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Article
Publication date: 26 September 2019

Van Luc Nguyen, Tomohiro Degawa, Tomomi Uchiyama and Kotaro Takamure

The purpose of this study is to design numerical simulations of bubbly flow around a cylinder to better understand the characteristics of flow around a rigid obstacle.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to design numerical simulations of bubbly flow around a cylinder to better understand the characteristics of flow around a rigid obstacle.

Design/methodology/approach

The bubbly flow around a circular cylinder was numerically simulated using a semi-Lagrangian–Lagrangian method composed of a vortex-in-cell method for the liquid phase and a Lagrangian description of the gas phase. Additionally, a penalization method was applied to account for the cylinder inside the flow. The slip condition of the bubbles on the cylinder’s surface was enforced, and the outflow conditions were applied to the liquid flow at the far field.

Findings

The simulation clarified the characteristics of a bubbly flow around a circular cylinder. The bubbles were shown to move around and separate from both sides of the cylinder, because of entrainment by the liquid shear layers. Once the bubbly flow fully developed, the bubbles distributed into groups and were dispersed downstream of the cylinder. A three-dimensional vortex structure of various scales was also shown to form downstream, whereas a quasi-stable two-dimensional vortex structure was observed upstream. Overall, the proposed method captured the characteristics of a bubbly flow around a cylinder well.

Originality/value

A semi-Lagrangian–Lagrangian approach was applied to simulate a bubbly flow around a circular cylinder. The simulations provided the detail features of these flow phenomena.

Details

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, vol. 29 no. 12
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0961-5539

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 October 2018

Salman Arshad, Bo Kong, Alan Kerstein and Michael Oevermann

The purpose of this numerical work is to present and test a new approach for large-scale scalar advection (splicing) in large eddy simulations (LES) that use the linear eddy…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this numerical work is to present and test a new approach for large-scale scalar advection (splicing) in large eddy simulations (LES) that use the linear eddy sub-grid mixing model (LEM) called the LES-LEM.

Design/methodology/approach

The new splicing strategy is based on an ordered flux of spliced LEM segments. The principle is that low-flux segments have less momentum than high-flux segments and, therefore, are displaced less than high-flux segments. This strategy affects the order of both inflowing and outflowing LEM segments of an LES cell. The new splicing approach is implemented in a pressure-based fluid solver and tested by simulation of passive scalar transport in a co-flowing turbulent rectangular jet, instead of combustion simulation, to perform an isolated investigation of splicing. Comparison of the new splicing with a previous splicing approach is also done.

Findings

The simulation results show that the velocity statistics and passive scalar mixing are correctly predicted using the new splicing approach for the LES-LEM. It is argued that modeling of large-scale advection in the LES-LEM via splicing is reasonable, and the new splicing approach potentially captures the physics better than the old approach. The standard LES sub-grid mixing models do not represent turbulent mixing in a proper way because they do not adequately represent molecular diffusion processes and counter gradient effects. Scalar mixing in turbulent flow consists of two different processes, i.e. turbulent mixing that increases the interface between unmixed species and molecular diffusion. It is crucial to model these two processes individually at their respective time scales. The LEM explicitly includes both of these processes and has been used successfully as a sub-grid scalar mixing model (McMurtry et al., 1992; Sone and Menon, 2003). Here, the turbulent mixing capabilities of the LES-LEM with a modified splicing treatment are examined.

Originality/value

The splicing strategy proposed for the LES-LEM is original and has not been investigated before. Also, it is the first LES-LEM implementation using unstructured grids.

Details

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, vol. 28 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0961-5539

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 May 2016

Ruyun Hu, Liang Wang and Song Fu

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the characteristic flow structures behind a backward-facing step. With better understanding of unsteady features, effective control…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the characteristic flow structures behind a backward-facing step. With better understanding of unsteady features, effective control practice with harmonic actuation is illustrated.

Design/methodology/approach

The present study employs Improved Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation to resolve flow turbulence with a finite-volume approach on structured grid mesh. The coherent structure is displayed through temporal- and spatial-evolution of pressure fluctuations. Characteristic frequencies in different flow regions are extracted using fast Fourier transform. Dynamic mode decomposition method is applied to uncover the critical dynamic modes.

Findings

The time- and spanwise-averaged quantities agree well with experimental data. It is observed that two distinct modes exist: shear layer mode and shedding mode. The former is related to Kelvin-Helmholtz instability mechanism, vortex pairing and step mode with non-dimensional frequency, Sth,st at around 0.2. The latter is of multi-scale, with a typical coherent structure shedding frequency, Sth,st at 0.074. Step mode interacts with shedding mode in the reattachment region, resulting in the low-frequency characteristics.

Originality/value

An optimal excitation frequency to reduce recirculation bubble length is obtained at about Sth,st =0.2 with an explanation.

