Frost formation: optimizing solutions under a finite volume approach

Published under licence in Journal of Physics: Conference Series by IOP Publishing Ltd. Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.A three-dimensional transient formulation of the frost formation process is developed by means of a finite volume approach. Emphasis is put on the frost surface boundary condition as well as the wide range of empirical correlations related to the thermophysical and transport properties of frost. A study of the numerical solution is made, establishing the parameters that ensure grid independence. Attention is given to the algorithm, the discretised equations and the code optimization through dynamic relaxation techniques. A critical analysis of four cases is carried out by comparing solutions of several empirical models against tested experiments. As a result, a discussion on the performance of such parameters is started and a proposal of the most suitable models is presented.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Criterios numéricos en la resolución de la transferencia de calor en fenómenos de convección

La finalidad de esta tesis es la obtención de las distribuciones de velocidades, presiones y temperaturas en la convección forzada de flujos compresibles en situaciones bidimensionales y de estabilización. Es a partir de estos valores que se determina la fricción y la transferencia de calor entre el fluido y el contorno o canalización.La tesis consta de cinco capítulos. En el primero, de carácter introductorio, se plantea la problemática de resolución de las ecuaciones que describen el comportamiento del flujo. Se analizan dos niveles de modelización. De una parte, y en base al concepto de capa límite introducido por L. Prandtl, se divide el dominio por el que circula el flujo en dos zonas: unas delgadas regiones próximas a los contornos sólidos en los que la fricción y la transferencia de calor son factores condicionantes, y el resto del dominio en el que el flujo puede considerarse como no viscoso, pudiéndose despreciar los efectos de la fricción y de la transferencia de calor. En el segundo nivel de modelización se plantea la resolución directa de las ecuaciones de continuidad, cantidad de movimiento y energía en todo el dominio.Los capítulos segundo, tercero y cuarto están dedicados al primer nivel de modelización indicado. En el segundo capítulo se resuelve el flujo potencial compresible en base a la discretización del dominio mediante la generación de mallas adaptables a los contornos. Se analizan diferentes criterios de discretización de las ecuaciones siendo los resultados numéricos obtenidos contrastados entre si y con los que se derivan del empleo de mallas de discretización rectangulares. El tercer capítulo trata de la resolución de las capas límites hidrodinámicas y térmicas mediante la integración numérica de la ecuaciones de conservación. Para el análisis de las capas límite turbulentas se ha utilizado los conceptos de viscosidad turbulenta y conductividad térmica turbulenta, empleándose expresiones semiempíricas en la descripción de dichas cantidades. Se estudian diversas situaciones contrastándose los resultados numéricos obtenidos con los que se derivan de estudios experimentales presentados por distintos autores. En el cuarto capítulo se efectúa la resolución conjunta de la zona potencial y de las capas límite en el marco de un algoritmo global de resolución. A modo ilustrativo se ha realizado el estudio del flujo de aire en una tobera o canalización convergente, analizándose aspectos tales como la compresibilidad del flujo y la transferencia de calor entre el fluido y los contornos sólidos limitantes. Los resultados que se derivan de la resolución numérica, supuestos los contornos adiabáticos, son contratados con los obtenidos experimentalmente en esta tesis y en una unidad de soplado del laboratorio. En el quinto y último capítulo se aborda el segundo nivel de modelización arriba indicado, si bien la atención se centra en ecuaciones genéricas del tipo convección-difusión. Así, partiendo de una distribución de velocidades conocida, se realiza la resolución de dicha ecuación en base a la generación de sistemas ortogonales de coordenadas curvilíneas coincidentes con las propias líneas de corriente del flujo. La precisión y zonas de aplicación del método numérico son puestas de manifiesto en situaciones singulares de solución analítica conocida. Los resultados obtenidos son satisfactorios en un amplio rango de números de Peclet, y claramente superiores a los que se derivan del empleo de mallas de discretización rectangulares.The purpose of this thesis is to obtain velocity, pressure and temperature distributions in compressible flows under steady-state conditions.The thesis has five chapters. The first one introduces the mathematical formulation and two main strategies to solve the governing equations. The first one is based on a zonal model, which solved in a coupled manner the Euler and the boundary layer equations. The second level is based on the resolution of the Navier-Stokes equations in the whole domain.The next three chapters are devoted to the first level of modelization mentioned above. The second chapter solves the Euler equations of the inviscid flow based on the discretization of the domain by means of body-fitted meshes. Numerical solutions are also carefully verificated based on grid refinement techniques. Several numerical criteria for the discretization of the equations are presented and contrasted. The third chapter deals with the numerical integration of the hydrodynamic and thermal boundary layer equations using algebraic turbulence models extended to compressible flows. A study of the different parameters which influence on flow is presented.In the fourth chapter, a coupled procedure of the two zones (inviscid zone and boundary layers) is proposed within the framework of a global algorithm. By way of illustration the study of the compressible flow in a converging channel is carried out. Different aspects related to the compressibility of the flow and the heat transfers exchanged with the solid boundaries are studied. The mathematical model is validated against experimental results obtained in a specially designed set-up.In the fifth and final chapter, the second level of modelization is presented but only the part which refers to generic convection-diffusion equations. Thus, starting from a known velocity distribution, an analysis of different standard numerical schemes is performed together with a proposal of a new scheme to reduce the numerical false diffusion effects

