A finite element model is developed for multiphase flow through soil involving three immiscible fluids: namely air, water, and an organic fluid. A variational method is employed for the finite element formulation corresponding to the coupled differential equations governing the flow of the three fluid phase porous medium system with constant air phase pressure. Constitutive relationships for fluid conductivities and saturations as functions of fluid pressures which may be calibrated from two-phase laboratory measurements, are employed in the finite element program. The solution procedure uses iteration by a modified Picard method to handle the nonlinear properties and the backward method for a stable time integration. Laboratory experiments involving soil columns initially saturated with water and displaced by p-cymene (benzene-derivative hydrocarbon) under constant pressure were simulated by the finite element model to validate the numerical model and formulation for constitutive properties. Transient water outflow predicted using independently measured capillary head-saturation data agreed well with observed outflow data. Two-dimensional simulations are presented for eleven hypothetical field cases involving introduction of an organic fluid near the soil surface due to leakage from an underground storage tank. The subsequent transport of the organic fluid in the variably saturated vadose and ground water zones is analysed. / Ph. D.

The presence of gas in engine liquid cooling systems can have severe consequences for engine efficiency and life. The presence of stagnant, trapped gases will result in cooling system hotspots, causing gallery wall degradation through thermal stresses, fatigue and eventual cracking. The presence of entrained, transient gases in the coolant flow will act to reduce its bulk thermal properties and the performance of the system s coolant pump; critically the liquid flow rate, which will severely affect heat transfer throughout the engine and its ancillaries. The hold-up of gas in the pump s impeller may cause the dynamic seal to run dry, without lubrication or cooling. This poses both an immediate failure threat should the seal overheat and rubber components melt and a long term failure threat from intermittent quench cooling, which causes deposit formation on sealing faces acting to abrade and reduce seal quality. Bubbles in the coolant flow will also act as nucleation sites for cavitation growth. This will reduce the Net Positive Suction Head available (NPSHA) in the coolant flow, exacerbating cavitation and its damaging effects in locations such as the cylinder cooling liners and the pump s impeller. This thesis has analysed the occurrence of trapped gas (air) during the coolant filling process, its behaviour and break-up at engine start, the two-phase character of the coolant flow these processes generate and the effects it has on coolant pump performance. Optical and parametric data has been acquired in each of these studies, providing an understanding of the physical processes occurring, key variables and a means of validating numerical (CFD) code of integral processes. From the fundamental understanding each study has provided design rules, guidelines and validated tools have been developed, helping cooling system designers minimise the occurrence of trapped air during coolant filling, promote its breakup at engine start and to minimise its negative effects in the centrifugal coolant pump. It was concluded that whilst ideally the prevention of cooling system gases should be achieved at source, they are often unavoidable. This is due to the cost implications of finding a cylinder head gasket capable of completely sealing in-cylinder combustion pressures, the regular use of nucleate boiling regimes for engine cooling and the need to design cooling channel geometries to cool engine components and not necessarily to avoid fill entrapped air. Using the provided rules and models, it may be ensured stagnant air is minimised at source and avoided whilst an engine is running. However, to abate the effects of entrained gases in the coolant pump through redesign is undesirable due to the negative effects such changes have on a pump s efficiency and cavitation characteristics. It was concluded that the best solution to entrained gases, unavoidable at source, is to remove them from the coolant flow entirely using phase separation device(s).

Tissue engineering has great potential as a method for replacing or repairing lost or damaged tissue. However, progress in the field to date has been limited, with only a few clinical successes despite active research covering a wide range of cell types and experimental approaches. Mathematical modelling can complement experiments and help improve understanding of the inherently complex tissue engineering systems, providing an alternative perspective in a more cost- and time-efficient manner. This thesis focusses on one particular experimental setup, a hollow fibre membrane bioreactor (HFMB). We develop a suite of mathematical models which consider the fluid flow, solute transport, and cell yield and distribution within a HFMB, each relevant to a different setup which could be implemented experimentally. In each case, the governing equations are obtained by taking the appropriate limit of a generalised multiphase model, based on porous flow mixture theory. These equations are then reduced as far as possible, through exploitation of the small aspect ratio of the bioreactor and by considering suitable parameter limits in the subsequent asymptotic analysis. The reduced systems are then either solved numerically or, if possible, analytically. In this way we not only aim to illustrate typical behaviours of each system in turn, but also highlight the dependence of results on key experimentally controllable parameter values in an analytically tractable and transparent manner. Due to the flexibility of the modelling approach, the models we present can readily be adapted to specific experimental conditions given appropriate data and, once validated, be used to inform and direct future experiments.

