The performance of PEM fuel cells (PEMFC) relies on the proper control and management of the liquid water that forms as a result of the electrochemical process, especially at high current densities. The liquid water transport and removal process in the gas flow channel is highly dynamic and many of its fundamental features are not well understood. This thesis presents an experimental and theoretical investigation of the emergence of water droplets from a single pore into a microchannel. The experiments are performed in a 250 µm × 250 µm air channel geometry with a single 50 µm pore that replicates a PEMFC cathode gas channel. A droplet manipulation platform is constructed using a microfluidics soft lithographic process to allow observation of the dynamic nature of the water droplets. Flow conditions that correspond to typical operating conditions in a PEMFC are selected. A test matrix of experiments comprised of different water injection velocities and air velocities in the gas microchannel is studied. Emergence, detachment and subsequent dynamic evolution of water droplets are analyzed, both qualitatively and quantitatively. Quantitative image analysis tools are implemented and applied to the time-resolved images to document the time evolution of the shape and location of the droplets, characteristic frequencies, dynamic contact angles, flow regime and stability maps. Three different flow regimes are identified, slug, droplet, and film flow. The effects of the air flow rate and droplet size on the critical detachment conditions are also investigated. Numerical simulations using Volume-of-Fluid method are presented to investigate the water dynamics in the droplet flow. The focus of the modeling is on methods that account for the dynamic nature of the contact line evolution. Results of different approaches of dynamic contact angle formulations derived empirically and by using the theoretically based Hoffmann function are compared with the static contact angle models used to date. The importance of the dynamic formulation as well as the necessity for high numerical resolution is highlighted. The Hoffmann function implementation is found to better capture the salient droplet motion dynamics in terms of advancing and receding contact angle and periodicity of the emergence process. To explore the possibility of using the pressure drop signal as a diagnostic tool in operational fuel cells that are not optically accessible, a flow diagnostic tool was developed based on pressure drop measurements in a custom designed two-phase flow fixture with commercial flow channel designs. Water accumulation at the channel outlet was found to be the primary cause of a low-frequency periodic oscillation of pressure drop signal. It is shown that the flow regimes can be characterized using the power spectrum density of the normalized pressure drop signal. This is used to construct a flow map correlating pressure drop signals to the flow regimes, and opens the possibility for practical flow diagnostics in operating fuel cells. / Graduate

La récupération d'hydrocarbures non conventionnels fait partie des enjeux énergétiques majeurs. Ils ne peuvent être extraits par simple forage car la roche qui les contient, constituée essentiellement de nanopores, présente une très faible perméabilité. A l'échelle macroscopique, c'est-à-dire à l'échelle du bassin, les écoulements de fluides sont décrits par la loi de Darcy qui relie le flux à la perméabilité, au gradient de pression et à la viscosité. La perméabilité d'un matériau peut être mesurée expérimentalement ou théoriquement par homogénéisation à partir de l’hydrodynamique continue. Cependant, lorsque la taille des pores devient comparable à celle des molécules de fluide, une telle description n'est pas satisfaisante. D’une part l’hydrodynamique continue, où la nature du fluide n’intervient qu’à travers la viscosité, ne suffit pas forcément pour décrire l’écoulement. D’autre part les interactions au niveau moléculaire entre le fluide et le solide jouent un rôle important. Cette thèse porte sur le transport de fluides à l'échelle moléculaire et revisite la description traditionnelle qui sert de point de départ pour des écoulements à l'échelle macroscopique, en particulier dans le cas des écoulements multiphasiques. Par des simulations de dynamique moléculaire classique, nous avons étudié l'écoulement de systèmes monophasiques et diphasiques, précisant l’influence de la nature des surfaces, ainsi que de la nature et de la concentration des espèces dissoutes. Nous avons également apporté une contribution méthodologique originale pour le calcul des coefficients de diffusion d'espèces. / Unconventional hydrocarbons recovery is one of the major energy challenges. They cannot be extracted by simple drilling because the rock which contains them, consisting essentially of nanopores, has a very low permeability. On the macroscopic scale of the geological basin, the flows of fluids are described by Darcy's law which connects the flux to the permeability, the pressure gradient and the viscosity. The permeability of a material can be measured experimentally or determined theoretically by homogenization from continuous hydrodynamics. However, when the pore size becomes comparable to that of the fluid molecules, such a description is unsatisfactory. On the one hand continuous hydrodynamics, where the nature of the fluid only enters via the viscosity, is not necessarily sufficient to describe the flow. On the other hand, the interactions at the molecular level between the fluid and the solid play an important role. This thesis deals with the transport of fluids on a molecular scale and revisits the traditional description which serves as a starting point for macroscopic flows, in particular in the case of multiphase flows. Using classical molecular dynamics simulations, we study the flow of one- and two-phase systems, specifying the influence of the nature of the surfaces, as well as the nature and concentration of the dissolved species. We also develop an original methodological contribution to the calculation of the diffusion coefficients of confined species, specifying the effects of the system finite size.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration in the sub-surface is a potential mitigation technique for global climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions. In order to evaluate the feasibility of this technique, understanding the behaviour of CO2 stored in geological rock formations over a range of length- and time-scales is crucial. The work presented in this dissertation contributes to the knowledge in this field by investigating the two-phase flow and entrapment processes of CO2, as well as other relevant fluids, in porous media at the pore- and centimetre-scales using a combination of lab-based nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experimental techniques and lattice Boltzmann (LB) numerical simulation techniques. Pulsed field gradient (PFG) NMR techniques were used to acquire displacement distributions (propagators) of brine flow through a model porous medium (100 µm glass bead packing) before and after the capillary (residual) trapping of gas-phase CO2 in the pore space. The acquired propagators were compared quantitatively with the corresponding LB simulations. In addition, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques were used to characterise the extent of CO2 trapping in the bead pack. The acquired NMR propagators were compared to LB simulations applied to various CO2 entrapment scenarios in order to investigate the pore morphology in which CO2 becomes entrapped. Subsequently, MRI drop shape analysis techniques were used to identify a pair of analogue fluids which matched certain key physical properties (specifically interfacial tension) of the supercritical CO2/water system in order to extend the work to conditions more relevant to CO2 sequestration in the sub-surface, where CO2 is likely to be present in the supercritical phase. As before, NMR propagator measurements and MRI techniques, along with LB simulations, were used to characterise the capillary trapping of the CO2 analogue phase in glass bead packs, as well as two different types of rock core plugs – relatively homogeneous Bentheimer sandstone, and heterogeneous Portland carbonate. In addition to capillary trapping, the effect of vertical permeability heterogeneity, such as is often present in underground rock formations, was investigated for the flow of miscible (water/brine) gravity currents in model porous media (glass bead packs), using MRI techniques such as 2D spin-echo imaging and phase-shift velocity imaging. Finally, a preliminary investigation was made into the effect of particle- and pore-size distributions on the gas/liquid (air/water) interface for porous media consisting of glass bead and sand packs of different average particle size using quantitative MRI techniques.

