With the increase in population and industrial growth, the need for power has increased manifold. A major share of India’s power generation is coal-based generation. Thermal power generation through coal combustion produces minute particles of ash that causes serious environmental problems. Most of the thermal power stations in India use bituminous coal and produce large quantities of fly ash. Fly ash is produced primarily by thermal power plants and, to a lesser extent, by cement and steel plants and railways. This poses problems in the form of land use, health hazards, and environmental dangers. Today the fly ash from thermal power plants is utilized to make cement. Cement industry needs fly ash with more fine particles. If these fine particles (of diameter in micro-meter range) are left out to atmosphere, it will be easily breathed into lungs, creating health hazard to human as well as animal life. If properly collected, it forms a valuable by product. Hence collecting fly ash is important to reduce pollution and also to increase revenue. Even though there are many devices like cyclones, fabric filters etc. the Electrostatic Precipitator (ESP) is the most efficient device to capture the fly ash. It is at this juncture a need for such a simple ESP model was felt to facilitate prediction of the V-I characteristics of dust loaded precipitators, be it cement dust or fly ash. Given the fact that 99% of Indian ESPs are operated under DC energization and most of them are running inefficiently due to lack of proper diagnostic tools and also due to lack of interest to invest on an ESP. In such circumstances, the free availability of a simple model that combines the V-I curves with collection efficiency serves to improve the ESP performance in our Indian industries. In an ESP Voltage-Current (V-I) characteristics are used to diagnose any electrical problems occurring in it. Mathematical model of V-I characteristics under clean air and dust laden conditions will be helpful in diagnosing the ESP problems as well as in designing the ESP. The model will also indirectly reflect upon the collection efficiency of the ESP. The collection efficiency should be as high as possible not only to prevent pollution but also to collect maximum fly ash which is a valuable by-product. The modeling of collection efficiency will help the industries to design a new precipitator as well as to improve the performance the collection efficiency to meet the changing restrictions set by the government to reduce pollution. In this thesis a mathematical model of ESP based on Finite Difference Method is developed. The modeling is done in three sections. 1. Simulation of clean air V-I characteristics. 2. Simulation of dust laden V-I characteristics. 3. Simulation of collection efficiency. Simulation of clean air V-I characteristics is done by iteratively solving the Poisson’s equation and current continuity equation, using FDM in one quarter region of the ESP. Just by introducing the effect of particle charge into this solution the dust laden V-I characteristics are simulated. Finally, the collection efficiency is calculated using average charge density at the plates obtained from the above solution. The developed model is validated at first against published experimental and simulated data and then, with the data obtained through conduction of experiments, by the author, on commercial precipitators situated at a thermal power station and a cement plant, in India. The thesis discusses in detail these theoretical and experimental studies.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:55:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseJS.pdf: 2519378 bytes, checksum: 7360d56b23a635a75d18e60253999a1a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-02-28 / Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos / The increase in the air pollution in the last decades is causing a strong increase in the monitoring and control of emissions of particulate matter in the atmosphere, in order to minimize the problems caused to the environment and to the human health. Particularly, the behavior nanometric particles in the air needs special attention. The fiber filters, one of the oldest methods of particle removal, are, in principle, capable to operate in this size range, but data on their performance are still scarce. In this work, the behavior of an industrial filter of polyester and of a high efficiency (HEPA) filter was studied with the intention of evaluating their performance operating in the removal of nanometric particles from aerosols. The polyester filter had a porosity of 0.884, a thickness of 4.5 mm and diameter of fiber of 16 m and the HEPA filter the porosity of 0.920, thickness of 0.4 mm and diameter of fibers between 0.075 and 2.35 µm. The test aerosol was composed by monodispersed NaCl particles, obtained from the Electrospray Aerosol Generator, model 3480, from TSI, using salt