Search results for: cash flow

Authors: Kwame Sarkodie, William Cheung, Andrew R. Fergursson

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The characterization of multiphase flow has gained enormous attention for most petroleum and chemical industrial processes. In order to fully characterize fluid phases in a stream or containment, there needs to be a profound knowledge of the existing composition of fluids present. This introduces a problem for real-time monitoring of fluid dynamics such as fluid distributions, and phase fractions. This work presents a simple technique of correlating absorbance spectrums of water, oil and air bubble present in containment. These spectra absorption outputs are derived by using an Fourier Infrared spectrometer. During the testing, air bubbles were introduced into static water column and oil containment and with light absorbed in the infrared regions of specific wavelength ranges. Attenuation coefficients are derived for various combinations of water, gas and oil which reveal the presence of each phase in the samples. The results from this work are preliminary and viewed as a build up to the design of a multiphase flow rig which has an infrared sensor pair to be used for multiphase flow characterization.

Keywords: attenuation, infrared, multiphase, spectroscopy

Procedia PDF Downloads 368

Authors: Saud Hassan

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This paper shows simulation for the prediction of the flow around the backlight angle of the passenger vehicle. The CFD simulations are carried out on different car models. The Ahmed model “bluff body” used as the stander model to study aerodynamics of the backlight angle. This paper described the airflow over the different car models with different backlight angles and also on the Ahmed model to determine the trailing vortices with the varying backlight angle of a passenger vehicle body. The CFD simulation is carried out with the Ahmed body which has simplified car model mainly used in automotive industry to investigate the flow over the car body surface. The main goal of the simulation is to study the behavior of trailing vortices of these models. In this paper the air flow over the slant angle of 0,5o, 12.5o, 20o, 30o, 40o are considered. As investigating on the rear backlight angle two dimensional flows occurred at the rear slant, on the other hand when the slant angle is 30o the flow become three dimensional. Above this angle sudden drop occurred in drag.

Keywords: aerodynamics, Ahemd vehicle , backlight angle, finite element method

Procedia PDF Downloads 781

Authors: Dhawal Ladani

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Shell and tube type heat exchangers are predominantly used in heat exchange between two fluids and other applications. This paper projects the optimal design of the pipe used in the heat exchanger in such a way to minimize the vibration occurring in the pipe. Paper also consists of the comparison of the different design of the pipe to get the maximize the heat transfer rate by converting laminar flow into the turbulent flow. By the updated design the vibration in the pipe due to the flow is also decreased. Computational Fluid Dynamics and Thermal Heat Transfer analysis are done to justifying the result. Currently, the straight pipe is used in the shell and tube type of heat exchanger where as per the paper the pipe consists of the curvature along with the pipe. Hence, the heat transfer area is also increased and result in the increasing in heat transfer rate. Curvature type design is useful to create turbulence and minimizing the vibration, also. The result will give the output comparison of the effect of laminar flow and the turbulent flow in the heat exchange mechanism, as well as, inverse effect of the boundary layer in heat exchanger is also justified.

Keywords: heat exchanger, heat transfer rate, laminar and turbulent effect, shell and tube

Procedia PDF Downloads 307

Authors: Erifyli Tsagkari, Stephanie Connelly, Zhaowei Liu, Andrew McBride, William Sloan

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Biofilms play an essential role in treating water in biofiltration systems. The biofilm morphology and function are inextricably linked to the hydrodynamics of flow through a filter, and yet engineers rarely explicitly engineer this interaction. We develop a system that links computer simulation and 3-D printing to optimize and rapidly prototype filter media to optimize biofilm function with the hypothesis that biofilm function is intimately linked to the flow passing through the filter. A computational model that numerically solves the incompressible time-dependent Navier Stokes equations coupled to a model for biofilm growth and function is developed. The model is imbedded in an optimization algorithm that allows the model domain to adapt until criteria on biofilm functioning are met. This is applied to optimize the shape of filter media in a simple flow channel to promote biofilm formation. The computer code links directly to a 3-D printer, and this allows us to prototype the design rapidly. Its validity is tested in flow visualization experiments and by microscopy. As proof of concept, the code was constrained to explore a small range of potential filter media, where the medium acts as an obstacle in the flow that sheds a von Karman vortex street that was found to enhance the deposition of bacteria on surfaces downstream. The flow visualization and microscopy in the 3-D printed realization of the flow channel validated the predictions of the model and hence its potential as a design tool. Overall, it is shown that the combination of our computational model and the 3-D printing can be effectively used as a design tool to prototype filter media to optimize biofilm formation.