Heat and moisture insulation by means of air curtains: application to refrigerated chambers

The present study is devoted to the determination of the efficiency of air curtain units (ACUs) applied to heat and moisture insulation of refrigerated chambers. A detailed study of the fluid dynamics and heat and mass transfer of the ACU in the refrigerated space and the external ambient is carried out by means of large eddy simulations (LES). The heat and moisture entrainment through the doorway and their transport inside the inner space are fully described. Three different configurations are studied: non-recirculating, recirculating and twin-jet air curtains. The condensation produced in the cool walls of the refrigerated space is evaluated considering the warm humid air from the ambient which penetrates inside the chamber through the doorway. The influence of both the discharge velocities and the discharge angles on the sealing capabilities of the three different tested ACU configurations is determined.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

A new statistical model for subgrid dispersion in large eddy simulations of particle-laden flows

This article is published under a CC BY licence. The Version of Record is available online at: http.//dx.doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/745/3/032115Dispersed multiphase turbulent flows are present in many industrial and commercial applications like internal combustion engines, turbofans, dispersion of contaminants, steam turbines, etc. Therefore, there is a clear interest in the development of models and numerical tools capable of performing detailed and reliable simulations about these kind of flows. Large Eddy Simulations offer good accuracy and reliable results together with reasonable computational requirements, making it a really interesting method to develop numerical tools for particle-laden turbulent flows. Nonetheless, in multiphase dispersed flows additional difficulties arises in LES, since the effect of the unresolved scales of the continuous phase over the dispersed phase is lost due to the filtering procedure. In order to solve this issue a model able to reconstruct the subgrid velocity seen by the particles is required. In this work a new model for the reconstruction of the subgrid scale effects over the dispersed phase is presented and assessed. This innovative methodology is based in the reconstruction of statistics via Probability Density Functions (PDFs).Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Numerical dynamic analysis of reciprocating compressor mechanism. Parametric studies for optimization purposes

© 2016. This version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/A complete numerical dynamic analysis of reciprocating compressor mechanism is presented, coupling the instantaneous pressure in the compression chamber, the electric motor torque and the hydrodynamic reactions, which arise from the piston and crankshaft secondary movements. Additionally, non-constant crankshaft angular velocity and the piston and crankshaft misalignment torques have also been considered. Two sensitivity analyses have been carried out to prove that neither the inertial forces in the directions of the secondary movements, nor the oscillations of the angular velocity produce significant differences in the compressor behaviour. Finally, a set of parametric studies has been developed to evaluate the influence of geometrical parameters in the stability of the secondary movements, the friction power losses and the compressor consumptionPeer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

On the properties of discrete spatial filters for CFD

© 2016. This version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/The spatial filtering of variables in the context of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is a common practice. Most of the discrete filters used in CFD simulations are locally accurate models of continuous operators. However, when filters are adaptative, i.e. the filter width is not constant, or meshes are irregular, discrete filters sometimes break relevant global properties of the continuous models they are based on. For example, the principle of maxima and minima reduction or conservation are eventually infringed. In this paper, we analyze the properties of analytic continuous convolution filters and extract those we consider to define filtering. Then, we impose the accomplishment of these properties on explicit discrete filters by means of constraints. Three filters satisfying the derived conditions are deduced and compared to common differential discrete CFD filters on synthetic fields. Tests on the developed discrete filters show the fulfillment of the imposed properties. In particular, the problem of maxima and minima generation is resolved for physically relevant cases. The tests are conducted on the basis of the eigenvectors of graph Laplacian matrices of meshes. Thus, insight into the relations between filtering and oscillation growth on general meshes is provided. Further tests on singularity fields and on isentropic vortices have also been conducted to evaluate the performance of filters on basic CFD fields. Results confirm that imposing the proposed conditions makes discrete filters properties consistent with those of the continuous ones.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Fixed grid numerical modelling of frost growth and densification