The photoactive component of a polymeric organic solar cell can be produced by drying a mixture consisting of a volatile solvent and non-volatile polymers. As the solvent evaporates, the polymers demix and self-assemble into microscale structures, the morphology of which plays a pivotal role in determining the efficiency of the resulting device. Thus, a detailed understanding of the physical mechanisms that drive and influence structure formation in evaporating solvent-polymer mixtures is of high scientific and industrial value. This thesis explores several problems that aim to produce novel insights into the dynamics of evaporating solvent-polymer mixtures. First, the role of compositional Marangoni instabilities in slowly evaporating binary mixtures is studied using the framework of linear stability theory. The analysis is non-trivial because evaporative mass loss naturally leads to a time-dependent base state. In the limit of slow evaporation compared to diffusion, a separation of time scales emerges in the linear stability problem, allowing asymptotic methods to be applied. In particular, an asymptotic solution to linear stability problems that have slowly evolving base states is derived. Using this solution, regions of parameter space where an oscillatory instability occurs are identified and used to formulate appropriate conditions for observing this phenomenon in future experiments. The second topic of this thesis is the use of multiphase fluid models to study the dynamics of evaporating solvent-polymer mixtures. A two-phase model is used to assess the role of compositional buoyancy and to examine the formation of a polymer-rich skin at the free surface. Then, a three-phase model is used to conduct a preliminary investigation of the link between evaporation and phase separation. Finally, this thesis explores the dynamics of a binary mixture that is confined between two horizontal walls using a diffusive phase-field model and its sharp-interface and thin-film approximations. We first determine the conditions under which a homogeneous mixture undergoes phase separation to form a metastable bilayer. We then present a novel mechanism for generating a repeating lateral sequence of alternating A-rich and B-rich domains from this bilayer.

Ce travail se penche sur l'étude expérimentale et la simulation numérique du GLCC, un séparateur gaz-liquide cyclonique destiné à de l'industrie pétrolière.Les expériences sont menées sur un pilote air-eau. Dans un premier temps, des observations visuelles ont permis de caractériser le fonctionnement du système en fonction des débits d'entrée. L'influence de la géométrie du système ainsi que des propriétés des fluides sont également considérées.Dans un second temps, l'hydrodynamique de l'écoulement tourbillonnaire dans le séparateur est étudiée par vélocimétrie laser Doppler.Cette étude expérimentale, en mettant l'accent sur le rôle important du fillament tourbillonnaire, a permis d'expliquer pour la première fois divers aspects des écoulements tourbillonnaires turbulents. L'analyse des résultats met également en évidence les nombreuses limites du modèle théorique utilisé pour dimensionner les GLCCs.Côté numérique, les écoulements tourbillonnaires en conduite sont étudiés par une approche CFD utilisant le code commercial Fluent 6.3. Les résultats montrent que la CFD peut reproduire correctement les écoulements tourbillonnaires monophasiques. Cependant, en diphasique, les techniques de simulation actuelles ne conviennent pas pour simuler ce type d'écoulement. / This work focuses on the experimental study and numerical simulation of the GLCC, a gas-liquid cyclone separator developed for the oil industry.The experiments are conducted on an air-water pilot. In a first step, visual observations were used to characterize the system operation according to the incoming flow rates. The influence of system's geometry and the fluid's properties are also considered.In a second step, the hydrodynamics of the vortex flow in the separator is studied by laser Doppler velocimetry.This experimental study, focusing on the important role of the vortex filament, allowed to explain for the first time various aspects of turbulent swirling flows. The analysis of the results also highlights the many limitations of the theoretical model used to design the GLCC.On the numerical side, the swirling flows in pipes are studied via the CFD commercial code Fluent 6.3. The results show that CFD can correctly reproduce the single-phase vortex flow.However, for multiphase flow simulations, it is shown that the current simulation techniques are not suitable to simulate this type of flow.

