Experimental methods are still indispensable for fluid mechanics research, despite advancements in the modelling and computer simulation field. Experimental data are vital for validating simulations of complex flow systems. However, measuring the flow in industrially relevant systems can be difficult for several reasons. Here we address flow measurement challenges related to cementing of oil wells, where main experimental issues are related to opacity of the fluids and the sheer size of the system. The main objective is to track the propagation of a fluid-fluid interface during a two-fluid displacement process, and thereby to characterize the efficiency of the displacement process. We describe the implementation and use of an array of electrical conductivity probes, and demonstrate with examples how the signals can be used to recover relevant information about the displacement process. To our knowledge this is the most extensive use of this measurement method for studying displacement... [more]

Electrical load forecasting provides knowledge about future consumption and generation of electricity. There is a high level of fluctuation behavior between energy generation and consumption. Sometimes, the energy demand of the consumer becomes higher than the energy already generated, and vice versa. Electricity load forecasting provides a monitoring framework for future energy generation, consumption, and making a balance between them. In this paper, we propose a framework, in which deep learning and supervised machine learning techniques are implemented for electricity-load forecasting. A three-step model is proposed, which includes: feature selection, extraction, and classification. The hybrid of Random Forest (RF) and Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGB) is used to calculate features’ importance. The average feature importance of hybrid techniques selects the most relevant and high importance features in the feature selection method. The Recursive Feature Elimination (RFE) method is us... [more]

In comparison to high-voltage alternating current (HVAC) cable systems, high-voltage direct current (HVDC) systems have several advantages, e.g., the transmitted power or long-distance transmission. The insulating materials feature a non-linear dependency on the electric field and the temperature. Applying a constant voltage, space charges accumulate in the insulation and yield a slowly time-varying electric field. As a complement to measurements, numerical simulations are used to obtain the electric field distribution inside the insulation. The simulation results can be used to design HVDC cable components such that possible failure can be avoided. This work is a review about the simulation of the time-varying electric field in HVDC cable components, using conductivity-based cable models. The effective mechanisms and descriptions of charge movement result in different conductivity models. The corresponding simulation results of the models are compared against measurements and analytic... [more]

A solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is popular amongst other fuel cell technologies due to fuel flexibility, low cost, and stability. Because of difficulties involved in the handling of hydrogen, onsite hydrogen production is considered for many small- and large-scale applications. It involves an integrated setup consisting of a reformer, combustor, and fuel cell stack. Being operated at high temperature, gases leaving SOFC contain a significant amount of thermal energy which can be utilized within the integrated reforming process. In addition, anode-off-gas (AOG) from SOFC contains unreacted hydrogen which can be utilized as fuel in an integrated combustor thereby increasing combustor efficiency. For effective integration of a combustor, reformer, and power generator, modeling and simulation is of great utility. In the present work, a 3D model of an integrated combustor unit is developed and implemented into the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation package ANSYS FLUENT®. Main obje... [more]

The high complexity of current Formula One aerodynamics has raised the question of whether an urgent modification in the existing aerodynamic package is required. The present study is based on the evaluation and quantification of the aerodynamic performance on a 2017 spec. adapted Formula 1 car (the latest major aerodynamic update) by means of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis in order to argue whether the 2022 changes in the regulations are justified in terms of aerodynamic necessities. Both free stream and flow disturbance (wake effects) conditions are evaluated in order to study and quantify the effects that the wake may cause on the latter case. The problem is solved by performing different CFD simulations using the OpenFoam solver. The significance and originality of the research may dictate the guidelines towards an overall improvement of the category and it may set a precedent on how to model racing car aerodynamics. The studied behaviour suggests that modern F1 cars a... [more]

Integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in modern smart grids (SGs) offers many advantages including the use of renewables and an effective way to protect, control and monitor the energy transmission and distribution. To reach an optimal operation of future energy systems, availability, integrity and confidentiality of data should be guaranteed. Research on the cyber-physical security of electrical substations based on IEC 61850 is still at an early stage. In the present work, we first model the network traffic data in electrical substations, then, we present a statistical Anomaly Detection (AD) method to detect Denial of Service (DoS) attacks against the Generic Object Oriented Substation Event (GOOSE) network communication. According to interpretations on the self-similarity and the Long-Range Dependency (LRD) of the data, an Auto-Regressive Fractionally Integrated Moving Average (ARFIMA) model was shown to describe well the GOOSE communication in the substation... [more]

The dry separation methods for coal beneficiation have been regaining attention in the past decades. A number of improved or newly designed devices have been developed—one of them is a negative pressure pneumatic separator (NPPS). The said method of separation is based on the differences in the physical properties between coal and gangue minerals, such as the grain density, size, and shape. The aim of the hereby presented work was to develop working models describing the operation of the NPPS. To validate the models, the calculation results were compared with experimental results of the tests carried out in the previous study on the topic. Based on the findings it can be inferred that the models accurately predict the separation results, i.e., the majority of results are within the range of estimated measurement uncertainties. Consequently, the models allow one to optimise the process to obtain the products with desirable properties.