Keywords: biofilm, biofilter, computational model, von karman vortices, 3-D printing.

Procedia PDF Downloads 142

Authors: Ruquan You, Haiwang Li, Zhi Tao

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A time-resolved particle image velocimetry (PIV) system is developed to investigate the boundary layer flow with the effect of rotating Coriolis and buoyancy force. This time-resolved PIV system consists of a 10 Watts continuous laser diode and a high-speed camera. The laser diode is able to provide a less than 1mm thickness sheet light, and the high-speed camera can capture the 6400 frames per second with 1024×1024 pixels. The whole laser and the camera are fixed on the rotating facility with 1 radius meters and up to 500 revolutions per minute, which can measure the boundary flow velocity in the rotating channel with and without ribs directly at rotating conditions. To investigate the effect of buoyancy force, transparent heater glasses are used to provide the constant thermal heat flux, and then the density differences are generated near the channel wall, and the buoyancy force can be simulated when the channel is rotating. Due to the high temporal and spatial resolution of the system, the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) can be developed to analyze the characteristic of the turbulent boundary layer flow at rotating conditions. With this rotating facility and PIV system, the velocity profile, Reynolds shear stress, spatial and temporal correlation, and the POD modes of the turbulent boundary layer flow can be discussed.

Keywords: rotating facility, PIV, boundary layer flow, spatial and temporal resolution

Procedia PDF Downloads 180

Authors: S. Nasri, H. Bouziri

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Disasters are quite experienced in our days. They are caused by floods, landslides, and building fires that is the main objective of this study. To cope with these unexpected events, precautions must be taken to protect human lives. The emphasis on disposal work focuses on the resolution of the evacuation problem in case of no-notice disaster. The problem of evacuation is listed as a dynamic network flow problem. Particularly, we model the evacuation problem as an earliest arrival flow problem with load dependent transit time. This problem is classified as NP-Hard. Our challenge here is to propose a metaheuristic solution for solving the evacuation problem. We define our objective as the maximization of evacuees during earliest periods of a time horizon T. The objective provides the evacuation of persons as soon as possible. We performed an experimental study on emergency evacuation from the tunisian children’s hospital. This work prompts us to look for evacuation plans corresponding to several situations where the network dynamically changes.

Keywords: dynamic network flow, load dependent transit time, evacuation strategy, earliest arrival flow problem, tabu search metaheuristic

Procedia PDF Downloads 372

Authors: Lawan Ja’afar Tahir

Abstract:

This research work centered on the problem of free Arms flow around the Nigeria and Chad Border. The whole of the northeastern Nigerian region has been devastated by the crisis of insecurity facilitated by more than a decade of insurgency. One of the major issues of concern to security experts and personnel in the country is how the insurgents are getting access to weapons, which gave them more strength to fight the war for this long period, which has become so difficult to overcome. Among the possible avenues that continue to strengthen the enemies is the easy access to the arms flow from the neighboring countries, especially the Republic of Chad, which borders Nigeria to the east, where Boko Haram gained firm roots. This paper, therefore, looked at the nature of the waterway of the Nigeria/Chad Border, which has become a source of strength to the insurgents as the flow of weapons is one of the cheapest things on the Border. The availability of such arms flow has also led to the People abandoning their lands and economic and commercial activities, especially those settlements between the Border of these two countries. For more than eight years now, they have suspended their livelihood activities, roads were blocked and chances of survival in the rural areas were minimal due to the frequent attacks carried out by the insurgents. However, this research looks at the causes of the arms flow along the Border of these neighboring countries, the extent of damage done as a result of the availability of the weapons, and how far the Nigerian government has gone in curtailing the menace of the flow of dangerous weapons into the country. The research looked at the ways arm dealers are conniving with settlers along the border as well as the various ways they followed to reach their target. The work provided suggestion as to how the fragile Border should be managed with the view to reduce the influx of arms without control, which, according to this research, is the central factor that continues to unleash and give terror groups the opportunity to destroy people for more than a decade.

