The performance of a vapor compression system is known to be affected by the ingestion of liquid droplets in the compressor. In these multiphase flows, the liquid and the vapor phase are tightly coupled. Therefore the interphase heat, mass and momentum transfer as well as droplet dynamics including droplet breakup and droplet-wall interactions play a vital role in governing these flows. Only thermodynamic analyses or two-dimensional mean-line calculations are not sufficient to gain an in-depth understanding of the complex multiphase flow field within the compressor. The objective of this research was to extend the current understanding of the operation of a multistage centrifugal compressor under two-phase flow conditions, by performing three-dimensional computational analysis. In this work, two-phase flow of a single constituent (refrigerant R134a) through a two-stage, in-line centrifugal compressor was analyzed using CFD. The CFD model accounted for real gas behavior of the vapor phase. Novel user defined routines were implemented to ensure accurate calculations of interphase heat, mass and momentum transfer terms and to model droplet impact on the compressor surfaces. An erosion model was developed and implemented to locate the erosion "hot spots" and to estimate the amount of material eroded. To understand the effects of increasing liquid carryover, the mass flow rate of the liquid phase was increased from 1% to 5% of the vapor mass flow rate. The influence of droplet size on the compressor performance was assessed by varying the droplet diameter at the inlet from 100 microns to 400 microns. The results of the two-phase flow simulations were compared with the simulation involving only the vapor phase. Liquid carryover altered the flow field within the compressor, and as a result, both impellers were observed to operate at off-design conditions. This effect was more pronounced for the second impeller. The overall effects of liquid carryover were detrimental to the compressor performance. The erosion calculations showed maximum erosion potential on the blade and shroud of the first impeller. The results from this investigation provided new and useful information that can be used to support improved design solutions. / Ph. D. / The performance of a compressor is known to be affected by the ingestion of liquid droplets, and thus, it is a research topic of interest for both academia as well as industry. This work extends the current understanding of the operation of a multistage centrifugal compressor under two-phase flow conditions, by employing high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics (CFD). In this research, the two-phase flow of refrigerant R134a through a two-stage, in-line centrifugal compressor was analyzed. The CFD model used in this research incorporated real gas behavior of the vapor phase, as well as the interphase heat, mass and momentum transfer processes. An erosion model was also developed and implemented to locate the erosion "hot spots" on the compressor surfaces, and to estimate the amount of material eroded. The effects of increasing the liquid carryover, as well as the influence of droplet size on the compressor performance were assessed. Liquid carryover altered the flow field within the compressor. As a result, the compressor operated at off-design conditions. The overall effects of liquid carryover were detrimental to the compressor performance. The erosion calculations showed maximum erosion potential on the blade and shroud of the first impeller. The results from this investigation provided new and useful information that can be used to support improved design solutions.

The migration of organic contaminants in the subsurface, due to leaking underground storage tanks, includes both discrete and dissolved phase plume movements through the porous media. Such problems always involve the multiphase flow and mass transport through three phases, namely air, oil, and water. A finite element model is developed in this thesis based on the theory of multiphase flow weakly-coupled with the theory of mass transport, in a three-dimensional setting. Galerkin's method is employed to derive the finite element formulations for multiphase flow and mass transport based on the appropriate governing differential equations. The equations for multiphase flow are based on van Genuchten's model for unsaturated flow for air and water. In this model, the saturation-pressure-conductivity relations are used to obtain the constitutive behavior. The solution procedure of the resulting time dependent nonlinear equation involves using a general 0-scheme, for time integration, and a modified Picard's method, for nonlinear iteration. The governing equation for mass transport in a three-phase system is derived based on the assumption of linear partitioning between the air, oil, water, and solid phases. The equations for flow and transport are weakly-coupled through the time lagged interphase mass transfer term. A computer program called IMFTP3D is developed. The program can solve problems related to (1) multiphase immiscible flow, (2) diffusion without flow, and (3) multiphase flow weakly-coupled with mass transport. The three-dimensional model is validated for all three options based on previous two-dimensional models and laboratory experiments present in the literature. Laboratory experiments where conducted involving gasoline movements through both a one-dimensional column and a two-dimensional flume. The computer program, IMFTP3D, was then used to investigate the usefulness of the model in predicting water outflow in for the column problem and plume movements in the flume experiment. / Master of Science