The motor drive has been widely adopted in modern power applications. With the emergency of the next generation wide bandgap semiconductor device, such as silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFET, performance of the motor drive can be improved in terms of efficiency, power density, and reliability. However, the fast switching transient and serious switching ringing of the SiC MOSFET can cause unwanted high-frequency (HF) electromagnetic interference (EMI), which may significantly reduce the reliability of the motor drive in many aspects. In order to comprehensively reveal the mechanism of the EMI previously used in motor drives using SiC MOSFET, this paper plans to analyze the influences of both HF impedance of the motor and switching characteristics of the SiC MOSFET. A simulation model for motor drives has been proposed, which contains the HF circuit model of the motor as well as a semi-behavioral analytical model of the SiC MOSFET. Since the model shows a good agreement with the experimentally... [more]

Computationally modelling a nuclear reactor startup core for a benchmark against the existing models is highly desirable for an independent assessment informing nuclear engineers and energy policymakers. For the first time, this work presents a startup core model of the UK’s first Evolutionary Pressurised Water Reactor (EPR) based on Monte Carlo simulations of particle collisions using Serpent 2, a state-of-the-art continuous-energy Monte Carlo reactor physics burnup code. Coupling between neutronics and thermal-hydraulic conditions with the fuel depletion is incorporated into the multi-dimensional branches, obtaining the thermal flux and fission reaction rate (power) distributions radially and axially from the three dimensional (3D) single assembly level to a 3D full core. Shannon entropy is quantified to characterise the convergence behaviour of the fission source distribution, with 3 billion neutron histories tracked by parallel computing. Source biasing is applied for the variance... [more]

Green roofs have a thermal insulating effect known since ancient times. In the building sector, green roofs represent a sustainable passive solution to obtain energy savings, both during winter and summer. Moreover, they are a natural barrier against noise pollution, reducing sound reflections, and they contribute to clean air and biodiversity in urban areas. In this research, a roof-lawn system was studied through a long experimental campaign. Heat-flow meters, air and surface temperature sensors were used in two buildings characterized by different surrounding conditions, geometries and orientations. In both case studies, the thermal behaviors of the roof-lawn system were compared with the conventional roofs. In addition, a dynamic simulation model was created in order to quantify the effect of this green system on the heating and cooling energy demands. The roof-lawn showed a high thermal inertia, with no overheating during summer, and a high insulating capacity, involving energy sa... [more]

A two-dimensional axisymmetric thermal-fluid-solid coupled mathematical model of a contact mechanical seal is established. The finite difference method is used to solve the control equations for the fluid pressure and temperature of the seal end face, and the finite element method is used to determine the thermal deformation state of the seal. The seal’s performance at different working speeds was studied and verified by experiments. The results show that under the combined actions of thermal and mechanical deformations, the seal end face forms a convergent leakage gap from the outer diameter to the inner diameter. The minimum film thickness is observed on the inner diameter side of the seal end face, and the highest end face temperature coincides with this location. With increasing working speed, the contact force at the inner diameter side increases, the temperature difference between the inner diameter and the outer diameter of the end face increases, and the leakage rate correspond... [more]

To investigate the impacts of using nano-enhanced phase change materials on the thermal performance of a borehole heat exchanger in the summer season, a three-dimensional numerical model of a borehole heat exchanger is created in the present work. Seven nanoparticles including Cu, CuO, Al2O3, TiO2, SiO2, multi-wall carbon nanotube, and graphene are added to the Paraffin. Considering the highest melting rate and lowest outlet temperature, the selected nano-enhanced phase change material is evaluated in terms of volume fraction (0.05, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20) and then the shape (sphere, brick, cylinder, platelet, blade) of its nanoparticles. Based on the results, the Paraffin containing Cu and SiO2 nanoparticles are found to be the best and worst ones in thermal performance improvement, respectively. Moreover, it is indicated that the increase in the volume fraction of Cu nanoparticles could enhance markedly the melting rate, being 0.20 the most favorable value which increased up to 55% the the... [more]

Electrical energy storage will play a key role in the transition to a low carbon energy network. Liquid air energy storage (LAES) is a thermal−mechanical energy storage technology that converts electricity to thermal energy. This energy is stored in three ways: as latent heat in a tank of liquid air, as warm sensible heat in a hot tank and as cold sensible heat in a packed bed regenerator (PBR), which is the focus of this paper. A PBR was selected because the temperature range (−196 °C to 10 °C) prohibits storage in liquid media, as most fluids will undergo a phase change over a near 200 °C temperature range. A change of phase in the storage media would result in exergy destruction and loss of efficiency of the LAES device. Gravel was selected as the storage media, as (a) many gravels are compatible with cryogenic temperatures and (b) the low cost of the material if it can be used with minimal pre-treatment. PBRs have been extensively studied and modelled such as the work by Schumann,... [more]

In decentralized energy systems, electricity generated and flexibility offered by households can be organized in the form of community energy systems. Business models, which enable this aggregation at the community level, will impact on the involved actors and the electricity market. For the case of Germany, in this paper different aggregation scenarios are analyzed from the perspective of actors and the market. The main components in these scenarios are the Community Energy Storage (CES) technology, the electricity tariff structure, and the aggregation goal. For this evaluation, a bottom-up community energy system model is presented, in which the households and retailer are the key actors. In our model, we distinguish between the households with inflexible electricity load and the flexible households that own a heat pump or Photovoltaic (PV) storage systems. By using a game-theoretic approach and modeling the interaction between the retailer and households as a Stackelberg game, a com... [more]

The paper presents the results of research on liquid flow maldistribution in the shell side of a shell-and-tube heat exchanger (STHE). This phenomenon constitutes the reason for the formation of the velocity reduction area and adversely affects heat transfer and pressure drop. In order to provide details of the liquid distribution in STHE, two visualization methods were utilized. First, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code coupled with the k-ε model and the laser-based particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique was applied. The tests were carried out for a bundle comprising 37 tubes in an in-line layout with a pitch dz/t = 1.5, placed in a shell with Din = 0.1 m. The STHE liquid feed rates corresponded to Reynolds numbers Rein equal to 16,662, 24,993, and 33,324. The analysis demonstrated that the flow maldistribution in the investigated geometry originates the result of three main streams in the cross-section of the shell side: central stream, oblique stream, and bypass stream. For... [more]

We present simulations of turbulent detached flows using the commercial lattice Boltzmann solver XFlow (by Dassault Systemes). XFlow’s lattice Boltzmann formulation together with an efficient octree mesh generator reduce substantially the cost of generating complex meshes for industrial flows. In this work, we challenge these meshes and quantify the accuracy of the solver for detached turbulent flows. The good performance of XFlow when combined with a Large-Eddy Simulation turbulence model is demonstrated for different industrial benchmarks and validated using experimental data or fine numerical simulations. We select five test cases: the Backward-facing step the Goldschmied Body the HLPW-2 (2nd High-Lift Prediction Workshop) full aircraft geometry, a NACA0012 under dynamic stall conditions and a parametric study of leading edge tubercles to improve stall behavior on a 3D wing.

It is well acknowledged that due to the polymer component, the oil−water relative permeability curve in polymer flooding is different from the curve in waterflooding. As the viscoelastic properties and the trapping number are presented for modifying the oil−water relative permeability curve, the integration of these two factors for the convenience of simulation processes has become a key issue. In this paper, an interpolation factor Ω that depends on the normalized polymer concentration is firstly proposed for simplification. Then, the numerical calculations in the self-developed simulator are performed to discuss the effects of the interpolation factor on the well performances and the applications in field history matching. The results indicate that compared with the results of the commercial simulator, the simulation with the interpolation factor Ω could more accurately describe the effect of the injected polymer solution in controlling water production, and more efficiently simplify... [more]

The performance of wind turbines is not only dependent on the wind turbine design itself, but is also dependent on the accurate assessment of wind resources at the installation site. In this paper, the numerical site calibration (NSC) method using three-dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier−Stokes (RANS) simulation was proposed to accurately forecast the wind flow characteristics of wind turbine sites with complex terrains, namely Methil in Scotland, and Haenam in South Korea. From NSC at the Methil and Haenam sites, it was shown that the complicated and vortical flow fields around hills and valleys were captured using the three-dimensional RANS CFD simulation in Ansys CFX software based on a high-resolution scheme with a renormalization group (RNG)-based k-ε turbulence model. It was also shown that topographically induced wind profile and turbulence intensity over a local-scale complex terrain are remarkably dominated by flow separation after passing hills. It was concluded that the pr... [more]

Centrifugal compressors are key elements of energy systems and industrial installations including fluid flow. Their operating range is strictly limited by the surge phenomenon. The Greitzer model is a known way of simulating the compressor’s behaviour at the surge. In this paper, the parametric study of different versions of the Greitzer model is conducted. There are several versions of this model that include 4 to 2 equation models. The system behaviour depends on the features of the compressor itself as well as of the plenum. In this paper, all terms connected with the compressor were grouped into the “Co” parameter, while those associated with the plenum were grouped into the “Pl” parameter. The study shows how each component influences the system stability. The comparison of analytical data with experimental results allowed to draw conclusions regarding the way of choosing the model parameters that provide the best simulation of the real system behaviour. The study shows that the s... [more]

In this work, a computationally efficient approach for the simulation of a DC-DC converter connected to a photovoltaic device is proposed. The methodology is based on a combination of a highly efficient formulation of the one-diode model for photovoltaic (PV) devices and a state-space formulation of the converter as well as an accurate steady-state detection methodology. The approach was experimentally validated to assess its accuracy. The model is accurate both in its dynamic response (tested in full linearity and with a simulated PV device as the input) and in its steady-state response (tested with an outdoor experimental measurement setup). The model detects automatically the reaching of a steady state, thus resulting in lowered computational costs. The approach is presented as a mathematical model that can be efficiently included in a large simulation system or statistical analysis.

In this paper, the modeling methodology of the AC drive system with a Parallel Quasi-Resonant DC Link Inverter (PQRDCLI) is described. A presented modeling approach is an attractive tool used for the effective evaluation of a common-mode (CM) voltage and grounds current reduction methods. Designed models of inverter, induction machine (IM), and cable are simple, thus the methods for parameter extraction are not complicated. Verification of the proposed modeling approach was realized with the use of the the Synopsys (Mountain View, CA, USA) SABER simulator, while simulation results were experimentally verified. Operation principles of the proposed PQRDCLI converter topology are also described. Based on simulation and experimental results, it was confirmed that the proposed PQRDCLI solution represents required performance within the reduction of common-mode voltage and ground current in electric drives. Moreover, comparisons from a simulation complexity point of view have been performed... [more]

For renewable electricity production, biomass can fully displace coal in an existing power plant with some equipment modifications. Recently, a 125 MWe power plant burning mainly anthracite in Korea was retrofitted for dedicated wood pellet combustion with a change of boiler configuration from arch firing to wall firing. However, this boiler suffers from operational problems caused by high unburned carbon (UBC) contents in the bottom ash. This study comprises an investigation of some methods to reduce the UBC release while achieving lower NOx emissions. The computational fluid dynamics approach was established and validated for typical operating data. Subsequently, it was applied to elucidate the particle combustion and flow characteristics leading to the high UBC content and to evaluate the operating variables for improving the boiler performance. It was found that the high UBC content in the bottom ash was a combined effect of the poor fuel grindability and low gas velocity in the wi... [more]

Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) are anticipated to be one of the key technologies for the next decade and their deployment can benefit from the recent developments in the domain of Visible Light Communication (VLC). Light Emitting Diode (LED)-based low-cost VLC is considered in this work to provide a practical approach towards the implementation of an ITS by addressing the major issues of channel noise, free-space optical multipath reflections and interference from light sources. An analytical model is presented for the proposed Multiple-Input−Single-Output (MISO)-based VLC, and simulations are performed to analyze the performance of the system for various transmission distances. Results show that the proposed optimal receiver for 4 × 1 MISO can provide considerable improvement in the bit error rate for the forward error correction (FEC) threshold of 3.8 × 10−3 in the presence of optical interference, and is suitable to support an ITS with an inter-vehicle transmission approach. Th... [more]

The use of coke with high reactivity in the ironmaking blast furnace (BF) has yet to be explored, and a thorough understanding is still required to clarify the effect of coke reactivity on the BF gas utilization efficiency. In this paper, a one-dimensional kinetic model of the BF is presented and the accuracy of the model is verified. The model is then applied to analyze the effect of coke reactivity on the gas utilization efficiency of the BF. The results show that, under the operating conditions considered, the height of indirect reduction region and the starting temperature of coke solution loss reaction decrease with the increase of coke reactivity. Moreover, coke reactivity is first, directly proportional to gas utilization efficiency, and then, inversely proportional to it. In addition, high-reactivity coke may not improve gas utilization efficiency in case of high H2 content. Both, lowly and highly reactive coke need to be combined with highly reducible iron ore to maximize the... [more]

The purpose of this work is to discuss the tulip contact behavior during mechanical and electrical simulations in a Finite Element Method (FEM) environment using ANSYS and COMSOL software. During the simulations, the full contact movement was analyzed. During the contact movement, the individual behavior of the contact components was taken into consideration. The motion simulation was carried out at different velocities and forces acting on the contact. The obtained results were compared to each other and discussed. Relatively, the angles of the contact surfaces to each other were also changed, which meant that we could conduct a more in-depth analysis. The other approach of simulation research was a field analysis of physical phenomena occurring in the tulip contact. This analysis was performed in COMSOL Multiphysics. Parametric analysis allowed an observation of the electric field in the tulip contact at different contact distances with respect to each other. This work is important i... [more]