The aim of this thesis is to develop a flow solver that has the ability to obtain an accurate numerical solution fast and efficiently with minimum user intervention. In this study, a two-dimensional viscous, laminar, incompressible flow solver based on Least-Squares Spectral Element Method (LSSEM) is developed. The LSSEM flow solver can work on hp-type nonconforming grids and can perform p-type adaptive refinement. Several benchmark problems are solved in order to validate the solver and successful results are obtained. In particular, it is demonstrated that p-type adaptive refinement on hp-type non-conforming grids can be used to improve the quality of the solution. Moreover, it is found that mass conservation performance of LSSEM can be enhanced by using p-type adaptive refinement strategies while keeping computational costs reasonable.

Forging is a metal forming process which involves non-linear deformations. Finite element and finite volume software programs are commonly used to simulate the process. In these simulations, material properties are required. However, stress-strain relations of the materials at some elevated temperatures are not available in the material libraries of the related software programs. In this study, the stress-strain curves have been obtained by applying the Cook and Larke Simple Compression Test to AISI 1045 steel at several temperatures on a forging press with a capacity of 1000 tons. The stress-strain curves have also been determined by simulating the processes in a commercial finite element software. It is observed that experimental results are consistent with the numerical ones. A modular die set has been designed and manufactured to conduct the Cook and Larke Simple Compression Test. It has been shown that the forging press with data acquisition system can be used as a material testing equipment to obtain stress-strain curves.

An axisymmetric finite cylinder with rigid ends and a circumferential edge crack is considered in this study. The finite cylinder is under the action of uniformly distributed loads at two rigid ends. Material of the finite cylinder is assumed to be linearly elastic and isotropic. This finite cylinder problem is solved by considering an infinite cylinder containing an internal ring-shaped crack located at z=0 plane and two penny-shaped rigid inclusions located at z=&plusmn / L planes. General expressions of the infinite cylinder problem are obtained by solving Navier equations with Fourier and Hankel transforms. This infinite cylinder problem is then converted to the target problem by letting the radius of the rigid inclusions approach the radius of the cylinder and letting the outer edge of the crack approach the surface of the cylinder. Consequently, these rigid inclusions form the rigid ends and internal crack form the circumferential edge crack resulting in the problem of a finite cylinder with rigid ends having an edge crack. The problem is reduced to a set of three singular integral equations. These singular integral equations are converted to a system of linear algebraic equations with the aid of Gauss-Lobatto and Gauss-Jacobi integration formulas and are solved numerically.

This study has two main objectives: The performance evaluation of existing microchannel heat sinks using a CFD model, and the dimensional optimization of various heat sinks by minimizing the total thermal resistance. For the analyses, the geometric modeling is performed using the software GAMBIT while the thermal analysis is performed with FLUENT. The developed model compares very well with those available in the literature. Eight different metal-polymer microchannel heat sinks are analyzed using the model to find out how much heat could be provided to the systems while keeping the substrate temperatures below 85&deg / C under a constant pumping power requirement. Taking the objective function as the total thermal resistance, the optimum geometries have been obtained for the mentioned metal-polymer heat sinks as well as more conventional silicon ones. The results of the optimization code agreed very well with available ones in the literature. In the optimization study, the Intel Core i7-900 Desktop Processor Extreme Edition Series is considered as a reference processor which is reported to dissipate 130 W of heat and to have chip core dimensions of 1.891 cm &times / 1.44 cm. A dimensional optimization study has been performed for various copper and silicon microchannel heat sinks to cool down this processor. To the best of the author&rsquo / s knowledge, this study contributes to the literature in that, as opposed to the available analytical microchannel optimization studies considering constant thermophysical properties at the fluid inlet temperature, the properties are evaluated at the area weighted average of the fluid inlet and iteratively calculated outlet temperatures. Moreover, the effects of the thermal and hydrodynamic entrance regions on heat transfer and flow are also investigated.

Based on the well-known theoretical studies related to the film condensation inside vertical tubes, a known temperature distribution is prescribed as boundary condition at the inner surface of the tube wall. But, in reality, there is a thermal interaction between the condensate fluid and conduction through the wall where the temperature variation along the inner surface of the tube wall is unknown and this unknown temperature profile should be determined by taking account of this interaction. In other words, the heat conduction equation for the tube wall and the energy equation for the condensate fluid flow should be coupled and solved simultaneously. Therefore, this type of problem is named &ldquo / conjugate condensation heat transfer problem&rdquo / . Subject to the conjugate condensation heat transfer problem in the industrial applications, there are two different fluid flows separated by a tube where the vapor flowing inside the tube condensates whereas the other one is heated and it flows externally in the counter current direction in the annular passages. Because of its fundamental and practical importance, in this doctoral thesis, the studies are focused on the analytical and numerical investigation of conjugate heat transfer due to the steam condensation inside vertical tubes which is cooled externally by a fluid flowing in the counter current direction. The unknown wall temperatures of the condenser tube, condensate liquid layer inside the tube and the turbulent coolant flow outside the tube are coupled. A computer code, named ZEC, containing condensation conjugate heat transfer model is developed in FORTRAN 90 Language. This code and the models it contains are assessed against the various experimental databases. The predictions of the code ZEC are found to reasonably agree with the experimental results over a wide range of conditions. Therefore, this developed code, ZEC, may be used for the preliminary design of in-tube condensers and for the performance evaluation of such condensers in operation.