Keywords: border, insecurity, weapons, management

Procedia PDF Downloads 68

Authors: Hamidreza Babaali, Alireza Mojtahedi, Nasim Soori, Saba Soori

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Hydraulic jump is one of the effective ways of energy dissipation in stilling basins that the ‎energy is highly dissipated by jumping. Adverse slope surface at the end stilling basin is ‎caused to increase energy dissipation and stability of the hydraulic jump. In this study, the adverse slope ‎has been added to end of United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) II stilling basin in hydraulic model of Nazloochay dam with scale 1:40, and flow simulated into stilling basin using Flow-3D ‎software. The numerical model is verified by experimental data of water depth in ‎stilling basin. Then, the parameters of water level profile, Froude Number, pressure, air ‎entrainment and turbulent dissipation investigated for discharging 300 m³/s using K-Ɛ and Re-Normalization Group (RNG) turbulence ‎models. The results showed a good agreement between numerical and experimental model‎ as ‎numerical model can be used to optimize of stilling basins.‎

Keywords: experimental and numerical modelling, end adverse slope, flow ‎parameters, USBR II stilling basin

Procedia PDF Downloads 179

Authors: Hamidreza Bayat, Arash Mirabdolah Lavasani, Meysam Bolhasani, Sajad Moosavi

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Heat transfer from flat tube is studied numerically. Reynolds number is defined base on equivalent circular tube which is varied in range of 100 to 300. In these range of Reynolds number flow is considered to be laminar, unsteady, and incompressible. Equations are solved by using finite volume method. Results show that increasing l/D from 1 to 2 has insignificant effect on heat transfer and Nusselt number of flat tube is slightly lower than circular tube. However, thermal-hydraulic performance of flat tube is up to 2.7 times greater than circular tube.

Keywords: laminar flow, flat tube, convective heat transfer, heat exchanger

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Authors: Hyun-Woo Jun, Tae-Chul Jeong, Huai-Cong Liu, Ju Lee

Abstract:

The paper presents the electromagnetic-thermal flow coupled analysis of permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) which has cooling channel in stator core for forced air cooling. Unlike the general PMSM design, to achieve ohmic loss reduction for high efficiency, cooling channel actively used in the stator core. Equivalent thermal network model was made to analyze the effect of the formation of the additional flow path in the core. According to the shape and position changing of the channel design, electromagnetic-thermal coupled analysis results were reviewed.

Keywords: coupled problems, electric motors, equivalent circuits, fluid flow, thermal analysis

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Authors: Triloki Nath, R. K. Gupta, L. P. Singh

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The aim of this paper is to find the new exact solution of the blast wave problem in one-dimensional unsteady adiabatic flow for generalized geometry in a compressible, inviscid ideal gas with dust particles. The density of the undisturbed region is assumed to vary according to a power law of the distance from the point of explosion. The exact solution of the problem in form of a power in the distance and the time is obtained. Further, the behaviour of the total energy carried out by the blast wave for planar, cylindrically symmetric and spherically symmetric flow corresponding to different Mach number of the fluid flow in dusty gas is presented. It is observed that the presence of dust particles in the gas yields more complex expression as compared to the ordinary Gasdynamics.

Keywords: shock wave, blast wave, dusty gas, strong shock

Procedia PDF Downloads 332

Authors: Rohaya Abdul Wahab, Raja Mohd Fuad Tengku Aziz, Nazaliza Othman, Sharifah Saleh, Nabihah Razali, Muhammad Al Baqir Zinal Abidin, Md Hanif Md Nasir

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This paper will discuss how we optimize our physical verification flow in our IC Design Department having various rule decks from multiple foundries. Our ultimate goal is to achieve faster time to tape-out and avoid schedule delay. Currently the physical verification runtimes and memory usage have drastically increased with the increasing number of design rules, design complexity and the size of the chips to be verified. To manage design violations, we use a number of solutions to reduce the amount of violations needed to be checked by physical verification engineers. The most important functions in physical verifications are DRC (design rule check), LVS (layout vs. schematic) and XRC (extraction). Since we have a multiple number of foundries for our design tape-outs, we need a flow that improve the overall turnaround time and ease of use of the physical verification process. The demand for fast turnaround time is even more critical since the physical design is the last stage before sending the layout to the foundries.

Keywords: physical verification, DRC, LVS, XRC, flow, foundry, runset

Procedia PDF Downloads 654

Authors: Roman Klas, František Pochylý, Pavel Rudolf

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This paper is focused on the CFD simulation of the radiaxial pump (i.e. mixed flow pump) with the aim to detect the reasons of Y-Q characteristic instability. The main reasons of pressure pulsations were detected by means of the analysis of velocity and pressure fields within the pump combined with the theoretical approach. Consequently, the modifications of spiral case and pump suction area were made based on the knowledge of flow conditions and the shape of dissipation function. The primary design of pump geometry was created as the base model serving for the comparison of individual modification influences. The basic experimental data are available for this geometry. This approach replaced the more complicated and with respect to convergence of all computational tasks more difficult calculation for the compressible liquid flow. The modification of primary pump consisted in inserting the three fins types. Subsequently, the evaluation of pressure pulsations, specific energy curves and visualization of velocity fields were chosen as the criterion for successful design.

