This thesis focuses on enhancing knowledge on co-firing oxy-combustion cycles to boost development of this valuable technology towards the aim of it becoming an integral part of the energy mix. For this goal, the present work has addressed the engineering issues with regards to operating a retrofitted multi-fuel combustor pilot plant, as well as the development of a rate-based simulation model designed using Aspen Plus®. This model can estimate the gas composition and adiabatic flame temperatures achieved in the oxy-combustion process using coal, biomass, and coal-biomass blends. The fuels used for this study have been Daw Mill coal, El Cerrejon coal and cereal co-product. A parametric study has been performed using the pilot-scale 100kWth oxy-combustor at Cranfield University and varying the percentage of recycle flue gas, the type of recycle flue gas (wet or dry), and the excess oxygen supplied to the burner under oxy-firing conditions. Experimental trials using co-firing with air were carried out as well in order to establish the reference cases. From these tests, experimental data on gas composition (including SO3 measurement), temperatures along the rig, heat flux in the radiative zone, ash deposits characterisation (using ESEM/EDX and XRD techniques), carbon in fly ash, and acid dew point in the recycle path (using an electrochemical noise probe), were obtained. It was clearly shown during the three experimental campaigns carried out, that a critical parameter was that of minimising the air ingress into the process as it was shown to change markedly the chemistry inside the oxy-combustor. Finally, part of the experimental data collected (related to gas composition and temperatures) has been used to validate the kinetic simulation model developed in Aspen Plus®. For this validation, a parametric study considering the factor that most affect the oxy-combustion process (the above mentioned excess amount of air ingress) was varied. The model was found to be in a very good agreement with the empirical results regarding the gas composition.

Anisotropic thermoelectric effects can be measured in certain materials. Anisotropy can also be simulated using a repeated, layered structure of two materials cut at an angle. Various aspect ratios and angles of inclination are investigated in device geometry in order to maximize the thermopower. Eddy currents have been shown to occur in thermoelectric devices, and evidence of these currents are revealed in finite element analysis of the artificially synthesized anisotropic Peltier effect.

Este trabalho tem como objetivo implementar e testar modelos de gás cinza atualizados na rotina de radiação térmica do software Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS), além da utilização do próprio modelo de gás cinza disponível no software, para a predição do fluxo de calor radiativo. Os modelos de gás cinza estudados foram o modelo padrão do software FDS (aqui denominado como GC1), e os modelos de gás cinza mais atuais: o GC2, no qual o coeficiente de absorção do meio participante é dado por relações polinomiais, e o GC3, sendo este um modelo de gás cinza que baseia o cálculo do coeficiente de absorção no modelo WSGG. Os novos modelos de gás cinza foram implementados no código fonte do software FDS, o qual é um código aberto, e a verificação da implementação foi realizada através da solução numérica do equacionamento utilizando os valores reportados pelo software. Com os novos modelos de gás cinza já corretamente implementados, passou-se então para a simulação computacional dos casos previamente selecionados. Para todos os modelos de gás cinza, foram simulados incêndios em poças, para diferentes combustíveis (etanol, n-heptano e metanol) em diferentes cenários de incêndio, considerando ou não a presença de fuligem no sistema. Os cenários de incêndio eram: (i) totalmente fechado, (ii) totalmente aberto e (iii) com uma condição intermediária, fechado, porém com uma abertura para o meio externo. Um estudo de análise de malha e de diferentes parâmetros, como o estudo da quantidade necessária de ângulos sólidos discretos, foram realizados para correta padronização dos parâmetros. As simulações computacionais foram validadas para o modelo de gás cinza padrão do FDS através da comparação de resultados com aqueles reportados na literatura específica de cada caso. Com os modelos já validados simulou-se novamente cada cenário de incêndio com os diferentes modelos de gás cinza anteriormente implementados. A partir da análise dos resultados obtiveram-se boas concordâncias para os campos de temperatura, frações molares tanto de CO2 quanto de H2O e para as frações volumétricas de fuligem. Os fluxos de calor radiativos foram corretamente preditos para todos os modelos de gás cinza implementados. O modelo GC2 apresentou resultados com desvios médios na faixa de 15%, o modelo de gás cinza baseado no WSGG (GC3) apresentou os melhores resultados, com erros médios inferiores a 10%, enquanto que o modelo padrão do software, GC1, apresentou resultados intermediários. / This work aims to implement and test updated gray gas models in the thermal radiation routine of the Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) software, as well as the use of the gray gas model available in the software to the prediction of radiative heat flux. The gray gas models studied were the default model of the FDS software (determined GC1), and the most current gray gas models: the GC2, in which the absorption coefficient of the participant medium is given by a