Les simulations des écoulements diphasiques à l’échelle réelle de l’application nécessitent des modèles pour les termes non fermés des équations macroscopiques. Des simulations numériques directes à particule résolue utilisant la méthode de pénalisation visqueuse ont été réalisées afin de mesurer les interactions entre des particules de différentes formes (sphérique et ellipsoïdale) et le fluide porteur à différents régimes d'écoulement (de stokes à l'inertiel). Deux méthodes ont été développées durant cette thèse afin d'extraire les forces hydrodynamiques ainsi que le transfert de chaleur sur les frontières immergées représentant les particules. Plusieurs validations ont été conduites pour différentes configurations de particules : de la simulation d’une particule isolée à un réseau aléatoire de sphères en passant par réseau cubique face centrée de sphères. Une corrélation du nombre de Nusselt est proposée pour un sphéroïde allongé plongé dans un écoulement uniforme. / The simulations of multiphase flows at real application scale need models for unclosed terms in macroscopic equations. Particle-Resolved Direct Numerical Simulations using Viscous Penalty Method have been carried out to quantify the interactions between particles of different shapes (spheres, ellipsoids) and the carrier fluid at different regimes (from Stokes to inertial). Two methods have been developed to extract hydrodynamic forcesand heat transfers on immersed boundaries representing the particles. Validations have been conducted for various configuration of particles: from an isolated sphere and spheroid to Face-Centered Cubic to a random arrangement of spheres. A correlation of the Nusselt number for an isolated prolate spheroid past by a uniform flow is proposed.

Ce travail de thèse est consacré à la modélisation et simulation numérique d'écoulements diphasiques liquide-gaz mettant en jeu des transferts de chaleur. La simulation de configurations où la prise en compte des effets de compressibilité de la phase gazeuse est indispensable (micropompes, microactionneurs, etc...) a nécessité l'utilisation d'un modèle original, considérant le liquide incompressible et le gaz compressible sous l'hypothèse faible Mach. Lors de cette thèse, ce modèle a été implémenté dans un code diphasique prenant en compte l'interface à l'aide d'une méthode de front-tracking. Des cas tests ont été développés spécifiquement afin de vérifier la conservation de l'énergie pour des configurations de complexité croissante. Les résultats des cas tests ont permis de mettre en évidence la difficulté à assurer la conservation de l'énergie lorsque l'interface n'est pas discontinue mais lissée, comme c'est le cas dans la méthode de front-tracking standard. Une méthode de traitement d'interface hybride a été proposée, rétablissant le caractère discontinu de l'interface avec la reconstruction d'une fonction indicatrice de phase échelon, tandis que le déplacement de l'interface est assuré d'un pas de temps à l'autre à l'aide du front-tracking. Les résultats obtenus avec cette nouvelle méthode hybride sont très satisfaisants, la méthode hybride permettant d'assurer la conservation de l'énergie et de la masse avec précision dans les simulations. / This thesis is devoted to the modeling and the numerical simulation of liquid-gas flows in non isothermal micro-cavities or micro-channels. The objective is to describe two-phase flows in which compressibility of the gaseous phase plays a key role (as for instance in micropumps, microactuators, etc...). An original model is developed, considering in the same computational domain, an incompressible liquid and a compressible gas under the low Mach approximation. This model has been implemented in a code using the front-tracking method for the interface description. In order to check the proper satisfaction of the energy balance, specific test cases have been developed considering several configurations of increasing complexity. It has been shown from these test cases that energy conservation can hardly be satisfied when the interface is described by the means of a smooth function, which is done in the front-tracking method. An hybrid method has been proposed, restoring the discontinous nature of the interface. It makes use of a step function combined with the front tracking method. Results obtained with this new hybrid method show that mass conservation and energy balance are very properly enforced during the computations. This thesis is devoted to the modelling and numerical simulation of liqui-gas flow envolving heat transfer. Simulation of configurations where it is essential to take into account the compressibility nature of the gaseous phase(for instance micropumps, microactuators, etc...) require the use of an original model, considering an incompressible liquid and a compressible gas under the low Mach assuption. During this thesis, the model has been implemented in a multiphase flow code using the front-tracking method to handle the interface. Test cases have been developped specifically to check the energy conservation for differents configurations of an increasing complexity. Numerical results highlighted difficulties encountered to ensure the energy conservation while using smooth description of the interface, as it is the case in the standard front-tracking method. An hybrid method has been proposed, restoring the discontinous character of the interface by reconstructing a step maker function, whereas the front displacement from a time step to the next, is still handled with the front-tracking. Results obtained using this new hybride method are very satisfactory, the hybrid method allowing the code to ensure accurately the energy and mass conservation during the computations.