Keywords: CFD, radiaxial pump, spiral case, stability

Procedia PDF Downloads 397

Authors: M. Moody, R. Mahmoodi, A. R. Zolfaghari, A. Aminottojari

Abstract:

In this study, flow inside the shell side of a shell-and-tube heat exchanger is simulated numerically for laminar and turbulent flows in both steady state and transient mode. Governing equations of fluid flow are discrete using finite volume method and central difference scheme and solved with simple algorithm which is staggered grid by using MATLAB programming language. The heat transfer coefficient is obtained using velocity field from equation Dittus-Bolter. In comparison with, heat exchanger is simulated with ANSYS CFX software and experimental data measured in the THTL test loop. Numerical results obtained from the study show good agreement with experimental data and ANSYS CFX results. In addition, by deliberation the effect of the baffle spacing and the baffle cut on the heat transfer rate for turbulent flow, it is illustrated that the heat transfer rate depends on the baffle spacing and the baffle cut directly. In other word in spied of large turbulence, if these two parameters are not selected properly in the heat exchanger, the heat transfer rate can reduce.

Keywords: shell-and-tube heat exchanger, flow and heat transfer, laminar and turbulence flow, turbulence model, baffle spacing, baffle cut

Procedia PDF Downloads 537

Authors: Hamed K. Arzani, Hamid K. Arzani, S.N. Kazi, A. Badarudin

Abstract:

Numerical investigation into convective heat transfer of CuO-Water based nanofluid in a pipe with return bend under laminar flow conditions has been done. The impacts of Reynolds number and the volume concentration of nanoparticles on the flow and the convective heat transfer behaviour are investigated. The results indicate that the increase in Reynolds number leads to the enhancement of average Nusselt number, and the increase in specific heat in the presence of the nanofluid results in improvement in heat transfer. Also, the presence of the secondary flow in the curve plays a key role in increasing the average Nusselt number and it appears higher than the inlet and outlet tubes. However, the pressure drop curve increases significantly in the tubes with the increase in nanoparticles concentration.

Keywords: laminar forced convection, curve pipe, return bend, nanufluid, CFD

Procedia PDF Downloads 297

Authors: Keltoum Chahour, Mickael Binois

Abstract:

Due to a lack of standardization during the invasive fractional flow reserve (FFR) procedure, the index is subject to many sources of uncertainties. In this paper, we investigate -through simulation- the effect of the (FFR) device position and configuration on the obtained value of the (FFR) fraction. For this purpose, we use computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in a 3D domain corresponding to a diseased arterial portion. The (FFR) pressure captor is introduced inside it with a given length and coefficient of bending to capture the (FFR) value. To get over the computational limitations, basically, the time of the simulation is about 2h 15min for one (FFR) value; we generate a Gaussian Process (GP) model for (FFR) prediction. The (GP) model indicates good accuracy and demonstrates the effective error in the measurement created by the random configuration of the pressure captor.

Keywords: fractional flow reserve, Gaussian processes, computational fluid dynamics, drift

Procedia PDF Downloads 134

Authors: Vineeth Siripuram, Abhineet Nigam

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A bioreactor is an engineered system that supports a biologically active environment. Along the years, the advancements in bioreactors have been widely accepted all over the world for varied applications ranging from sewage treatment to tissue cloning. Driven by tissue and organ shortage, tissue engineering has emerged as an alternative to transplantation for the reconstruction of lost or damaged organs. In this study, Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has been used to model porous medium flow in scaffolds (taken from the literature) with different flow patterns. A detailed analysis of different scaffold geometries and their influence on cell deposition in the perfusion system is been carried out using Computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Considering the fact that, the scaffold should mimic the organs or tissues structures in a three-dimensional manner, certain assumptions were made accordingly. The research on scaffolds has been extensively carried out in different bioreactors. However, there has been less focus on the morphology of the scaffolds and the flow patterns in which the perfusion system is laid upon. The objective of this paper is to employ a computational approach using CFD simulation to determine the optimal morphology and the anisotropic measurements of the various samples of scaffolds. Using predictive computational modelling approach, variables which exert dominant effects on the cell deposition within the scaffold were prioritised and corresponding changes in morphology of scaffold and flow patterns in the perfusion systems are made. A Eulerian approach was carried on in multiple CFD simulations, and it is observed that the morphological and topological changes in the scaffold perfusion system are of great importance in the commercial applications of scaffolds.

