The fluid flow channels of modern heat exchangers are often equipped with different flow disturbance elements which enhance the convective heat transfer coefficient in each channel. These structural or surface roughness elements induce enhanced flow mixing and convective heat transfer at low Reynolds numbers (500 < Re < 2200) by fluid mixing near the channel walls and increasing the surface area. These elements, however, are accompanied by higher pressure drops in comparison to hollow smooth channels (without inserts). The Run-Around Membrane Energy Exchanger (RAMEE) system is an air-to-air energy recovery system comprised of two remote liquid-to-air membrane energy exchangers (LAMEEs) coupled by a pumped liquid desiccant loop. LAMEEs use semi-permeable membranes that are permeable to water vapor, but impermeable to liquid water. The membranes separate the liquid desiccant from the air flow channels, while still allowing both heat and water vapor transfer. The air channels are equipped with turbulence enhancing inserts which serve dual purposes: (a) to support the adjacent flexible membranes, and (b) to enhance the convective heat and mass transfer. This research experimentally investigates the increase in the air pressure drop and average convective heat transfer coefficient after an air-side insert is installed in a Small-scale wind tunnel for exchanger insert testing (WEIT) facility that is designed to simulate the air channels of a LAMEE and to measure all the properties required to determine the flow friction factor and Nusselt number. Experiments are conducted in the test section under steady state conditions at Reynolds numbers between 900 and 2200 for a channel with and without inserts. The 500-mm-long test section has a rectangular cross section (5 mm wide and 152.4 mm high) and is designed to maintain a specified constant heat flux on each side wall. The flow is laminar and hydrodynamically fully developed at the entrance of the test section and, within the test section, thermal development occurs. Nine different insert panels are tested. Each insert is comprised of several plastic rib spacers, each aligned parallel to the stream-wise direction, and several cross-bars aligned normal to the flow direction. The plastic rib spacers are placed either 30 mm, 20 mm or 10 mm apart, and the distance between the cylindrical bars is either 30 mm, 45 mm, 60 mm or 90 mm. The measured convective heat transfer coefficient and the friction factor have uncertainties that are less than ±7% and ±11%, respectively. It is found that the Nusselt number and friction factor are dependent on the insert geometry and the Reynolds number. An empirical correlation is developed for the inserts to predict Nusselt number and friction factor within an air channel of a LAMEE. The correlations are able to determine the Nusselt number and the friction factor within ±9% and ±20% of the experimental data. Results show the flow insert bar spacing is the most important factor in determining the convective heat transfer improvement. As an application of the experimental data in this thesis, the experimental and the numerical results from a LAMEE which has an insert in each airflow channel are presented. The results show that the insert within the air channel of the LAMEE is able to improve the total effectiveness of the LAMEE by 4% to 15% depending on the insert geometry and air flow Reynolds number and operating inlet conditions for the exchanger.

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Knocking is a type of abnormal combustion which depends on several physical factors and results in high frequency pressure oscillations inside the combustion chamber of a spark-ignited internal combustion engine (ICE). These oscillations can damage the engine and hamper its efficiency, which is why it is important for automakers to understand the knocking behavior so that it can be avoided during engine operation. Due to the catastrophic outcomes of knocking a lot of research has been done in the past on prediction of its occurrence. There can be several causes of knocking but when it occurs due to auto-ignition of fuel in the end-gas it’s called spark-knock. There are various mathematical models that predict the phenomenon of spark-knock. In this thesis, several of the previously published knock prediction models for heavy-duty natural-gas engine are studied and analyzed. The main objective of this project is to assess the accuracy of different types of knock prediction models.Amongst all the types of knock prediction models emphasize has been given to empirical correlation models, particularly to the ones which are based on chemical kinetics pertaining to the combustion process of methane. These are the models that claim to predict ignition delay time based on concentration of air and fuel in the unburned zone of the cylinder. The models are assessed based on the knocking behavior they represent across the engine operation range. Results pertaining to the knock prediction models are evaluated in a 1D engine simulation model using AVL BOOST. The BOOST performance prediction model is calibrated against experimentally measured engine test-cell data and the same data is used to assess the knock prediction models.The knock prediction model whose results correlate with experimental observations is analyzed further while other models are discarded. Using the validated model, variation in knock occurrence is evaluated with change in the combustion phasing. Two of the parameter that are used to define the combustion phasing are spark-advance and combustion duration. It was found that when the brake mean effective pressure is kept constant the knock prediction parameter increases linearly with increase in spark advance and decreases linearly with increase in combustion duration. The variation of knock prediction parameter with spark advance showed increasing gradient with increase in engine torque. / Knack i en förbränningsmotor är en typ av onormal förbränning. Det är ett komplicerat fenomen som beror på flera fysiska faktorer och resulterar i högfrekventa tryckoscillationer inuti förbränningskammaren. Dessa oscillationer kan skada motorn och fenomenet hämmar motorns effektivitet. Knack kan uppstå på två sätt i en Otto-motor och detta examensarbete kommer att handla om självantändning. Självantändning, i detta fall, är när ändgasen börjar brinna utan att ha blivit påverkad av flamfronten eller gnistan från tändstiftet. Det finns flera olika matematiska modeller som i olika grader kan prediktera knackfenomenet. I detta examensarbete studeras några av de tidigare publicerade prediktionsmodellerna för knack i Otto-förbränning och modelleras för analys. Huvudsyftet med detta projekt är således att bedöma noggrannheten hos olika typer av knackmodeller. Extra fokus har lagts på empiriska korrelationsmodeller, särskilt till de som är baserade på kemisk kinetik avseende förbränningsprocessen av metan. Dessa modeller förutsäger den tid det tar för ändgasen att självantända, baserat på dess koncentration av luft och bränsle. Knackmodellerna bedöms sedan utifrån det beteende som de förutsäger över motorns driftområde och dess överensstämmelse med kända motorkalibreringsstrategier. Resultatet av knackpredikteringen för de olika knackmodellerna utvärderas och valideras i en motorsimuleringsmodell i mjukvaran AVL BOOST. BOOST-modellen kalibreras mot experimentellt uppmätta motortestdata. Baserat på resultaten från de valda knockmodellerna så blev den modell som bäst korrelerar med kända motorkalibreringsstrategier analyserad djupare. Den utvalda modellen var en ECM modell och den utvärderas ytterligare med avseende på variation i predikterad knack-parameter. Detta görs genom att modifiera två förbränningsparametrar: tändvinkel och förbränningsduration. Det visade sig att modellerna predikterade en linjär ökning då tändningen tidigareläggs och ett linjärt minskande vid längre förbränningsduration, vilket är i enlighet med motortestdata. Vidare visade det sig att variationer i tändvinkel resulterade i en högre gradient i knackpredikteringen vid högre motorbelastningar och korresponderande minskning vid lägre belastning.