solutions in concentrations from 0.5 to 5.0 g/L. The size of the generated particles varied from 8.4 to 94.8 nm. To determine this diameter, images in an Electronic Transmission Microscope were obtained and analyzed in the image analyzer Image Pro Plus, 3.0. The filtration device was built in acrylic with a filtration area of 40 cm2. The performance of the filters was evaluated through the analysis of the collection efficiency of the nanometric particles, by counting the particles before and after the filter, using a TSI Condensation Nuclei Particle Counter , model 3007. The filter of polyester showed a maximum collection efficiency of 0.990. The HEPA filter demonstrated its capacity to collect particles in this size range, obtaining larger efficiencies than 0.99994. The increase of the filtration velocity, as well as the increase of the diameter of the particles resulted in smaller efficiencies in both filters, typical behavior of filters operating in the range of predominance of the diffusional mechanism. When compared to theoretical models form the literature, it was verified poor fitting. Therefore, it is suggested an adjustment to the LIU and RUBOW (1990) model, and an effective increase in the mechanism of direct interception caused by the Brownian motion was introduced. In the case of the HEPA filters, considering the observed discrepancy between theory and experiment, an approach that took into account the fiber size distribution of the filter was proposed. In both cases a sensitive improvement was verified in the adjustment of the theoretical prediction to the experimental data / A crescente escalada da poluição do ar nas últimas décadas vem causando um sensível aumento no monitoramento e no controle de emissões de material particulado na atmosfera, visando minimizar os problemas causados ao meio ambiente e à saúde humana. Particularmente, o comportamento de partículas nanométricas no ar necessita atenção especial. Os filtros de fibras, um dos métodos mais antigos de remoção de material particulado, são, em princípio, capazes de atuar nessa faixa de tamanho, mas dados sobre seu desempenho são ainda escassos. Neste trabalho estudou-se o comportamento de um filtro industrial de poliéster e de um filtro de alta eficiência (HEPA) com o intuito de avaliar o desempenho dos mesmos operando na remoção de partículas nanométricas de aerossóis. O filtro de poliéster tinha porosidade de 0,884, espessura de 4,5 mm e diâmetro de fibra de 16µm e o filtro HEPA uma porosidade de 0,920, espessura de 0,4 mm e diâmetro de fibras entre 0,075 e 2,35 µm. O aerossol de teste era composto por partículas monodispersas de NaCl, que foram obtidas a partir de um gerador de partículas Electrospray Aerosol Generator, modelo 3480, da TSI, utilizando soluções de sal nas concentrações de 0,5 a 5,0 g/L. O tamanho das partículas geradas variou de 8,4 a 94,8 nm. Para determinar este diâmetro foram obtidas imagens do Microscópio Eletrônico de Transmissão e analisadas no Programa Image Pro Plus, 3.0. O dispositivo de filtração foi construído em acrílico com área de filtração de 40 cm2. O desempenho dos filtros foi avaliado através da análise da eficiência de remoção das partículas nanométricas, através da contagem de partículas, utilizando um contador de partículas, da TSI, modelo 3007. O filtro de poliéster apresentou eficiência de coleta máxima de 0,990. O filtro HEPA demonstrou possui uma grande capacidade de coletar partículas nesta faixa de tamanho, obtendo eficiências maiores que 0,99994. O aumento da velocidade de filtração, bem como o aumento do diâmetro das partículas proporcionou queda na eficiência em ambos os filtros, comportamento típico de filtros operando na região de predominância do mecanismo difusional. Quando avaliados os modelos presentes na literatura, verificou-se que os mesmos não se ajustaram aos dados experimentais. Portanto, propôs-se um ajuste ao modelo de LIU & RUBOW (1990), considerando um aumento efetivo no mecanismo de interceptação direta causado pelo movimento Browniano. No caso dos filtros HEPA, frente à observada discrepância entre teoria e experimentos, foi proposto um equacionamento que levou em conta a distribuição de tamanho das fibras do filtro. Em ambos os casos verificou-se uma sensível melhora no ajuste da previsão teórica aos dados experimentais