polynomial relations, and the GC3, which is a gray gas model that was based on the calculation of the absorption coefficient in the WSGG model. The most recently gray gas models were implemented in the source code, which is an open source, and the verification of the implementation was performed by the numerical solution of the equations from the reported values of the software. With the new gray gas models already implemented, the next step was the computational simulation of the previously selected cases. For all the gray gas models, pool fires were simulated different scenarios of fire for different fuels (ethanol, nheptane and methanol), with and without considering soot presence in the system. The fire scenarios were: (i) fully closed, (ii) fully open and (iii) with an intermediate condition, closed but with an opening to the external environment. A study of a mesh analysis and different parameters, such as the study of the required amount of discrete solid angles, were performed to correct the standard parameters. The computational simulations were verified for the default gray gas model of the FDS by comparing the simulations results with those reported in the specific literature of each case. With the models already verified, each fire scenario was simulated with the different gray gas models previously implemented. From the analysis of the results, good agreements were obtained for the fields of temperature, molar fraction of CO2 and H2O and soot volume fraction. The radiative heat fluxes were correctly predicted for all gray gas models early implemented. The GC2 model present results with average deviation in the range of 15%, the gray gas model based on WSGG (GC3) presented the best results, with average deviation lower than 10%, while the default software model (GC1) presented intermediate results.

Durante um acidente em uma usina nuclear, a integridade do vaso pressurizado deve ser assegurada. Em resposta a um possível derretimento do combustível nuclear, a atual geração de usinas possui um sistema para a injeção de água potável na cavidade do vaso pressurizado com intuito de resfriar sua parede, prevenindo danos a sua estrutura e evitando o vazamento de material radioativo. Esse estudo considerou o uso de água marinha como refrigerante para inundar a cavidade do vaso pressurizado combinado com a fixação de um estrutura porosa em forma de grade em sua parede externa como meio de aprimorar a margem de segurança durante a contenção de acidentes. Experimentos de longa duração para a ebulição em piscina de água marinha artificial foram conduzidos em uma superfície circular de cobre plana com 30 mm de diâmetro. Foi encontrado um fluxo de calor crítico de 1; 6 MW/m2 sob pressão atmosférica. Esse valor é significantemente maior que aquele obtido (1; 0 MW/m2) nas mesmas condições experimentais. Foi verificado que os depósitos de sais marinhos podem aumentar a molhabilidade e a capilaridade da superfície de teste, aprimorando assim o fluxo crítico. Combinando a água marinha e a fixação da estrutura porosa sobre a superfície de teste, verificou-se um melhora no coeficiente de transmissão de calor e no fluxo de calor crítico de até 110 % (2; 1 MW/m2), quando comparado a água destilada na superfície limpa, sem a instalação da estrutura. Após os experimentos, foi identificado que muitos dos poros presentes nas superfícies da estrutura porosa encontravam-se bloqueados devido ao aglutinamento de sais marinhos. Isso levou a conclusão que o aumento no valor do fluxo crítico observado para a água marinha artificial ocorreu devido, principalmente, a separação das fases líquida e gasosa do fluido na região próxima a superfície de teste, efeito proporcionado pela forma de grade da estrutura porosa, e ao aumento da molhabilidade e capilaridade da superfície devido a formação dos depósitos marinhos. / During a severe nuclear power plant accident, the integrity of the reactor pressure vessel must be assured. In response to a possible fuel meltdown, operators of the current generation of nuclear power plants are likely to inject water into the reactor pressure vessel to cool down the reactor vessel wall, preserving its integrity and avoiding leakage of radioactive material. This study considers the use of seawater to flood a reactor pressure vessel combined with the attachment of a honeycomb porous plate (HPP) on the vessel outer wall as a way to improve the safety margins for in-vessel retention of fuel. In long-duration experiments, saturated pool boiling of artificial seawater was performed with an upward-facing plain copper heated surface 30 mm in diameter. The resulting value for critical heat flux (CHF) was 1; 6 MW/m2 at atmospheric pressure, a value significantly higher than the CHF obtained when the working fluid was distilled water (1; 0 MW/m2). It was verified that sea-salt deposits could greatly improve surface wettability and capillarity, enhancing the CHF. The combination of artificial seawater and an HPP attached to the heated surface improved the boiling heat transfer coefficient and increased the CHF up to 110% (2; 1 MW/m2) as compared to distilled water on a bare surface. After the artificial seawater experiments, most of the wall micropores of the HPP were clogged because of sea-salt aggregation on the HPP top and bottom surfaces. Thus, the CHF enhancement observed in this case was attributed mainly to the separation of liquid and vapor phases provided by the HPP channel structure and improvement of surface wettability and capillarity by sea-salt deposition.

