The prediction of the flows and temperatures in the moderator system of CANDU reactors is important in the safety evaluation during some potential transients. An experimental program to collect data for CFD validation, including integrated moderator circulation tests has been funded by the CANDU Owners Group. This thesis constitutes a separate effect test within this larger moderator flow study, investigating the behaviour of a jet impinging onto a single heated cylinder. A number of experiments were conducted to investigate the behaviour of the jet flow under a variety of scenarios. The inlet Reynolds number and the heater power level were the primary variables considered to assess the impact of the buoyant forces generated by the heated cylinder on the flow. Alongside the experiments, simulations were performed using the experimental geometry to evaluate the performance of some of the most commonly-used turbulence modelling approaches – namely the standard k-ε, realizable k-ε, and standard k-ω RANS models. The agreement between the turbulence models and experimental results was determined to be reasonable in the free jet regions, however nearer the cylinder, the simulated results exhibited a wider core region and steeper gradient in the shear layer than the experimental data. At lower Reynolds numbers, over-prediction of velocities both in the axial and lateral direction was also seen. The impact of heating proved minimal in the jet core, however differences were observed in the shear layer at lower Reynolds numbers, and the heated case exhibiting decreased lateral velocities as compared to the isothermal case. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

This thesis deals with the aerodynamic analysis and shape modifications of the ARES aircraft. The analysis focuses on the evaluation lift, drag, and pitching moment coefficient, and further to identify the locations of stripping stream which is characterized by high drag. Before the analysis calibration of the CFD solver is done with the model, which has been measured in the wind tunnel. The aim of calibration is to verify the accuracy and veracity of the methodology used in mesh creation and calculated values. Calculated values are compared with measured data. The shape modifications of the aircraft are focused on conceptual design of the suction inlets for cooling radiators and engine aircraft. Aerodynamic analysis is performed with the modified model in order to determine the variation of lift, drag and pitching moment coefficient from its original configuration.

Very High Temperature Reactors are complex reactors and various system codes have been developed to design different aspects such as neutronics, thermal hydraulics etc. Flownex is one of the system codes and it has been used to model the flow and heat transfer for a pebble fuel element and pebble-bed reactor. Although Flownex has been used to model the High Temperature Test Reactor, the prismatic block was modelled in a simplified manner. The aim of this study was to develop a more integrated model for a single block. A one sixth block was modelled in Flownex and the results were validated by comparing the results with results obtained using the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code STAR-CCM+. The conduction heat transfer through the prismatic blocks containing the fuel elements in a Very High Temperature Reactor is of crucial importance for the proper operation of the reactor under normal operating conditions and upset conditions. In this study, a model developed in a system code, Flownex is discussed. The model comprised of a collection of 1-D solid conduction heat transfer, convection heat transfer and pipe elements that were arranged in such a manner to represent the heat transfer and fluid flow in the prismatic block using a network approach. The validity of the model was investigated by comparing the heat transfer and temperature distribution in the block for various scenarios with the corresponding values obtained using a detailed CFD model of one twelfth of a prismatic block. Cubical and triangular block verification cases were conducted in Flownex and the results were validated by STAR-CCM+. The results were very comparable; however one issue has to be addressed. The one sixth integrated prismatic block was then modelled for a steady state and the results were also comparable. The outlet helium temperatures predicted by the STAR-CCM+ model was 542.94 C, at the same time the Flownex model predicted 542.98 C. Although the Flownex model did not provide the same detail as the STAR-CCM+ model the agreement between the results obtained with the two codes was satisfactory. Based on these findings it was concluded that Flownex could be used to build a representative integrated network model for a prismatic block reactor. / MIng (Nuclear Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Very High Temperature Reactors are complex reactors and various system codes have been developed to design different aspects such as neutronics, thermal hydraulics etc. Flownex is one of the system codes and it has been used to model the flow and heat transfer for a pebble fuel element and pebble-bed reactor. Although Flownex has been used to model the High Temperature Test Reactor, the prismatic block was modelled in a simplified manner. The aim of this study was to develop a more integrated model for a single block. A one sixth block was modelled in Flownex and the results were validated by comparing the results with results obtained using the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code STAR-CCM+. The conduction heat transfer through the prismatic blocks containing the fuel elements in a Very High Temperature Reactor is of crucial importance for the proper operation of the reactor under normal operating conditions and upset conditions. In this study, a model developed in a system code, Flownex is discussed. The model comprised of a collection of 1-D solid conduction heat transfer, convection heat transfer and pipe elements that were arranged in such a manner to represent the heat transfer and fluid flow in the prismatic block using a network approach. The validity of the model was investigated by comparing the heat transfer and temperature distribution in the block for various scenarios with the corresponding values obtained using a detailed CFD model of one twelfth of a prismatic block. Cubical and triangular block verification cases were conducted in Flownex and the results were validated by STAR-CCM+. The results were very comparable; however one issue has to be addressed. The one sixth integrated prismatic block was then modelled for a steady state and the results were also comparable. The outlet helium temperatures predicted by the STAR-CCM+ model was 542.94 C, at the same time the Flownex model predicted 542.98 C. Although the Flownex model did not provide the same detail as the STAR-CCM+ model the agreement between the results obtained with the two codes was satisfactory. Based on these findings it was concluded that Flownex could be used to build a representative integrated network model for a prismatic block reactor. / MIng (Nuclear Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Le travail de réduction de la traînée aérodynamique d’un véhicule peut être mené sur deux fronts à la fois; d’une part la simulation numérique CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) et d’autre part les tests expérimentaux. Les méthodes et approches appliquées à la réduction de la traînée aérodynamique sont bien connues pour des véhicules de types automobile et motocyclette. La présente recherche porte sur un véhicule Spyder qui combine les aspects d’une automobile par la dimension de sa surface frontale et d’une motocyclette par sa position de conduite et son exposition aux éléments extérieurs. L’étude permet d’identifier les zones génératrices de traînées et de leur appliquer des optimisations adaptées. Nous avons appliqué plusieurs méthodes issues de la littérature afin d’atteindre les objectifs de réduction de la traînée fixés par le projet, soit une réduction de plus de 22% de la traînée aérodynamique totale du véhicule. Les recherches se concentrent sur l’aérodynamique externe du véhicule jusqu’aux interfaces avec l’aérodynamique interne.