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:56:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2373.pdf: 7764902 bytes, checksum: 711e8da93c1f36cc76df511c9897a671 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-03-12 / Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos / The interest of studies on the development of techniques for removal of particles in the nanosized scale was promoted by concern about air quality and human health, in addition to restrictions on the control of ultrafine particles, wich are more intransigent by environmental laws. Additionally, the increasing application of nanoparticles in various areas of science and technology has stimulated the development of studies on the subject. Amongst the several equipments capable to operate with efficiency on the particle removal, the fibrous filters are distinguished. Such filters are, in principle, capable to act in sub-micrometer scale, but there is little information about its performance in the nano-sized scale. In this work the performance of a polyester filter, of a HEPA cellulose filter, of a quartz microfiber filter and also of cylindrical filtering membrane, provided by Pam-Membranas Seletivas Ltda, were evaluated. The experimental system was able to simulate a contamination of nanometric particles in a stream of ultrapure air, with the aim of investigating the efficiency of filter media in the removal of nanoparticles. The test aerosol was constituted by NaCl polydisperse nanoparticles, ranging from 6.15 to 245.1 nm. The performance of the filter was evaluated through the analysis of the efficiency of removal of nanoparticles, for the counting of particles before and after to cross the filtering media, using the electric mobility technique. This procedure was performed using the TSI Scannig Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS), model 3936, which provides the particles concentration, in size range. The results, in general, have showed that the filter media loses efficiency with the increasing filtration velocity and increasing particle size, in the ranged studied, indicating the typical behavior of difusional mechanism. The filtering membranes have showed better performance in the removal of particles unlike the others filters analysed there was no tendency to increase the penetration of particles with increasing the velocity of filtration or particle diameter. / O interesse de estudos acerca do desenvolvimento de técnicas de remoção de materiais particulados na escala nanométrica foi impulsionado pela preocupação com a qualidade do ar e da saúde humana, somada às restrições do controle de particulados ultrafinos, cada vez mais intolerantes pelas leis ambientais. Adicionalmente, a crescente aplicação de partículas nanométricas em diversas áreas da ciência e tecnologia estimulou o aprofundamento de estudos sobre o assunto. Dentre os vários equipamentos capazes de operar com eficiência na remoção de partículas ultrafinas, destacam-se os filtros fibrosos. Tais filtros são, em princípio, capazes de atuar em escala submicrométrica, mas as informações referentes ao seu desempenho em escala nanométrica ainda são pouco conhecidas. No presente trabalho avaliou-se o desempenho de filtros de poliéster, de celulose HEPA, de microfibras de quartzo e, também, de membranas filtrantes cilíndricas, fornecidas pela empresa Pam-Membranas Seletivas Ltda. O sistema experimental disponível era capaz de simular uma contaminação de partículas nanométricas em uma corrente de ar ultrapuro, a fim de que, posteriormente, fosse possível investigar a eficiência dos meios filtrantes na operação de remoção das mesmas. O aerossol de teste era constituído por nanopartículas polidispersas de NaCl, produzidas na faixa de diâmetros de 6,15 a 245,1 nm. O desempenho do filtro foi avaliado através da análise da eficiência de remoção das partículas nanométricas, pela contagem das partículas antes e após a passagem pelo meio filtrante, utilizando a técnica de mobilidade elétrica. Tal procedimento foi realizado por meio de um equipamento da TSI, o Scannig Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS), modelo 3936, que fornece o número de partículas por faixa de tamanho. Os resultados, em geral, mostraram que a eficiência dos meios filtrantes diminui com o aumento da velocidade de filtração e com aumento do diâmetro, na faixa em estudo, indicando o comportamento típico do mecanismo difusional. As membranas apresentaram um melhor desempenho na remoção das partículas, visto que, diferentemente dos demais meios filtrantes analisados, não se observou tendência para o aumento da penetração de partículas, com o aumento da velocidade de filtração ou diâmetros das partículas, sendo que, em relação à faixa de tamanho, a penetração ocorreu de forma aleatória.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / Venturi scrubbers are simples, low cost and highly applicable equipments. They are used in the industry as gas cleaners and in other to control the pollution. The objective of this work was to evaluate a gas cleaning system using Venturi scrubbers with circular section to remove particles off a gas flux. The tests were realized with 2,21 and 9,06 μm particles of phosphate power. The global collection efficiency was determined for 55,2 and 76,8 m/s of gas velocity, 340 and 500 mL/min of liquid flow and for 99 and 132 mm of length throat. From an experimental design 24 it was obtained that all variables studied and the gas velocity´s interaction with liquid flow and with length throat