Keywords: cell seeding, CFD, flow patterns, modelling, perfusion systems, scaffold

Procedia PDF Downloads 161

Authors: Tuqa Abdulrazzaq, Hussein Togun, M. K. A. Ariffin, S. N. Kazi, A. Badarudin, N. M. Adam, S. Masuri

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Numerical study of heat transfer and fluid flow over vertical double forward facing step were presented. The k-w model with finite volume method was employed to solve continuity, momentum, and energy equations. Different step heights were adopted for range of Reynolds number varied from 10000 to 40000, and range of temperature varied from 310K to 340 K. The straight side of duct is insulated while the side of double forward facing step is heated. The result shows augmentation of heat transfer due to the recirculation region created after and before steps. Effect of step length and Reynolds number observed on increase of local Nusselt number particularly at recirculation regions. Contour of streamline velocity is plotted to show recirculation regions after and before steps. Numerical simulation in this paper done by used ANSYS Fluent 14.

Keywords: turbulent flow, double forward, heat transfer, separation flow

Procedia PDF Downloads 461

Authors: Machimontorn Promtong, Sherman C. P. Cheung, Guan H. Yeoh, Sara Vahaji, Jiyuan Tu

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The wide range of industrial applications involved with boiling flows promotes the necessity of establishing fundamental knowledge in boiling flow phenomena. For this purpose, a number of experimental and numerical researches have been performed to elucidate the underlying physics of this flow. In this paper, the improved wall boiling models, implemented on ANSYS CFX 14.5, were introduced to study subcooled boiling flow at elevated pressure. At the heated wall boundary, the Fractal model, Force balance approach and Mechanistic frequency model are given for predicting the nucleation site density, bubble departure diameter, and bubble departure frequency. The presented wall heat flux partitioning closures were modified to consider the influence of bubble sliding along the wall before the lift-off, which usually happens in the flow boiling. The simulation was performed based on the Two-fluid model, where the standard k-ω SST model was selected for turbulence modelling. Existing experimental data at around 5 bars were chosen to evaluate the accuracy of the presented mechanistic approach. The void fraction and Interfacial Area Concentration (IAC) are in good agreement with the experimental data. However, the predicted bubble velocity and Sauter Mean Diameter (SMD) are over-predicted. This over-prediction may be caused by consideration of only dispersed and spherical bubbles in the simulations. In the future work, the important physical mechanisms of bubbles, such as merging and shrinking during sliding on the heated wall will be incorporated into this mechanistic model to enhance its capability for a wider range of flow prediction.

Keywords: subcooled boiling flow, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), mechanistic approach, two-fluid model

Procedia PDF Downloads 317

Authors: Velitchko G. Tzatchkov, Petronilo E. Cortes-Mejia, J. Manuel Rodriguez-Varela, Jesus Figueroa-Vazquez

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Hydraulic headloss, expressed by the values of friction factor f and Manning’s coefficient n, is an important parameter in designing drainage pipes. Their values normally are taken from manufacturer recommendations, many times without sufficient experimental support. To our knowledge, currently there is no standard procedure for hydraulically testing such pipes. As a result of research carried out at the Mexican Institute of Water Technology, a laboratory testing procedure was proposed and applied on 6 and 12 inches diameter polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and high-density dual wall polyethylene pipe (HDPE) drainage pipes. While the PVC pipe is characterized by naturally smooth interior and exterior walls, the dual wall HDPE pipe has corrugated exterior wall and, although considered smooth, a slightly wavy interior wall. The pipes were tested at full and partially full pipe flow conditions. The tests for full pipe flow were carried out on a 31.47 m long pipe at flow velocities between 0.11 and 4.61 m/s. Water was supplied by gravity from a 10 m-high tank in some of the tests, and from a 3.20 m-high tank in the rest of the tests. Pressure was measured independently with piezometer readings and pressure transducers. The flow rate was measured by an ultrasonic meter. For the partially full pipe flow the pipe was placed inside an existing 49.63 m long zero slope (horizontal) channel. The flow depth was measured by piezometers located along the pipe, for flow rates between 2.84 and 35.65 L/s, measured by a rectangular weir. The observed flow profiles were then compared to computer generated theoretical gradually varied flow profiles for different Manning’s n values. It was found that Manning’s n, that normally is assumed constant for a given pipe material, is in fact dependent on flow velocity and pipe diameter for full pipe flow, and on flow depth for partially full pipe flow. Contrary to the expected higher values of n and f for the HDPE pipe, virtually the same values were obtained for the smooth interior wall PVC pipe and the slightly wavy interior wall HDPE pipe. The explanation of this fact was found in Henry Morris’ theory for smooth turbulent conduit flow over isolated roughness elements. Following Morris, three categories of the flow regimes are possible in a rough conduit: isolated roughness (or semi smooth turbulent) flow, wake interference (or hyper turbulent) flow, and skimming (or quasi-smooth) flow. Isolated roughness flow is characterized by friction drag turbulence over the wall between the roughness elements, independent vortex generation, and dissipation around each roughness element. In this regime, the wake and vortex generation zones at each element develop and dissipate before attaining the next element. The longitudinal spacing of the roughness elements and their height are important influencing agents. Given the slightly wavy form of the HDPE pipe interior wall, the flow for this type of pipe belongs to this category. Based on that theory, an equation for the hydraulic friction factor was obtained. The obtained coefficient values are going to be used in the Mexican design standards.

