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This report describes the development of a software for computing viscous incompressiblemultiphase ows. The software does this with solving the coupled non-linear Navier-Stokes(Fluid) and the Cahn-Hilliard (Phase-Field) equations using a Finite Element Method. Thereason for the development is to produce a simulation tool, which eventually is capable ofsimulating the ow of uids inside the OptusAir aeronator manufactured by the Sorubincompany. The solving software developed is built on the ParMetis, PETSc and OpenMPIframeworks. Our primary benchmark has been a geometry resembling the OptusAir product,a cylinder with a rotating bottom. We have made comparisons between simulation resultsand the theory of a free surface in a uniform rotating ow.This thesis shows that the shape of the interface between two uids coincides with theoryto some extent, while the approximate boundary conditions prevent it from coinciding fully.

<p>Steel refining via ladle treatment is critical to final product quality in the steel manufacturing process. The process of ladle refining serves to assist in the removal of non-metallic inclusions, which can impact steel product fatigue strength, impact toughness, and corrosion resistance. While the steelmaking industry has in place best practices for the process, it remains costly to performing trial and error testing on the ladle. In addition, an understanding of the flow phenomena within the ladle during operation can provide industry with key knowledge necessary to improve the efficiency and throughput of the process.</p> <p> </p> <p>The method by which this research aims to address this is through the development of a comprehensive computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of the steelmaking ladle. Such a model, capable of predicting the inclusion removal process and flow patterns within the ladle, would serve to provide the necessary information to advance steelmaking efficiency and improve product quality. A full scale unsteady state three dimensional CFD model has been developed to predict removal of inclusion during gas-stirring in a ladle. The Eulerian-Eulerian model was used to simulate the multiphase flow, the Population Balanced Model (PBM) has been used to describe the inclusion distribution. The phenomena of bottom-blow argon bubble coalescence and breakup were considered. </p> <p> </p> <p>Additionally, a model has been developed to predict inclusion removal during operation. For the inclusion removal model, the CFD-PBM coupled method has been proposed to investigate the inclusion behavior. This includes representing phenomena such as inclusion-bubble collision, inclusion removal by attachment to the ladle refractory, and inclusion capture by slag floating on the surface of the melt. The unified computational model for simulation of fluid flow and inclusion removal was validated against industry measurements provided by Nucor Steel. </p> <p> </p> <p>Using this CFD model and a ladle geometry and set of baseline conditions provided by Nucor Steel, studies were carried out to examine flow development, gas bubble distribution, and inclusion removal. Examining the impacts of inclusion size on removal rate indicated that larger inclusions are removed faster. This agreed with both industry expectations and data found in published literature. In addition, the model predicts that bubble-inclusion collision are primarily responsible for 99% inclusion removal in a gas-stirred ladle.</p>

The main aim of this research was to investigate the mechanism of cavitation in conforming and partially conforming tribological conjunctions. The effect of cavitation on load carrying capacity and frictional performance of is also investigated. This is important with regards to fuel efficiency in internal combustion (IC) engines. Friction accounts for 15–20% of IC engine losses. The piston–cylinder system contributes to 40–50% of these, with the compression ring(s) being responsible for most of this. This is because the primary function of the ring is to seal the combustion chamber, thus small emerging gaps lead to increased friction. In fact, compression ring(s) expend 3–5% of engine input fuel energy. The share of frictional losses of engine bearings is approximately 20–25%. Traditionally, prediction of performance of tribological conjunctions has been studied using Reynolds equation. When the effect of cavitation is considered, various cavitation algorithms with associated boundary conditions for lubricant rupture and reformation are proposed. These include Elrod, and Elrod and Coyne algorithms, as well as boundary conditions such as Swift-Stieber, JFO and Prandtl-Hopkins. There are a number of assumptions embodied in these approaches, as well as the use of Reynolds equation itself. These approaches do not uphold the continuity of mass and momentum in multi-phase flow, in cavitation beyond the lubricant film rupture. A detailed methodology for multi-phase flow, comprising simultaneous solution of Navier-Stokes, energy and lubricant rheological state equations is developed.

Hydraulic fracturing has recently been the completion of choice for most tight gas bearing formations. It has proven successful to produce these formations in a commercial manner. However, some considerations have to be taken into account to design an optimum stimulation treatment that leads to the maximum possible productivity. These considerations include, but not limited to, non-Darcy flow and multiphase flow effects inside the fracture. These effects reduce the fracture conductivity significantly. Failing to account for that results in overestimating the deliverability of the well and, consequently, to designing a fracture treatment that is not optimum. In this work a thorough investigation of non-Darcy flow and multi-phase flow effects on the productivity of hydraulically fractured wells is conducted and an optimum fracture design is proposed for a tight gas formation in south Texas using the Unified Fracture Design (UFD) Technique to compensate for the mentioned effects by calculating the effective fracture permeability in an iterative way. Incorporating non-Darcy effects results in an optimum fracture that is shorter and wider than the fracture when only Darcy calculations are considered. That leads to a loss of production of 5, 18 percent due to dry and multiphase non-Darcy flow effects respectively. A comparison between the UFD and 3D simulators is also done to point out the differences in terms of methodology and results. Since UFD incorporated the maximum dimensionless productivity index in the fracture dimensions design, unlike 3D simulators, it can be concluded that using UFD to design the fracture treatment and then use the most important fracture parameters outputs (half length and CfDopt) as inputs in the simulators is a recommended approach.