had influence over the collection efficiency. For 2,21 μm particles the efficience range was from 53,8 to 86,8% while for 9,06 μm particles it was from 53,4 to 96,5%. The results´ analysis showed that as bigger the gas velocity and the liquid flow are, higher the efficience gets. It happens because there are more quantity of washing liquid to be atomized with the liquid flow increase. This atomization gets better with high gas velocities taxes. Another point observed was that for longer length throat and higher gas velocity, the collection efficiency grows. What occurs here is that the particles´s residence time inside the throat was bigger for 132 mm length throat than for 99 mm. And more time, a gas acceleration resulted on better jet´s atomization. The study of different particles sizes showed that 9,06 μm were removed more efficiently than particles with medium diameter of 2,21 μm. Particles with bigger diameters present more inercia, which facilitates the action of the inercial impaction, the collection mechanism that predominates in Venturi scrubbers. The jet penetration was another parameter analysed and it represented the expected behavior: as bigger the liquid flow gets and lower the gas velocity, higher was the jet penetration length. The experimental results of global collection efficiency were compared with theorical models like JOHNSTONE et al. (1954), CALVERT et al. (1972) and modified CALVERT (RIBEIRO, 2005). CALVERT et al. and modified CALVERT models overestimated the values of dust collection efficiency and although JOHSNTONE et al.´s model has underestimated those values, it was the one that better fitted the experimental results, because it showed that the collection efficiency was higher for highs gas velocities. / O lavador Venturi é um equipamento simples, de custo médio baixo e bastante eficiente, aplicado na remoção de material particulado e no controle da poluição. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar um sistema de limpeza de gás utilizando lavadores Venturi de seção circular na remoção de partículas de uma corrente gasosa. O material particulado usado nos testes foi o concentrado fosfático, com diâmetros médios de 2,21 e 9,06 μm. Eficiências globais de coleta foram obtidas realizando-se experimentos com velocidade do gás de 55,2 é 76,8 m/s, vazão de líquido de 340 e 500 mL/min e comprimento de garganta de 99 e 132 mm. Um planejamento experimental 24 foi feito e verificou-se que todas as variáveis e as interações da velocidade do gás com o comprimento da garganta e com a vazão de líquido tiveram efeito na remoção de partículas da corrente gasosa. A coleta das partículas de 2,21 μm apresentou uma faixa de eficiência de 53,8 a 86,8%, enquanto 53,4 a 96,5% de remoção foram identificadas para as partículas de 9,06 μm. A análise dos resultados mostrou que, como conseqüência de aumentos na velocidade do gás e na vazão de líquido, a eficiência de coleta crescia, já que quanto maior a vazão do líquido de lavagem maior a quantidade de água para ser atomizada, atomização essa que também aumentava com velocidades de gás mais altas. Outra observação foi que, com o aumento do comprimento da garganta e da velocidade do gás, o percentual de remoção de rocha fosfática era maior, uma vez que o tempo de contato entre o pó e o líquido crescia com uma garganta mais comprida e o aumento da velocidade do gás proporcionava, mais uma vez, melhor atomização do jato. Em relação aos diferentes tamanhos de partículas, notou-se que as de diâmetro médio de 9,06 μm eram removidas do fluxo de gás com mais eficiência que as de 2,21 μm, pois partículas de diâmetro maior têm maior inércia, o que favorece o mecanismo de coleta de impactação inercial, predominante em lavadores Venturi. Os resultados experimentais de eficiência global de coleta ainda foram comparados com os modelos teóricos de JOHNSTONE et al. (1954), CALVERT et al. (1972) e CALVERT modificado (RIBEIRO, 2005). O modelo de JOHSNTONE et al. subestimou os valores experimentais de coleta, enquanto os outros dois modelos superestimaram. Ainda assim, o modelo de JOHNSTONE et al. foi o que apresentou melhor ajuste, porque seguiu a tendência de aumento da eficiência de coleta em função de um acréscimo na velocidade do gás. / Mestre em Engenharia Química

