0

Research Papers: Flows in Complex Systems

J. Fluids Eng. 2017;139(9):091101-091101-15. doi:10.1115/1.4036248.

The pressure fluctuations and runner loads on a pump-turbine runner during runaway process are very violent and the corresponding flow evolution is complicated. To study these phenomena and their correlations in depth, the runaway processes of a model pump-turbine at four guide vane openings (GVOs) were simulated by three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (3D-CFD). The results show that the flow structures around runner inlet have regular development and transition patterns—the reverse flow occurs when the trajectory moves to the turbine-brake region and the main reverse velocity shifts locations among the hub side, the shroud side and the midspan as the trajectory comes forward and backward in the S-shape region. The locally distributed reverse flow vortex structures (RFVS) enhance the local rotor–stator interaction (RSI) and make the pressure fluctuations in vaneless space at the corresponding section stronger than at the rest sections along the spanwise direction. The transitions of RFVS, turning from the hub side to midspan, facilitate the inception and development of rotating stall, which propagates at approximately 45–72% of the runner rotation frequency. The evolving rotating stall induces asymmetrical pressure distribution on the runner blade, resulting in intensive fluctuations of runner torque and radial force. During the runaway process, the changing characteristics of the reactive axial force are dominated by the change rate of flow discharge, and the amplitude of low frequency component of axial force is in proportion to the amplitude of discharge change rate.

Commentary by Dr. Valentin Fuster
J. Fluids Eng. 2017;139(9):091102-091102-12. doi:10.1115/1.4036268.

Pilot-control globe valve (PCGV) can use the pressure drop caused by fluid flowing through the orifice located at valve core bottom to open or close the main valve using a small pilot valve. In this paper, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method is adopted to analyze the pressure drop before and after valve core of PCGV and minor loss of orifice under different structural parameters and inlet velocities, and the simulation results show a good agreement with the experimental results. It turns out that the valve diameters, orifice diameters, and pilot pipe diameters have great influences on the pressure drop and the loss coefficient. Moreover, an expression is proposed which can be used to calculate minor loss coefficient, then to estimate the pressure drop and driving force of a PCGV within limited conditions. This paper can be referenced as guidance for deciding the dimension of structural parameters and spring stiffness during design process of a PCGV.

Commentary by Dr. Valentin Fuster
J. Fluids Eng. 2017;139(9):091103-091103-9. doi:10.1115/1.4036444.

Two-phase flows across tube bundles are very commonly found in industrial heat exchange equipment such as shell and tube heat exchangers. However, recent studies published in the literature are generally performed on devices where the flow crosses the tube bundle in only a vertical or horizontal direction, lacking geometrical fidelity with industrial models, and the majority of them use air and water as the working fluids. Also, currently, experimental approaches and simulations are based on very simplified models. This paper reports the simulation of a laboratory full-scale tube bundle with a combination of vertical and horizontal flows and with two different baffle configurations. Also, it presents a similarity analysis to evaluate the influence of changing the fluids to hydrogen and diesel in the operational conditions of the hydrotreating. The volume of fluid (VOF) approach is used as the interface phenomena are very important. The air/water simulations show good agreement with classical correlations and are able to show the stratified behavior of the flow in the horizontal regions and the intermittent flow in the vertical regions. Also, the two baffle configurations are compared in terms of volume fraction and streamlines. When dealing with hydrogen/diesel flow using correlations and maps made for air/water, superficial velocity is recommended as similarity variable when a better prediction of the pressure drop is needed, and the modified superficial velocity is recommended for prediction of the volume-average void fraction and the outlet superficial void fraction.

Commentary by Dr. Valentin Fuster
J. Fluids Eng. 2017;139(9):091104-091104-5. doi:10.1115/1.4036671.