Keywords: drainage plastic pipes, hydraulic headloss, hydraulic friction factor, Manning’s n

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Authors: Rigved Chandrashekhar Nimkhedkar, Rajat Agrawal, Vinay Sharma

Abstract:

Architects need help with a demand for an expanded skill set to effectively navigate a landscape of evolving opportunities and challenges in the dynamic realm of the architectural profession. This literature and survey-based study investigates the reasons behind architects’ choices of careers, as well as the effects of the evolving architectural scenario. The traditional role of architects in construction projects evolves as they explore diverse career motivations, face financial constraints due to an oversupply of professionals, and experience specialisation and upskilling trends. Architects inherently derive numerous value chains as more and more disciplines have been introduced into the design-construction-operation supply chain. This insight emphasizes the importance of integrating management and entrepreneurial education into architectural education rather than keeping them separate entities. The study reveals the complex nature of the entrepreneurially challenging architectural profession, including cash flow management, market competition, environmental sustainability, and innovation opportunities. Loyal to their professional identity, architects express dissatisfaction while envisioning a future in which they play a more significant role in shaping reputable brands and contributing to education. The study emphasizes the importance of dovetailing management and entrepreneurial education in architecture education in preparing graduates for the industry’s changing nature, emphasising the need for real-world skills. This research contributes insights into the architectural profession’s transformative trajectory, emphasising adaptability, upskilling, and educational enhancements as critical success factors.

Keywords: architects, career path, education, management, specialisation

Procedia PDF Downloads 66

Authors: Chen-Yu Chen, Wei-Mon Yan, Chi-Nan Lai, Jian-Hao Su

Abstract:

The proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) becomes more important as an alternative energy source recently. Maintaining proper water content in the membrane is one of the key requirements for optimizing the PEMFC performance. The planar membrane humidifier has the advantages of simple structure, low cost, low-pressure drop, light weight, reliable performance and good gas separability. Thus, it is a common external humidifier for PEMFCs. In this work, a planar membrane humidifier for kW-scale PEMFCs is developed successfully. The heat and mass transfer of humidifier is discussed, and its performance is analyzed in term of dew point approach temperature (DPAT), water vapor transfer rate (WVTR) and water recovery ratio (WRR). The DPAT of the humidifier with the counter flow approach reaches about 6°C under inlet dry air of 50°C and 60% RH and inlet humid air of 70°C and 100% RH. The rate of pressure loss of the humidifier is 5.0×10² Pa/min at the torque of 7 N-m, which reaches the standard of commercial planar membrane humidifiers. From the tests, it is found that increasing the air flow rate increases the WVTR. However, the DPAT and the WRR are not improved by increasing the WVTR as the air flow rate is higher than the optimal value. In addition, increasing the inlet temperature or the humidity of dry air decreases the WVTR and the WRR. Nevertheless, the DPAT is improved at elevated inlet temperatures or humidities of dry air. Furthermore, the performance of the humidifier with the counter flow approach is better than that with the parallel flow approach. The DPAT difference between the two flow approaches reaches up to 8 °C.

Keywords: heat and mass transfer, humidifier performance, PEM fuel cell, planar membrane humidifier

Procedia PDF Downloads 307

Authors: Yan Pang, Xiang Wang, Zhaomiao Liu

Abstract:

Droplet microfluidics, in which nanoliter to picoliter droplets acted as individual compartments, are common to a diverse array of applications such as analytical chemistry, tissue engineering, microbiology and drug discovery. The droplet generation in a simplified two dimension T-shape microchannel with the main channel width of 50 μm and the side channel width of 25 μm, is simulated to investigate effects of the forced fluctuation of the side wall on the droplet generation and flow. The periodic fluctuations are applied on a length of the side wall in the main channel of the T-junction with the deformation shape of the double-clamped beam acted by the uniform force, which varies with the flow time and fluctuation periods, forms and positions. The fluctuations under most of the conditions expand the distribution range of the droplet size but have a little effect on the average size, while the shape of the fixed side wall changes the average droplet size chiefly. Droplet sizes show a periodic pattern along the relative time when the fluctuation is forced on the side wall near the T-junction. The droplet emerging frequency is not varied by the fluctuation of the side wall under the same flow rate and geometry conditions. When the fluctuation period is similar with the droplet emerging period, the droplet size shows a nice stability as the no fluctuation case.

