Includes bibliographical references (p. 199-204).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Canterbury, 2009. / Typescript (photocopy). "August 2009." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 279-296). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph.D)--Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009. / Committee Chair: Menon, Suresh; Committee Member: Ruffin, Stephen; Committee Member: Sankar, Lakshmi; Committee Member: Stoesser, Thorsten; Committee Member: Yeung, Pui-Kuen. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.

Not available / text

Designing wind driven cross ventilation for a building is challenging due to the dynamic characteristics of wind. While numerous studies have studied various aspects of cross ventilation, few have had an opportunity to examine the topic with a holistic approach utilizing multiple research techniques. Thus, this dissertation combined three different investigation methods: wind tunnel analysis, full scale experiments and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to examine the physics of wind driven cross ventilation. Following the systematic approaches of the three methods, this study first conducted full scale measurements of wind properties, façade pressures, air flow rates through small window openings, and tracer gas concentrations in a multi-zone test house. Secondly, a scaled model of the test house was studied in a boundary layer wind tunnel (BLWT) for its façade pressures and ventilation rate under various wind incident angles. Finally, a CFD model of the test house was simulated under various constraints to determine the factors which affect indoor air distribution during wind driven cross ventilation events. The full scale experimental results showed a strong correlation between the cross ventilation rate and the wind velocity component normal to the inlet openings. This correlation suggested that the cross ventilation flow rate could be estimated from wind conditions alone. A closer examination of the wind characteristics also revealed that the cyclical pattern of changing wind direction could be impacted by obstructions which are kilometers upwind, suggesting that distant landscapes could have an impact on cross ventilation flows. The combination of CFD and full scale measurements also showed that local heat sources can generate significant buoyancy driven flow and affect indoor mixing during wind-driven cross ventilation scenarios. Experimentally validated parametric CFD analyses demonstrated the effect of interior heat loads in driving internal airflow, and suggest that a small source (35W/m2) can increase the indoor mixing from less than 1 ACH to 8 ACH between indoor spaces. Finally, the wind tunnel and CFD coupled analysis was found to predict the cross ventilation flow which was also validated against the full scaled measurements. The prediction, which may only be applicable to similar building types with small openings, showed significant agreement that such method has potential as an innovative design tool for natural ventilation in buildings. / text

This research explored the use of CFD simulations to study single phase flows through structured packing. Flow rates were chosen to approximate those used in the vapor phase of industrial distillation columns. The results were evaluated against experimental results obtained with the same packing model and packed height. Several novel methods were employed to quickly obtain high validity results. A high-fidelity, digital copy of an actual packing element was created in seven hours through CT scanning. The meshing strategy employed adaptive, polyhedral meshing algorithms which resulted in high quality volume meshes with 80 percent less mesh elements than would be required with traditional tetrahedral meshing. Meshing and computation were performed on the TACC clusters. The permitted meshing with up to 57 million volume cells in less than 30 hours while simulations employing a realizable k-[epsilon] model converged in approximately two days using up to 544 processors. Nitrogen simulation predictions were found to be, on average, 7 percent below experimental measurements with water simulations showing considerably more error (~40%). The error is likely attributable a discrepancy between the simulation and experimental geometries. This discrepancy is due to an oversight in sample preparation and not a flaw in the CT scanning process of geometry creation. The volume of data generated in CFD simulation was found to be very valuable for understanding and benchmarking packing performance. Streamlines and contour plots were used to analyze the variation in performance both locally and throughout the packing stack. Significant variation was observed in flow pattern, velocity distribution, and pressure profiles throughout the column. However, the joint regions were found to be most adverse to column energy efficiency. / text

No description available.

The first goal of this thesis is to validate a detailed co-flow flame soot formation model for high pressure applications. The second goal is to use this detailed model to understand the effect pressure has on soot formation. The third goal is to note any deficiencies in the model, and the fourth is to remedy these issues. The thesis is divided into two research studies. The first study validates the model for high pressure use against ethane-air co-flow diffusion flames from 2 to 15 atm. After validation, the results are used to determine the impact pressure has on the three main soot formation processes. It is determined that the original model could not account for the flame pre-heating effect. The second study addresses this issue by adapting the model to extend below the fuel tube exit plane, and includes conjugate heat transfer (CHT) between the fluid streams and solid fuel tube.

The first goal of this thesis is to validate a detailed co-flow flame soot formation model for high pressure applications. The second goal is to use this detailed model to understand the effect pressure has on soot formation. The third goal is to note any deficiencies in the model, and the fourth is to remedy these issues. The thesis is divided into two research studies. The first study validates the model for high pressure use against ethane-air co-flow diffusion flames from 2 to 15 atm. After validation, the results are used to determine the impact pressure has on the three main soot formation processes. It is determined that the original model could not account for the flame pre-heating effect. The second study addresses this issue by adapting the model to extend below the fuel tube exit plane, and includes conjugate heat transfer (CHT) between the fluid streams and solid fuel tube.

The development of a numerical model of a two-stroke engine is undertaken to study the scavenging characteristics of the engine. The engine design is unique in its use of 16 passive intake valves in the cylinder head which, along with the exhaust ports located at bottom centre (BC), give the engine a top-down uniflow-scavenged configuration. Each valve constitutes a small stainless steel platelet within a cavity in the cylinder head which reacts to the pressure difference across the cylinder head. The principle focus of this study is the transient simulation of the scavenging flow using dynamic meshing to model the piston motion and the response of the passive intake valves to the scavenging flow for varied engine speed and peak pressure. A flowbench study of the steady flow through the cylinder head into a duct is incorporated as a step in the development of the transient numerical model. Validation of the numerical predictions is undertaken by comparing results from an experimental flowbench for the steady case and using a cold-flow scavenging rig for the transient simulations. Both the steady flow through the cylinder head and the unsteady flow within the cylinder indicate the presence of a recirculation region on the cylinder axis. As a result, short-circuiting of scavenging gas becomes considerable and leads to scavenging characteristics comparable to Hopkinson’s perfect mixing one-dimensional scavenging model. / Thesis (Master, Mechanical and Materials Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2008-09-26 18:38:53.375