Standard pin-fins in the heat transfer channels are shaped to reduce the pressure penalty and increase the thermal performance. The paper presents experimental results of the wall-static pressure distributions in an array of modified cylindrical short pin-fins in a channel. Standard cylindrical pin-fins with a smooth surface and a similar array configuration are also evaluated as a baseline for comparisons. The pin-fins with a height to diameter ratio of 1.28 are arranged in a staggered array consisting of 13 rows in a rectangular channel of aspect ratio 1:7.8. The cylindrical pins are modified by the machined slots at the tips. The slots in the pins are aligned in the streamwise direction. The static pressure distributions are measured on the endwall between the pin-rows and on the pin surface. The Reynolds number based on the channel hydraulic diameter ranges from 10,000 to 50,000. The slots in the pins reduce the friction factor and wall-static pressure drop between the pin-rows by up to 50%. The objectives of the investigation are to reduce the pressure penalty in the cylindrical pin-fin channel to provide increased thermal performance.

Commentary by Dr. Valentin Fuster
J. Fluids Eng. 2017;139(9):091105-091105-6. doi:10.1115/1.4036667.

Large-scale power generation and delivery to remote locales is often prohibitively expensive, due in part to the excessive costs of delivering the materials required to build the necessary infrastructure. In addition, these facilities can have deleterious effects on the local ecosystem. With their reduced physical and environmental footprints, small-scale run-of-river hydroelectric facilities capable of generating power from the modest head provided by streams and rivers are attractive alternatives. Concern remains, however, for the health and safety of the local fish population in these waterways. In order to further reduce the impact of small-scale axial turbine-based hydroelectric facilities on the local fauna, AlfaStar Hydro has proposed a vaneless swirl injector to replace traditional inlet guide vanes (IGVs), as well as a “fish-friendly” rotor designed to rotate relatively slowly and with wide passages between the blades to enable the safe egress of fish drawn into the turbine. Herein, we perform a numerical study of the flow development in the vaneless swirl injector as a function of the number of revolutions and the pitch angle of the rifling in the absence of a rotor toward maximizing turbine efficiency. Swirl intensity, pressure loss in the injector, and axial and circumferential velocity distributions are incorporated as performance metrics into an objective function to optimize the casing design. Results indicate that the number of revolutions of the injector has considerably less influence on overall injector performance than does pitch angle. The casing with the best predicted performance consists of four revolutions at a pitch angle of 25 deg.

Commentary by Dr. Valentin Fuster

Research Papers: Fundamental Issues and Canonical Flows

J. Fluids Eng. 2017;139(9):091201-091201-8. doi:10.1115/1.4036269.

In Francis turbines, which are normally designed at a reaction ratio of 0.5, the available pressure energy in the fluid is converted into 50% kinetic energy before entering the runner. This causes high acceleration of the flow in guide vanes (GVs), which adds to the unsteadiness and losses in the turbine. In sediment-affected power plants, the hard sand particles erode and gradually increase the clearance gap between the GV and facing plates, which causes more disturbances in downstream turbine components. This study focuses on investigating the flow through the clearance gap of the GV with cambered hydrofoil shapes by using particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique. The measurements are carried out in one GV cascade rig, which produces similar velocity fields around a GV, as compared to the real turbine. The investigation is done in two cases of cambered GV National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) profiles, and the comparison of the velocity and pressure distribution around the hydrofoil is done with the results in symmetric profile studied earlier. It is seen that the pressure distribution around the hydrofoil affects the velocity field, leakage flow, and characteristics of the vortex filament developed inside the cascade. NACA4412, which has flatter suction side (SS) than NACA2412 and NACA0012, is seen to have smaller pressure difference between the two adjacent sides of the vane. The flow inside the clearance gap of NACA2412 enforces change in the flow angle, which forms a vortex filament with a rotational component. This vortex along with improper stagnation angle could have greater consequences in the erosion of the runner inlet (RIn) and more losses of the turbine.

Commentary by Dr. Valentin Fuster
J. Fluids Eng. 2017;139(9):091202-091202-10. doi:10.1115/1.4036594.