Fuel cells typically produce low-voltage high-current output because their individual cell voltage is low, and it is nontrivial to balance for a high-voltage stack. In addition, the output voltage of fuel cells varies depending on load conditions. Due to the variable low voltage output, the energy produced by fuel cells typically requires power conditioning systems to transform the unregulated source energy into more useful energy format. When evaluating power conditioning systems, efficiency and reliability are critical. The power conditioning systems should be efficient in order to prevent excess waste of energy. Since loss is dissipated as heat, efficiency directly affects system reliability as well. High temperatures negatively affect system reliability. Components are much more likely to fail at high temperatures. In order to obtain excellent efficiency and system reliability, low-voltage high-current power conditioning systems should be carefully designed. Low-voltage high-current systems require carefully designed PCB layouts and bus bars. The bus bar and PCB trace lengths should be minimized. Therefore, each needs to be designed with the other in mind. Excessive PCB and bus bar lengths can introduce parasitic inductances and resistances which are detrimental to system performance. In addition, thermal management is critical. High power systems must have sufficient cooling in order to maintain reliable operation. Many sources of loss exist for converters. For low-voltage high-current systems, conduction loss and switching loss may be significant. Other potential non-trivial sources of loss include magnetic losses, copper losses, contact and termination losses, skin effect losses, snubber losses, capacitor equivalent series resistance (ESR) losses, and body diode related losses. Many of the losses can be avoided by carefully designing the system. Therefore, in order to optimize efficiency, the designer should be aware of which components contribute significant amounts of loss. Loss analysis may be performed in order to determine the various sources of loss. The system efficiency can be improved by optimizing components that contribute the most loss. This thesis surveys some potential topologies suitable for low-voltage high-current systems. One low-voltage high-current system in particular is analyzed in detail. The system is called the V6, which consists of six phase legs, and is arranged as a three full-bridge phase-shift modulated converter to step-up voltage for distributed generation applications. The V6 converter has current handling requirements of up to 120A. Basic operation and performance is analyzed for the V6 converter. The loss within the V6 converter is modeled and efficiency is estimated. Calculations are compared with experimental results. Efficiency improvement through parasitic loss reduction is proposed by analyzing the losses of the V6 converter. Substantial power savings are confirmed with prototypes and experimental results. Loss analysis is utilized in order to obtain high efficiency with the V6 converter. Considerations for greater current levels of up to 400A are also discussed. The greater current handling requirements create additional system issues. When considering such high current levels, parallel devices or modules are required. Power stage design, layout, and bus bar issues due to the high current nature of the system are discussed. / Master of Science

The Volume-of-Fluid method, an Eulerian multiphase flow model that adds a volume fraction transport equation to the CFD governing equations, is widely used for any fluid-fluid interface tracking problem. There are important aspects of multiphase flow that impact aircraft flight, especially flight in extreme environments. These extreme environments can range from wet, icy conditions to sandstorms, and volcanic debris. The problems posed by these harsh environments are only exacerbated by aircraft that tend to travel at higher Mach-numbers. The specific aims of the proposed research include application of the Volume-of-fluid method to the following aspects of aircraft flight: shock-droplet interactions, and molten CMAS infiltrating a thermal barrier coating. Passive scalars are used in novel ways to elucidate droplet breakup physics. From this, a mechanism for how instabilities form on the air-droplet interface is discovered. It is also found that non-cavitating droplet breakup becomes much less dependent on Mach number at higher Mach numbers. A cavitation model designed for underwater explosions is adapted to the shock-droplet problem, and results show that cavitation phenomena is greatly dependent on Mach number, but the adapted model overpredicts cavitation effects. 2D and 3D CFD models are developed for the CMAS infiltration problem, and those are compared to analytical models from literature, and a new proposed analytical model called the feathery pipe network model. Results show that feathery pipe network model is both computationally inexpensive, and allows parameterization of useful properties.

The oil and gas industry need for high performing and low cost multiphase meters is ever more justified given the rapid depletion of conventional oil reserves. This has led oil companies to develop smaller/marginal fields and reservoirs in remote locations and deep offshore, thereby placing great demands for compact and more cost effective soluti8ons of on-line continuous multiphase flow measurement. The pattern recognition approach for clamp-on multiphase measurement employed in this research study provides one means for meeting this need. Cont/d.