Keywords: droplet generation, droplet size, flow flied, forced fluctuation

Procedia PDF Downloads 282

Authors: Pakawhat Khumkhreung, Yottana Khunatorn

Abstract:

The flow pattern inside rectangular intake air duct of 300 MW lignite coal-fired power plant is investigated in order to analyze and reduce overall inlet system pressure drop. The system consists of the 45-degree inlet elbow, the flow instrument, the 90-degree mitered elbow and fans, respectively. The energy loss in each section can be determined by Bernoulli’s equation and ASHRAE standard table. Hence, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is used in this study based on Navier-Stroke equation and the standard k-epsilon turbulence modeling. Input boundary condition is 175 kg/s mass flow rate inside the 11-m² cross sectional duct. According to the inlet air flow rate, the Reynolds number of airstream is 2.7x10⁶ (based on the hydraulic duct diameter), thus the flow behavior is turbulence. The numerical results are validated with the real operation data. It is found that the numerical result agrees well with the operating data, and dominant loss occurs at the flow rate measurement device. Normally, the air flow rate is measured by the airfoil and it gets high pressure drop inside the duct. To overcome this problem, the airfoil is planned to be replaced with the other type measuring instrument, such as the average pitot tube which generates low pressure drop of airstream. The numerical result in case of average pitot tube shows that the pressure drop inside the inlet airstream duct is decreased significantly. It should be noted that the energy consumption of inlet air system is reduced too.

Keywords: airfoil, average pitot tube, combustion air, CFD, pressure drop, rectangular duct

Procedia PDF Downloads 157

Authors: Sonia Ben Hamza, Sabra Habli, Nejla Mahjoub Saïd, Hervé Bournot, Georges Le Palec

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Free surface flows caused by dam breaks in channels or rivers is an attention-getting subject to the engineering practice, however, the studies are few to be reported. In this paper, a numerical investigation of unsteady free surface flows resulting from a dam-breaking in a rectangular channel is studied. Numerical computations were carried out using ANSYS Fluent which is based on the finite volume approach. The air/water interface was modeled with the volume of fluid method (VOF). Verification for a typical dam-break problem is analyzed by comparing the present results with others and very good agreement is obtained. The present approach is then used to predict the characteristics of free surface flow due to the dam breaking in channel. The characteristics of complex unsteady free surface flow in these examples are clearly explained. The numerical results show that the flow became more disturbed after impacting the vertical wall, then a recirculation zone, as well as turbulence phenomena, were created. At this instant, a cavity of air was included on the flow. The results agree well with the experimental data found in the literature.

Keywords: CFD, dam-break, free surface, turbulent flows, VOF

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Authors: C. F. Alegretti, F. R. Cunha, R. G. Gontijo

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This work investigates the effects of an applied magnetic field on the geometry-driven boundary layer detachment flow of a ferrofluid over a sudden expansion. Both constitutive equation and global magnetization equation for a ferrofluid are considered. Therefore, the proposed formulation consists in a coupled magnetic-hydrodynamic problem. Computational simulations are carried out in order to explore, not only the viability to control flow instabilities, but also to evaluate the consistency of theoretical aspects. The unidirectional sudden expansion in a ferrofluid flow is investigated numerically under the perspective of Ferrohydrodynamics in a two-dimensional domain using a Finite Differences Method. The boundary layer detachment induced by the sudden expansion results in a recirculating zone, which has been extensively studied in non-magnetic hydrodynamic problems for a wide range of Reynolds numbers. Similar investigations can be found in literature regarding the sudden expansion under the magnetohydrodynamics framework, but none considering a colloidal suspension of magnetic particles out of the superparamagnetic regime. The vorticity-stream function formulation is implemented and results in a clear coupling between the flow vorticity and its magnetization field. Our simulations indicate a systematic decay on the length of the recirculation zone as increasing physical parameters of the flow, such as the intensity of the applied field and the volume fraction of particles. The results all are discussed from a physical point of view in terms of the dynamical non-dimensional parameters. We argue that the decrease/reduction in the recirculation region of the flow is a direct consequence of the magnetic torque balancing the action of the torque produced by viscous and inertial forces of the flow. For the limit of small Reynolds and magnetic Reynolds parameters, the diffusion of vorticity balances the diffusion of the magnetic torque on the flow. These mechanics control the growth of the recirculation region.