A fixed-grid-porous-media method capable of simulating the growth and densification of frost sheets is here presented. A velocity field is calculated across the entire domain, in which a porous media treatment is given to the ice-containing cells. The transported temperature and vapour density are used to define the thermophysical state of each cell, which might enable phase change. As an improvement to Bartrons et al., 2017, the method hereby presented accounts for solidification and sublimation phase transitions. The explicit time step has also been increased by using a semi-implicit treatment of the energy equation. Furthermore, a special boundary condition for cold surfaces has been developed in order to overcome the averaging effect that prevents ice formation in the cells adjacent to the wall. The method is then tested with a study case of a duct flow with a non-homogeneously cooled lower boundary. Several numerical tests are carried out in order to understand the capabilities of the model. The in¿uence of accounting for the convection, as well as the enhanced diffusion resistance factors within the frost layer, is studied by means of the calculated porosity and velocity fields throughout the domain.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Study of the conservation properties in two-way coupled dispersed multiphase flows using finite volume methods

In order to simulate dispersed multiphase flows, the coupling level must be determined according to the volume fraction in the system. The volume fraction is the ratio of the total volume of the dispersed phases over the total volume of the flow. In dilute flows, with volume fractions smaller than 10 -6 , only the influence of carrier phase over the dispersed phase is considered which is known as one-way coupling. Nonetheless, in dispersed flows with higher volume fractions, the effect of the dispersed phase over the continuous one should be taken into consideration, known as two-way coupling. This effect normally is applied as a source term in the conservation equations of the carrier phase. Depending on the numerical method and the discrete operators employed, these source terms can lead to some issues when aiming to preserve physical properties like mass, momentum or kinetic energy. Moreover, in order to validate the two-way coupling method, a particle-laden turbulent flow benchmark case with a mass loading of 22% is simulated by means of large eddy numerical simulation (LES). The aim of this work is to study the conservation properties of dispersed multiphase flows like momentum and kinetic energy through two-way coupling between dispersed and continuous phases.This research was supported by the Secretariat of Universities and Research of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the European Social Fund (FI AGAUR Grant). This work has also been developed within the EU H2020 Clean Sky 2 Joint Undertaking (JU) research project “A New proTection devIce for FOD – ANTIFOD” (grant agreement Nº 821352).Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Multi-layered solid-PCM thermocline thermal storage concept for CSP plants. Numerical analysis and perspectives

Thermocline storage concept has been considered for more than a decade as a possible solution to reduce the huge cost of the storage system in concentrated solar power (CSP) plants. However, one of the drawbacks of this concept is the decrease in its performance throughout the time. The objective of this paper is to present a new thermocline-like storage concept, which aims at circumventing this issue. The proposed concept consists of a storage tank filled with a combination of solid material and encapsulated PCMs, forming a multi-layered packed bed, with molten salt as the heat transfer fluid. The performance evaluation of each of the prototypes proposed is virtually tested by means of a detailed numerical methodology which considers the heat transfer and fluid dynamics phenomena present in these devices. The virtual tests carried out are designed so as to take into account several charging and discharging cycles until periodic state is achieved, i.e. when the same amount of energy is stored/released in consecutive charging/discharging cycles. As a result, the dependence of the storage capacity on the PCMs temperatures, the total energy and exergy stored/released, as well as the efficiencies of the storing process are compared for the different thermocline, single PCM, cascaded PCM and the proposed multi-layered solid-PCM (MLSPCM) configurations. The analysis shows that the multi-layered solid-PCM concept is a promising alternative for thermal storage in CSP plants.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author’s final draft

Techno-economic performance evaluation of solar tower plants with integrated multilayered PCM thermocline thermal energy storage: a comparative study to conventional two-tank storage systems

Copyright 2016 AIP Publishing. This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and AIP Publishing.Solar Tower Power Plants with thermal energy storage are a promising technology for dispatchable renewable energy in the near future. Storage integration makes possible to shift the electricity production to more profitable peak hours. Usually two tanks are used to store cold and hot fluids, but this means both higher investment costs and difficulties during the operation of the variable volume tanks. Instead, another solution can be a single tank thermocline storage in a multi-layered configuration. In such tank both latent and sensible fillers are employed to decrease the related cost up to 30% and maintain high efficiencies. This paper analyses a multi-layered solid PCM storage tank concept for solar tower applications, and describes a comprehensive methodology to determine under which market structures such devices can outperform the more conventional two tank storage systems. A detail model of the tank has been developed and introduced in an existing techno-economic tool developed by the authors (DYESOPT). The results show that under current cost estimates and technical limitations the multi-layered solid PCM storage concept is a better solution when peaking operating strategies are desired, as it is the case for the two-tier South African tariff scheme.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version