Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Transient thermal simulations'

Transient vehicle thermal management simulations have the potential to be an important tool to ensure long component lifetimes in heavy-duty vehicles, as well as save development costs by reducing development time. Time-resolved computational fluid dynamics simulations of complete vehicles are however typically very computationally expensive, and approximation methods must be employed to keep computational costs and turn-around times at a reasonable level. In this thesis, two transient methods are used to simulate two important time-dependent scenarios for complete vehicles; hot shutdowns and long dynamic drive cycles. An approach using a time scaling between fluid solver and thermal solver is evaluated for a short drive cycle and heat soak. A quasi-transient method, utilizing limited steady-state computational fluid dynamics data repeatedly, is used for a long drive cycle. The simulation results are validated and compared with measurements from a climatic wind tunnel. The results indicate that the time-scaling approach is appropriate when boundary conditions are not changing rapidly. Heat-soak simulations show reasonable agreement between three cases with different thermal scale factors. The quasi-transient simulations suggest that complete vehicle simulations for durations of more than one hour are feasible. The quasi-transient results partly agree with measurements, although more component temperature measurements are required to fully validate the method.

Los dispositivos de almacenamiento de energía térmica son ampliamente usados en diversos sistemas térmicos caracterizados por un desfase temporal entre la producción de energia y su consumo, como es el caso de los sistemas de energía solar térmica. El diseño optimizado de estos equipos puede representar un considerable aumento en el rendimiento térmico de la instalación de la cual forman parte. En la línea de optimización de sistemas y equipos térmicos, en los últimos años la Mecánica de Fluidos Computacional (CFD) se ha consolidado como una herramienta básica, proporcionando a investigadores e ingenieros un método para ensayar virtualmente sus diseños, disminuyendo los costes en términos de tiempo, recursos y personal. Es en esta línea se encuentran las principales aportaciones de esta tesis, la cual tiene como principal objetivo la simulación numérica de procesos de convección laminar en régimen transitorio y dominios cilíndricos para su aplicación al estudio de los fenómenos de transferencia de calor y dinámica de fluidos que tienen lugar en los tanques de almacenamiento de energía.

Se presenta la metodología seguida para la resolución de las ecuaciones gobernantes de la transferencia de calor y dinámica de fluidos en coordenadas cilíndricas, mostrando las principales particularidades de su discretización para este tipo de geometrías y se detalla el tratamiento realizado para resolver estas singularidades dentro del código numérico. Posteriormente, se expone la metodología para la solución de flujos transitorios e incompresibles y se realiza un riguroso proceso de verificación del código y las soluciones numéricas obtenidas.

Esta metodología se aplica al estudio del comportamiento de los tanques de almacenamiento de energía estratificados. Un aspecto básico del funcionamiento de estos equipos es la calidad de la energía almacenada. Esta calidad viene determinada por el grado de estratificación térmica, en la cual influyen diferentes factores como la mezcla que ocurre debido a las corrientes de fluido que entran durante los procesos de carga y descarga térmica y también debido al intercambio de calor con el ambiente. En este sentido, en este trabajo se analiza la estratificación térmica para diferentes condiciones de trabajo y configuraciones por medio de las simulaciones numéricas multidimensionales. Para medir el grado de estratificación se han tenido en cuenta diferentes parámetros y como resultado del estudio, se propone un parámetro adimensional basado en un análisis exergético. Esta exergía adimensional ha permitido comparar el funcionamiento de los tanques en las diferentes situaciones analizadas y se ha mostrado útil para cuantificar la calidad de la energía almacenada.

Por otra parte, se estudia el comportamiento térmico de los tanques de almacenamiento durante su modo de operación estático y considerando las pérdidas de energía al ambiente. Este estudio tiene como objetivo fundamental caracterizar el proceso de enfriamiento del fluido en tanques que forman parte de sistemas solares térmicos para el rango de bajas y medianas temperaturas. Se presenta la metodología seguida para el análisis, desde la identificación de los números adimensionales que definen el problema, la formulación de un modelo zonal para la predicción del comportamiento térmico, el estudio paramétrico llevado a cabo y el posterior post-proceso de los resultados con el objetivo de proporcionar los parámetros necesarios para alimentar el modelo zonal. El modelo propuesto, junto con las correlaciones obtenidas, predicen correctamente el comportamiento del fluido, constituyendo una alternativa interesante para reproducir el proceso de enfriamiento del fluido en los tanques durante largos periodos de tiempo.
Thermal storage devices are widely used in many thermal systems and applications that are characterised by the delay between energy production and consumption, such as thermal solar systems. The improvement in their design and optimisation is a key aspect in the thermal optimisation of the system, where a good preformance of the storage tank can represent a considerable increase in the overall efficiency of the installation. In the subject of optimisation of thermal equipment, Computational Fluid Dynamics have been consolidated as an indispensable tool providing researchers and engineers with a method to test virtually their prototypes with low effort in time, personnel and resources. This thesis is focused in the numerical simulation of unsteady laminar convection in cylindrical domains and its application to the study of the heat transfer and fluid flow that take place in stratified storage tanks.

