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Flow Phenomena (flow + phenomenon)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Chemistry	50%
Engineering	37%

Selected Abstracts

Overview of Multiphase Flow Phenomena in Moving Time-Averaged Space

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY (CET), Issue 9 2006
K. Ueyama
Abstract An overview of multiphase flow phenomena is described on the basis of three relations; a relation between an interaction force and time-averaged physical quantities, a relation between an interaction force and the surrounding flow field, and a relation between time-averaged physical quantities and multiphase flow. The three relations used to theoretically derive the parabolic radial distribution of gas holdup for recirculating turbulent flow in a bubble column are in good agreement with experimental data. General applicability of the three relations for a variety of multiphase flows is also discussed. [source]

Hydrodynamics and geomorphic work of jökulhlaups (glacial outburst floods) from Kverkfjöll volcano, Iceland

HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 6 2007
Jonathan L. Carrivick
Abstract Jökulhlaups (glacial outburst floods) occur frequently within most glaciated regions of the world and cause rapid landscape change, infrastructure damage, and human disturbance. The largest jökulhlaups known to have occurred during the Holocene within Iceland drained from the northern margin of Vatnajökull and along the Jökulsá á Fjöllum. Some of these jökulhlaups originated from Kverkfjöll volcano and were routed through anastomosing, high gradient and hydraulically rough channels. Landforms and sediments preserved within these channels permit palaeoflow reconstructions. Kverkfjöll jökulhlaups were reconstructed using palaeocompetence (point measurements), slope,area (one-dimensional), and depth-averaged two-dimensional (2D) hydrodynamic modelling techniques. The increasing complexity of 2D modelling required a range of assumptions, but produced information on both spatial and temporal variations in jökulhlaup characteristics. The jökulhlaups were volcanically triggered, had a linear-rise hydrograph and a peak discharge of 50 000,100 000 m3 s,1, which attenuated by 50,75% within 25 km. Frontal flow velocities were ,2 m s,1; but, as stage increased, velocities reached 5,15m s,1. Peak instantaneous shear stress and stream power reached 1 × 104 N m,2 and 1 × 105 W m,2 respectively. Hydraulic parameters can be related to landform groups. A hierarchy of landforms is proposed, ranging from the highest energy zones (erosional gorges, scoured bedrock, cataracts, and spillways) to the lowest energy zones (of valley fills, bars, and slackwater deposits). Fluvial erosion of bedrock occurred in Kverkfjallarani above ,3 m flow depth, ,7m s,1 flow velocity, ,1 × 102 N m,2 shear stress, and 3 × 102 W m,2 stream power. Fluvial deposition occurred in Kverkfjallarani below ,8 m flow depth, 11 m s,1 flow velocity, 5 × 102 N m,2 shear stress, and 3 × 103 W m,2 stream power. Hence, erosional and depositional ,envelopes' have considerable overlap, probably due to transitional flow phenomena and the influence of upstream effects, such as hydraulic ponding and topographic constrictions, for example. Holocene Kverkfjöll jökulhlaups achieved geomorphic work comparable to that of other late Pleistocene ,megafloods'. This work was a result of steep channel gradients, topographic channel constrictions, and high hydraulic roughness, rather than to extreme peak discharges. The Kverkfjöll jökulhlaups have implications for landscape evolution in north-central Iceland, for water-sediment inputs into the North Atlantic, and for recognizing jökulhlaups in the rock record. 2D hydrodynamic modelling is likely to be important for hazard mitigation in similar landscapes and upon other glaciated volcanoes, because it only requires an input hydrograph and a digital elevation model to run a model, rather than suites of geomorphological evidence and field-surveyed valley cross-sections, for example. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Comparative study of the continuous phase flow in a cyclone separator using different turbulence models,

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN FLUIDS, Issue 11 2005
H. Shalaby
Abstract Numerical calculations were carried out at the apex cone and various axial positions of a gas cyclone separator for industrial applications. Two different NS-solvers (a commercial one (CFX 4.4 ANSYS GmbH, Munich, Germany, CFX Solver Documentation, 1998), and a research code (Post-doctoral Thesis, Technical University of Chemnitz, Germany, September, 2002)) based on a pressure correction algorithm of the SIMPLE method have been applied to predict the flow behaviour. The flow was assumed as unsteady, incompressible and isothermal. A k,, turbulence model has been applied first using the commercial code to investigate the gas flow. Due to the nature of cyclone flows, which exhibit highly curved streamlines and anisotropic turbulence, advanced turbulence models such as Reynolds stress model (RSM) and large eddy simulation (LES) have been used as well. The RSM simulation was performed using the commercial package activating the Launder et al.'s (J. Fluid. Mech. 1975; 68(3):537,566) approach, while for the LES calculations the research code has been applied utilizing the Smagorinsky model. It was found that the k,, model cannot predict flow phenomena inside the cyclone properly due to the strong curvature of the streamlines. The RSM results are comparable with LES results in the area of the apex cone plane. However, the application of the LES reveals qualitative agreement with the experimental data, but requires higher computer capacity and longer running times than RSM. This paper is organized into five sections. The first section consists of an introduction and a summary of previous work. Section 2 deals with turbulence modelling including the governing equations and the three turbulence models used. In Section 3, computational parameters are discussed such as computational grids, boundary conditions and the solution algorithm with respect to the use of MISTRAL/PartFlow-3D. In Section 4, prediction profiles of the gas flow at axial and apex cone positions are presented and discussed. Section 5 summarizes and concludes the paper. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Numerical simulation of cavitating flow in 2D and 3D inducer geometries

