CFD Applications in Energy Engineering Research and Simulation: An Introduction to Published Reviews

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has been firmly established as a fundamental discipline to advancing research on energy engineering. The major progresses achieved during the last two decades both on software modelling capabilities and hardware computing power have resulted in considerable and widespread CFD interest among scientist and engineers. Numerical modelling and simulation developments are increasingly contributing to the current state of the art in many energy engineering aspects, such as power generation, combustion, wind energy, concentrated solar power, hydro power, gas and steam turbines, fuel cells, and many others. This review intends to provide an overview of the CFD applications in energy and thermal engineering, as a presentation and background for the Special Issue “CFD Applications in Energy Engineering Research and Simulation” published by Processes in 2020. A brief introduction to the most significant reviews that have been published on the particular topics is provided. The objective is to provide an overview of the CFD applications in energy and thermal engineering, highlighting the review papers published on the different topics, so that readers can refer to the different review papers for a thorough revision of the state of the art and contributions into the particular field of interest

Digitally interpreting traditional folk crafts

The cultural heritage preservation requires that objects persist throughout time to continue to communicate an intended meaning. The necessity of computer-based preservation and interpretation of traditional folk crafts is validated by the decreasing number of masters, fading technologies, and crafts losing economic ground. We present a long-term applied research project on the development of a mathematical basis, software tools, and technology for application of desktop or personal fabrication using compact, cheap, and environmentally friendly fabrication devices, including '3D printers', in traditional crafts. We illustrate the properties of this new modeling and fabrication system using several case studies involving the digital capture of traditional objects and craft patterns, which we also reuse in modern designs. The test application areas for the development are traditional crafts from different cultural backgrounds, namely Japanese lacquer ware and Norwegian carvings. Our project includes modeling existing artifacts, Web presentations of the models, automation of the models fabrication, and the experimental manufacturing of new designs and forms

Current developments of nanoscale insight into corrosion protection by passive oxide films

Oxide passive films are a key for the durability of metals and alloys components as well as a central issue in corrosion science and engineering. Herein, we discuss current developments of the nanometer and sub-nanometer scale knowledge of the barrier properties and adsorption properties of passive oxide films brought by recent model experimental and theoretical investigations. The discussed aspects include (i) the chromium enrichment and its homogeneity at the nanoscale in passive films formed on Cr-bearing alloys such as stainless steel, (ii) the corrosion properties of grain boundaries in early intergranular corrosion before penetration and propagation in the grain boundary network, and (iii) the interaction of organic inhibitor molecules with incompletely passivated metallic surfaces. In all three cases, key issues are highlighted and future developments that we consider as most relevant are identified.Comment: Current Opinion in Solid State and Materials Science, Elsevier, final accepted preprin

Observational constraints on inhomogeneous cosmological models without dark energy

It has been proposed that the observed dark energy can be explained away by the effect of large-scale nonlinear inhomogeneities. In the present paper we discuss how observations constrain cosmological models featuring large voids. We start by considering Copernican models, in which the observer is not occupying a special position and homogeneity is preserved on a very large scale. We show how these models, at least in their current realizations, are constrained to give small, but perhaps not negligible in certain contexts, corrections to the cosmological observables. We then examine non-Copernican models, in which the observer is close to the center of a very large void. These models can give large corrections to the observables which mimic an accelerated FLRW model. We carefully discuss the main observables and tests able to exclude them.Comment: 27 pages, 7 figures; invited contribution to CQG special issue "Inhomogeneous Cosmological Models and Averaging in Cosmology". Replaced to match the improved version accepted for publication. Appendix B and references adde