An experimental investigation has been undertaken to study operating temperatures and heat fluxes in the cylinder walls and cylinder head of a modern diesel engine. Temperatures were measured under a wide range of speed and torque at more than one hundred locations in the block and cylinder head of the engine employing conventional thermocouples arranged to obtain one-dimensional metal thermal gradients and subsequently deduce the corresponding heat fluxes and surface temperatures. Results observed in the cylinder bores revealed that in addition to heat transferred by convection and radiation from combustion gases, the temperature and heat flux distributions are considerably affected by heat conduction from piston rings and skirt through the oil film, and by frictional heat generated at these components. The heat fluxes and surface temperatures obtained in the cylinder head combined with gas pressure measurements were used to evaluate existing formulae to predict heat transfer coefficients from combustion gases to the chamber walls. The evaluation confirmed the significant variation previously observed between the various methods. As a consequence, a modified correlation has been proposed to estimate the gas-side heat transfer coefficient. This new correlation is considered to be an improved tool for estimating the heat transfer coefficients from combustion gases in modern diesel engines. Additionally, the results observed in the cylinder bores were used to develop a simple model from first principles to estimate the heat transferred from piston rings and skirt to the cylinder wall.

Resumo: Considerando a importância da compreensão da dinâmica espaço temporal dos componentes do balanço de energia (BE) em escala regional para o gerenciamento de recursos hídrico e o manejo agrícola, o objetivo principal desta tese foi construir e analisar uma série temporal dos componentes do BE adequada às condições de clima subtropical úmido do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Para tanto, inicialmente foi avaliada a adequação de modelos de estimativa de BE para o Estado. Nesta etapa foram utilizados produtos MODIS e dados de referência medidos em uma torre micrometeorológica instalada em Cruz Alta – RS, usando valores instantâneos para um período de estudo de 2009 a 2011. Na sequência foi avaliada a adequação dos modelos em representar a variabilidade espacial dos componentes do BE. Nesta etapa foram usados produtos MODIS, dados de reanálise ERA Interim, dados de referência da torre micrometeorológica e dados de estações meteorológicas do INMET, para o mesmo período de estudo. Na última etapa do trabalho foi construída a série temporal dos componentes do BE usando o modelo METRIC, a qual abrangeu um período de 14 anos, de 2002 a 2016. Os resultados demonstraram que os três modelos analisados apresentam coerência com as medidas de referência, sendo as maiores limitações apresentadas pelo modelo SEBAL, as quais se atribui principalmente às condições ecoclimáticas do Estado e a baixa resolução espacial das imagens. Na análise da variabilidade espacial, o modelo METRIC apresentou maior consistência nos resultados e proporcionou maior número de dias com resultados válidos, sendo assim apontado como o mais apto para realização do restante do estudo. A série temporal construída possibilitou a compreensão dos padrões de distribuição espaço temporal dos componentes do BE no estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Há uma marcada sazonalidade nos componentes do BE, com maiores valores no verão e menores no inverno. G (fluxo de calor no solo) é o componente de menor magnitude e sua distribuição espacial e temporal é determinada pela distribuição de Rn (saldo de radiação). Já os componentes LE (fluxo de calor latente) e H (fluxo de calor sensível), são os que mostram magnitude maior e apresentam padrões de distribuição espacial e temporal coerentes com as condições climáticas e com os tipos de uso e cobertura na área de estudo. Observase um padrão inverso, com um gradiente de LE no sentido noroeste para sudeste e para o componente H, no sentido sudeste para noroeste. Sendo estas informações de grande importância para gerenciamento de recursos hídricos em escala regional, para estudos de zoneamento agrícola. / Abstract: Given the importance of understanding the temporal and spatial dynamics of of the energy balance (EB) components in a regional scale for the management of water resources and agricultural, the main objective of this thesis was to construct and analyze a time series of the components of BE appropriate to the subtropical humid climate conditions of the State of Rio Grande do Sul. In order to reach the objective initially, the adequacy of the models for the humid climate conditions was evaluated, in this step we used MODIS data and reference data measured in a micrometeorological tower installed in Cruz Alta - RS. The analyzes performed with