum moment of shotcrete lining is 5.08 k N·m, which locates in the arch foot. The stress curve of steel arch has three obvious stages during the tunnel construction. The maximum axial force of steel arch is 297.4 k N, which locates in tunnel vault. The axial forces of steel arch are respectively 23.5 k N and-21.8 k N, which is influenced by eccentric compression of shallow tunnel and locates in hance. The results show that there is larger earth pressure in tunnel vault which is most unfavorable position of steel arch. Therefore, the advance support should be strengthened in tunnel vault during construction process.

Experimental and Numerical Analysis of Restrained Early Age Cracking based on Electrical Resistivity Using Eccentric Sample

Crack potential and hydration processes of the cement pastes were monitored using an upto-date eccentric steel cracking frame(ESCF), associated with the non-contact electrical resistivity apparatus, independently. The objective of employing the ESCF is to give a new method determining cracks of concrete at early age. The findings indicate that the lowest water-cement ratio paste reveals highest resistivity values, compasses an earlier inflection point and obtained higher stress. The eccentric restrained cracking test exhibited that lower water-cement ratio paste cracked at the earliest time, accordingly confirms cracking tendency is the highest. Tensile strength test and stresses utilizing ABAQUS simulation was performed. The crack initiation ages obtained are consistent with the experimental program results, which indicates that ABAQUS numerical analysis can well be utilized to predict the crack tendency of cement.

NUMERICAL ANALYSIS AND EXPERI-MENT OF UNSTEADY THERMAL FIELD OF ROTOR PLATE FOR EDDY CURRENT RETARDER

The physical model based on heat transfer theory and virtual boundary method for analyzing unsteady thermal field of rotor plate for eddy current retarder used in automobile is established and boundary conditions are also defined. The finite element governing equation is derived by Galerkin method. The time differential item is discrete based on Galerkin format that is stable at any condition. And a new style of varying time step method is used in iteration process. The thermal field on the rotor plate at the radial and axle directions is analyzed and varying temperature at appointed points on two side-surfaces is measured. The testing and analytical data are uniform approximately. Finite element method can be used for estimating thermal field of the rotor plate at initial design stage of eddy current retarder.