Search results

This purpose of the paper is to examine the multi-channel cyclone created at the Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VGTU) Research Institute of Environmental Protection. The paper aims to predict the possible trajectories of solid particle motion in the cyclone with reference to the mechanical forces only.

The numerical calculations were performed on the basis of experimental results. The system of differential equations describing particle motion in the cyclone is analysed and numerically solved using Runge–Kutta–Fehlberg method. Research consists of three examples that illustrate the impact of particle density and velocity on collection and analyses the particle motion trajectories in the first and second channels of the cyclone.

Numerical calculations were performed according to the data from Vilnius Gediminas Technical University Research Institute of Environmental Protection. The particulate matter of wood ash and granite were used. The collection of solid particles of different size was examined when the air inflow velocity varies from 10 to 20 m/s. The possible motion trajectories of the solid particles are defined and the parameters of collected particles have been discussed.

The obtained results can be used for the analysis of air cleaning efficiency and particulate matter removal from air in a multi-channel cyclone.

The results lead us to improve the structure of the cyclone so as to effectively collect the solid particles of different size.

This paper presents the results obtained for the multi-channel cyclone created at the Vilnius Gediminas Technical University Research Institute of Environmental Protection.

The purpose of the paper is to predict the erosion rate of the components of centrifugal pump under certain operating condition to identify the maximum erosion area and to discuss the factors affecting them. This helps to optimize design and estimate service life.

In the paper, the Eulerian–Lagrangian approach method coupled with the erosion model to investigate the mixed sand characteristics on erosion characteristics of centrifugal pump flow-through wall. The hydraulic performance and wear characteristics experiment of the pump is used to verify the accuracy of the numerical simulation.

The blade erosion area mainly occurs near the blade inlet and the trailing edge of the pressure surface, the main erosion area of the impeller back shroud is near the outlet of the flow passage and the main erosion area of the volute is near the tongue and the I section. With the change of the average diameter and density of sand particles, the average erosion rate on different flow-through walls is positively correlated with the average mass concentration to a certain extent. However, for different sand shape factors, there is little correlation between the average erosion rate and the average mass concentration. In addition, compared with other erosion areas, the increase of average sand particle diameter and density has the greatest impact on the total erosion rate of blade pressure surface, while the shape of sand particles has a greater impact on the total erosion rate of each flow-through wall of centrifugal pump.

In this work, according to the characteristics of the mixed distribution of different sand diameters in the Yellow River Basin, the erosion characteristics of centrifugal pumps used in the Yellow River Basin are studied. The numerical calculation method for predicting the wall erosion of centrifugal pump is established and compared with the experimental results. The results can provide reference for optimizing design and increasing service life.

The purpose of this paper is to establish mass balance model and predict the concentration and diameter distribution of indoor suspended particulate matters (SPM).

Taking the small offices and residences for a research objective, this paper analyzes the major factors to affect the concentration and diameter distribution of indoor SPM, founds the deposition ratio model, the penetration factor model and the mass balance model to predict the concentration and diameter distribution of indoor SPM. According to the real‐time measuring data, the feature of building defence structure and the concentration and diameter distribution of outdoor SPM, the deposition model, the penetration model and indoor air capacity are used as input parameter of the mass balance model.

The size of defence in natural ventilation, the pressure difference of both sides and the friction velocity have less influence on the concentration and diameter distribution of indoor SPM, but the concentration and diameter distribution of outdoor SPM mainly affects that of indoor SPM. Indoor particle concentration change with outdoor particle concentration, and less than later because of indoor particle deposition. The prediction results are basically in agreement with the measuring data.

Real‐time and accuracy of measuring data of outdoor SPM are the main limitations which the prediction model are simulated.

The prediction results can provide scientific theory basis for making environmental standards of particulate matter and the control of indoor air quality.

A new method to predict the concentration and diameter distribution of indoor SPM.