instantaneous values and the study period was from 2009 to 2011. The next step evaluate the spatial variability of the BE components, the data used were the MODIS products, ERA Interim reanalysis data, reference data of the micrometeorological tower and INMET meteorological stations, for the same study period. In the last stage the time series of the BE components was constructed from the METRIC model. The period series was 14 years from 2002 to 2016.The results showed that the three models analyzed were consistent with the reference measurements, with the greatest limitations presented by the SEBAL model, which are mainly attributed to the state's eco-climatic conditions and the low spatial resolution of the images In the analysis of the spatial variability, the METRIC model presented greater consistency in the results and provided greater number of days with valid results, this model thus indicated as the most suitable for the rest of the study. The time series constructed allowed us to understand the temporal distribution patterns of BE components in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. There is a marked seasonality in the BE components, with higher values in summer and lower in winter. G is the smallest magnitude component and its spatial and temporal distribution is determined by the Rn distribution. On the other hand, the LE and H components are those that show higher magnitude and present spatial and temporal distribution patterns consistent with the climatic conditions and the types of use and coverage in the study area. An inverse pattern is observed, with a LE gradient from north-west to south-east and for H-component, from southeast to northwest.

L'objectif de ce travail est l'étude du procédé de pervaporation et plus particulièrement la compréhension des mécanismes de transfert de masse et de chaleur dans une membrane en polymère qualifiée de dense. Une meilleures compréhension des mécanismes permettrait de lever les verrous limitant le développement de ce procédé, comme les faibles flux de matière ainsi que l'origine et la quantité de chaleur nécessaire au transfert à travers la membrane. Pour cela, nous avons développé un dispositif expérimental qui permet de mesurer en simultané les densités de flux de matière et de chaleur. La configuration frontale statique de perméation du dispositif mis en place donne accès au profil de température du liquide d'alimentation. Ces données de température ont permis de calculer les densités de flux de chaleur engagées durant les expériences de pervaporation grâce à un calcul par méthode inverse couplé à une simulation STAR CCM+. La densité de flux de matière est mesurée par une nouvelle méthode. La nouvelle méthode utilise un capteur de pression situé dans le réservoir d'alimentation permettant de mesurer en continu la densité de flux de matière synchronisée avec la mesure des températures. Afin de simplifier au maximum les contraintes expérimentales, nous nous sommes restreints à la perméation de composés purs. La corrélation des deux flux mesurés nous a conduit à observer que la quantité de chaleur prise au fluide en amont pour pervaporer une unité de masse de liquide pur est inférieure à la quantité de chaleur nécessaire pour vaporiser ce même liquide. Elle représente 50 % de celle-ci dans le cas de l’eau et seulement 25 % dans le cas de l’éthanol. / The aim of this work is to study the pervaporation process and specifically to understand the mass and heat transport mechanisms in a dense polymeric membrane. A better understanding of these mechanisms would make it possible to improve the limiting parameters for the development of this process, such as the low mass fluxes as well as the origin and the quantity of heat required for transport through the membrane. In order to answer these questions, we have developed an experimental setup that allows simultaneous measurement of mass flux and heat flux density. The dead-end permeation of the setup developed gives access to the temperature profile of the liquid feed. These temperature data make possible the estimation of the heat flux densities engaged during the pervaporation experiments by means of an inverse computation coupled with a STAR CCM + simulation. The mass flux is measured by a new method in addition to the gravimetric method used as a reference. The new method uses a pressure sensor located in the feed tank to continuously measure the mass flux with 1Hz raw acquisition frequency synchronized with the temperature measurement. In order to simplify the experimental constraints, we applied only permeation of pure liquids. The correlation of the two fluxes (mass and heat density) measured led us to observe that the amount of heat taken to the feed side to pervaporate a unit mass of pure liquid is less than the amount of heat required to vaporize the same liquid. It represents 50% of it in the case of water and only 25% in the case of the ethanol.