Drag reduction in wall-bounded flows can be achieved by the passive flow control technique using riblets and surface grooves aligned in the mean direction of an overlying turbulent flow. They were inspired by the skin of fast sharks covered with small longitudinal ribs on their skin surfaces. Although it was found that the drag reduction depends on the riblets’ geometrical characteristics, their physical mechanisms have not yet been fully understood in the scientific terms. Regarding riblets sizing, it has been critically explained in the literature how riblets with vanishing size interact with the turbulent flow and produce a change in the drag proportional to their size. Their shapes are focused upon because these are most significant from a technological perspective, and also less well understood. Different riblet shapes have been designed, some with complicated geometries, but except for the simple ones, such as U and V grooves, there has not been enough study regarding shape features. Therefore, special effort is undertaken to the design of an innovative type of ribleted surface, e.g. the Serrate-Semi-Circular shape, and its effect on the skin friction and drag reduction. In this work, the possible physical mechanisms of riblets for turbulent drag reduction have been explored. The modelling and experiments concerning the relationship between the riblets features and the turbulent boundary layer structure have also been reviewed. Moreover, numerical simulations on riblets with different shapes and sizes are presented and studied in detail. An accurate treatment based on k-ε turbulence model was adopted to investigate the flow alteration and the consequent drag reduction on ribleted surfaces. The interaction of the overlying turbulent flow with riblets and its impact on their drag reduction properties are further investigated. In addition, the experimental facilities, instrumentation (e.g. hotwires) and measurement techniques (e.g. time-averaged turbulence structure) have been employed to experimentally investigate the boundary layer velocity profiles and skin friction for smooth and micro-structured surfaces (the proposed riblet shape, respectively and the presented new design of riblets with serration inside provides 7% drag reduction. The results do not show significant reduction in momentum transfer near the surface by riblets, in particular, around the outer region of the turbulent boundary layer. Conclusions with respect to the holistic investigation on the drag reduction with Serrate-Semi-Circular riblets have been drawn based on the research objectives as achieved. Recommendations for future work have been put forward particularly for further future research in the research area.

