For the qualification and validation of two-phase CFD-models for medium and large-scale industrial applications dedicated experiments providing data with high temporal and spatial resolution are required. Fluid dynamic parameter like gas volume fraction, bubble size distribution, velocity or turbulent kinetic energy should be measured locally. Considering the fact, that the used measurement techniques should not affect the flow characteristics, radiation based tomographic methods are the favourite candidate for such measurements. Here the recently developed ultrafast X-ray tomography, is applied to measure the local and temporal gas volume fraction distribution in a vertical pipe. To obtain the required frame rate a rotating X-ray source by a massless electron beam and a static detector ring are used. Experiments on a vertical pipe are well suited for development and validation of closure models for two-phase flows. While vertical pipe flows are axially symmetrically, the boundary conditions are well defined. The evolution of the flow along the pipe can be investigated as well. This report documents the experiments done for co-current upwards and downwards air-water and steam-water flows as well as for counter-current air-water flows. The details of the setup, measuring technique and data evaluation are given. The report also includes a discussion on selected results obtained and on uncertainties.

Les écoulements diphasiques en fracture se produisent dans de nombreuses applications industrielles et environnementales. Pour modéliser ces écoulements, il est important de connaître le rôle des caractéristiques géométriques des surfaces constituant les fractures.L’objectif de ce travail de thèse est d’étudier expérimentalement les écoulements diphasiques et la dispersion de traceurs dans des fractures réelles dont on connaît la cartographie des surfaces et d’en proposer une modélisation adéquate.L’écoulement diphasique inertiel a été modélisé à l’aide de la généralisation de la loi de Darcy couplée à l’approche de la fonction F. Le modèle proposé permet de prédire les perméabilités relatives et les saturations en fonction des débits des deux fluides avec deux paramètres d’ajustement.Les profils de concentration obtenus lors des expériences de dispersion ont été interprétés avec différents modèles afin d'évaluer leur capacité à décrire la dispersion dans les fractures et donc l’hétérogénéité de celles-ci. Les résultats montrent que le modèle stratifié, avec un seul paramètre estimé, donne des résultats satisfaisants et permet de quantifier l'hétérogénéité.Enfin, avec cinq paramètres estimés, à partir de la courbe de la concentration de traceur à la sortie des fractures, le modèle CTRW permet de décrire avec une bonne précision les profils de concentration de toutes les abscisses / The two-phase flows through fractures occur in many industrial and environmental processes.Modelling these flows needs understanding the role of geometric characteristics of the fractures surfaces. The objective of this thesis is to study experimentally the two-phase flow and the dispersion of tracers in fractures which the aperture map is known and propose a suitable model.The inertial two-phase flow model is based on the generalization of the single-phase full cubiclaw that accounts for non-Darcian effects by using the F function approach. On this approach,the presence of a second fluid is taken into account through a multiplier function introduced into the superficial velocity of each fluid. This model let us predict the relative permeability and the saturation as a function of the two fluid flows with two adjustment parameters.The concentration profiles obtained during dispersion experiments were interpreted with different models to study their ability to describe the dispersion in fractures and hence the heterogeneity of them. The results show that the classical convection-dispersion is not appropriate due to the heterogeneity of the fractures. On the other hand, the stratified model,with only one estimated parameter, gives satisfactory results and allows quantifying heterogeneity. Finally, with five estimated parameters, from the concentration curve at the outlet of the fractures, the CTRW model can describe the concentration profiles of all abscissas with good accuracy

[pt] Ao longo deste trabalho, diversas características importantes para a dinâmica do escoamento intermitente foram analisadas experimentalmente. Todos os testes foram realizados numa tubulação com 0,0508 m de diâmetro interno, em configuração horizontal, utilizando água e ar e abrangendo uma região onde o escoamento passa por uma complexa transição do regime de bolha alongada, caracterizado por longas bolhas de gás localizadas próximo ao topo da tubulação, para o regime golfada, caracterizado por uma intensa quantidade de bolhas dispersas de gás e bolhas alongadas com formatos distorcidos e frentes mais distantes do topo da tubulação. Nesta região verifica-se uma notável carência de técnicas experimentais capazes de extrair informações quantitativas dos fenômenos característicos desses regimes. Através de um sistema de interruptores de feixe de infravermelho, o comportamento estatístico dos comprimentos dos pistões de líquido, das frequências de passagem dos pistões e do comprimento da bolha alongada puderam ser investigados. Uma extensa comparação dos dados com trabalhos disponíveis na literatura foi realizada, validando os resultados experimentais obtidos. Em conjunto, foi utilizada a técnica óptica, não intrusiva, conhecida como técnica de sombra (shadow technique), combinada com uma câmera digital de alta taxa de aquisição de imagens. Um procedimento inovador de processamento das imagens foi desenvolvido, permitindo a extração de informações quantitativas de regimes complexos com intensa quantidade de bolhas dispersas. Resultados importantes como o abaixamento do nariz da bolha como uma função da competição entre as forças de gravidade e de inércia puderam ser verificados e confirmados quantitativamente pela primeira vez. / [en] The present work experimentally studied several relevant dynamic characteristics of gas-liquid intermittent flow through a horizontal pipe. All tests were performed in a test section formed by 50.8 mm internal diameter pipe using air and water as working fluids. The tests covered a region where the flow undergoes a complex transition from elongated bubble flow regime, characterized by long gas bubbles located near the top of the pipe, to the slug flow regime, characterized by a large amount of dispersed gas bubbles in the liquid slug and elongated bubbles with distorted shapes and fronts displaced from the top of the pipe. In this region there is a notable lack of experimental techniques capable of extracting quantitative information of the characteristic dynamic phenomena involved. A set of infrared optical switches was employed to obtain statistical information on liquid piston lengths and frequency, as well as the elongated bubble lengths. An extensive comparison of the data obtained with works available in the literature was performed, validating the experimental results and the technique employed. Also, a high frame rate camera with back illumination was employed to capture images of the nose and tail of gas bubbles. An innovative procedure for image processing was developed, allowing for the extraction of original quantitative information on the complex shapes of the bubble and its relationship with flow variables. Relevant information such as the lowering of the bubble nose as a result of competing gravitational and inertial forces could be verified and confirmed quantitatively seemingly for the first time.

Les milieux poreux sont omniprésents dans le quotidien des hommes du 21ème siècle que ce soit par hasard ou par nécessité. Certains permettent le transport d’une ou plusieurs phases fluides immiscibles, une situation à la fois courante et critique dans de nombreuses applications industrielles. Le transport d’une phase mouillante, l’imbibition, a été largement étudiée mais un certain nombre de problèmes restent ouverts. Dans cette thèse, nous nous sommes concentrés sur trois d’entre eux. La fragmentation de phase induite par la gravité dans une jonction asymétrique a été étudiée. La dynamique et un critère d’apparition ont été prédits analytiquement puis confirmés expérimentalement. Ensuite, l’évolution de l’épaisseur d’un front d’imbibition dans un réseau de capillaires a été simulée numériquement. Les résultats ont permis de lever une controverse de la littérature. Enfin, l’imbibition dans un milieu constitué de lames flexibles déformables a été explorée numériquement et expérimentalement. Il a été montré que la déformabilité des lames induit leur coalescence et agit sur la dynamique de l'imbibition. / Porous media are ubiquitous in today’s society due to chance or necessity. Some of them allow the transportation of one or several immiscible fluid phases simultaneously. This property is both usual and critical in many industrial processes. The transport of a wetting phase, imbibition, has been widely studied but lots of issues remain opened. In this manuscript, three of them are addressed. Gravity induced phase fragmentation has been studied in an asymmetric pore junction. Fragmentation criterion and dynamic are predicted analytically and confirmed experimentally. Then, the broadening of an imbibition front in a capillary network has been investigated numerically. Results resolved a controversy in the literature. Finally, imbibition in a medium made of flexible sheets has been studied both numerically and experimentally. It showed that sheets flexibility induces their clustering and influences the imbibition dynamic.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, 2016 / Solar powered gas micro-turbines present opportunities for off-grid power generation. Due to the intermittent nature of the solar energy supply, existing Solar Gas Turbine (SGT) plants employ hybridisation with fossil fuels to generate dispatchable power. In this work sensible heat and latent heat storage solutions are investigated as a means of increasing the solar share of a SGT cycle, thus reducing the consumption of diesel fuel. The sensible heat storage concept was based on a pressurised packed bed of spherical ceramic particles, using air as the heat transfer fluid. An axisymmetric, two-phase heat transfer model of the system was developed, based on the continuous solid phase approach. The model was successfully validated against experimental data from a packed bed of alumino-silicate particles over the temperature ranges of gas turbine cycles (350-900 °C and 600-900 °C). The validated numerical model was utilised to conduct a parametric design study of a six hour (1.55 MWhth) storage system for a gas micro-turbine. The results show that a high storage efficiency and high utilisation factor can be achieved when combining sensible heat storage in alumina with fossil fuel hybridisation, with somewhat lower values without hybridisation. An analysis of different inventory geometries showed that a packed bed of spherical particles is best suited to pressurised sensible heat storage. The latent heat storage concept was based on a pressurised packed bed of Encapsulated Phase Change Material (EPCM) particles. Sodium sulphate was identified as a suitable phase change material for the gas turbine cycle. The sensible heat storage model was extended to account for intra-particle temperature gradients and phase change within the particles. The intra-particle phase change model was validated against published experimental data for a single EPCM sphere heated and cooled by convection. The full EPCM storage model was further successfully validated against experimental data from a packed bed of macro- encapsulated sodium sulphate particles with alumina shells, up to a temperature of 950 °C. A comparison of the two storage concepts for a 7 m3 bed shows that a packed bed of en- capsulated sodium sulphate particles would have a 36% lower energy storage capacity than a bed of solid alumina particles. This is due to the limited melt fraction in the EPCM bed when a temperature limit is placed on the base. Increasing the packed bed volume to 10.5 m3 would provide a comparable thermal performance to the 7 m3 solid alumina bed, at a 12% lower storage mass. A hybrid three-layer packed bed is proposed to increase the volumetric energy storage density. Modelling shows that this concept could provide a small increase of 5.3% in the amount of energy discharged above 850 °C, compared to the solid alumina particles only.