O trabalho tem como objetivo realizar um estudo experimental na bancada do Laboratório Multipropósito de Escoamento Multifásico com o intuito de estudar o fenômeno de intermitência severa em um sistema pipeline-riser com os fluidos água e ar. A intermitência severa pode ocorrer em sistemas pipeline-riser onde o pipeline é descendente seguido de um riser vertical, além de ser necessário a presença de baixas vazões de fluidos. Esse fenômeno é caracterizado por ser cíclico em que há acúmulo de líquido na base do riser e por acabar causando perdas na produção de petróleo e gás devido a grandes flutuações de pressão e vazão que podem durar horas a depender do comprimento do sistema. Os picos de pressão e vazão também podem causar o desligamento do sistema de separação na plataforma. O estudo se dividiu em várias etapas onde inicialmente foram definidos os procedimentos experimentais a serem utilizados. A calibração de placas de orifício foi necessária para o controle de vazão mássica de gás. Os resultados experimentais foram divididos em casos estáveis e instáveis onde a instabilidade é caracterizada pela presença de ciclos de pressão que podem ser observados em históricos de pressão na base do riser. Mapas de estabilidade foram criados e a região instável obtida experimentalmente foi comparada com a curva de estabilidade obtida pelo uso da teoria de estabilidade linear. Os históricos de pressão na base do riser para os casos instáveis obtidos foram comparados com dois modelos numéricos. A variação da pressão no separador foi usada para verificar a mitigação da intermitência severa e/ou da condição instável obtida no sistema para alguns casos instáveis. / The objective of this work is to do an experimental study of the severe slugging phenomenon in the pipeline-riser system of the Multipurpose Multiphase Flow Laboratory by using the fluids air and water. Severe slugging may occur for low flow rates in pipeline-riser systems where a downward pipeline is followed by a vertical riser. In this phenomenon there is liquid accumulation at the bottom of the riser resulting in production losses due to the great fluctuations of pressure and flow rate during its cycles which may last for hours depending on the length of the system. The high pressure values can also cause shutdown of the platform separation system. The first stage of this study was to define the experimental procedure to be adopted. It was necessary to perform a calibration of the orifice plates in order to have a precise control of the gas mass flow rate. The experimental results were divided in stable and unstable cases. The instability is defined by the presence of pressure oscillations at the bottom of the riser. Stability maps were created to compare the stabiliy curve obtained by the stability linear theory with the experimental results. The experimental pressure oscillations were compared with two numerical models. The pressure variation at the separator was studied to verify the mitigation effects during unstable and/or severe slugging conditions.

Um modelo matemático e simulações numéricas são apresentados para investigação da dinâmica do escoamento de gás, óleo e água em sistemas pipeline-riser. O pipeline é modelado como um sistema de parâmetros concentrados e considera dois estados comutáveis: um em que o gás é capaz de penetrar no riser e outro no qual há uma frente de acúmulo de líquido, prevenindo a penetração do gás. O modelo do riser considera um sistema de parâmetros distribuídos, no qual nós móveis são usados para avaliar as condições locais ao longo do subsistema. Efeitos de transferência de massa são modelados utilizando a aproximação de black-oil. O modelo prediz a localização da frente de acúmulo de líquido no pipeline e do nível de líquido no riser, de maneira que é possível determinar qual tipo de intermitência severa ocorre no sistema. O método das características é usado para simplificar a diferenciação no sistema de equações mistas hiperbólicas-parabólicas resultante. As equações são discretizadas e integradas usando um método implícito com um esquema preditor-corretor para o tratamento das não-linearidades. Simulações correspondentes às condições de intermitência severa são apresentadas e comparadas aos resultados obtidos com o código computacional OLGA, resultando em uma boa concordância. Apresenta-se uma descrição dos tipos de intermitência severa para o escoamento trifásico de gás, óleo e água em um sistema pipeline-riser com efeitos de transferência de massa, assim como um estudo da influência de parâmetros geométricos e de caracterização dos fluidos sobre os mapas de estabilidade. / A mathematical model and numerical simulations are presented to investigate the dynamics of gas, oil and water flow in a pipeline-riser system. The pipeline is modeled as a lumped parameter system and considers two switchable states: one in which the gas is able to penetrate into the riser and another in which there is a liquid accumulation front, preventing the gas from penetrating the riser. The riser model considers a distributed parameter system, in which movable nodes are used to evaluate local conditions along the subsystem. Mass transfer effects are modeled by using a black oil approximation. The model predicts the location of the liquid accumulation front in the pipeline and the liquid level in the riser, so it is possible to determine which type of severe slugging occurs in the system. The method of characteristics is used to simplify the differentiation of the resulting mixed hyperbolic-parabolic system of equations. The equations are discretized and integrated using an implicit method with a predictor-corrector scheme for the treatment of the nonlinearities. Simulations corresponding to severe slugging conditions are presented and compared to results obtained with OLGA computer code, showing a very good agreement. A description of the types of severe slugging for the three-phase flow of gas, oil and water in a pipeline-riser system with mass transfer effects is presented, as well as a study of the influence of geometric and fluid characterization parameters on the stability maps.