This paper aims to analyze spray characteristics of rapeseed oil as a cutting fluid in minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) through numerical simulation.

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is used in this numerical study. The Eulerian–Lagrangian approach was used in this simulation to project trajectories of the droplets as the cutting fluid is dispersed into a continuous phase, i.e. air. The spray characteristics of the multiphase fluids were obtained numerically using the discrete phase model (DPM).

The spray characteristics such as particle diameter and velocity were obtained for various pressure level, flow rate and nozzle diameter. The particle diameter decreased with increased pressure, whereas the velocity increased with increased pressure, flow rate and nozzle diameter. The changes in particle diameter are insignificant with respect to flow rate and nozzle diameter. DPM is an effective tool for machining processes to determine the behaviour of different cutting fluids under the MQL system.

In this study, the droplet and velocity distribution of vegetable oil, i.e. rapeseed oil, was investigated at the different air pressure, flow rate and nozzle diameter. This study will give insight for the manufacturer to select the better MQL system parameters to reduce the cost, time of machining processes and enhance the sustainability of the process.

The purpose of this study is to describe the combustion of a magnesium particle falling into a hot oxidizer medium.

The governing equations, including mass, momentum and energy conservation equations, are numerically solved. Afterward, the influences of effective parameters on the temperature distribution and burning time are investigated. Artificial neural network (ANN) is applied to approximate the particle temperature as a function of time, diameter and porosity factor. To obtain the best arrangement of the ANN structure, an optimization process is conducted.

The results show that by considering variations of the particle size, the maximum temperature increases compared to the case in which the particle diameter is constant. Also, the ignition and burning times and the maximum temperature of the moving particle are lower than those of the motionless particle. Optimum network has the best values of regression coefficient and mean relative error whose values are found to be 0.99991 and 1.58 per cent, respectively.

In this study, particle size varies over the combustion process that leads to calculation of particle burning time. In addition, the effects of the motion and porosity of the particle are examined.

Experiments to investigate the characteristic distribution of nanoparticle-laden gas flow around a circular cylinder were performed with a fast mobility particle spectrometer. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The fast mobility particle sizer spectrometer is used to measure quasi-instantaneous particle number density. The acquired particle number density, total concentration, and geometric mean diameter at free stream and in the wake were used to discuss the particle characteristic distribution. The time-averaged velocity field detected by particle imaging velocimetry was used to investigate the effect of carried phase on nanoparticles distribution.

Results show that the total particle concentration in the free stream is larger than that in the wake. However, the geometric mean diameter of particle in the free stream is smaller than that in the wake for different Re. The total particle concentration and geometric mean diameter in the free stream and the wake both change in the same way, but with an obvious lag which increases with Re. Despite particle deposition, the number density of particles with electrical-mobility-equivalent diameters in the range from 220.7 to 523.3 nm in the wake is still higher than that in the free stream.

Though the particles-laden gas flow around a circular cylinder had been studied experimentally and numerically before, where particles are larger than one micrometer, investigators paid little attention on the nanoparticles-laden gas flow where particles are smaller than one micrometer, especially at high Reynolds number, because numerical methods so far cannot deal these problems completely and satisfactorily. However, this issue is widely existing in nature and engineering application, such as superfine dust or microorganism captured by a circular cylinder model.

The purpose of this paper is to study the evolution and growth of aerosol particles in a turbulent planar jet by using the newly developed large eddy simulation (LES)-differentially weighted operator splitting Monte Carlo (DWOSMC) method.

The DWOSMC method is coupled with LES for the numerical simulation of aerosol dynamics in turbulent flows.

Firstly, the newly developed and coupled LES-DWOSMC method is verified by the results obtained from a direct numerical simulation-sectional method (DNS-SM) for coagulation occurring in a turbulent planar jet from available literature. Then, the effects of jet temperature and Reynolds number on the evolution of time-averaged mean particle diameter, normalized particle number concentration and particle size distributions (PSDs) are studied numerically on both coagulation and condensation processes. The jet temperature and Reynolds number are shown to be two important parameters that can be used to control the evolution and pattern of PSD in an aerosol reactor.