A lithium vaporizer for a high-power magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thruster is modeled using a parallel approach. A one-dimensional, thermal-resistive network is developed and used to calculate the required vaporizer length and power as a function of various parameters. After comparing results predicted by this network model with preheat power data for a 200 kW MPD thruster, we investigate performance over a parameter space of interest for the Advanced Lithium-Fed, Applied-field, Lorentz Force Accelerator (ALFA2) thruster. Heater power sensitivity to cathode tube emissivity, mass flow rate, and vapor superheat are presented. The cold-start heater power for 80 mg/s is found to range from 3.38 to 3.60 kW, corresponding to a vaporizer (axial) length of 18 to 26 cm. The strongest drivers of vaporizer performance are cathode tube emissivity and a conduction heat sink through the mounting flange. Also, for the baseline ALFA2 case, it is shown that increasing the vapor superheat from 100 K to 300 K has the effect of lowering the vaporizer thermal efficiency from 57% to 49%. Also, a finite-volume computational fluid dynamic (CFD) is implemented in FLUENT 6.2 which includes conjugated heat transfer to the solid components of the cathode. This model uses a single-fluid mixture model to simulate the effects of the two-phase vaporizer flow with source terms that model the vaporization. This model provides a solution of higher fidelity by including three-dimensional fluid dynamics such as thermal and momentum boundary layers, as well as calculating a higher resolution temperature distribution throughout the cathode assembly. Results from this model are presented for three mass flow rates of interest (40 mg/s, 80 mg/s, and 120 mg/s). Using a fixed power and length taken from the conceptual ALFA2 design, the dryout point ranges from 12.3-17.6 cm from the base of the cathode assembly for 40 mg/s and 80 mg/s, respectively. For the 120 mg/s case, the two-phase flow never reaches dryout. Finally, results two modeling approaches are compare favorably, with a maximum disagreement of 13.0 percent in prediction of the dryout point and 4.2 percent in predictions of the exit temperature.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 1982. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ENGINEERING. / Includes bibliographical references. / by Alfred Walters Reed. / Ph.D.

Thesis (Nav. Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Ocean Engineering; and, (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 1975. / Bibliography: leaves 248-249. / M.S. / Nav. Arch.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 1981. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ENGINEERING. / Bibliography: leaves 182-188. / by Juan J. Manzano-Ruiz. / Ph.D.

Modélisation des transferts de masse et de chaleur dans une cellule d'électrolyse de production de fluor. La production de fluor par électrolyse est une étape clé de la conversion de l’uranium dans l’industrie nucléaire. Afin d’optimiser ce procédé, les travaux de thèse décrits dans ce manuscrit se sont concentrés sur deux axes : le développement d’un modèle numérique de l’électrolyseur et l’étude du phénomène d’hyperpolarisation cathodique néfaste pour le bon fonctionnement de la cellule. Un modèle couplant plusieurs physiques (thermique avec solidification, diphasique, électrocinétique) a été développé et des essais expérimentaux ont été menés afin d’acquérir, d’une part, certaines propriétés physiques de l’électrolyte nécessaires aux simulations (conductivité thermique et capacité thermique à pression constante) et, d’autre part, des données expérimentales permettant de qualifier le modèle obtenu. Ce travail de modélisation a abouti à l’obtention d’un modèle 3D fiable couplant les physiques citées précédemment, ceci à l’échelle d’un pilote R&D semi-industriel. L’impact de la solidification de l’électrolyte sur le transfert de chaleur a également pu être simulé pour la première fois. Ces essais ont également permis de fournir des premières explications sur le phénomène d’hyperpolarisation cathodique en dressant des tendances claires quant à l’influence de certains paramètres de contrôle de l’électrolyseur comme le titre HF et la température de consigne. / Computer modeling of heat transfer and mass transfer in an electrolytic cell for production of fluorineElectrolytic production of fluorine is a key step in uranium conversion for the nuclear industry. In order to improve this process, the work described in this dissertation aims at two main objectives: to build a numerical simulation of the electrolysis cell and to understand the cathodic hyperpolarization effect which lowers the productivity of the cell. A model coupling several physics (heat transfer with solidification, two-phase flow, electrokinetics) has been developed and experiments were made in order to evaluate unknown physical properties of the electrolyte (thermal conductivity and heat capacity at constant pressure). Experimental data were also acquired in order to assess the capacity of the model to simulate various phenomena occurring inside the cell. Eventually, a reliable 3D model of a semi-industrial R&D cell coupling the physics above mentioned has been obtained. The negative impact of the solidification of the electrolyte on the cooling system was simulated for the first time. Thanks to these experiments, it was also possible to determine the major trends which drive the cathodic hyperpolarization effect. The influence of HF mass fraction and temperature on this phenomenon was clearly shown.