This thesis presents an investigation on multiphase reactor hydrodynamics using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The study demonstrates experimental techniques by which computational and quasi-analytical fluid models may be validated. Three types of industrially-important multiphase reaction vessels are considered: a co-current upflow gas-liquid-solid bed, a co-current downward trickle bed (gas, liquid, solid), and a gas-solid fluidised bed. These reactors were selected as they commonly demonstrate local hydrodynamic anisotropy which affects the global performance of industrial units. MRI was used to obtain 2D velocity images of the gas and liquid phases in the packed beds, and of the gas and the solid phases in the fluidised bed. This study reports the first spatially resolved velocity measurements of both the gas and liquid phases in a co-current upflow bed, and the gas and solid phases of an isolated bubble in a fluidised bed. The experimental vessels were: 52 mm in diameter using 5 mm glass spheres in the upflow bed at 8 bara, 27 mm with 5 mm glass spheres in the trickle bed at 6.75 bara, and 52 mm using 1.2 mm poppy seeds as the fluidised particles at 8.5 bara. The experiments were conducted at a laboratory temperature of 25.0 ± 3.0 °C. In the upflow bed, time-averaged velocity images were acquired over a 2.5 h experimental time. This was done to capture the steady state behaviour of the vessel operating in the pulsing flow regime. The temporally-stable trickle flow state in the trickle bed was imaged over 15-100 minutes. In both packed beds, severe spatial anisotropy in the distribution of flow between pores was revealed. Furthermore, the data were used to determine classical design features such as catalyst wetting and liquid holdup which compared well with literature models. The trickle bed data were further analysed using a morphological algorithm which unambiguously identified the gas-liquid and liquid-solid interfaces. The interfacial flow fields were found to be similar to the bulk flow, with most voxels exhibiting static behaviour. The amount of interaction between the phases was found to be minimal, which is typical of the low interaction regime. A single bubble injection system was employed in the fluidised bed which allowed the injection of isolated bubbles into the incipiently fluidised bed. It also enabled the triggered acquisition of NMR data at precise time intervals. The bubble was found to be an indented ellipsoidal shape, which rose with atypical behaviour which caused it to collapse. Rise velocity was found to be consistent with theory, and the injected bubbles were sufficiently spatially reproducible to acquire 2D velocity images using single-point imaging. These velocity images showed flow behaviour characteristic of a 'fast' rising bubble, with a gas recirculation cloud 37 mm in diameter. The particle field was shown to have very high flow in the bubble wake, revealing the mechanism of bubble collapse. The flow data were compared to classical two-phase fluidisation theory, which revealed noteworthy differences in the division of flow between the particulate and bubbling regions.

Cette thèse est centrée sur le couplage entre les phénomènes d’écoulement, d’ablation et de rayonnement au voisinage du point d’arrêt de véhicules d’entrée atmosphérique pourvus d’un système de protection thermique de type carbonephénolique. La recherche est divisée en trois parties : 1) le développement de méthodes numériques et d’outils pour la simulation d’écoulements hypersoniques hors équilibre autour de corps émoussés, 2) la mise en oeuvre d’un nouveau modèle de transport du rayonnement hors équilibre dans ces écoulements, y compris dans les couches limites contaminées par les produits d’ablation, et 3) l’application de ces outils à des conditions réelles de vol.Les effets du couplage entre l’ablation et le rayonnement sont étudiés pour les rentrées terrestres. Il est démontré que les produits d’ablation dans la couche limite peuvent augmenter le blocage radiatif à la surface du véhicule. Pour les conditions de flux maximum d’Apollo 4, les effets de couplage entre le rayonnement et l’ablation réduisent le flux conductif de 35%. L’accord avec les données radiométriques est excellent, ce qui valide partiellement la méthode de couplage et la base de données radiatives. L’importance d’une modélisation précise du soufflage du carbone dans la couche limite est également établie. / This thesis focuses on the coupling between flow, ablation, and radiation phenomena encountered in the stagnation region of atmospheric entry vehicles with carbon-phenolic thermal protection systems. The research is divided into three parts : 1) development of numerical methods and tools for the simulation of hypersonic, non equilibrium flows over blunt bodies, 2) implementation of a new radiation transport model for calculating nonequilibrium radiative heat transfer in atmospheric entry flows, including ablation contominated boundary layers, and 3) application of these tools to study real flight conditions.The effects of coupled ablation and radiation are studied for Earth entries. It’s shown that ablation products in the boundary layer can increase the radiation blockage to the surface of the vehicle. An analysis of the Apollo 4 peak heating condition shows coupled radiation and ablation effects reduce the conducted heat flux by as much as 35% for a fixed wall temperature of 2500 K. Comparison with the radiometer data shows excellent agreement, partially validating the coupling methodology and radiation database. The importance of accurately modeling the amount of carbon blown into the boundary layer is demonstrated by contrasting the results of other researchers.