A dimensional analysis which is based on the scaling of the two-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations is presented for correlating bulk flow characteristics arising from a variety of initial conditions. The analysis yields a functional relationship between the characteristic variable of the flow region and the Reynolds number for each of the two independent flow regimes, laminar and turbulent. A linear relationship is realized for the laminar regime, while a nonlinear relationship is realized for the turbulent regime. Both relationships incorporate mass-flow profile characteristics to capture the effects of initial conditions (mean flow and turbulence) on the variation of the characteristic variable. The union of these two independent relationships is formed leveraging the concept of flow intermittency to yield a generic functional relationship that incorporates transitional flow effects and fully encompasses solutions spanning the laminar to turbulent flow regimes. Empirical models to several common flows are formed to demonstrate the engineering potential of the proposed functional relationship.

Commentary by Dr. Valentin Fuster
J. Fluids Eng. 2017;139(9):091203-091203-8. doi:10.1115/1.4036410.

This paper presents a parametric study on the interaction of twin circular synthetic jets (SJs) that are in line with a crossflow over a flat plate. The resulting vortex structures under different actuation, and flow conditions are investigated using two-plane dye visualization in a water tunnel. The influence of four independent nondimensional parameters, i.e., the Reynolds number (ReL), Strouhal number (St), velocity ratio (VR), and phase difference (Δϕ), on the behavior of the twin SJs is studied. It is found that the increase of Reynolds number causes the SJ-induced vortex structures more turbulent, making the twin SJ interaction less organized. The increase of velocity ratio pushes the occurrence of interaction further away from the wall and makes the resulting vortex structures more sustainable. The St has no obvious influence on the interaction. And three types of vortex structures are observed under different phase differences: one combined vortex, two completely separated vortices, and partially interacting vortex structures. Based on this parametric study, a simple model is proposed to predict the resulting vortex pattern for the twin SJ interaction.

Commentary by Dr. Valentin Fuster
J. Fluids Eng. 2017;139(9):091204-091204-13. doi:10.1115/1.4036477.

Turbulent flow through helical pipes with circular cross section is numerically investigated comparing with the experimental results obtained by our team. Numerical calculations are carried out for two helical circular pipes having different pitches and the same nondimensional curvature δ (=0.1) over a wide range of the Reynolds number from 3000 to 21,000 for torsion parameter $β$ (=torsion $/2δ$  = 0.02 and 0.45). We numerically obtained the secondary flow, the axial flow and the intensity of the turbulent kinetic energy by use of three turbulence models incorporated in OpenFOAM. We found that the change to fully developed turbulence is identified by comparing experimental data with the results of numerical simulations using turbulence models. We also found that renormalization group (RNG) $k−ε$ turbulence model can predict excellently the fully developed turbulent flow with comparison to the experimental data. It is found that the momentum transfer due to turbulence dominates the secondary flow pattern of the turbulent helical pipe flow. It is interesting that torsion effect is more remarkable for turbulent flows than laminar flows.

Commentary by Dr. Valentin Fuster
J. Fluids Eng. 2017;139(9):091205-091205-11. doi:10.1115/1.4036369.

Shock-induced mixing experiments have been conducted in a vertical shock tube of 130 mm square cross section located at ISAE. A shock wave traveling at Mach 1.2 in air hits a geometrically disturbed interface separating air and SF6, a gas five times heavier than air, filling a chamber of length L up to the end of the shock tube. Both gases are initially separated by a 0.5 μm thick nitrocellulose membrane maintained parallel to the shock front by two wire grids: an upper one with mesh spacing equal to either ms = 1.8 mm or 12.1 mm, and a lower one with a mesh spacing equal to ml = 1 mm. Weak dependence of the mixing zone growth after reshock (interaction of the mixing zone with the shock wave reflected from the top end of the test chamber) with respect to L and ms is observed despite a clear imprint of the mesh spacing ms in the schlieren images. Numerical simulations representative of these configurations are conducted: the simulations successfully replicate the experimentally observed weak dependence on L, but are unable to show the experimentally observed independence with respect to ms while matching the morphological features of the schlieren pictures.