The first part of this document is devoted to present the methodology followed for the numerical resolution of the governing equation of heat and fluid flow in cylindrical coordinates. The main particularities of the discretisation of the equations in these geometries, as well as the solution procedure for incompressible and transient flow problems are also presented. Special emphasis is given to the verification of the code, the appropriateness of the discretisation adopted and the verification of the numerical solution obtained.

The second part of this thesis is focused on the study of the heat transfer and fluid flow phenomena that take place in stratified storage tanks, including the performance measures and modeling efforts of these devices. The quality of the energy stored is determined by the degree of the thermal stratification of the storage tank, which is affected by several factors such as the mixing due to the inlet streams during load and unload, the heat losses to the environment, among others. In this sense, thermal stratification analysis is carried out by means of the virtual prototyping of the tanks for different working conditions and configurations. In order to measure the performance of the tanks, different parameters are considered. The analysis led to the proposition of a new exergy-based parameter as a tool for assessing and comparing storage tanks. The usefulness of this parameter for quantifying the quality of the energy stored is also shown.

Furthermore, the thermal behaviour of storage tanks during the static mode of operation considering the heat losses to the environment is also analysed. The study is addressed to characterise the cool down of the fluid inside storage tanks for solar thermal systems in the low-to-medium temperature range. The methodology followed, from the identification of the significant non-dimensional parameters that define the problem, the formulation of a zonal prediction model, a parametric numerical study by means of detailed multidimensional CFD computations and the post-processing of the results in order to feed the global model are exposed in detail. Zonal model presented, together with the correlations given are in good agreement with the numerical results and constitute an alternative for the prediction of the long-term performance of the storage tanks during the cooling process.

In the present work, the turbulent anabatic flow generated over a uniformly heated slope in neutral stratification is originally studied through a large-eddy simulation (LES) technique. The present study is, to the best of the author's knowledge, the first case of a LES applied to anabatic flows in neutral stratification. The simulation approach is succesfully validated against three data sets: experimental, DNS and theoretical. One of the primary objectives of the study is to characterise the instantaneous turbulent structures triggered by the vertical buoyancy force responsible for the increase the turbulent mixing in the boundary layer. Such structures are hardly detected in both field and laboratory experiments and cannot be reproduced by steady-state numerical simulations. A new expression of the characteristic length scale of the thermal boundary layer is proposed and applied to derive alternative scaling parameters. Three principal regions are detected in the near-surface temperature profiles: a conduction region that contains most of the temperature decrease, a convective region dominated by flow convection and an equilibrium region that is almost not influenced by the heated slope. The newly proposed length scale resulted to be linked to the evolution of instantaneous turbulent structures identified as Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities which are analyzed and described. Their characteristic frequency is determined through a spectral analysis and their geometric dimensions are studied and linked to the extension of the vertical mixing zone inside the convection region. Three simulations are performed at different Rayleigh numbers to understand if there is a critical value above which the anabatic flow results Rayleigh-independent. the sensitivity analysis is carried out concluding that the analyzed flows are not Rayleigh-independent.