Fluorescent lamps with ac current generate alternating lamp power and thus the light fluctuates at twice the operating frequency. To observe the light fluctuation from a fluorescent lamp, a light detector is built by using high sensitivity phototransistors in this thesis. The test results show that the light output waveform is very similar to that of the lamp power. It is also found that the light output from the whole lamp tube is not identical because the light output fluctuation becomes significant when close to the end of the lamp. When the lamp comes to the life-end, its light output is different from those produced by lamps of good conditions. In attempts to further discuss the features of light fluctuation, an electronic ballast with balanced multi-phase outputs is designed and built to reduce the variation in the light output. With a balanced multi-phase operation, the resultant light output from lamps¡¦ multi-phase currents should be a constant. An experimental 3-phase electronic ballast circuit is built to test this theoretical prediction. Experimental tests confirm that the light fluctuation can be effectively reduced by operating lamps with balanced multi-phase currents.

Twin-screw pumps are economical alternatives to the conventional multiphase system and are increasingly used in the oil and gas industry due to their versatility in transferring the multiphase mixture with varying Gas Void Fraction (GVF). Present work focuses on the experimental and numerical analysis of twin-screw pumps for different operating conditions. Experimental evaluation aims to understand steady state and transient behavior of twin-screw pumps. Detailed steady state evaluation helped form better understanding of twin-screw pumps under different operating conditions. A comparative study of twin-screw pumps and compressors contradicted the common belief that compressor efficiency is better than the efficiency of twin-screw pumps. Transient analysis at high GVF helped incorporate necessary changes in the design of sealflush recirculation loop to improve the efficiency of the pump. The effect of viscosity of the sealflush fluid at high GVF on pump performance was studied. Volumetric efficiency was found to be decreased with increase in viscosity. Flow visualization was aimed to characterize phase distribution along cavities and clearances at low to high GVF. Dynamic pressure variation was studied along the axis of the screw which helped correlate the GVF, velocity and pressure distribution. Complicated fluid flow behavior due to enclosed fluid pockets and interconnecting clearances makes it difficult to numerically simulate the pump. Hence design optimization and performance prediction incorporates only analytical approach and experimental evaluation. Current work represents an attempt to numerically simulate a multiphase twin-screw pump as a whole. Single phase 3D CFD simulation was performed for different pressure rise. The pressure and velocity profile agreed well with previous studies. Results are validated using an analytical approach as well as experimental data. A two-phase CFD simulation was performed for 50% GVF. An Eulerian approach was employed to evaluate multiphase flow behavior. Pressure, velocity, temperature and GVF distributions were successfully predicted using CFD simulation. Bubble size was found to be most dominant parameter, significantly affecting phase separation and leakage flow rate. Better phase separation was realized with increased bubble size, which resulted in decrease in leakage flow rate. CFD results agreed well with experimental data for the bubble size higher than 0.08 mm.

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More power semiconductors are applying to the aircraft power system to make the system smaller, lighter and more reliable. Average models provide a good solution to system simulation and can also serve as the basis to derive the small signal model for system-level study using linear control theory. A new average modeling approach for three-phase and nine-phase diode rectifiers with improved ac and dc dynamics is proposed in this dissertation. The key assumption is to model the load current using its first-order Taylor Series expansion throughout the entire averaging time span. A thorough comparison in the time domain is given of this model and two additional average models that were developed based on different load current assumptions, using the detailed switching models as the benchmark. The proposed average model is further verified by experimental results. In the frequency domain, the output impedance of a nine-phase diode rectifier is derived, and the sampling effect in the average model is investigated by Fourier analysis. The feeder's impedance before the rectifier is modeled differently in the output impedance in contrast in the equivalent commutation inductance. The average model is applied to the resonance study in a system composed of a synchronous generator, a nine-phase diode rectifier and a motor drive. The Thevenin's and Norton's equivalent circuits are derived to construct a linearized system. The equivalent impedance are derived from the average models, and the source are obtained from the switching circuit by short-circuit or open-circuit. Transfer functions are derived from the harmonic sources to the bus capacitor voltage for resonance study. The relationship between the stability and the resonance is analyzed, and the effect of controllers on the resonance is investigated. Optimization is another system-level application of the average model. A half-bridge circuit with piezoelectric actuator as its load is optimized using genetic algorithm. The optimization provides the possibility to design the actuator and its driving circuit automatically. / Ph. D.

Of the surface capturing schemes, the levelset and multi-phase models are implemented and extensively examined. First, the levelset method is shown, and its weaknesses are identified; a mis- appropriation of changes in momentum, a strong dependence on the density by the eigenvalues of the inviscid flux Jacobian, and a prescribed density transition. These weaknesses are specifically addressed and overcome by the formulation of the multi-phase model. Consequently, the multi-phase model is chosen for this work. Previous surface fitting techniques simply absorb the gravitational source term into the pressure. It must be noted that this absorbtion is valid only for single density flows; since the surface fitting approach is solving only one side of the interface, there is no significant change in the density througout the domain. Consequently, absorbing the gravitational source into the pressure term is not possible in a surface capturing scheme in which both sides of the interface are solved. Thus, a new treatment of the gravitational source term is required and is presented in this work. A multi-phase model is implemented into a parallel, three-dimensional, unsteady, incompressible Navier-Stokes flow solver for the purpose of examining free surface flows on unstructured meshes. The reasons for choosing this model above others are presented, and the multi-phase model is discussed. The base algorithm is briefly examined with emphasis given to the areas which require additional care. The construction of the gravity source term which drives the formation of the waves is explained in detail, and its effects on the rest of the algorithm are identified. Finally, the method is carefully compared with available data on a submerged NACA 0012 airfoil, the Wigley Hull, the Series 60 Cb=0.6 ship, and the DTMB 5415 ship.