Pour réduire significativement les émissions de CO2 dans les moteurs à combustion interne, un levier majeur est la réduction des pertes thermiques pariétales lors de la combustion. Ces pertes présentent un pic de plusieurs MW/m2 près du point mort haut, et sont liées à des phénomènes complexes d'interaction flamme-paroi qui dépendent du mode de combustion. Afin de mieux appréhender les phénomènes associés, il est nécessaire de caractériser le flux thermique à des échelles temporelles inférieures à la milliseconde.Dans ces travaux, une machine à compression rapide et une cellule à précombustion à volume constant sont utilisées pour simuler les phénomènes de combustion rencontrés en moteurs. Des thermocouples à jonction fines permettent une mesure de flux thermique instantanée avec une résolution temporelle de 0.1 ms. Ces moyens d'essais permettent de reproduire trois modes de combustion : flamme de propagation, flamme de diffusion et auto-inflammation. Ces travaux permettent également d'évaluer les différentes technologies envisageables de mesure de transfert thermique en combustion (thermocouples, thermorésistances et thermométrie phosphore rapide) au regard des caractéristiques métrologiques requises par la rapidité des phénomènes mis en jeu.Le flux lors du transfert thermique atteint des valeurs de plusieurs MW/m2 avec une forme qui dépend du mode de combustion. Le flux lors de la propagation d'une flamme prémélangée est dominé par un pic lors de l'interaction flamme paroi,d'environ 5 MW/m2 et de durée 0.5 ms. Le flux lors de la combustion d'un jet Diesel est approximativement un plateau pendant la durée de l'injection ; il est dominé par l'effet d'entraînement d'air par le jet qui cause une augmentation du coefficient de transfert convectif jusqu'à des valeurs de 10 kW/m2/K, l'augmentation de température liée à la combustion étant secondaire. Dans le cas d'ondes de pression générées par une auto-inflammation rapides de gaz(cliquetis lors d'un allumage commandé ou HCCI à fort contenu énergétique), une corrélation est observée entre l'intensité du cliquetis et le flux thermique associé, quel que soit le mode de combustion qui génère les oscillations de pression. Le flux lors du cliquetis est 3 à 5 fois plus élevé que lors d'une combustion par flamme de propagation comparable. / CO2 emissions in internal combustion engines are linked with inefficiencies due to wall heat losses during combustion.Those losses exhibit a sharp peak of a few MW/m2 close to top dead center and are linked to complex flame/wall interaction phenomena that vary with the combustion mode. A fine understanding of the associated phenomena requires experimental characterization of wall heat flux with a time resolution better than the millisecond. In this PhD work, a rapid compression machine and a precombustion cell are used to reproduce engine combustion phenomena. Thin-junction thermocouples allow an instantaneous measurement of the wall heat flux with a time resolution of 0.1 ms. Three combustion modes are generated: propagation flame, diffusion flame and auto-ignition.Different possible measurement technologies and procedures (thermocouples, thermoresistances and rapid phosphor thermometry) are compared and benchmarked against the features of combustion phenomena. Flux during wall heat transfer reaches values of a few MW/m2 and its shape varies with the combustion mode. During premixed flame propagation, flux is dominated by a peak during flame-wall interaction of about 5 MW/m2 in amplitude and 0.5 ms in duration. During Diesel combustion, heat flux is approximately constant during the injection duration; itsevolution is driven by an increase of the convection coefficient up to 10 kW/m2/K, which is attributed to air entrainment by the spray; the temperature increase from combustion is considered a second-order effect. During combustion presenting a pressure wave propagation (e.g. knock for some spark-ignition cases or HCCI with high energy content), the intensity of pressure oscillations and wall heat flux are shown to be correlated. That correlation is independent of the phenomenon creating the pressure wave; heat flux during knock is 3-5 times higher than for a comparable premixed propagation flame.