Today’s buildings are responsible for 40% of the world’s energy use and also a substantial share of the Global Warming Potential (GWP). In Sweden, about 21% of the energy use can be related to the heat losses through the climatic envelope. The “Million Program” (Swedish: Miljonprogrammet) is a common name for about one million housing units, erected between 1965 and 1974 and many of these buildings suffer from poor energy performance. An important aim of this study was to access the possibilities of using Vacuum Insulation Panels (VIPs) in buildings with emphasis on the use of VIPs for improving the thermal efficiency of the “Million Program” buildings. The VIPs have a thermal resistance of about 8-10 times better than conventional insulations and offer unique opportunities to reduce the thickness of the thermal insulation. This thesis is divided into three main subjects. The first subject aims to investigate new alternative VIP cores that may reduce the market price of VIPs. Three newly developed nanoporous silica were tested using different steady-state and transient methods. A new self-designed device, connected to a Transient Plane Source (TPS) instrument was used to determine the thermal conductivity of granular powders at different gaseous pressure combined with different mechanical loads. The conclusion was that the TPS technique is less suitable for conducting thermal conductivity measurements on low-density nanoporous silica powders. However, deviations in the results are minimal for densities above a limit at which the pure conduction becomes dominant compared to heat transfer by radiation. The second subject of this work was to propose a new and robust VIP mounting system, with minimized thermal bridges, for improving the thermal efficiency of the “Million Program” buildings. On the basis of the parametric analysis and dynamic simulations, a new VIP mounting system was proposed and evaluated through full scale measurements in a climatic chamber. The in situ measurements showed that the suggested new VIP technical solution, consisting of 20mm thick VIPs, can improve the thermal transmittance of the wall, up to a level of 56%. An improved thermal transmittance of the wall at centre-of-panel coordinate of 0.118 to 0.132 W m-2K-1 and a measured centre-of-panel thermal conductivity (λcentre-of-panel) of 7 mW m-1K-1 were reached. Furthermore, this thesis includes a new approach to measure the thermal bridge impacts due to the VIP joints and laminates, through conducting infrared thermography investigations. An effective thermal conductivity of 10.9 mW m-1K-1 was measured. The higher measured centre-of-panel and effective thermal conductivities than the published centre-of-panel thermal conductivity of 4.2 mW m-1K-1 from the VIP manufacturer, suggest that the real thermal performance of VIPs, when are mounted in construction, is comparatively worse than of the measured performance in the laboratory. An effective thermal conductivity of 10.9 mW m-1K-1 will, however, provide an excellent thermal performance to the construction. The third subject of this thesis aims to assess the environmental impacts of production and operation of VIP-insulated buildings, since there is a lack of life cycle analysis of whole buildings with vacuum panels. It was concluded that VIPs have a greater environmental impact than conventional insulation, in all categories except Ozone Depilation Potential. The VIPs have a measurable influence on the total Global Warming Potential and Primary Energy use of the buildings when both production and operation are taken into account. However, the environmental effect of using VIPs is positive when compared to the GWP of a standard building (a reduction of 6%) while the PE is increased by 20%. It was concluded that further promotion of VIPs will benefit from reduced energy use or alternative energy sources in the production of VIP cores while the use of alternative cores and recycling of VIP cores may also help reduce the environmental impact. Also, a sensitivity analysis of this study showed that the choice of VIPs has a significant effect on the environmental impacts, allowing for a reduction of the total PE of a building by 12% and the GWP can be reduced as much as 11% when considering both production and operation of 50 yes. Finally, it’s possible to conclude that the VIPs are very competitive alternative for insulating buildings from the Swedish “Million Program”. Nevertheless, further investigations require for minimizing the measurable environmental impacts that acquired in this LCA study for the VIP-insulated buildings.
Dagens byggnader ansvarar för omkring 40% av världens energianvändning och  står också för en väsentlig del av utsläppen av växthusgaser. I Sverige kan ca 21 % av energianvändningen relateras till förluster genom klimatskalet. Miljonprogrammet är ett namn för omkring en miljon bostäder som byggdes mellan 1965 och 1974, och många av dessa byggnader har en dålig energiprestanda efter dagens mått. Huvudsyftet med denna studie har varit att utforska möjligheterna att använda vakuumisoleringspaneler (VIP:ar) i byggnader med viss fokus på tillämpning i Miljonprogrammets byggnader. Med en värmeledningsförmåga som är ca 8 - 10 gånger bättre än för traditionell isolering erbjuder VIP:arna unika möjligheter till förbättrad termisk prestanda med minimal isolerings tjocklek. Denna avhandling hade tre huvudsyften. Det första var att undersöka nya alternativ för kärnmaterial som bland annat kan reducera kostnaden vid produktion av VIP:ar. Tre nyutvecklade nanoporösa kiselpulver har testats med olika stationära och transienta metoder. En inom projektet utvecklad testbädd som kan anslutas till TPS instrument (Transient Plane Source sensor), har använts för att mäta värmeledningsförmågan hos kärnmaterial för VIP:ar, vid varierande gastryck och olika mekaniska laster. Slutsatsen blev att transienta metoder är mindre lämpliga för utföra mätningar av värmeledningsförmåga för nanoporösa kiselpulver låg densitet. Avvikelsen i resultaten är dock minimal för densiteter ovan en gräns då värmeledningen genom fasta material blir dominerande jämfört med värmeöverföring genom strålning. Det andra syftet har varit att föreslå ett nytt monteringssystem för VIP:ar som kan användas för att förbättra energieffektiviteten i byggnader som är typiska för Miljonprogrammet. Genom parametrisk analys och dynamiska simuleringar har vi kommit fram till ett förslag på ett nytt monteringssystem för VIP:ar som har utvärderats genom fullskaleförsök i klimatkammare. Resultaten från fullskaleförsöken visar att den nya tekniska lösningen förbättrar väggens U-värde med upp till 56 %. En förbättrad värmegenomgångskoefficienten för väggen i mitten av en VIP blev mellan 0.118 till 0,132 W m-2K-1 och värmeledningstalet centre-av-panel 7 mW m-1K-1 uppnåddes. Detta arbete innehåller dessutom en ny metod för att mäta köldbryggor i anslutningar med hjälp av infraröd termografi. En effektiv värmeledningsförmåga för 10.9 mW m-1K-1 uppnåddes. Resultaten tyder även på att den verkliga termiska prestandan av VIP:ar i konstruktioner är något sämre än mätvärden för paneler i laboratorium. En effektiv värmeledningsförmåga av 10.9 mW m-1K-1 ger dock väggkonstruktionen en utmärkt termisk prestanda. Det tredje syftet har varit att bedöma miljöpåverkan av en VIP-isolerad byggnad, från produktion till drift, eftersom en livscykelanalys av hela byggnader som är isolerade med vakuumisoleringspaneler inte har gjorts tidigare. Slutsatsen var att VIP:ar har en större miljöpåverkan än traditionell isolering, i alla kategorier förutom ozonnedbrytande potential. VIP:ar har en mätbar påverkan på de totala utsläppen av växthusgaser och primärenergianvändningen i byggnader när både produktion och drift beaktas. Miljöpåverkan av de använda VIP:arna är dock positiv jämfört med GWP av en standardbyggnad (en minskning med 6 %) medan primärenergianvändningen ökade med 20 %. Slutsatsen var att ytterligare användning av VIP:ar gynnas av reducerad energiförbrukning och alternativa energikällor i produktionen av nanoporösa kiselpulver medan användningen av alternativa kärnmaterial och återvinning av VIP kärnor kan hjälpa till att minska miljöpåverkan. En känslighetsanalys visade att valet av VIP:ar har en betydande inverkan på miljöpåverkan, vilket ger möjlighet att reducera den totala användningen av primärenergi i en byggnad med 12 % och utsläppen av växthusgaser kan vara minska, så mycket som 11 % när det gäller både produktion och drift under 50 år. Avslutningsvis är det möjligt att dra slutsatsen att VIP:ar är ett mycket konkurrenskraftigt alternativ för att isolera byggnader som är typiska för Miljonprogrammet. Dock krävs ytterligare undersökningar för att minimera de mätbara miljöeffekter som förvärvats i denna LCA-studie för VIP-isolerade byggnader.