L'objectif de ce travail est l'étude de l'efficacité de collecte des particules submicroniques d'un électrofiltre deconfiguration fil-tube carré en utilisant une Décharge à Barrière Diélectrique (DBD). Les expériences sont faites avec desparticules de fumée d'encens ayant une taille moyenne d'environ 0,32 pm. La répartition en taille des particules à la sortie del'électrofiltre est mesurée grâce à un spectromètre d'aérosols à lumière blanche. L'efficacité de collecte est estimé pour diversestensions et fréquences appliquées (gammes : 4-30 kV, de 0,3 à 1000 Hz) à un débit d'air fixe.Le premier volet de l'analyse a consisté en une caractérisation électrique et granulomètrique de l'électrofiltre de configurationcarré dit de référence. Les résultats obtenus ont montré que le comportement électrique de l'électrofiltre de géométrie carré estsimilaire à celui de géométrie cylindrique. Aussi, l'utilisation de la DBD pour la précipitation donnait de très bons résultats enconfiguration fil-tube carré (plus de 99% d’efficacité). Le second volet de notre étude a été consacré à l'optimisation géométrique de l'électrofiltre de référence. Les résultats ont montré que le diamètre du fil, le nombre des faces collectrices ont une influence minime sur la précipitation. Tandis que, la section du tube et la largeur de la contre électrode et sa discrétisation ont une influence importante. L'analyse de l'effet de la présence d'une deuxième Barrière Diélectrique (BD) a montré qu'à la différence de la simple BD ou le mode de décharge est assez homogène, la décharge a un comportement filamentaire dans le cas de la double BD. Aussi, l'efficacité de collecte des particules pour les deux con / The objective of this work is the study of the collection efficiency of submicron particles with wire-to-square tubeElectroStatic Precipitator (ESP) using a Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD). The experiments are performed with incense smokeparticles having a mean size of about 0.32 μm. An aerosol spectrometer is employed for characterizing the size distribution ofthese particles at the outlet of the ESPs. The collection efficiency is estimated for various applied voltages and frequencies(ranges: 4–30 kV, 0.3–1000 Hz) at a fixed air flow rate.The first step of our study consisted of an electrical characterization of the reference precipitator and the evaluation of itscollection efficiency performances. The results have shown that electrical behavior of the wire-to-square tube configuration issimilar to the wire-to- cylinder configuration. Furthermore, it reveals that the square configuration charged with a DBD gives verygood results (more than 99% of efficiency). The second step of the study was devoted to the geometrical optimization of thesquare ESP. The obtained results have established that the wire diameter, the number of faces has a minimal effect on electrostatic precipitation. However, the tube section, the width of the ground electrode and its discretization have an important effect. Also, the analysis of the effect of the presence of a second Dielectric Barrier (DB) has shown that in the case of the single DB, the discharge mode is rather homogeneous. In contrast, the discharge has a filamentary behavior in the case of the double DB. Results show that the particle collection efficiency of both ESPs is higher at high applied voltages and within a certai

The solid-state dye sensitized solar cell (SDSC) is an emerging photovoltaic technology which promises inexpensive materials, roll-to-roll processing, and a stable architecture. In this thesis, I seek to enhance electronic transport in order to enable thicker devices and yield higher power conversion efficiencies. I adopt a multipronged approach to advance three aims, employing analytical, computational, and experimental methodologies. First, I generalize existing models of the dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) to allow simple parameter fitting of real devices and to account for previously ignored electronic processes. In Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 I present a nondimensional model capable of fitting real devices and simulating transient behavior without extensive material knowledge. Subsequently in Chapter 5, I introduce a novel three-dimensional model which incorporates electronic drift. Second, in Chapter 4 I critically assess a widespread method of measuring the charge collection efficiency, the summary metric that describes the efficacy of charge transport in the SDSC. I discover that the conventional method is inaccurate for values of the collection efficiency below 90% because of large experimental error and an intrinsic inaccuracy in applying a transient method to measure a steady-state parameter. Third, I aim to increase the rate of charge transport by employing new materials and nanostructures in the place of conventional nanocrystalline TiO2. In Chapter 5, I present evidence of faster transport and enhanced efficiency in flexible SnO2 nanowire SDSCs, ZnO nanowire SDSCs, and the first viable SnO2/P3HT SDSC, where photoanode and hole transporter have been replaced with higher mobility materials. Finally, in Chapter 6, I investigate use of TiO2 mesoporous single crystals (MSCs) with high surface area and extended crystallinity. After demonstrating the viability of MSCs in SDSCs, I examine enhanced transport caused by the background doping effect of thermal treatment. Together, the progress achieved toward diverse and ambitious goals advances the field and delineates routes to future progress for SDSC development.