Commentary by Dr. Valentin Fuster

Research Papers: Multiphase Flows

J. Fluids Eng. 2017;139(9):091301-091301-10. doi:10.1115/1.4036596.

Computations of pulsating supercavity flows behind axisymmetric disk cavitators are presented. The method of computation is a finite volume discretization of the equations of mixture fluid motion. The gas phase is treated as compressible, the liquid phase as incompressible, and the interface accuracy enhanced using a volume of fluid (VOF) approach. The re-entrant, pulsating, and twin vortex modes of cavity closure are delineated and computationally resolved, including the expected hysteresis. A phase diagram of cavitation number versus ventilation rate at three Froude conditions is computationally constructed. Sample re-entrant, pulsation, and twin vortex snapshots are presented. Pulsation results are compared with stability criterion from the literature as well as examined for their expected character. Computations appear to capture the complete spectrum of cavity closure conditions. A detailed comparison of computational simulation and physical experiment at similar conditions is also included as a means to validate the computational results.

Commentary by Dr. Valentin Fuster
J. Fluids Eng. 2017;139(9):091302-091302-11. doi:10.1115/1.4036589.

Mechanism of particle separation in a cyclone separator is fully clarified by one-way coupled numerical simulations of large eddy simulation and particle tracking. The former resolves all the important vortical structures, while the latter inputs the computed flow fields and tracks trajectories of particles by considering Stokes drag as well as gravity. The computed axial and tangential velocities of the swirl flow in a cyclone compare well with the ones measured by particle image velocimetry (PIV). The precession frequency of the vortex rope computed for Stairmand cyclone also matches with the one measured by Darksen et al. The predicted collection efficiencies reasonably agree well with the measured equivalents for two cylindrical cyclones with different diameters and inflow conditions. Detailed investigations on the simulated vortical structures in the test cyclones and predicted trajectories of the particles have revealed that there are three major paths of trajectories for those particles that are not collected and exhausted from the cyclone. More than half of the exhausted particles are trapped by longitudinal vortices formed in the periphery of the vortex rope. Namely, the precession motion of the vortex rope generates a number of longitudinal vortices at its periphery, which trap particles and move them into the region of the upward swirl.

Commentary by Dr. Valentin Fuster

Research Papers: Techniques and Procedures

J. Fluids Eng. 2017;139(9):091401-091401-10. doi:10.1115/1.4036593.

We describe a novel nonintrusive velocimetry technique for measuring the instantaneous velocity field on a liquid sheet. Short wavelength corrugations are naturally formed on the surface of a liquid sheet when the sheet interacts with ambient air. This method, called feature correlation velocimetry (FCV), relies on cross-correlation of such short wavelength corrugations visualized on the liquid sheet surface when captured using a high-speed camera. An experimental setup was created for producing a liquid sheet of known thickness and velocity. After imaging the liquid sheet with a high-speed camera, cross-correlation was employed at various spatial locations on the liquid sheet. To examine the fidelity of the method, laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) measurements were obtained for a range of flow rates at the same spatial locations and were compared with the FCV values. The FCV values were found to be consistently within 7% of the LDV readings with the FCV measurements being consistently less than those from the LDV. In order to examine the cause of the bias error, a theoretical model of the liquid sheet has been developed. Based on the model predictions, the bias error was observed to scale as $U3/2$, where $U$ is the local instantaneous liquid sheet velocity. After correcting for this bias error, a good match was observed between the FCV and the LDV readings. As an application of the FCV method, the near-nozzle region of an annular sheet exiting a spray injector has been characterized.

Commentary by Dr. Valentin Fuster
J. Fluids Eng. 2017;139(9):091402-091402-12. doi:10.1115/1.4036592.

Viscoelastic fluids are now becoming promising candidates of microheat exchangers’ working medium due to the occurrence of elastic instability and turbulence at microscale. This paper developed a sound solver for the heat transfer process of viscoelastic fluid flow at high Wi, and this solver can be used to design the multiple heat exchangers with viscoelastic fluids as working medium. The solver validation was conducted by simulating four fundamental benchmarks to assure the reliability of the established solver. After that, the solver was adopted to study the heat transfer process of viscoelastic fluid flow in a curvilinear channel, where apparent heat transfer enhancement (HTE) by viscoelastic fluid was achieved. The observed heat transfer enhancement was attributed to the occurrence of elastic turbulence which continuously mix the hot and cold fluids by the twisting and wiggling flow motions.

Commentary by Dr. Valentin Fuster