QC 20151109

Simulations of heat and moisture conditions in a retrofit wall construction with Vacuum Insulation Panels
Textural and thermal conductivity properties of a low density mesoporous silica material
A study of the thermal conductivity of granular silica materials for VIPs at different levels of gaseous pressure and external loads
Evaluation of the thermal conductivity of a new nanoporous silica material for VIPs – trends of thermal conductivity versus density
A comparative study of the environmental impact of Swedish residential buildings with vacuum insulation panels
ETICS with VIPs for improving buildings from the Swedish million unit program “Miljonprogrammet”

PETRÓLEO BRASILEIRO S. A.
Atualmente o motor diesel é a propulsão básica utilizada por navios mercantes. Predominantemente o arranjo mais utilizado é o de um motor de dois tempos turboalimentado diretamente acoplado ao hélice. Estes motores são controlados por um regulador de velocidade onde um valor desejado da rotação é ajustado. O regulador opera acionando as réguas das bombas injetoras, movendo-as conforme a necessidade de manter a rotação desejada mesmo sob torque transiente. Se o rendimento térmico é reduzido, os índices das bombas injetoras terão que operar em valores mais altos, quando comparado ao funcionamento do motor com o rendimento térmico de projeto, e neste caso maior geração de fuligem deverá ocorrer. Em motores de combustão interna, a deposição de fuligem trás consequências à manutenção e eficiência do motor, e por isto os operadores possuem motivos para evitar este tipo de mecanismo. Este trabalho propõe um modelo termodinâmico dotado de sub modelo para regulador de velocidade e para a fluturação do torque, o que permite observar o rendimento térmico nas condições de transiência. Dados adquiridos por um sistema de aquisição de dados fornece as condições de contorno para ajustar o modelo proposto.
The marine diesel engine is today’s predominant prime mover for ships propulsion. For the modern merchant vessels, the arrangement of a single slow speed turbocharged two stroke diesel engine directly coupled is used. The task of control these engines are done by speed governors, where a fixed rotational speed is set. The governor works holding the adjusted value even under transient loads, moving the fuel pump rack when necessary. When vessel operates in harsh weather conditions, the propellers may be subjected to large thrust and torque fluctuations. These fluctuations are generated by the propeller periodic change of submergence condition which leads to ventilation (air suction) and partial or full propeller emergence, at same time the rudder action to keep the route introduce another torque fluctuation. Thus, propulsion turbocharged two strokes engines runs under transient load could run with low fuel/air ratio, once the turbocharger can not be able to cover this transient range with appropriate response time. Some models from literature, like control and thermodynamics models are examined and adjusted with sub models for transient torque simulation. One thermodynamic model dotted of sub models for governor, and transient load is proposed and the thermal efficiency under transient torque observed. Data from monitored vessel’s engine under operation, supplied the boundaries conditions to adjust the proposed model.

CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO
O presente trabalho versa sobre o estudo e modelagem de um sistema de refrigeração para ar condicionado de edifícios. O modelo considera um sistema de compressão de vapor de grande porte, chamado habitualmente chiller; um tanque de armazenamento de água gelada e uma torre de resfriamento.Para o desenvolvimento do modelo utilizam-se as equações constitutivas e as equações de conservação da massa e energia em todos seus componentes.O modelo permite obter as condições de funcionamento ótimo do sistema de refrigeração reduzindo o tamanho de seus componentes (menor custo de investimento) e o consumo de energia (custo de operação) em correspondência com o diagrama de carga térmica do edifício.Consideram-se as variações da temperatura do meio ambiente ao longo do dia (transiente horário) para estudar a influência destas variações no desempenho global do sistema de refrigeração.Aplica-se o modelo à obtenção das características dos componentes do sistema de refrigeração para condicionamento de ar de um dos blocos do prédio Cardeal Leme da PUC-Rio.No presente estudo, a estratégia de operação usada é um fator decisivo na seleção da melhor alternativa econômica.
The present work aims the study and modeling of a system of refrigeration systems for air-conditioning in buildings. The model considers a high capacity vapor-compression refrigeration system, for water cooling (chiller); a tank of thermal storage tank and a cooling tower.For the development of the model the constitutive equations and the equations of conservation of mass and energy are used over all its components.The model provides the optimal operating conditions of the refrigeration system to reduce the size of its components (lesser cost of investment) and the energy consumption (operation cost) according to the thermal load of the building.Daily temperature variations of the environment are taken into account (hourly transient) in order to study the influence of these variations over the global performance of the refrigeration system.The model is applied to the study of the air conditioning system of one block of the Cardeal Leme building, at PUC-Rio.In the present study, the strategy employed is a keye factor in the selection of the best economical alternative.

In this thesis, development of a generic transient aero-thermal gas turbine model is presented. A simulation code, gtSIM is developed based on an algorithm which is composed of a set of differential equations and a set of non-linear algebraic equations representing each gas turbine engine component. These equations are the governing equations which represents the aero-thermodynamic process of the each engine component and they are solved according to a specific solving sequence which is defined in the simulation code algorithm. At each time step, ordinary differential equations are integrated by a first-order Euler scheme and a set of algebraic equations are solved by forward substitution. The numerical solution process lasts until the end of pre-defined simulation time. The objective of the work is to simulate the critical transient scenarios for different types of gas turbine engines at off-design conditions. Different critical transient scenarios are simulated for two di®
erent types of gas turbine engine. As a first simulation, a sample critical transient scenario is simulated for a small turbojet engine. As a second simulation, a hot gas ingestion scenario is simulated for a turbo shaft engine. A simple proportional control algorithm is also incorporated into the simulation code, which acts as a simple speed governor in turboshaft simulations. For both cases, the responses of relevant engine parameters are plotted and results are presented. Simulation results show that the code has the potential to correctly capture the transient response of a gas turbine engine under different operating conditions. The code can also be used for developing engine control algorithms as well as health monitoring systems and it can be integrated to various flight vehicle dynamic simulation codes.

Dans le contexte de la physique des réacteurs, l’analyse du comportement non stationnaire de la population neutronique avec contre-réactions dans le combustible et dans le modérateur se rend indispensable afin de caractériser les transitoires opérationnels et accidentels dans les systèmes nucléaires et d’en améliorer par conséquent la sûreté. Pour ces configurations non stationnaires, le développement de méthodes Monte-Carlo qui prennent en compte la dépendance en temps du système neutronique, mais aussi le couplage avec les autres physiques, comme la thermohydraulique et la thermomécanique, a pour but de servir de référence aux calculs déterministes.Ce travail de thèse a consisté à mettre en place une chaîne de calcul pour la simulation couplée neutronique Monte-Carlo, avec le code TRIPOLI-4, en conditions non stationnaires et avec prise en compte des contre-réactions thermohydrauliques.Nous avons d'abord considéré les méthodes cinétiques dans TRIPOLI-4, c'est-à-dire avec prise en compte du temps mais sans prise en compte des contre-réactions, en incluant une évaluation des méthodes existantes ainsi que le développement de nouvelles méthodes. Ensuite, nous avons développé un schéma de couplage entre TRIPOLI-4 et le code de thermohydraulique sous-canal SUBCHANFLOW. Enfin, nous avons réalisé une analyse préliminaire de la propagation des incertitudes au sein du calcul couplé sur un modèle simplifié. En effet, les fluctuations statistiques sont inhérentes à notre schéma de par la nature stochastique de TRIPOLI-4. De plus, les équations de la thermohydraulique étant non-linéaires, la propagation des incertitudes au long du calcul doit être étudiée afin de caractériser la convergence du résultat
One of the main issues for the study of a reactor behaviour is to model the propagation of the neutrons, described by the Boltzmann transport equation, in the presence of multi-physics phenomena, such as the coupling between neutron transport, thermal-hydraulics and thermomecanics. Thanks to the growing computer power, it is now feasible to apply Monte Carlo methods to the solution of non-stationary transport problems in reactor physics, which play an instrumental role in producing reference numerical solutions for the analysis of transients occurring during normal and accidental behaviour.The goal of this Ph. D. thesis is to develop, verify and test a coupling scheme between the Monte Carlo code TRIPOLI-4 and thermal-hydraulics, so as to provide a reference tool for the simulation of reactivity-induced transients in PWRs.We have first tested the kinetic capabilities of TRIPOLI-4 (i.e., time dependent without thermal-hydraulics feedback), evaluating the different existing methods and implementing new techniques. Then, we have developed a multi-physics interface for TRIPOLI-4, and more specifically a coupling scheme between TRIPOLI-4 and the thermal-hydraulics sub-channel code SUBCHANFLOW. Finally, we have performed a preliminary analysis of the stability of the coupling scheme. Indeed, due to the stochastic nature of the outputs produced by TRIPOLI-4, uncertainties are inherent to our coupling scheme and propagate along the coupling iterations. Moreover, thermal-hydraulics equations are non linear, so the prediction of the propagation of the uncertainties is not straightforward