Les particules d’aérosol sont une composante essentielle de l’atmosphère, et cette importance s’amplifie lors d’une éventuelle libération dans l’atmosphère de matières radioactives sous forme particulaire. En effet, pour améliorer la connaissance autour de la contamination des sols consécutive à une émission de particules, il est important d’étudier le rabattement des particules par la pluie sous le nuage. Dans ce but, des expériences sont menées à l’échelle microphysique (expérience BERGAME) pour quantifier l’efficacité des gouttes de pluie à collecter les particules. Ceci permet au final d’améliorer la modélisation du lessivage des aérosols atmosphériques par la pluie à méso-échelle. Le modèle utilisé est DESCAM qui décrit de manière détaillée les distributions granulométriques en masse et en nombre des particules pour chaque type d’aérosol et des hydrométéores et calcule leur évolution due aux processus microphysiques nuageux. L’expérience BERGAME a été dimensionnée et construite pour mesurer l’efficacité de collecte car les mesures de ce paramètre se sont avérées en désaccord avec les modèles classiques de la littérature pour les gouttes de pluie d’un diamètre supérieur au millimètre. Un montage optique a été imaginé pour tenter de comprendre quels mécanismes de collecte sont négligés dans les modèles standards. Un nouveau modèle d’efficacité de collecte pour les gouttes d’un diamètre de 2 mm est alors proposé prenant en compte pour les grosses gouttes une recirculation turbulente dans le sillage de la goutte capable d’augmenter de façon importante la capture des petites particules. Les nouvelles efficacités de collecte ainsi mesurées et paramétrées sont ajoutées au modèle de nuage DESCAM. Des modifications significatives sur la modélisation du lessivage par DESCAM sont observées, ouvrant ainsi la voie à une amélioration de la modélisation de la contamination des sols par les modèles de dispersion atmosphérique. / Aerosol particles are an important component of the atmosphere and are of great concern in the case of an accidental release of radioactive particles. To better understand ground contamination due to a particle release in the vicinity of an accident, it is important to study the particle scavenging associated with rain. To achieve this objective during this thesis, an experiment at the microphysical scale (BERGAME experiment) was developed and the modelling of the washout was improved at mesoscale. The model used was DESCAM : a microphysics model that describes the bin size distributions for aerosol particles and hydrometeors and calculates their evolution due to microphysical cloud processes. The BERGAME experiment was designed and built to measure the collection efficiencies which disagree with theoretical calculation. Using an optical method, it was shown that those discrepancies were due to rear capture. A new model of collection efficiencies for the 2 mm drops was proposed that takes into account for big raindrops the turbulent circulation occurring downstream increasing significantly the capture of small particles. The corrected collection efficiencies were implemented in the DESCAM model. By this way, significant modifications of the modelling were observed and studied. This is an important step toward an accurate modelling of the ground contamination in atmospheric dispersion models.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:55:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 5587.pdf: 3066852 bytes, checksum: 17d88d3ab913d61bb315842b57ec5a74 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-09-30 / Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos / Cyclones are used to separate suspended particles from gas streams. The analysis of flow inside the cyclone is complex due to the large number of parameters and operating variables that influence the dynamics of the system. Due to its versatility of use and its robustness, results in computational fluid dynamic are an important alternative often used to study the dynamics of flow in the cyclone. In the literature, several works make use of computational fluid dynamics in order to study the pressure drop of cyclones. However, the works about the efficiency of collection are fewer. For the cyclone, computational fluid dynamics allows an accurately simulation of the collection efficiency of particles with diameter greater than 5 µm; but for particles with smaller diameters the simulated results diverge from experimental values. In this work, Stairmand s cyclone was numerically simulated with injected particles with diameters from 1 to 5 µm. The results were verified using available experimental data reported in the literature. The experimental data taken from literature belong to Zhao and Shen Kang (2004) and Zhao (2005). The simulation mesh was analyzed before and after the simulations. The turbulence models used in the simulation of flow in the cyclone were: Reynolds Stress Model (RSM) and Large Eddy Simulation (LES). The dispersed phase was simulated considering one and two way couplings. The equation of motion of the particles was integrated using the integration schemes: implicit, analytic, trapezoidal, and Runge-Kutta. The results showed that the methodology was adequate to reproduce the behavior of the flow in the cyclone. The error percentages obtained in pressure drop were under 5% and the average collection efficiency was reproduced with good accuracy for diameters of 3, 4 and 5 µm. / O ciclone é um equipamento utilizado para separar partículas suspensas em correntes gasosas. A análise do escoamento dentro do ciclone é complexa devido ao grande número de parâmetros e variáveis operacionais que influenciam na dinâmica do sistema. Devido a sua versatilidade de uso e a sua robustez nos resultados a fluidodinâmica computacional é uma alternativa importante utilizada com frequência no estudo da dinâmica do escoamento no ciclone. Na literatura existem vários trabalhos que fazem uso da fluidodinâmica computacional no estudo da queda de pressão. Entretanto, no estudo da eficiência de coleta, os artigos são em menor quantidade. No ciclone, a fluidodinâmica computacional permite simular a eficiência de coleta de partículas com diâmetro maiores que 5 µm com bastante precisão; a modelagem da eficiência de coleta para partículas com diâmetros menores ainda resultam em valores diferentes dos valores experimentais. Neste trabalho foram realizadas as simulações numéricas no ciclone tipo Stairmand; foram injetadas partículas de 1 a 5 µm. Para a verificação foram tomados dados experimentais disponíveis na literatura. Os dados experimentais foram obtidos por Zhao, Shen e Kang (2004) e Zhao (2005). A malha utilizada nas simulações, foi analisada antes e depois das simulações. Os modelos de turbulência utilizados para simular o escoamento no ciclone foram: Reynolds Stress Model (RSM) e Large Eddy Simulation (LES). A fase dispersa foi simulada considerando acoplamento de uma via e acoplamento de duas vias. Para integrar as equações de movimento das partículas, foram utilizados os esquemas de integração: implícito, analítico, trapezoidal e Runge-Kutta. Os resultados mostraram que a metodologia empregada mostrou-se adequada para reproduzir o comportamento do escoamento no ciclone. As porcentagens de erro obtidos na queda de pressão foram em média menores que 5% e na eficiência de coleta foram reproduzidas com boa precisão para os diâmetros de 3, 4 e 5 µm.

Dans le cadre de cette thèse, des Décharges à Barrières Diélectrique (DBD) pulsées de volume et de surface ont été étudiées expérimentalement, dans le but de les appliquer respectivement à la précipitation électrostatique de particules submicroniques et à la régénération de surface.La caractérisation des DBD pulsées a consisté à effectuer des mesures électriques (courant, énergie) et optiques (imagerie ICCD), afin d'observer l'influence des paramètres électriques et géométriques, ainsi que des matériaux utilisés, sur les propriétés de la décharge. Il en ressort que pour les deux types de DBD (surface et volume), le courant présente deux pics durant les fronts montant et descendant du pulse de tension, et que les deux décharges ont des aspects différents (filamentaire ou diffus).Concernant la précipitation électrostatique, l'efficacité de collecte des électrofiltres a été déterminée par des mesures granulométriques. Les résultats montrent que celle-ci est influencée par les paramètres électriques et géométriques des électrofiltres. Une caractérisation des phénomènes EHD au sein des électrofiltres par métrologie optique (LDV et PIV) a été effectuée afin de comprendre les mécanismes de charge et de dérive des particules.Ensuite, la régénération de surface a été étudiée en analysant les images de la surface polluée, avant et après le traitement. Les résultats révèlent que les performances de la régénération sont influencées par les paramètres électriques, géométriques et les matériaux des réacteurs DBD. Les mécanismes de la régénération ont été analysés en relevant l'évolution de la taille et la concentration des particules générées lors du processus de régénération. / As part of this thesis, volume and surface pulsed Dielectric Barrier Discharges (DBD) were investigated experimentally for applications in the electrostatic precipitation of submicron particles and surface regeneration, respectively. First, the characterization of pulsed DBDs consisted of performing electrical measurements (current, power) and optical measurements (ICCD imaging) in order to observe the influence of electrical and geometrical parameters as well as materials on the properties of the discharge. It is demonstrated that for both types of DBD (surface and volume), the current has two peaks during the rising and falling times of the voltage pulse, corresponding to distinct streamer and glow discharge regimes, respectively.Next, the collection efficiency of electrostatic precipitation (ESP) was determined by granulometric measurements. The results show that the efficiency is influenced by the electrical and geometrical parameters of the precipitator. A characterization of EFD phenomena was performed inside the precipitator by optical metrology (LDV and PIV) to understand the mechanisms of charge and particle drift. Finally, surface regeneration was investigated by analyzing images of the contaminated surface, before and after treatment. The results reveal that the regeneration process is influenced by electrical and geometrical parameters and DBD reactor materials. The mechanisms of regeneration were analyzed in-situ by measuring changes in the size and concentration of the generated particles during the process of regeneration.

This master thesis deals with qualifications of the catalytic materials for positive electrode low-temperature fuel cells. The teoretical part focuses on the physical and chemical properties of low-temperature fuel cells. There are described methods of hydrodynamic RDE and RRDE. RRDE study utilizes methods linear and cyclic voltammetry for qualifying performance of catalytic materials and presentation of results. The practical part describes the preparation various types of carbon materials. There are monitored the oxygen reduction using RRDE. Catalytic materials are evaluated: CV, stability, kinetic parameters, creation of intermediate H2O2 and kinetics of electrode reactions.