Details

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, vol. 26 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0961-5539

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 September 2002

G. Comini, C. Nonino and S. Savino

The paper adopts a simplified two‐dimensional approach to deal with convective heat and mass transfer in laminar flows of humid air through wavy finned‐tube exchangers. The…

Abstract

The paper adopts a simplified two‐dimensional approach to deal with convective heat and mass transfer in laminar flows of humid air through wavy finned‐tube exchangers. The computational domain is spatially periodic, with fully developed conditions prevailing at a certain distance from the inlet section. Both the entrance and the fully developed flow region are investigated. In the fully developed region, periodicities in the flow, temperature and mass concentration fields are taken into account. The approach is completely general, even if the finite element method is used for the discretizations. In the application section, velocity, temperature, and mass concentration fields are computed first. Then apparent friction factors, Nusselt numbers, Colburn factors for heat and mass transfer, and goodness factors are evaluated both in the entrance and in the fully developed region.

Details

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, vol. 12 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0961-5539

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 August 2002

C. Nonino and G. Comini

Three‐dimensional laminar forced convective heat transfer in ribbed square channels is investigated. In these channels, transverse and angled ribs are placed on one or two of the…

Abstract

Three‐dimensional laminar forced convective heat transfer in ribbed square channels is investigated. In these channels, transverse and angled ribs are placed on one or two of the walls to form a repetitive geometry. After a short distance from the entrance, also the flow and the dimensionless thermal fields repeat themselves from module to module allowing the assumption of periodic, or anti‐periodic, conditions at the inlet/outlet sections of the calculation cell. Prescribed temperature boundary conditions are assumed at all solid walls, including the ribs. Pressure drop and heat transfer characteristics are compared for rib angles ranging from 90° (transverse ribs) to 45°, and different values of the Reynolds number. The influence of rib geometries is investigated below and above the onset of the self‐sustained flow oscillations that precede the transition to turbulence. Numerical simulations are carried out employing an equal order finite‐element procedure based on a projection algorithm.

Details

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, vol. 12 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0961-5539

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 June 2016

Bassem R Girgis, Sarma L Rani and Abdelkader Frendi

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the computational features of the Flowfield Dependent Variation (FDV) method, a numerical scheme built to simulate flows characterized…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the computational features of the Flowfield Dependent Variation (FDV) method, a numerical scheme built to simulate flows characterized by multiple speeds, multiple physical phenomena, and by large variations in flow variables.

Design/methodology/approach

Fundamentally, the FDV method may be regarded as a variant of the Lax-Wendroff Scheme (LWS) that is obtained by replacing the explicit time derivatives in LWS by a weighted combination of explicit and implicit time derivatives. The weighting factors – referred to as FDV parameters – may be broadly classified as convective and diffusive parameters which, for example, are determined using flow quantities such as the Mach number and Reynolds number, respectively. Hence, the reference to these parameters and the method as “flow field dependent.” A von Neumann Fourier analysis demonstrates that the increased implicitness makes FDV both more stable and less dispersive compared to LWS, a feature crucial to capturing shocks and other phenomena characterized by high gradients in variables. In the current study, the FDV scheme is implemented in a Taylor-Galerkin-based finite element method framework that supports arbitrarily high order, unstructured isoparametric elements in one-, two- and three-dimensional geometries.

Findings

At first, the spatial accuracy of the implemented FDV scheme is established using the Method of Manufactured Solutions, wherein the results show that the order of accuracy of the scheme is nearly equal to the order of the shape function polynomial plus one. The dispersion and dissipation errors of FDV, when applied to the compressible Navier-Stokes and energy equations, are investigated using a 2-D, small-amplitude acoustic pulse propagating in a quiescent medium. It is shown that FDV with third-order shape functions accurately captures both the amplitude and phase of the acoustic pulse. The method is then applied to cases ranging from low-Mach number subsonic flows (Mach number M=0.05) to high-Mach number supersonic flows (M=4) with shock-boundary layer interactions. For all cases, fair to good agreement is observed between the current results and those in the literature.

Originality/value

The spatial order of accuracy of the FDV method, its stability and dispersive properties, as well as its applicability to low- and high-Mach number flows are established.

Details

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, vol. 26 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0961-5539

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 May 2016

Camilo Andrés Bayona Roa, Joan Baiges and R Codina

The purpose of this paper is to apply the variational multi-scale framework to the finite element approximation of the compressible Navier-Stokes equations written in conservation…

1761

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to apply the variational multi-scale framework to the finite element approximation of the compressible Navier-Stokes equations written in conservation form. Even though this formulation is relatively well known, some particular features that have been applied with great success in other flow problems are incorporated.

Design/methodology/approach

The orthogonal subgrid scales, the non-linear tracking of these subscales, and their time evolution are applied. Moreover, a systematic way to design the matrix of algorithmic parameters from the perspective of a Fourier analysis is given, and the adjoint of the non-linear operator including the volumetric part of the convective term is defined. Because the subgrid stabilization method works in the streamline direction, an anisotropic shock capturing method that keeps the diffusion unaltered in the direction of the streamlines, but modifies the crosswind diffusion is implemented. The artificial shock capturing diffusivity is calculated by using the orthogonal projection onto the finite element space of the gradient of the solution, instead of the common residual definition. Temporal derivatives are integrated in an explicit fashion.