The purpose of this study was to serve as a starting point in gaining understanding and experience of simulating a typical Pool Type Research Reactor with the thermal hydraulic software code Flownex®. During the study the following evaluations of Flownex® were done: * Assessment of the simplifying assumptions and possible shortcomings built into the software. * Definition of the applicable modelling methodology and further simplifying assumptions that have to be made by the user. * Evaluation of the accuracy and compatibility with the Pool Type Research Reactor. * Comparing the results of this study with similar studies found in the open literature. For the study the IAEA MTR 10 MW benchmark reactor (IAEA, 1992a) was used. A steady state simulation using Flownex® was done on a single fuel assembly, and this was compared with a model that was developed using the software package EES (Engineering Equation Solver). The results have shown good agreement between the different packages. After this verification, a steady state simulation of the entire core was done to obtain the characteristics of the reactor operating under normal condition. Finally, transient simulations were done on various LOFAs (Loss of Flow Accidents). The results of the various LOFAs were compared with studies that were previously done on the IAEA MTR 10 MW reactor.
Thesis (M.Ing. (Nuclear Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

Large coal-fired power stations are designed to be run predominantly at full load and optimum conditions. The behaviour of plants, operating at low load and varying conditions, is getting more and more attention due to the introduction of variable renewable generation on the grid. Consequently, the need for a fully transient high-fidelity system based model has grown, as this will enable one to study the behaviour of plants under such non-ideal conditions. This report details the development of a feedwater heater, deaerator and turbine component for such a high-fidelity transient system model using the Flownex Simulation Environment, a onedimensional thermohydraulic network solver. The components have been modelled all with the aim of using minimal design input data. The feedwater heater component model includes transient effects and thermodynamic relations to represent aspects such as heater performance, level control and transient inertia. In determining the heat transfer characteristics, the model makes use of plant-performance data and correlates the amount of heat transfer by using the feedwater mass flow as the load indicating parameter. This approach eliminates the need for specific geometrical details to calculate the effective heat transfer area. The level control is modelled by using a level representation built from using heat exchanger design methods. The turbine component is modelled by using Fuls’ Semi-Ellipse law or the pressure drop modelling and Ray’s semi-empirical method for the efficiency modelling. The model also contains transient effects, which include thermal inertia due to the shaft and casing, and rotational inertia due to the shaft. The deaerator component is modelled by adapting the model presented by Banda, and modifying the model to work under various conditions. This involved using curve fit methods in Flownex to use input data to model the pressure drop over the main condensate valve. Each of the mentioned components was validated and verified with plant data and finally packaged into a compound component which is a component consisting of a subnetwork in Flownex. These compound components further contain design inputs which are easily accessible by the user. The component models were integrated into larger networks in which various scenarios can be run. A short transient scenario was run on the low-pressure feedwater train of a specific power station. The scenario involved a turbine trip where the bled steam valves for the heaters were closed suddenly. The speed of the valves closing was however unknown and after closing the valves in approximately 10 seconds, results agreed relatively well with plant data. This illustrated the short transient capabilities of the feedwater heater component model. The three component models (feedwater heater, turbine and deaerator) were finally integrated into a regenerative Rankine cycle and was set up using minimal design data. The boiler, condenser and condensate pump were set as boundary conditions in the network but all extraction points for the network were connected. Steady-state results were obtained for various load cases and the main temperature, flow and pressure results were compared. Results agree well with plant data, even at low load conditions

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-08T15:00:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 2032932 bytes, checksum: 0a9d3a6d8d6a035afe37c1d839780916 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-08-16
Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES
This work presents the mathematical models used in the simulation of an absorption refrigeration system (SRA). Two models are presented: one for permanent simulation and another for simulation in transient regime. Balance equations of mass, concentration and energy are used together with other equations that complete the system of equations. The properties of ammonia and water solution are determined allowing estimating a variety of status points of the system. The implementation of the model was made in Engineering Equation Solver-EES. The model was validated using the results obtained in the test of a commercial refrigeration system of the ROBUR.
No presente trabalho apresentam-se os modelos matemáticos utilizados na simulação de um sistema de refrigeração por absorção (SRA). Dois modelos são apresentados: um para simulação em regime permanente e outro para simulação em regime transiente. Equações de balanço de massa, concentração e energia serão utilizadas juntamente com outras equações que fazem o fechamento do sistema de equações. As propriedades da solução de amônia e água serão determinadas, possibilitando o cálculo dos diversos pontos de estados do sistema em estudo. A implementação dos modelos foi feita no Engineering Equation Solver EES. A validação do modelo foi feita através dos dados obtidos no ensaio de um sistema de refrigeração comercial da ROBUR.

Thesis (M. S.)--Nuclear Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010.
Committee Chair: Abdel-Khalik, Said I.; Committee Member: Ghiaasiaan, S. Mostafa; Committee Member: Hertel, Nolan E. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.