Meshfree methods have become strong alternatives to conventional numerical methods used in solid mechanics after significant progress in recent years. Radial point interpolation method (RPIM) is a meshfree method based on Galerkin formulation and constructs shape functions which enable easy imposition of essential boundary conditions. This thesis analyses plane elasticity problems using RPIM. A computer code implementing RPIM for the solution of plane elasticity problems is developed. Selected problems are solved and the effect of shape parameters on the accuracy of RPIM with and without polynomial terms added in the interpolation is studied. The optimal shape parameters are determined for plane elasticity problems.

A poly-generation system can be defined as the simultaneous and collocated generation of two or more energy supply types, aimed to maximize the utilization of the thermodynamic potential (efficiency) of the consumed energy resources. A Polygeneration system may involve co-generation (power and heat) or tri-generation (power, heat, and cold) processes and may also be connected to a district energy system. A poly-generation plant reclaims heat in a useful form that would be wasted otherwise in separate electricity and heat (and chilled water in some cases) generating systems. By this way a poly-generation plant provides a variety of benefits including improved efficiency and fuel savings, reduction of the primary energy demand total cost of utility service and unit fuel cost, independency for energy and protection of environment. With the overall efficiencies in the range of 70-90%, poly-generation systems are gaining popularity all around the world. including Turkey. In spite of all their potential benefits and increasing interest for poly-generation systems, there is not yet any rating, testing, metrication and classification guidelines and standards. It is indeed very important to rate the performance and energy savings potential, determine the heat and power outputs, estimate the system efficiency and the ratio of the split of the power produced between thermal and electric. These are the information which are hard to determine since there are not enough common test standards, rating standards and nor consensus-based terminology for combined heat and power systems in the world literature. Even the classification of the cogeneration systems is hardly globalized. Aim of this study is to develop a common procedure with respect to the above shortcomings for testing and rating poly-generation systems under realistic operating conditions with accurate formulae which will help to contribute energy and exergy economy by establishing a robust metrication standard based on new evaluation parameters. This study aims to find a procedure to evaluate a poly-generation system by establishing standard test methods and evaluation tools in terms of parameters like energy and exergy characteristics of thermal and electric loads, temperature demand and power split for determining operational characteristics of the system. This may be achieved by revising and expanding DIRECTIVE 2004/8/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL. A case study is expected to be based on a trigeneration power plant to be received within the framework of the EU FP6 HEGEL Poly-generation project, to be tested at METU, which has a capacity of 145 kW electric and 160 kW useful heat.

Mechanical simulation of viscoelastic materials and assigning a viscoelastic material to the modeled parts in the simulations are difficult task. For the simulations, material model should be well chosen and material coefficients of the chosen models should be known. In order to obtain accurate simulations, hyperelastic characteristics of the viscoelastic materials should be investigated and hyperelastic model should be incorporated in the solutions. Material models and material model&rsquo / s coefficients are chosen with the help of mechanical tests/experiments for these situations. The main goal of this thesis is to optimize material model&rsquo / s coefficients by using an indenter test setup results and inverse finite element modeling. To achieve this, firstly by using a haptic device and other required equipments an indenter setup was prepared to test the materials mechanically. Inverse finite element modeling method is used in order to model the materials according to their viscoelastic and hyperelastic characteristics. The model obtained from analysis was optimized by using the results obtained from indenter setup according to experimental test data. By doing this, the correctness of the model chosen by inverse finite element modeling was proved for the tested material and material model coefficients were calculated correctly.

Stirling cryocoolers are required for a wide variety of applications, especially in military equipment, due to their small size, low weight, long lifetime and high reliability considering their efficiency. Thus, it is important to be able to investigate the operating performance of these coolers in the design stage. This study focuses on developing a computer program for simulating a Stirling cryocooler according to the second order analysis. The main consideration is to simulate thermodynamic, fluid dynamic and heat transfer behavior of Stirling cryocoolers. This goal is achieved by following the route of Urieli (1984), which was focused on Stirling cycle engines. In this research, a simulation for performance prediction of a Stirling cryocooler is performed. In addition to that, the effects of system parameters are investigated. This attempt helps to understand the real behavior of Stirling cryocoolers using porous regenerator material. Results implied that first order analysis methods give optimistic predictions where second order method provides more realistic data compared to first order methods. In addition to that, it is shown that regenerator porosity has positive effect on heat transfer characteristics while affecting flow friction negatively. As a conclusion, this study provides a clear understanding of loss mechanisms in a cryocooler. Performed numerical analysis can be used as a tool for investigation of effects of system parameters on overall performance.

Excavators which used as earthmoving machinery are exposed to heavy loads and operate long hours repeatedly. The forces that are transmitted trough pin bearings are observed to cause failure due to wear. Therefore, durability of bearings is crucial for excavators. The aim of this study is to perform wear analysis of excavator bearings running in boundary lubrication regime. A hydraulically powered test rig, which simulates the operating conditions of excavator bearings is designed and constructed. Wear is obtained applying both force and relative motion between pin and bearing on the test rig. Several tests are performed in this test bench. Force and material type are varied as the factors influencing wear. Results are compared and the effects of the factors on wear are determined.