After nearly 50 years of development, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has become an indispensable component of research, forecasting, design, prototyping and testing for a very broad spectrum of fields including geophysics, and most engineering fields (mechanical, aerospace, biomedical, chemical and civil engineering). The fastest and most affordable CFD approach, called Reynolds-Average-Navier-Stokes (RANS) can predict the drag around a car in just a few minutes of simulation. This feat is possible thanks to simplifying assumptions, semi-empirical models and empirical models that render the flow governing equations solvable at low computational costs. The fidelity of RANS model is good to excellent for the prediction of flow rate in pipes or ducts, drag, and lift of solid objects in Newtonian flows (e.g. air, water). RANS solutions for the prediction of scalar (e.g. temperature, pollutants, combustable chemical species) transport do not generally achieve the same level of fidelity. The main culprit is an assumption, called Reynolds analogy, which assumes analogy between the transport of momentum and scalar. This assumption is found to be somewhat valid in simple flows but fails for flows in complex geometries and/or in complex fluids. This research explores optimization methods to improve upon existing RANS models for scalar transport. Using high fidelity direct numerical simulations (numerical solutions in time and space of the exact transport equations), the most common RANS model is a-priori tested and investigated for the transport of temperature (as a passive scalar) in a turbulent channel flow. This one constant model is then modified to improve the prediction of the temperature distribution profile and the wall heat flux. The resulting modifications provide insights in the model’s missing physics and opens new areas of investigation for the improvement of the modeling of turbulent scalar transport.

Monitoring the dynamic thermal activity in Yellowstone National Park is required by the United States Congress. The continuous monitoring is important to maintain the safety of the visitors and park service personnel, plan and relocate infrastructure, and study potential impact from nearby geothermal development including oil and gas industry. This dissertation is part of a study initiated in the early 2000s to monitor the thermal activity of dynamic areas within the Park, using airborne remote sensing imagery. This study was focused in Norris Geyser Basin, the hottest geyser basin in the park, located near the northwestern rim of the Yellowstone’s caldera. The study is considered the first long-term comprehensive airborne remote sensing study in the basin which took place between August 2008 and October 2013. In this study, at least one 1-meter resolution thermal infrared image and three-band images (multispectral) were acquired and used to estimate year-to-year changes in radiant temperature, radiant flux, and radiant power from the thermal source in Norris. Presence of residual radiant flux in the ground from absorbed solar radiation and atmospheric longwave radiation was the main challenge to compere year-to-year changes in the thermal activity. This residual flux is included in the total radiant flux calculated through the remote sensing images which gives false estimates of the flux generated from the underling thermal source. Two methods were suggested in Chapters 2 and 4 of this dissertation to estimate the residual radiant flux. A method was developed in Chapter 2 to estimate the residual radiant flux in a bare ground area covered with hydrothermal siliceous sinter deposit. The method compared ground-based measurements with high spatial resolution airborne remote sensing measurements to estimate the residual radiant flux. In Chapter 4, a method was developed to estimate the residual radiant flux in the six surface classes in Norris, including bare ground, bare ground with siliceous sinter deposit, lakes and pools, river, forest, and grass. The assumptions and implications of each method were discussed to suggest a reliable method to estimate the geothermal radiant flux after subtracting the absorbed residual radiant flux. Chapter 3 provides an analysis of the four components of heat flux in the ground surface, including conduction of sensible heat, convection of sensible heat by liquid water and water vapor, and convection of latent heat by water vapor. The main purpose from the analysis was to assess the hypothesis that the convection and latent heat flux are negligible which therefore supported the results obtained from the analysis in Chapters 2 and 4.