The main focus of the dissertation thesis is determine the size of the fastening screw connection and fastening torque of the connection, which will be applied during assembly of the instrument current transformers and sensors. The large part of thesis is an experimental measurement of the proposed configurations of connections and modelling (simulating) certain model of connections in Ansys and SolidWorks analysis programs. The result of the dissertation will be design of tightening of the connection according to transient resistance and thermal losses.

The numerical modelling of the VKI-Longshot facility remains a challeng-ing task as it requires multi-physical numerical methods in order to simulate all the components. In the current dissertation, numerical tools were developed in order to study each component of the facility separately and a deep investigations of each stage of the shot were performed. This helped to better understand the different processes involved in the flow development inside this hypersonic wind tunnel. However the numerical computation of different regions of the facility treated as independent from each others remains an approximation at best.The accuracy of the rebuilding code for determining the free stream conditions and the total enthalpy in the VKI-Longshot facility was investigated by using a series of unsteady numerical computations of axisymmetric hypersonic flow over a heat flux probe. Good agreement was obtained between the numerical results and the measured data for both the stagnation pressure and the heat flux dur- ing the useful test time.The driver-driven part of the Longshot facility was modelled using the quasi one-dimensional Lagrangian solver L1d2. The three main conditions used for the experiments —low, medium and high Reynolds number —were considered.The chambrage effect due to the junction between the driver and the driven tubes in the VKI-Longshot facility was investigated. The computation showed great ben- efit of the chambrage in increasing the speed of the piston and thus the final compression ratio of the test gas.Two dimensional simulations of the flow in the driver and the driven tube were performed using Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) solver in COOLFLuiD. A parallel multi-domain strategy was developed in order to integrate the moving piston within the computational domain.The computed pressure in the reservoir is compared to the one provided by the experiment and good agreement was obtained for both con- editions.Finally, an attempt was made to compute the starting process of the flow in the contoured nozzle. The transient computation of the flow showed how the primary shock initiates the flow in the nozzle before reaching the exit plan at time of 1.5 [ms] after the diaphragm rupture. The complex interactions of the reflected shocks in the throat raise the temperature above 9500 [K] which was not expected. Chemical dissociation of Nitrogen was not taken into account during this transient investigation which may play a key role considering the range of temperature reached near the throat.
Doctorat en Sciences de l'ingénieur
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Les garnitures mécaniques sont utilisées dans de multiples applications pour réaliser l'étanchéité autour d'arbres en rotation. Ces composants peuvent fonctionner efficacement pendant plusieurs années en conditions stables, mais leur durée de vie est significativement réduite lorsque les conditions varient. L'objectif de ce travail de recherche est de développer et d’utiliser un banc d'essais et code de calcul pour étudier l'impact de pulsations de pression, d’inversions de pression et du chargement dynamique résultant sur les performances de garnitures mécaniques ayant des faces mésalignées et présentant des défauts de planéité.Le solveur fluide d'un modèle numérique de garnitures mécaniques a été étendu aux conditions transitoires. Un module résolvant la dynamique des forces et des moments a été ajouté afin de prédire le déplacement axial et les déplacements angulaires de la face montée de manière flexible. Afin de caractériser les performances de garnitures, un banc d'essais générant des pulses de pression a été instrumenté et des méthodes de mesure de perte de volume d'huile et d'entrée d'eau mises en place.Des garnitures mécaniques à faces parallèles puis mésalignées, fonctionnant sous pulsations et inversions de pression, ont été testées expérimentalement et simulées. Seules de très faibles augmentations d'eau dans l'huile ont été observées, sans augmentation au cours du temps, et sans fuite d'huile mesurable. Les faibles valeurs d'entrées d'eau sont dues à la faible épaisseur de film et à la courte durée des inversions de pression. Une garniture mécanique expérimentale à fort défaut de planéité a aussi été testée. Contrairement aux autres paramètres, le défaut de planéité semble augmenter significativement la fuite et promouvoir les entrées d'eau et pourrait ainsi être à l'origine de certaines défaillances
Face seals are mechanical devices used to seal rotating shafts in numerous applications. While they can operate efficiently under steady conditions for years, they tend to fail prematurely when operating in severe, or rapidly varying conditions. The focus of this research work is the development and use of an experimental and a numerical method to investigate the impact of pressure pulses, pressure inversions and induced dynamic loading on the performance of mechanical face seals exhibiting face misalignment and waviness.The fluid solver of a state-of-the art face seal numerical model was extended to transient conditions and a module solving the dynamics for the axial and angular degrees of freedom of the flexibly-mounted stator added. A system-level experimental setup generating pressure pulses was instrumented and methods to characterise face seal performance in terms of oil volume loss and ingression of water outer-fluid selected and implemented.Face seals, with flat and misaligned faces, operating under pressure pulses and pressure inversions were experimentally tested and simulated. They show only slight increase of water in the oil, no increase over time, and no measurable oil leakage. The low water ingression is due to low film thickness combined with the short duration of pressure inversions. An exploratory face seal of high waviness was also experimentally tested. Contrary to the other parameters, the waviness appears to significantly increase the leakage and promote water ingression and could thus be at the origin of some seal failures