Findings

Subsonic and supersonic numerical experiments show that including the orthogonal, dynamic, and the non-linear subscales improve the accuracy of the compressible formulation. The non-linearity introduced by the anisotropic shock capturing method has less effect in the convergence behavior to the steady state.

Originality/value

A complete investigation of the stabilized formulation of the compressible problem is addressed.

Details

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, vol. 26 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0961-5539

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 August 1995

Franz Zdravistch, Clive A. Fletcher and Masud Behnia

Numerical predictions of laminar and turbulent fluid flow and heattransfer around staggered and in‐line tube banks are shown to agree closelywith seven experimental test cases…

Abstract

Numerical predictions of laminar and turbulent fluid flow and heat transfer around staggered and in‐line tube banks are shown to agree closely with seven experimental test cases. The steady state Reynolds‐averaged Navier‐Stokes equations are discretised by means of a cell‐centred finite‐volume algorithm. Two‐dimensional results include velocity vectors and streamlines, surface shear stresses, pressure coefficient distributions, temperature contours, local Nusselt number distributions and average convective heat transfer coefficients, and indicate very good agreement with experimental data. It is found that a relatively fine grid is required to be able to predict the surface heat transfer behaviour accurately. Also, three‐dimensional simulations are shown, which are physically consistent. The numerical procedure presented here is robust, accurate and time efficient, making it suitable as a design tool for tube banks in heat exchangers.

Details

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, vol. 5 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0961-5539

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 August 2016

Hsien-Hung Ting and Shuhn-Shyurng Hou

The purpose of this paper is to numerically investigate the convective heat transfer of water-based CuO nanofluids flowing through a square cross-section duct under constant heat…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to numerically investigate the convective heat transfer of water-based CuO nanofluids flowing through a square cross-section duct under constant heat flux in the turbulent flow regime.

Design/methodology/approach

The numerical simulation is carried out at various Peclet numbers and particle concentrations (0.1, 0.2, 0.5, and 0.8 vol%). The finite volume formulation is used with the semi-implicit method for pressure-linked equations algorithm to solve the discretized equations derived from the partial nonlinear differential equations of the mathematical model.

Findings

The heat transfer coefficients and Nusselt numbers of CuO-water nanofluids increase with increases in the Peclet number as well as particle volume concentration. Also, enhancement of the heat transfer coefficient is much greater than that of the effective thermal conductivity at the same nanoparticle concentration.

Research limitations/implications

Simulation of nanofluids turbulent forced convection at very high Reynolds number is worth for further study.

Practical implications

The heat transfer rates through non-circular ducts are smaller than the circular tubes. Nevertheless, the pressure drop of the non-circular duct is less than that of the circular tube. This study clearly presents that the nanoparticles suspended in water enhance the convective heat transfer coefficient, despite low volume fraction between 0.1 and 0.8 percent. Adding nanoparticles to conventional fluids may enhance heat transfer performance through the non-circular ducts, leading to extensive practical applications in industries for the non-circular ducts.

Originality/value

Few papers have numerically studied convective heat transfer properties of nanofluids through non-circular ducts. The present numerical results show a good agreement with the published experimental data.

Details

Engineering Computations, vol. 33 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-4401

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 March 2008

Maher M. Abou Al‐Sood and Madjid Birouk

The purpose of this paper is to develop a three‐dimensional (3D) numerical model capable of predicting the vaporization rate of a liquid fuel droplet exposed to a convective…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a three‐dimensional (3D) numerical model capable of predicting the vaporization rate of a liquid fuel droplet exposed to a convective turbulent airflow at ambient room temperature and atmospheric pressure conditions.

Design/methodology/approach

The 3D Reynolds‐Averaged Navier‐Stokes equations, together with the mass, species, and energy conservation equations were solved in Cartesian coordinates. Closure for the turbulence stress terms for turbulent flow was accomplished by testing two different turbulence closure models; the low‐Reynolds number (LRN) kε and shear‐stress transport (SST). Numerical solution of the resulted set of equations was achieved by using blocked‐off technique with finite volume method.

Findings

The present predictions showed good agreement with published turbulent experimental data when using the SST turbulence closure model. However, the LRN kε model produced poor predictions. In addition, the simple numerical approach employed in the present code demonstrated its worth.

Research limitations/implications

The present study is limited to ambient room temperature and atmospheric pressure conditions. However, in most practical spray flow applications droplets evaporate under ambient high‐pressure and a hot turbulent environment. Therefore, an extension of this study to evaluate the effects of pressure and temperature will make it more practical.

Originality/value

It is believed that the numerical code developed is of great importance to scientists and engineers working in the field of spray combustion. This paper also demonstrated for the first time that the simple blocked‐off technique can be successfully used for treating a droplet in the flow calculation domain.

Details

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, vol. 18 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0961-5539

Keywords

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