The coupling between the Monte Carlo method and turbulent flow still encounters many technical difficulties. In addition, the relationship between turbulence, particle properties and collision kernels of aerosol dynamics is not yet well understood due to the theoretical limitations and experimental difficulties. In the present study, the developed and coupled LES-DWOSMC method is capable of solving the aerosol dynamics in turbulent flows.

The filterable particles found in electronic solder fluxes vary considerably in both concentration and chemistry. Four fluxes from three manufacturers were examined, including both rosin fluxes and mildly activated resin fluxes. Individual particles were examined by optical light microscopy (OLM) and scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX). Finally, an automated SEM/EDX system was used to collect and summarise information about the size and chemistry of a hundred or more particles from each flux. The number of particles per microgram of flux was found to vary by two orders of magnitude (0.004 to 0.4 per μg). The particle diameters ranged from 0.2–20 μm with averages of 1–3 μm. A large fraction of the particles (33–75% by number) were organic substances not soluble in the flux. The bulk of the inorganic particles were composed of sulphates, silicates and metal oxides. Thus, some solder fluxes may be introducing several contaminant particles into each solder contact. These contaminants may affect the quality of the solder joint depending on particle size and composition.

Brewer's spent grain (BSG) is the main by-product of the brewing industry, holding significant potential for biomass applications. The purpose of this paper was to determine the effective thermal conductivity (k_eff) of BSG and to develop an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) to predict k_eff, since this property is fundamental in the design and optimization of the thermochemical conversion processes toward the feasibility of bioenergy production.

The experimental determination of k_eff as a function of BSG particle diameter and heating rate was performed using the line heat source method. The resulting values were used as a database for training the ANN and testing five multiple linear regression models to predict k_eff under different conditions.

Experimental values of k_eff were in the range of 0.090–0.127 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹, typical for biomasses. The results showed that the reduction of the BSG particle diameter increases k_eff, and that the increase in the heating rate does not statistically affect this property. The developed neural model presented superior performance to the multiple linear regression models, accurately predicting the experimental values and new patterns not addressed in the training procedure.

The empirical correlations and the developed ANN can be utilized in future work. This research conducted a discussion on the practical implications of the results for biomass valorization. This subject is very scarce in the literature, and no studies related to k_eff of BSG were found.

The objective of the present work was to perform a detailed numerical study of laminar forced convection in a three‐dimensional square duct packed with an isotropic granular material and saturated with a Newtonian fluid. Hydrodynamic and heat transfer results are reported for three different thermal boundary conditions. The flow in the porous medium was modeled using the semi‐empirical Brinkman‐Forchheimer‐extended Darcy model which also included the effects of variable porosity and thermal dispersion. Empirical models for variable porosity and thermal dispersion were determined based on existing three‐dimensional experimental measurements. Parametric studies were then conducted to investigate the effects of particle diameter, Reynolds number, Prandtl number and thermal conductivity ratio. The results showed that channeling phenomena and thermal dispersion effects are reduced considerably in a three‐dimensional duct compared with previously reported results for a two‐dimensional channel. It was found that the Reynolds number affects mainly the velocity gradient in the flow channeling region, while the particle diameter affects the width of the flow channeling region. As the Reynolds number increases or as the particle diameter decreases (i.e., when the inertia and thermal dispersion effects are enhanced), the Nusselt number increases. The effects of varing the Prandtl number on the magnitude of the Nusselt number were found to be more significant than those of the thermal conductivity ratio. Finally, the effects of varing the duct aspect ratio on the friction factor can be neglected for small particle diameter (D_p ≤ 0.01) or for high particle Reynolds number (Re_d ≥ 1000) due to the dominant bulk damping resistance from the porous matrix (Darcy term) or strong inertia effects (Forchheimer term), respectively.