Keywords: boundary layer detachment, ferrofluid, ferrohydrodynamics, magnetization, sudden expansion

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Authors: Ahmad K. Samaila, Basant K. Jha

Abstract:

This paper presents the effects of suction/injection of transient/steady natural convection flow of reactive viscous fluid in a vertical porous pipe. The mathematical model capturing the time dependent flow of viscous reactive fluid is solved using implicit finite difference method while the corresponding steady state model is solved using regular perturbation technique. Results of analytical and numerical solutions are reported for various parametric conditions to illustrate special features of the solutions. The coefficient of skin friction and rate of heat transfer are obtained and illustrated graphically. The numerical solution is shown to be in excellent agreement with the closed form analytical solution. It is interesting to note that time required to reach steady state is higher in case of injection in comparison to suction.

Keywords: porous pipe, reactive viscous fluid, transient natural-convective flow, analytical solution

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Authors: A. L. Qureshi, A. A. Mahessar, A. Baloch

Abstract:

Flood wave propagation in river channel flow can be enunciated by nonlinear equations of motion for unsteady flow. However, it is difficult to find analytical solution of these complex non-linear equations. Hence, verification of the numerical model should be carried out against field data and numerical predictions. This paper presents the verification of developed finite element model applying for unsteady flow in the open channels. The results of a proposed model indicate a good matching with both Preissmann scheme and HEC-RAS model for a river reach of 29 km at both sites (15 km from upstream and at downstream end) for discharge hydrographs. It also has an agreeable comparison with the Preissemann scheme for the flow depth (stage) hydrographs. The proposed model has also been applying to forecast daily discharges at 400 km downstream from Sukkur barrage, which demonstrates accurate model predictions with observed daily discharges. Hence, this model may be utilized for predicting and issuing flood warnings about flood hazardous in advance.

Keywords: finite element method, Preissmann scheme, HEC-RAS, flood forecasting, Indus river

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Authors: Khalil Khanafer

Abstract:

This study emphasizes on analyzing the effect of flow conditions and the geometric variation of the microcantilever’s bluff body on the microcantilever detection capabilities within a fluidic device using a finite element fluid-structure interaction model. Such parameters include inlet velocity, flow direction, and height of the microcantilever’s supporting system within the fluidic cell. The transport equations are solved using a finite element formulation based on the Galerkin method of weighted residuals. For a flexible microcantilever, a fully coupled fluid-structure interaction (FSI) analysis is utilized and the fluid domain is described by an Arbitrary-Lagrangian–Eulerian (ALE) formulation that is fully coupled to the structure domain. The results of this study showed a profound effect on the magnitude and direction of the inlet velocity and the height of the bluff body on the deflection of the microcantilever. The vibration characteristics were also investigated in this study. This work paves the road for researchers to design efficient microcantilevers that display least errors in the measurements.

Keywords: fluidic cell, FSI, microcantilever, flow direction

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Authors: Núria Arimany Serrat, Xavier Ferràs Hernández, Petra A. Nylund, Eric Viardot

Abstract:

Innovation is an increasingly important antecedent to firm competitiveness and growth. Successful innovation, however, requires a significant financial commitment and the means of financing accessible to the firm may affect its ability to innovate. The access to equity financing such as venture capital has been connected to innovativeness for young firms. For established enterprises, debt financing of innovation may be a more realistic option. Continuous innovation and growth would otherwise require a constant increase of equity. We, therefore, investigate the relation between debt financing and innovation for large firms and hypothesize that those firms that carry more debt will be more innovative. The need for debt financing of innovation may be reduced for very profitable firms, which can finance innovation with cash flow. We thus hypothesize a moderating effect of profitability on the relationship between debt financing and innovation. We carry out an empirical investigation using a longitudinal data set including 167 large European firms over five years, resulting in 835 firm years. We apply generalized least squares (GLS) regression with fixed firm effects to control for firm heterogeneity. The findings support our hypotheses and we conclude that access to debt finding is an important antecedent of innovation, with profitability as a moderating factor. The results do however differ across national innovation systems and we find a strong relationship for British, Dutch, French, and Italian firms but not for German and Spanish entities. We discuss differences in the national systems of innovation and financing which contextualize the variations in the findings and thus make a nuanced contribution to the research in innovation financing. The cross-country differences calls for differentiated advice to managers, institutions, and researchers depending on the national context.

Keywords: innovation, R&D, national innovation systems, financing

Procedia PDF Downloads 531