Knack i en förbränningsmotor är en typ av onormal förbränning. Det är ett komplicerat fenomen som beror på flera fysiska faktorer och resulterar i högfrekventa tryckoscillationer inuti förbränningskammaren. Dessa oscillationer kan skada motorn och fenomenet hämmar motorns effektivitet. Knack kan uppstå på två sätt i en Otto-motor och detta examensarbete kommer att handla om självantändning. Självantändning, i detta fall, är när ändgasen börjar brinna utan att ha blivit påverkad av flamfronten eller gnistan från tändstiftet. Det finns flera olika matematiska modeller som i olika grader kan prediktera knackfenomenet. I detta examensarbete studeras några av de tidigare publicerade prediktionsmodellerna för knack i Otto-förbränning och modelleras för analys. Huvudsyftet med detta projekt är således att bedöma noggrannheten hos olika typer av knackmodeller. Extra fokus har lagts på empiriska korrelationsmodeller, särskilt till de som är baserade på kemisk kinetik avseende förbränningsprocessen av metan. Dessa modeller förutsäger den tid det tar för ändgasen att självantända, baserat på dess koncentration av luft och bränsle. Knackmodellerna bedöms sedan utifrån det beteende som de förutsäger över motorns driftområde och dess överensstämmelse med kända motorkalibreringsstrategier. Resultatet av knackpredikteringen för de olika knackmodellerna utvärderas och valideras i en motorsimuleringsmodell i mjukvaran AVL BOOST. BOOST-modellen kalibreras mot experimentellt uppmätta motortestdata. Baserat på resultaten från de valda knockmodellerna så blev den modell som bäst korrelerar med kända motorkalibreringsstrategier analyserad djupare. Den utvalda modellen var en ECM modell och den utvärderas ytterligare med avseende på variation i predikterad knack-parameter. Detta görs genom att modifiera två förbränningsparametrar: tändvinkel och förbränningsduration. Det visade sig att modellerna predikterade en linjär ökning då tändningen tidigareläggs och ett linjärt minskande vid längre förbränningsduration, vilket är i enlighet med motortestdata. Vidare visade det sig att variationer i tändvinkel resulterade i en högre gradient i knackpredikteringen vid högre motorbelastningar och korresponderande minskning vid lägre belastning. / Knocking is a type of abnormal combustion which depends on several physical factors and results in high frequency pressure oscillations inside the combustion chamber of a spark-ignited internal combustion engine (ICE). These oscillations can damage the engine and hamper its efficiency, which is why it is important for automakers to understand the knocking behavior so that it can be avoided during engine operation. Due to the catastrophic outcomes of knocking a lot of research has been done in the past on prediction of its occurrence. There can be several causes of knocking but when it occurs due to auto-ignition of fuel in the end-gas it’s called spark-knock. There are various mathematical models that predict the phenomenon of spark-knock. In this thesis, several of the previously published knock prediction models for heavy-duty natural-gas engine are studied and analyzed. The main objective of this project is to assess the accuracy of different types of knock prediction models. Amongst all the types of knock prediction models emphasize has been given to empirical correlation models, particularly to the ones which are based on chemical kinetics pertaining to the combustion process of methane. These are the models that claim to predict ignition delay time based on concentration of air and fuel in the unburned zone of the cylinder. The models are assessed based on the knocking behavior they represent across the engine operation range. Results pertaining to the knock prediction models are evaluated in a 1D engine simulation model using AVL BOOST. The BOOST performance prediction model is calibrated against experimentally measured engine test-cell data and the same data is used to assess the knock prediction models. The knock prediction model whose results correlate with experimental observations is analyzed further while other models are discarded. Using the validated model, variation in knock occurrence is evaluated with change in the combustion phasing. Two of the parameter that are used to define the combustion phasing are spark-advance and combustion duration. It was found that when the brake mean effective pressure is kept constant the knock prediction parameter increases linearly with increase in spark advance and decreases linearly with increase in combustion duration. The variation of knock prediction parameter with spark advance showed increasing gradient with increase in engine torque.