A wide range of industrial processes involve multiphase granular flows. These include catalytic reactions in fluidized beds, the pneumatic conveying of raw materials and gas-particle separators. Due to the complex nature of multiphase flows and the lack of fundamental understanding of the phenomena in a multiphase system, appropriate design and optimized operation of such systems has remained a challenging field of research. Design of these processes is hampered by difficulties in upscaling pilot scale results, the difficulties involved in experimental measurements and in finding reliable numerical modelling methods. Significant work has been carried out on numerical modelling of multiphase systems but challenges remain, notably computational time, appropriate definition of boundary conditions, relative significance of effects such as lift and turbulence and the availability of reliable model validation. The work presented in this thesis encompasses experimental and numerical investigations of horizontal pneumatic conveying. In the experimental work, carefully controlled experiments were carried out in a 6.5 m long, 0.075 m diameter horizontal conveying line with the aid of the laser Doppler anemometry (LDA). Initially, LDA measurements were performed to measure the gas velocity in clear flow. Good agreement was observed between the theory and experimental measurements. For two-phase experiments, spherical and non-spherical particles with different sizes and densities were used to study the effect of particle size and solid loading ratio on the mean axial particle velocity. Three different sizes of spherical glass beads, ranging from 0.9 mm to 2 mm and cylindrical shaped particle of size 1x1.5 mm were employed. It was found that by increasing the particle size and solid loading ratios, the mean axial particle velocity decreased. Turbulence modulation of the carrier phase due to the presence of spherical particles was also investigated by measuring fluctuating gas velocity for clear gas flow and particle laden flow with different particle sizes and solid loading ratios. Results suggested that for the size ranges of particles tested, the level of gas turbulence intensity increased significantly by adding particles, and the higher the solid loading ratio, the higher the turbulence intensity. With the rapid advancement of computer resources and hardware, it is now possible to perform simulations for multiphase flows. For a fundamental understanding of the underlying phenomena in pneumatic conveying, the coupled Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes and discrete element method (RANS-DEM) was selected. The aim of the modelling section of this study was to evaluate the abilities of coupled RANSDEM to predict the phenomena occurring in a research-sized pneumatic conveying line. Simulations for both one-way and two-way RANS-DEM coupling were performed using the commercial coupled software FLUENT-EDEM in an Eulerian- Lagrangian framework, where the gas is simulated as a continuum medium, while solid phase is treated as a discrete phase. In one-way coupling simulations, a considerable discrepancy in mean axial particle velocity was observed compared to the experimental results, meaning two-way coupling was required. It was further found that the inclusion of Magnus lift force due to particle rotation was essential to reproduce the general behaviour observed in the experiments. Turbulence modulation also was investigated numerically. Experimental and simulation results of gas and particle velocities were compared showing that the RANS-DEM method is a promising method to simulate pneumatic conveying. However, some discrepancy between simulation and experimental results was observed. Most studies in two-phase flow fields have focused on spherical particles. However the majority of particles encountered in industry involve non-spherical granules which show considerably different transportation behaviour compared with spherical particles. Further modelling of cylindrical particles was conducted using a multisphere model to represent cylindrical particles in the DEM code. Drag and lift forces and torque equations were modified in the code to take the effect of particle orientation into account. The framework developed was evaluated for two test cases, indicating a good agreement with the analytical and experimental results. The transportation of isometric (low-aspect-ratio) non-spherical particles in pneumatic conveying was also modelled. The simulation results of mean axial particle velocity agreed well with the experimental measurements with the LDA technique.

Lubricants and liquid cooling are used in many industrial applications to ensure reliability and longevity of machinery. Oil cooling of both electrical and mechanical applications is of interest since oil is better suited for electrical applications than water and already available in the system as a lubricant. Brazed plate heat exchangers (BPHEs) have many advantages compared to other heat exchanger types commonly used in oil cooling applications. Flow maldistribution inside BPHEs can arise with highly viscous fluids like oil. Since flow is hard to measure when plate heat exchangers are brazed together, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) can be used instead. This study investigates parameters that could affect flow distribution inside BPHEs with the CFD-tool COMSOL Multiphysics. The study is made on three different geometries at different detail levels. The purpose of the study is to expand the knowledge about fluid behavior in BPHEs and how it affects efficiency. It was proved from the Bernoulli equation that flow velocity, gravity and Reynolds number were some parameters that could affect flow distribution inside BPHEs. Two simplified models were built for evaluation of viscosity, gravity and Reynolds number. A more detailed model was provided by SWEP representing the fluid domain of a full-size distribution zone model. Model validation and mesh independence study were made with expressions due to the lack of experimental data. Investigations of viscosity, gravity and Reynolds number were made through isolation and alteration of the respective parameter. The validation and mesh independence study proved the models trustworthy and detailed enough to capture the physical behavior. Small deviations from expected validation results can be explained with the assumptions and simplifications made in the process. Results show that flow maldistribution increases with viscosity differences between channels. Viscosity maldistribution is greater for oil than for water. It is important to consider how the fluid viscosity changes with temperature under the respective working conditions. Gravity has no effect on flow distribution as long as it acts along or opposite the main flow direction. As plate heat exchangers are generally placed vertically, gravity will not affect flow distribution. Gravity has a significant effect on flow distribution if plate packages are places horizontally. High Reynolds numbers have a positive effect on flow distribution and reduce the difference between highest and lowest velocities across the outlet. Very low flow velocities should therefore be avoided since it increases flow maldistribution.

<p> </p><p>In order to optimise the ladle treatment mass transfer modelling of aluminium addition and homogenisation time was carried out. It was stressed that incorporating slag-metal reactions into the mass transfer modelling strongly would enhance the reliability and amount of information to be analyzed from the CFD calculations.</p><p> </p><p>In the present work, a thermodynamic model taking all the involved slag metal reactions into consideration was incorporated into a 2-D fluid flow model of an argon stirred ladle. Both thermodynamic constraints and mass balance were considered. The activities of the oxide components in the slag phase were described using the thermodynamic model by Björkvall and the liquid metal using the dilute solution model. Desulphurization was simulated using the sulphide capacity model developed by KTH group. A 2-D fluid flow model considering the slag, steel and argon phases was adopted.</p><p> </p><p>The model predictions were compared with industrial data and the agreement was found quite satisfactory. The promising model calculation would encourage new CFD simulation of 3-D along this direction.</p><p> </p>

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