The oil and gas industry need for high performing and low cost multiphase meters is ever more justified given the rapid depletion of conventional oil reserves. This has led oil companies to develop smaller/marginal fields and reservoirs in remote locations and deep offshore, thereby placing great demands for compact and more cost effective soluti8ons of on-line continuous multiphase flow measurement. The pattern recognition approach for clamp-on multiphase measurement employed in this research study provides one means for meeting this need. Cont/d.

The present study addresses an optimization strategy for maximizing the structural ductility of Fiber Reinforced Concrete (FRC) with long textile fibers. Due to material brittleness of both concrete and fiber in addition to complex interfacial behavior between above constituents the structural response of FRC is highly nonlinear. Consideration of this material nonlinearity including interface is mandatory to deal with this kind of composite. In the present contribution three kinds of optimization strategies based on a damage formulation are described. The performance of the proposed method is demonstrated by a series of numerical examples; it is verified that the ductility can be substantially improved.

Die chemische Zusammensetzung und die physikalischen Eigenschaften von troposphärischen Gasen, Partikeln und Wolken hängen aufgrund zahlreicher Prozesse stark voneinander ab. Insbesondere chemische Multiphasenprozesse in Wolken können die physiko-chemischen Eigenschaften der Luft und troposphärischer Partikel klein- und großräumig verändern. Diese chemische Prozessierung des troposphärischen Aerosols innerhalb von Wolken beeinflusst die chemischen Umwandlungen in der Atmosphäre, die Bildung von Wolken, deren Ausdehnung und Lebensdauer, sowie die Transmissivität von einfallender und ausgehender Strahlung durch die Atmosphäre. Damit sind wolken-chemische Prozesse relevant für das Klima auf der Erde und für verschiedene Umweltaspekte. Daher ist ein umfassendes Verständnis dieser Prozesse wichtig. Die explizite Behandlung chemischer Reaktionen in der Flüssigphase stellt allerdings eine Herausforderung für atmosphärische Computermodelle dar. Detaillierte Beschreibungen der Flüssigphasenchemie werden deshalb häufig nur für Boxmodelle verwendet. Regionale Chemie-Transport-Modelle und Klimamodelle berücksichtigen diese Prozesse meist nur mit vereinfachten chemischen Mechanismen oder Parametrisierungen. Die vorliegende Arbeit hat zum Ziel, den Einfluss der chemischer Mehrphasenprozesse innerhalb von Wolken auf den Verbleib relevanter Spurengase und Partikelbestandteile mit Hilfe des state‑of‑the‑art 3D-Chemie-Transport-Modells COSMO-MUSCAT zu untersuchen. Zu diesem Zweck wurde das Model um eine detaillierte Beschreibung chemischer Prozesse in der Flüssigphase erweitert. Zusätzlich wurde das bestehende Depositionsschema verbessert, um auch die Deposition von Nebeltropfen zu berücksichtigen. Die durchgeführten Modellerweiterungen ermöglichen eine bessere Beschreibung des troposphärischen Multiphasensystems. Das erweiterte Modellsystem wurde sowohl für künstliche 2D-Bergüberströmungsszenarien als auch für reale 3D-Simulationen angewendet. Mittels Prozess- und Sensitivitätsstudien wurde der Einfluss (i) des Detailgrades der verwendeten Mechanismen zur Beschreibung der Flüssigphasenchemie, (ii) der Größenauflösung des Tropfenspektrums und (iii) der Tropfenanzahl auf die chemischen Modellergebnisse untersucht. Die Studien belegen, dass die Auswirkungen der Wolkenchemie aufgrund ihres signifikanten Einflusses auf die Oxidationskapazität in der Gas- und Flüssigphase, die Bildung von organischer und anorganischer Partikelmasse sowie die Azidität der Wolkentropfen und Partikel in regionalen Chemie-Transport-Modellen berücksichtigt werden sollten. Im Vergleich zu einer vereinfachten Beschreibung der Wolkenchemie führt die Verwendung des detaillierten chemischen Flüssigphasenmechanismus C3.0RED zu verringerten Konzentrationen wichtiger Oxidantien in der Gasphase, einer höheren Nitratmasse in der Nacht, geringeren nächtlichen pH-Werten und einer veränderten Sulfatbildung. Darüber hinaus ermöglicht