Measurement and Modeling of Entropy Generation in Microchannels

Entropy based design is a novel design method that incorporates the second law of thermodynamics with computational and experimental techniques to achieve the upper limits of performance and quality in engineering technologies. As the emerging technologies are pressing towards the theoretical limits of efficiency, the concept of entropy and entropy based design will have an increasing role of performance. Measuring entropy generation is a valuable diagnostic tool from which the areas with high destruction rates of available energy may be determined and re-designed. In this work, a general model is developed, based on previous analytical expressions for pressure drop and heat transfer, for predicting entropy generation in a microchannel. The model includes the effects due to developing and fully developed flow, entrance and exit geometries, cross-sectional shapes, aspect ratio, and different thermal boundary conditions. An experimental technique is presented that enables the measurement of the spatial istribution of entropy generation in a microchannel. The experimental method is a combination of Micro Particle Image velocimetry to measure the spatial distribution of velocity and Micro Laser Induced Fluorescence to determine the temperature data. This method provides certain advantages over conventional anemometry techniques. This method, offers the whole-field non-intrusive, and instantaneous measurement of entropy generation in the device; while, previous techniques are limited to single point, averaged measurements

Experimental and Numerical Studies for Soot Formation in Laminar Coflow Diffusion Flames of Jet A-1 and Synthetic Jet Fuels

In the present doctoral thesis, fundamental experimental and numerical studies are conducted for the laminar, atmospheric pressure, sooting, coflow diffusion flames of Jet A-1 and synthetic jet fuels. The first part of this thesis presents a comparative experimental study for Jet A-1, which is a widely used petroleum-based fuel, and four synthetically produced alternative jet fuels. The main goals of this part of the thesis are to compare the soot emission levels of the alternative fuels to those of a standard fuel, Jet A-1, and to determine the effect of fuel chemical composition on soot formation characteristics. To achieve these goals, experimental measurements are constructed and performed for flame temperature, soot concentration, soot particle size, and soot aggregate structure in the flames of pre-vaporized jet fuels. The results show that a considerable reduction in soot production, compared to the standard fuel, can be obtained by using synthetic fuels which will help in addressing future regulations. A strong correlation between the aromatic content of the fuels and the soot concentration levels in the flames is observed. The second part of this thesis presents the development and experimental validation of a fully-coupled soot formation model for laminar coflow jet fuel diffusion flames. The model is coupled to a detailed kinetic mechanism to predict the chemical structure of the flames and soot precursor concentrations. This model also provides information on size and morphology of soot particles. The flames of a three-component surrogate for Jet A-1, a three-component surrogate for a synthetic jet fuel, and pure n-decane are simulated using this model. Concentrations of major gaseous species and flame temperatures are well predicted by the model. Soot volume fractions are predicted reasonably well everywhere in the flame, except near the flame centerline where soot concentrations are underpredicted by a factor of up to five. There is an excellent agreement between the computed and measured data for the numbers of primary particles per aggregate and the diameters of primary particles. This model is an important stepping-stone in the drive to simulate industry-relevant and multi-dimensional flames of practical liquid fuels, with detailed chemistry and soot formation.Ph

Effects of laser fluence non-uniformity on ambient-temperature soot measurements using the auto-compensating laser-induced incandescence technique

Multimode pulsed Nd:YAG lasers are commonly used in auto-compensating laser-induced incandescence (AC-LII) measurements of soot in flames and engine exhaust as well as black carbon in the atmosphere. Such lasers possess a certain degree of fluence non-uniformity across the laser beam even with the use of beam shaping optics. Recent research showed that the measured volume fraction of ambient-temperature soot using AC-LII increases significantly, by about a factor of 5\u20138, with increasing the laser fluence in the low-fluence regime from a very low fluence to a relatively high fluence of near sublimation. The causes of this so-called soot volume fraction anomaly are currently not understood. The effects of laser fluence non-uniformity on the measured soot volume fraction using AC-LII were investigated. Three sets of LII experiments were conducted in the exhaust of a MiniCAST soot generator under conditions of high elemental carbon using Nd:YAG lasers operated at 1064 nm. The laser beams were shaped and relay imaged to achieve a relatively uniform fluence distribution in the measurement volume. To further homogenize the laser fluence, one set of LII experiments was conducted by using a diffractive optical element. The measured soot volume fractions in all three sets of LII experiments increase strongly with increasing the laser fluence before a peak value is reached and then start to decrease at higher fluences. Numerical calculations were conducted using the experimental laser fluence histograms. Laser fluence non-uniformity is found partially responsible for the soot volume fraction anomaly, but is insufficient to explain the degree of soot volume fraction anomaly observed experimentally. Representing the laser fluence variations by a histogram derived from high-resolution images of the laser beam energy profile gives a more accurate definition of inhomogeneity than a simple averaged linear profile across the laser beam.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye

Effect of drive cycle and gasoline particulate filter on the size and morphology of soot particles emitted from a gasoline-direct-injection vehicle

The size and morphology of particulate matter emitted from a light-duty gasoline-direct-injection (GDI) vehicle, over the FTP-75 and US06 transient drive cycles, have been characterized by transmission-electron-microscope (TEM) image analysis. To investigate the impact of gasoline particulate filters on particulate-matter emission, the results for the stock-GDI vehicle, i.e., the vehicle in its original configuration, have been compared to the results for the same vehicle equipped with a catalyzed gasoline particulate filter (GPF). The stock-GDI vehicle emits graphitized fractal-like aggregates over all driving conditions. The mean projected area-equivalent diameter of these aggregates is in the 78.4\u201288.4 nm range and the mean diameter of primary particles varies between 24.6 and 26.6 nm. Post-GPF particles emitted over the US06 cycle appear to have an amorphous structure, and a large number of nucleation-mode particles, depicted as low-contrast ultrafine droplets, are observed in TEM images. This indicates the emission of a substantial amount of semivolatile material during the US06 cycle, most likely generated by the incomplete combustion of accumulated soot in the GPF during regeneration. The size of primary particles and soot aggregates does not vary significantly by implementing the GPF over the FTP-75 cycle; however, particles emitted by the GPF-equipped vehicle over the US06 cycle are about 20% larger than those emitted by the stock-GDI vehicle. This may be attributed to condensation of large amounts of organic material on soot aggregates. High-contrast spots, most likely solid nonvolatile cores, are observed within many of the nucleation-mode particles emitted over the US06 cycle by the GPF-equipped vehicle. These cores are either generated inside the engine or depict incipient soot particles which are partially carbonized in the exhaust line. The effect of drive cycle and the GPF on the fractal parameters of particles, such as fractal dimension and fractal prefactor, is insignificant.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye