In this study, the development and testing of a hybrid thermal energy storage (TES) including phase change material (PCM) macro-capsules inside a vertical sensible tank is presented. The storage was specifically developed for delivering hot water on board of ships. Accordingly, a commercial PCM was selected and tested. Subsequently, the hybrid TES was designed and tested under mimicked boundary conditions at lab scale, showing the possibility of increasing the volumetric energy storage density up to 30% compared to the sensible configuration. On this basis, two numerical models were developed: a detailed one, implemented in a Fluent environment, aiming at investigating the main parameters affecting the heat transfer efficiency inside the TES and a second one, implemented in an ESP-r environment to simulate the TES as a component to be implemented inside a more complex system, thus helping its accurate design and operation through a reliable modelling phase. Both models were satisfactor... [more]

The measurement of the higher heating value (HHV) of municipal solid wastes (MSWs) plays a key role in the disposal process, especially via thermochemical approaches. An optimized multi-variate grey model (OBGM (1, N)) is introduced to forecast the MSWs’ HHV to high accuracy with sparse data. A total of 15 cities and MSW from the respective city were considered to develop and verify the multi-variant models. Results show that the most accurate model was POBGM (1, 5) of which the least error measured 5.41% MAPE (mean absolute percentage error). Ash, being a major component in MSW, is the most important factor affecting HHV, followed by volatiles, fixed carbon and water contents. Most data can be included by using the prediction interval (PI) method with 95% confidence intervals. In addition, the estimations indicated that the MAPE from estimating the HHV for various MSW samples, collected from various cities, were in the range of 3.06−34.50%, depending on the MSW sample.

The building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) system is provoking mention as a technology for generating the energy consumed in cities with renewable sources. As the number of BIPV systems increases, performance diagnosis through power-generation predictions becomes more essential. In the case of a colored BIPV module that has been installed on a wall, it is more difficult to predict the amount of power generation because the shading loss varies based on the entrance altitude of the irradiance. Recently, artificial intelligence technology that is able to predict power by learning the output data of the system has begun being used. In this paper, the power values of colored BIPV systems that have been installed on walls are predicted, and the system output values are compared. The current-voltage (I−V) curve data are measured to predict the power required changing the intensity of the irradiance, and the linear regression model is derived for the changes in the voltage and current at a ma... [more]

When a hydrokinetic turbine operates in a confined flow, blockage effects are introduced, altering the flow at and downstream of the rotor. Blockage effects have a significant effect on the loading and performance of turbines. As a result, understanding them is critical for hydrokinetic turbine design and performance prediction. The current study examines the main and interaction effects of solidity (σ), tip speed ratio (TSR), blockage ratio (ε), and pitch angle (θ) on how the blockage influences the performance (CP) of a three-bladed, untwisted, untapered horizontal axis hydrokinetic turbine. The investigation is based on validated 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD), design of experiments (DOE), and the analysis of variance (ANOVA) approaches. A total number of 36 CFD models were developed and meshed. A total of 108 CFD cases were performed as part of the analysis. Results indicated that the effect of varying θ was only noticeable at the high TSR. Additionally, the rate of incremen... [more]

This paper concerns the study of coupled effects of electrohydrodynamic (EHD) and thermocapillary (TC) on the dynamic behaviour of a single liquid droplet. An incompressible Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamic (ISPH) multiphase model is used to simulate EHD-TC driven flows. The complex hydrodynamic interactions are modeled using the continuum surface force (CSF) method, in which the gradient of the interfacial tension and the Marangoni forces are calculated with an approximated error or 0.014% in the calculation of Marangoni force compared to the analytical solutions which is a significant improvement in comparison with previous SPH simulation studies, under the assumption that the thermocapillarity generates sufficiently large stress to allow droplet migration, while the electrohydrodynamic phenomena influences the droplet morphology depending on the electrical and thermal ratios of the droplet and the ambient fluid. This study shows that, when applying a vertical electric field and therma... [more]

The design features of a centrifugal compressor must guarantee high performance and a wide operating range. The ported shroud was developed specifically to extend the operating limit. It is a passive flow control device based on a cavity for flow recirculation to avoid blade passage blocking in near surge conditions. A CFD simulation campaign using a simplified model identified the differences in the performance of the centrifugal compressor with ported shroud, compared to the baseline case. The use of a stability criterion to determine the limit mass flow rate, developed in a previous study by the authors, highlighted and quantified the extension of the surge margin in the case with ported shroud for different rotational speeds. An increase in the surge margin of 11% was detected at design speed, but with a lower trend at higher speeds. An in-depth flow analysis showed the main physical mechanisms in the compressor that occur for different operating conditions: at near surge condition... [more]

Although various simulation studies on gas hydrate production have been conducted, a single vertical well in the cylindrical system has been adopted in most research. However, this system has a limited ability to predict commercial production in gas hydrate reservoirs. In order to facilitate commercial production, a field-scale reservoir model with a multi-well system must be constructed using geological data, such as seismic data, well logging data, core data, etc. The depressurization method is regarded as a practical production strategy because it has high levels of production efficiency and economical effectiveness. However, this method can lead to subsidence due to the increased effective stress. In this work, we studied a production simulation strategy for commercial gas hydrate production. A three-dimensional geological model with a realistic field scale is constructed using seismic and well logging data from the Ulleung Basin of the Korean East Sea. All of the grids are refined... [more]

Microwave-driven plasma gasification technology has the potential to produce clean energy from municipal and industrial solid wastes. It can generate temperatures above 2000 K (as high as 30,000 K) in a reactor, leading to complete combustion and reduction of toxic byproducts. Characterizing complex processes inside such a system is however challenging. In previous studies, simulations using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) produced reproducible results, but the simulations are tedious and involve assumptions. In this study, we propose machine-learning models that can be used in tandem with CFD, to accelerate high-fidelity fluid simulation, improve turbulence modeling, and enhance reduced-order models. A two-dimensional microwave-driven plasma gasification reactor was developed in ANSYS (Ansys, Canonsburg, PA, USA) Fluent (a CFD tool), to create 644 (geometry and temperature) datasets for training six machine-learning (ML) models. When fed with just geometry datasets, these ML models... [more]

With the increasing global requirements for environmental protection, refrigerants with ODP of 0 and low GWP are widely concerned and applied. In this paper, the CFD numerical method simulates the R134a centrifugal compressor directly replaced by R1234yf and R1234ze(E). The results show that at the same compressor rotational speed, using R1234yf to replace R134a directly can obtain a higher cooling capacity, but it reduces COP by about 12.5%; using R1234ze(E) to replace R134a directly reduces the cooling capacity under partial working conditions, the COP is reduced by about 7.0%. When the evaporation temperature, condensation temperature, and cooling capacity are the same, compared with the R134a unit, the COP of the R1234ze(E) unit is reduced by about 5.14%, and it is reduced by about 8.93% for the R1234yf unit. For the R134a centrifugal chiller, the drop-in replacement of R134a with R1234ze(E) can obtain better system performance compared with R1234yf.

In recent years, verification and validation processes of automated driving systems have been increasingly moved to virtual simulation, as this allows for rapid prototyping and the use of a multitude of testing scenarios compared to on-road testing. However, in order to support future approval procedures for automated driving functions with virtual simulations, the models used for this purpose must be sufficiently accurate to be able to test the driving functions implemented in the complete vehicle model. In recent years, the modelling of environment sensor technology has gained particular interest, since it can be used to validate the object detection and fusion algorithms in Model-in-the-Loop testing. In this paper, a practical process is developed to enable a systematic evaluation for perception−sensor models on a low-level data basis. The validation framework includes, first, the execution of test drive runs on a closed highway; secondly, the re-simulation of these test drives in a... [more]

Underground mine tunnels, drifts, and mine headings are susceptible to the impact of convergence. The convergence has a big influence on further measurements such as airflow and the volume concentration of methane and other gases. In most cases, deformation of arch supports lead to getting a smaller cross-section area. A comparison is made between five methods of measuring the cross-sectional area of a mine tunnel. The reference size of the six cross-section mine drift areas were obtained by Terrestrial Laser Scanning, which were then compared with the cross-section areas obtained by four other methods. The following methods were considered: area calculation using CAD software, an empirical method, approximation by a semi-ellipse and approximation by a semi-ellipse with attached straight sections. This article presents the quantitative and qualitative differences of the obtained results. Differences in the calculated cross-sectional areas of the mine drift are discussed, and reasons fo... [more]

Shale reservoirs contain omnipresent nanopores. The fluid transport phenomena on the nanoscale are significantly different from that on the macroscale. The understandings of fluid transport behavior, especially multiphase flow, are still ambiguous on the nanoscale and the traditional hydrodynamic models are insufficient to describe the fluid flow in shale. In this work, we firstly use a molecular dynamics simulation to study the oil−water two-phase flow in shale inorganic quartz nanopores and investigated the unique interfacial phenomena and their influences on fluid transport in a confined nanospace. The results of the molecular simulation revealed that the water-oil-water layered structure was formed in quartz nanopores. There is no-slip boundary condition between water and quartz surface. The density dip and the extremely low apparent viscosity of the oil−water interface region were observed. The liquid−liquid slip effect happened at the oil−water interface. Based on the nano-effect... [more]

One-stage production of carbohydrate-enriched microalgae biomass in wastewater is a promising option to obtain biofuels. Understanding the interaction of water quality parameters such as nutrients, carbon, internal carbohydrates, and microbial composition in the culture is crucial for efficient operation and viable large-scale cultivation. Bioprocess models are an essential tool for studying the simultaneous effect of complex factors on carbohydrate accumulation, optimizing the process, and reducing operational costs. In this sense, we use a dataset obtained from an empirical model that analyzed the accumulation of carbohydrates in a single process (simultaneous growth and accumulation) from real wastewater. In this experiment, there were no ideal conditions (limiting nutrient conditions), but rather these limitations are guaranteed by the operating conditions (hydraulic retention times/nutrient or carbon loads). Thus, the model integrates 18 variables that are affected and not only ca... [more]

With the increase in computational resources, parallel computation in neutron transport codes is inherent since it allows simulations with high spatial-angular resolution. Among the different methodologies available for the solution of the neutron transport equation, spherical harmonics (PN) and discrete-ordinates (SN) approximations have been widely used, as they are established classical methods for performing nuclear reactor calculations. This work focuses on describing and verifying two parallel deterministic neutron transport codes under development. The first one is the Parafish code that is based on the finite-element method and PN approximation. The second one is the AZTRAN code, based on the RTN-0 nodal method and SN approximation. The capabilities of these two codes have been tested on the TAKEDA benchmarks and the results obtained show good behavior and accuracy compared to the Monte Carlo reference solutions. Additionally, the speedup obtained by each code in the parallel e... [more]

Insulators are an important part of transmission lines; failure may threaten the operation of these transmission lines. For insulator defect detection, an optical image detection method based on deep learning and morphological detection is proposed. First of all, the Faster RCNN is used to locate the insulator and extract its target image from the detection image. In the second place, a segmentation method of insulator image is proposed to remove the background of the target image. In order to simplify insulator defect detection, an insulator shape transformation method is proposed to unify all types of insulator detection. Finally, a mathematical model is established in the binary image to describe the defect of the insulator. Experiments show that our proposed Faster RCNN can accurately detect the insulators in the image. Its AP is as high as 0.9175, and its Recall rate is as high as 0.98, which is higher than the common insulator recognition algorithm. The accuracy of the proposed d... [more]

Temporary internal water pressure (IWP) during a construction period fundamentally affects the structural performance of spiral case structures (SCSs) in pumped-storage power plants (PSPPs). However, its actual role is rarely studied. This study focuses on this issue considering the complex construction-to-operation process of SCSs. An ABAQUS-based complete simulation procedure (CSP) is used with contact non-linearity considered. The contact-closing ratio is introduced to quantitively describe the contact status, and different design philosophies for temporary IWP are compared. The results show that the temporary IWP should be no greater than 80% of the minimum static headwater to ensure an overall contact-closing status under normal operating conditions in this study. The findings reveal that the cracking risk of concrete is negatively correlated with temporary IWP, while high temporary IWP is not suggested. Moreover, the stay ring actually shares a certain part of the unbalanced hydr... [more]

How to consider both the influence of weather and wind power in the modeling process of probability distribution of wind power forecast error (WPFE), and to emphasize the application value of conditional modeling, is rarely studied at present. This paper proposes a novel method of conditional probability distribution modeling for WPFE. This method uses a proposed MNSGA-II-Kmeans algorithm to perform multi-objective clustering of multi-dimensional influencing factors (MDIF), including weather and wind power. It can maximize the difference between the probability distributions of each MDIF mode’s WPFE while clustering, thus ensuring the application value of the conditional modeling way. Based on the clustering results, by using the versatile distribution to simulate the probability distribution of WPFE and the support vector machine to realize the recognition of MDIF modes, the specific conditional probability distribution function of WPFE can be provided to stochastic economic dispatch... [more]

This paper presents some results from a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of a multi-megawatt crosswind kite spinning on a circular path in a straight downwind configuration. The unsteady Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes equations closed by the k−ω SST turbulence model are solved in the three-dimensional space using ANSYS Fluent. The flow behaviour is examined at the rotation plane, and the overall (or global) induction factor is obtained by getting the weighted average of induction factors on multiple annuli over the swept area. The wake flow behaviour is also discussed in some details using velocity and pressure contour plots. In addition to the CFD model, an analytical model for calculating the average flow velocity and radii of the annular wake downstream of the kite is developed. The model is formulated based on the widely-used Jensen’s model which was developed for conventional wind turbines, and thus has a simple form. Expressions for the dimensionless wake flow velocity a... [more]

The safety of high-level radioactive waste disposal has been studied across the world considering mined geologic repositories. Here, we introduce large-diameter, deep borehole disposal as one of the potential solutions for small volumes of long-lived intermediate-level waste (ILW). The short- and long-term stability of deep disposal boreholes is critical for environmental safety and public health. In this paper, we first use a recently revisited extensional strain criterion for fracture initiation and apply analytical solutions of a two-dimensional stress model to predict the fracturing region around a 2 km deep and 0.7 m diameter disposal borehole. Analytical solutions of fracture initiation are compared with results from the numerical simulator FRACOD, while the latter model also predicts dynamic effects such as fracture propagation. Both analytical and numerical methods predicted similar fracture initiation characteristics around the minor horizontal compressive stress springline, c... [more]

A cross-flow air turbine, which is a self-rectifying, air-driven turbine, was designed and proposed for the power take-off (PTO) system of an oscillating water column (OWC) wave energy converter (WEC). To predict the complicated non-linear behavior of the air turbine in the OWC, numerical and experimental investigations were accomplished. The geometries of the nozzle and the rotor of the turbine were optimized under steady-flow conditions, and the performance analysis of the model in bi-directional flows was conducted by commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code ANSYS CFX. Experimentation on the full-scale turbine was then undertaken in a cylindrical-type wave simulator that generated reciprocating air flows, to validate the numerical model. The optimized model had a peak cycle-averaged efficiency of 0.611, which is 1.7% larger than that of the reference model, and a significantly improved band width with an increase in flow coefficients. Under reciprocating-flow conditions, t... [more]

The grid operation and communication network are essential for smart grids (SG). Wi-SUN channel modelling is used to evaluate the performance of Wi-SUN smart grid networks, especially in the last-mile communication. In this article, the distribution approximation of the received signal strength for IEEE 802.15.4g Wi-SUN smart grid networks was investigated by using the Rician distribution curve fitting with the accuracy improvement by the biased approximation methodology. Specifically, the Rician distribution curve fitting was applied to the received signal strength indicator (RSSI) measurement data. With the biased approximation method, the Rician K-factor, a non-centrality parameter (rs), and a scale parameter (σ) are optimized such that the lower value of the root-mean squared error (RMSE) is acheived. The environments for data collection are selected for representing the location of the data concentrator unit (DCU) and the smart meter installation in the residential area. In summar... [more]

Electric retrofitting (e-retrofitting) is a viable option for accelerating the renewal of heavy-duty vehicle fleets to reduce the related emissions. We introduce a simulation-based assessment of e-retrofitting strategies for heavy-duty vehicles. Our simulation tool, an electric vehicle fleet simulation toolbox, comprises three modules, namely driving cycles, vehicle dynamics, and vehicle profiles. The first allows for the creation of realistic driving cycles based on GPS data from real routes. The vehicle dynamics and vehicle profiles incorporate, e.g., the modelling of the powertrain and driving conditions. Ten realistic driving cycles were created and used for investigating and comparing three different powertrain alternatives, including the original diesel powertrain, electric with a single-speed transmission and electric with a multi-speed transmission. The vehicles were simulated in two different heavy-load scenarios. First, driving with a cargo load represented by the maximum veh... [more]

The introduction of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems would provide electricity accessibility to rural areas that are far from or have no access to the grid system. Various countries are planning to reduce their emissions from fossil fuel, due to its negative effects, by substituting with renewable energy resources. The use of solar PV systems is expanding globally because of growing energy demands and depleting fossil fuel reserves. Grid integration of the solar system is expected to increase further in the near future. However, the power output of solar PV systems is inherently intermittent, and depends on the irradiance and the temperature operation of the solar cell, resulting in a wide range of defects. Hence, it is vital to extract peak power from the solar panel in all conditions to provide constant power to the load. This paper presents a tracking control method of the peak output power of a solar PV system connected to a DC-DC boost converter using an improved incremental conduc... [more]

Rolling-element bearings play vital roles in the dynamic vibration performance of the whole machinery. Hence, accurate modeling and assessment of the rolling-element bearing are beneficial for the well understanding of the vibration response of rolling-element bearing. However, cage slip is usually ignored in the traditional rolling-element bearing modeling methods, which has a direct influence on the rotating speed and friction force of the rolling elements. To settle the modeling problem of rolling-element bearing with cage slip, in this study, a nonlinear dynamic model with multiple degrees of freedom of the roller bearing is established. The cage slip, the motion of each roller, nonlinear contact, damping, and friction are taken into consideration. With the proposed method, a nonlinear traction model is presented to describe the friction forces induced by cage slip. Furthermore, both the friction force acting on rolling elements and the effects of cage slip on the vibration respons... [more]

Metal foams have gained attention due to their heat transfer augmenting capabilities. In the literature, correlations describing relations among their morphological characteristics have successfully been established and well discussed. However, collective expressions that categorize stacked wire mesh based on their morphology and thermo-hydraulic expressions required for numerical modeling are less explored in the literature. In the present study, cross relations among the morphological characteristics of stacked wire-mesh were arrived at based on mesh-size, wire diameter and stacking type, which are essential for describing the medium and determining key input parameters required for numerical modeling. Furthermore, correlation for specific surface area, a vital parameter that plays a major role in interstitial heat transfer, is provided. With the arrived correlations, properties of stacked wire-mesh samples of orderly varied mesh-size and porosity are obtained for various stacking sc... [more]