eine detaillierte Wolkenchemie erst Untersuchungen zur Bildung sekundärer organischer Partikelmasse in der Flüssigphase. Die größenaufgelöste Behandlung der Flüssigphasenchemie hatte nur geringen Einfluss auf die chemischen Modellergebnisse. Schließlich wurde das erweiterte Modell für Fallstudien zur Feldmesskampagne HCCT‑2010 genutzt. Zum ersten Mal wurde dabei ein chemischer Mechanismus mit der Komplexität von C3.0RED verwendet. Die räumlichen Effekte realer Wolken z. B. auf troposphärische Oxidantien oder die Bildung anorganischer Masse wurden untersucht. Der Vergleich der Modellergebnisse mit verfügbaren Messungen hat viele Übereinstimmungen aber auch interessante Unterschiede aufgezeigt, die weiter untersucht werden müssen. / In the troposphere, a vast number of interactions between gases, particles, and clouds affect their physico-chemical properties, which, therefore, highly depend on each other. Particularly, multiphase chemical processes within clouds can alter the physico-chemical properties of the gas and the particle phase from the local to the global scale. This cloud processing of the tropospheric aerosol may, therefore, affect chemical conversions in the atmosphere, the formation, extent, and lifetime of clouds, as well as the interaction of particles and clouds with incoming and outgoing radiation. Considering the relevance of these processes for Earth\'s climate and many environmental issues, a detailed understanding of the chemical processes within clouds is important. However, the treatment of aqueous phase chemical reactions in numerical models in a comprehensive and explicit manner is challenging. Therefore, detailed descriptions of aqueous chemistry are only available in box models, whereas regional chemistry transport and climate models usually treat cloud chemical processes by means of rather simplified chemical mechanisms or parameterizations. The present work aims at characterizing the influence of chemical cloud processing of the tropospheric aerosol on the fate of relevant gaseous and particulate aerosol constituents using the state-of-the-art 3‑D chemistry transport model (CTM) COSMO‑MUSCAT. For this purpose, the model was enhanced by a detailed description of aqueous phase chemical processes. In addition, the deposition schemes were improved in order to account for the deposition of cloud droplets of ground layer clouds and fogs. The conducted model enhancements provide a better insight in the tropospheric multiphase system. The extended model system was applied for an artificial mountain streaming scenario as well as for real 3‑D case studies. Process and sensitivity studies were conducted investigating the influence of (i) the detail of the used aqueous phase chemical representation, (ii) the size-resolution of the cloud droplets, and (iii) the total droplet number on the chemical model output. The studies indicated the requirement to consider chemical cloud effects in regional CTMs because of their key impacts on e.g., oxidation capacity in the gas and aqueous phase, formation of organic and inorganic particulate mass, and droplet acidity. In comparison to rather simplified aqueous phase chemical mechanisms focusing on sulfate formation, the use of the detailed aqueous phase chemistry mechanism C3.0RED leads to decreased gas phase oxidant concentrations, increased nighttime nitrate mass, decreased nighttime pH, and differences in sulfate mass. Moreover, the treatment of detailed aqueous phase chemistry enables the investigation of the formation of aqueous secondary organic aerosol mass. The consideration of size-resolved aqueous phase chemistry shows only slight effects on the chemical model output. Finally, the enhanced model was applied for case studies connected to the field experiment HCCT-2010. For the first time, an aqueous phase mechanism with the complexity of C3.0RED was applied in 3‑D chemistry transport simulations. Interesting spatial effects of real clouds on e.g., tropospheric oxidants and inorganic mass have been studied. The comparison of the model output with available measurements revealed many agreements and also interesting disagreements, which need further investigations.