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN FLUIDS, Issue 2 2005
O. Coutier-Delgosha
Abstract A computational method is proposed to simulate 3D unsteady cavitating flows in spatial turbopump inducers. It is based on the code FineTurbo, adapted to take into account two-phase flow phenomena. The initial model is a time-marching algorithm devoted to compressible flow, associated with a low-speed preconditioner to treat low Mach number flows. The presented work covers the 3D implementation of a physical model developed in LEGI for several years to simulate 2D unsteady cavitating flows. It is based on a barotropic state law that relates the fluid density to the pressure variations. A modification of the preconditioner is proposed to treat efficiently as well highly compressible two-phase flow areas as weakly compressible single-phase flow conditions. The numerical model is applied to time-accurate simulations of cavitating flow in spatial turbopump inducers. The first geometry is a 2D Venturi type section designed to simulate an inducer blade suction side. Results obtained with this simple test case, including the study of its general cavitating behaviour, numerical tests, and precise comparisons with previous experimental measurements inside the cavity, lead to a satisfactory validation of the model. A complete three-dimensional rotating inducer geometry is then considered, and its quasi-static behaviour in cavitating conditions is investigated. Numerical results are compared to experimental measurements and visualizations, and a promising agreement is obtained. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

A comprehensive 3-D analysis of polymer melt flow in slit extrusion dies

ADVANCES IN POLYMER TECHNOLOGY, Issue 2 2004
Yihan Huang
Abstract An understanding of flow behaviour of polymer melts through a slit die is extremely important for optimizing die design and, consequently, for die performance in processing polymer sheets and films. In view of the complex nature and the physical properties of polymer melts as well as of die geometries, such as coat-hanger dies, no simple mathematical formulae can be used to compute the flow regimes within dies. This paper illustrates the development of a three-dimensional (3-D) computer model of an example of a coat-hanger die design using the computational fluid dynamics package, FIDAP, based on the finite element method. A difference of only 3.7% was found when comparing the velocity distribution at the die exit obtained from the 3-D simulation with that calculated using a two-dimensional analytical design procedure, indicating that full 3-D analysis seems to be unnecessary. However it has been shown that unwanted flow phenomena and production problems can be ameliorated by means of visualization and the detailed information obtained from computer simulations. Comparative simulation results with polymers of different rheological properties in the same die are also described. The comprehensive analyses provide a means of interpretation for flow behavior, which allows modification of the die geometry for optimal design. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Adv Polym Techn 23: 111,124, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/adv.20002 [source]

On the onset of bora and the formation of rotors and jumps near a mountain gap

THE QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY, Issue 630 2008
Alexander Gohm
Abstract This study investigates the onset phase of a strong Adriatic bora windstorm that occurred on 4 April 2002. The target area is a gap about 20 km wide embedded in the coastal mountain barrier of the Dinaric Alps that favours strong jet-like winds. Airborne-aerosol back-scatter lidar measurements on board the DLR Falcon research aircraft, together with surface and upper-air observations, are used to verify high-resolution numerical experiments conducted with the mesoscale atmospheric model RAMS and a single-layer shallow-water model (SWM). Especially during the breakthrough phase of the bora, the flow at the gap exit exhibits a complex spatial structure and temporal evolution. On a transect through the centre of the gap, a hydraulic jump forms; this is located close to the coast throughout the night, and starts to propagate downstream in the early morning. On a transect through the edge of the gap, a lee-wave-induced rotor becomes established, due to boundary-layer separation. It starts to propagate downstream about two hours after the jump. This flow evolution implies that the onset of strong winds at the coast occurs several hours earlier downstream of the centre of the gap than downwind of the edge of the gap. Consequently, the wind field in the vicinity of Rijeka airport, located downwind of the gap, is strongly inhomogeneous and transient, and represents a potential hazard to aviation. Measured bora winds at the surface exceed 20 ms,1, and the simulated wind speed in the gap wind layer exceeds 30 ms,1. The simulated turbulent kinetic energy exceeds 10 m2 s,2. RAMS indicates that wave-breaking near a critical level is the dominant mechanism for the generation of the windstorm. Gap jets can be identified downstream of several mountain passes. The simulated wave pattern above the Dinaric Alps, the wave decay with height due to directional wind shear and the strong flow descent on the leeward side of the barrier are supported by measured back-scatter intensities. Basic bora flow features, including gap jets and jumps, are remarkably well reproduced by SWM simulations. The RAMS reference run captures observed flow phenomena and the temporal flow evolution qualitatively well. A cold low-level bias, an overestimated bora inversion strength, and a slightly too-early bora onset are probably related to insufficient turbulent mixing in the boundary layer. The amplitude of trapped gravity waves, the time of the bora breakthrough and the inversion strength are found to be quite sensitive to the turbulence parametrization. Copyright © 2008 Royal Meteorological Society [source]

Portraying the Countercurrent Flow on Packings by Three-Dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulations

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY (CET), Issue 10 2008
Y. Y. Xu
Abstract The design of packed columns requires the detailed description of the hydrodynamics on the surface of the packings. To analyze the local flow behavior of the liquid phase, a three-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model was developed that applies to the two-phase countercurrent flow on an inclined and flat plate. This model, based on the volume-of-fluid (VOF) method, considers the gravity, the surface tension and the drag force between the two phases. The development of such a model allows investigation of the influences of the liquid and gas flow rates on the flow behavior such as the film flow and the rivulet flow. A validation of the model was performed using data from the literature and from experiments conducted in this work. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate that the specific wetted area on the plate decreases with decreasing liquid load. Moreover, CFD simulations reveal that the presence of the countercurrent gas phase tends to increase the fluctuation and the thickness of the film flow, which is in accordance with experimental data. It also affects the flow behavior of the rivulet flow and changes the velocity profiles for both film and rivulet flow behavior. On the other hand, the simulation results indicate that CFD is a potent tool for analyzing and investigating the flow phenomena in chemical engineering. [source]