Estudou-se a aplicação de uma modelagem RANS, com a utilização do modelo de turbulência k-? na modelagem do escoamento no interior de um sistema de lavagem de gases, composto por um lavador Venturi e uma coluna de spray, por técnicas de fluidodinâmica computacional (CFD), com a fase líquida resolvida pela abordagem Lagrangiana e a atomização secundária dessas por diferentes modelos de quebra. Utilizou-se o pacote comercial de CFD da ANSYS CFX 15.0 com as simulações realizadas em estado transiente. Verificaram-se os resultados obtidos pelo simulador para um lavador Venturi em escala piloto com dados da literatura, obtendo-se boa adequação para a perda de pressão ao longo do equipamento. Comparou-se a influência do tamanho das gotas de líquido da injeção na distribuição de tamanho de gotas ao longo do equipamento utilizando o modelo de quebra CAB (Cascade Atomization and drop Breakup), obtendo-se uma melhor dispersão das gotas de líquido na secção transversal do lavador ao se utilizar na injeção, uma distribuição de tamanho de gotas ao invés de gotas com mesmo diâmetro. Simularam-se diferentes condições de vazão de líquido e gás em um lavador Venturi em escala industrial e compararam-se os resultados de perda de pressão obtidos com correlações da literatura, obtendo-se boa adequação para as regiões iniciais do equipamento. Utilizando o modelo de quebra CAB e a abordagem Euler-Lagrange, comparou-se a distribuição de tamanho de gotas ao longo do lavador Venturi industrial para diferentes vazões de gás. Com a simulação do lavador Venturi, utilizou-se os resultados obtidos neste e simulou-se o sistema de lavagem de gases completo (coluna de Spray e lavador Venturi). Comparou-se ao final a retirada de poluentes por meio da impactação inercial e da difusão, obtendo-se uma melhor probabilidade de retirada de poluentes com o aumento da vazão de líquido. / The flow field inside a wet scrubber was simulated with a RANS model using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) in which the multiphase flow was solved by an Euler-Lagrange approach. Turbulence was modeled by the k-? model and droplet breakup was assumed to occur. The transient flow equations were solved using a commercial CFD package (ANSYS CFX 15.0). Simulations of a pilot plant Venturi scrubber were compared with literature data, in which a good agreement level was achieved for pressure loss through the scrubber. Droplet size distribution was evaluated throughout the scrubber by changing droplet diameter of injected liquid and using a Cascade Atomization and drop Breakup model (CAB). A better liquid dispersion inside the scrubber was achieved for a droplet size distribution injection when compared with a single diameter droplet liquid injection. After the results verification by comparing with data from a pilot scale Venturi, pressure loss for different flow conditions was compared between numerical simulations and literature correlations in an industrial size Venturi scrubber, achieving a good agreement for the entrance section of the scrubber. Droplet size distribution throughout the industrial Venturi scrubber for different gas mass flow conditions were also compared using the CAB model and Euler-Lagrange approach. Removal of contaminants was evaluated by two parameters, being inertial impaction of particulate and diffusion to droplet surface, by which a better contaminant removal was achieved for higher liquid flow rates.