Inductive type fault current limiters with superconducting tapes are emerging devices that provide technology for the advent of modern electrical grids, helping to mitigate operational problems that such grids can experience as well as preventing the often-costly upgrade of power equipment, namely protections. The development of such limiters leads to several design challenges regarding the constitutive parts of those devices, namely the magnetic core, primary winding and superconducting secondary. Fault current limiters are required to operate at overcurrents during a certain amount of time. The operation at such currents can lead to harmful effects due to mechanical, electromagnetic and thermal stresses, especially in the superconducting tape. Since the operation principle of fault current limiters envisaged in this thesis is based on the superconducting-normal transition of superconducting materials, the study of its transient behaviour is an important research subject. In this work, an electromagnetic methodology based on the characteristics of the constitutive parts of the limiters, previously developed and compared to finite element modelling simulations with very similar results, is simulated and validated with experimental results. Furthermore, the current in the superconducting tape is modelled from experimental results with the purpose of predicting the temperature of the material during normal and fault operation conditions, by employing a thermal-electrical analogy. These results are also compared to experimental measurements. A fast simulation tool, with computation times in the order of minutes, is also developed in Simulink, from Matlab environment. With the developed simulation tool, it is possible to quickly predict the transient electromagnetic-thermal behaviour of an inductive type fault current limiter operating in electrical grids, namely the line current and primary linked flux, as well as current and temperature in the superconducting tape.

碩士
國立高雄應用科技大學
電機工程系碩士班
95
This thesis investigates the transient characteristics of three phase transformers in thermal power plant. The nonlinear characteristics of transformer are analyzed at first. Then ATPDraw is applied to construct the models of transformers and other equipments in the system, the electromagnetic transient program ATP is used to simulate transient phenomenon of system. Finally, the simulation results are analyzed and discussed. Some improving strategies are proposed for the potential harm of transformer transient and the ATP simulation is performed once again. Simulating results demonstrate that these strategies are helpful to reduce the damage of transformer and to ensure the safe of equipments and the normal operation of units.

Global warming due to over usage of fossil fuels is leading to different kinds of pollutions. Global warming can be controlled by switching non-renewable fossil fuels with renewable alternative power sources like wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, and ocean. Solar power is the most prominent alternative source around the world. Solar power is being used as alternative power source in almost all countries around the globe. Solar power uses radiation from sun to produce heat and the heat used for different heating and cooling applications whereas electricity being one of them. Solar power is being used in domestic applications as water heaters. A solar collector is used to transfer energy from sun to heat water. A flat plate solar collector is commonly used for water heating systems. Solar radiation is not available entire day as other alternative energy sources so there may be a need to store the collected radiation using a thermal storage system. This study considers a solar collector system with a storage tank and phase change material (PCM). The simulation of a transient process using one-dimensional mathematical model for the collector and storage system with phase change materials (PCMs) is presented. The collector used in this study is a flat plate model and paraffin wax encapsulated in aluminum cylinders as phase change material (PCM). The thermal energy gained by solar radiation can be stored for longer period in a system which has phase change materials (PCMs) due to latent heat storage or enthalpy of fusion.

The modelling of multi-phase water flow is an important modern-day design tool used by engineers to develop practical systems which are beneficial to society . Multi-phase water flow can be found in many important industrial applications such as large scale conventional and nuclear power systems, heat transfer machinery, chemical process plants, and other important examples. Because of many inherent complexities in physical two-phase flow processes, no generalised system of equations has been formulated that can accurately describe the two-phase flow of water at all flow conditions and system geometries. This has led to the development of many different models for the simulation of two-phase flow at specific conditions. These models vary greatly in complexity. The simplest model that can be used to simulate two-phase flow is termed the homogeneous equilibrium (HEM) two-phase flow model. This model has been found useful in investigations of choking and flashing flows, and as an initial investigative model used before the formulation of more complex models for specific applications. This flow model is fully de ned by three conservation equations, one each for mass, momentum and energy. To close the model, an equation of state (EOS) is required to deliver system pressure values. When solving the HEM, a general practice is to employ an equation of state that is derived from a fundamental expression of the second law of thermodynamics. This methodology has been proven to deliver accurate results for two-phase system simulations. This study focused on an alternative formulation of the equation of state which was previously developed for the time dependent modelling of HEM two-phase flow systems, termed the rate form of the equation of state (RFES). The goal of the study was not to develop a new formulation of the EOS, but rather to implement the RFES in a transient simulation model and to verify that this implementation delivers appropriate results when compared to the conventional implementation methodology. This was done by formulating a transient pipe and reservoir network model with the HEM, and closing the model using both the RFES and a benchmark EOS known to deliver accurate system property values. The results of the transient model simulations were then compared to determine whether the RFES delivered the expected results. It was found that the RFES delivered sufficiently accurate results for a variety of system transients, pressure conditions and numerical integration factors.
MIng (Nuclear Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014