Theoretical and experimental studies of particle deposition in turbulent pipe flow have been carried out for over forty years, but some of the most important transport mechanisms are still not well understood. The first part of this thesis is concerned with the calculation of particle density when using Lagrangian methods to predict inertial particle transport in two-dimensional laminar fluid flows. Traditionally, Lagrangian calculations involve integrating the particle equations of motion along particle pathlines, and the particle density is obtained by applying a statistical averaging procedure to those pathlines which intersect a particular computational grid cell. Unfortunately, extremely large numbers of particles are required to reduce the statistical errors to acceptable levels, and this makes the method computationally expensive. Recently, the Full Lagrangian approach has been developed, which allows the direct calculation of the particle density along particle pathlines. This method had previously been applied only to simple analytical flow fields. The application of the method to CFD generated fluid velocity fields was shown to be possible, and the results obtained using the Full Lagrangian approach were compared to those from a traditional Lagrangian approach. It was found that better quality solutions could be obtained with the use of far fewer particle pathlines. An analysis of the manner in which the Full Lagrangian approach deals with particles whose paths cross each other (and the resulting discontinuity in particle density) was also undertaken, and this illustrates the sophistication of the method. The second part of the thesis comprises an experimental and theoretical study of the deposition of small particles in turbulent flows by thermophoresis. Thermophoresis is the phenomenon whereby small particles suspended in a gas in which there exists a temperature gradient experience a force in the direction opposite from that of the temperature gradient. Previous researchers have attempted to impose a radial temperature difference in pipe flow experiments, but have not yet succeeded in attaining a constant thermophoretic force along the length of the pipe. This limits the accuracy and usefulness of the data for the validation of theoretical expressions for the thermophoretic fluxes. An experimental rig has been designed to achieve a constant thermophoretic force. This was done by using an annular geometry with a cold inner wall and hot outer wall. The particle size was varied and the deposition flux was measured for turbulent flow with three temperature differences. The deposition fluxes for small particles were found to be independent of dimensionless particle size, with each increase in temperature difference resulting in an increase in magnitude of the flux. Evidence of a thermophoresis-turbulence coupling was found for intermediate-sized particles, and large particles were not influenced by thermophoresis. A theory of particle deposition, developed for the case of turbulent pipe flow, was modified to study flow in a turbulent annulus, so that theoretical expressions for the thermophoretic fluxes could be included and compared with the experimental results. Agreement with experimental data was quite good, but some deficiencies in a widely used theoretical expression for the thermophoretic flux were exposed. An alternative expression was used, which gave much better agreement with the experimental data, and the mechanisms behind the thermophoresis-turbulence coupling were also investigated. The validation of this expression for the thermophoretic force will allow its inclusion in numerical studies of particle deposition in more complex geometries.

Ce mémoire présente l’étude du refroidissement diphasique passif d’un décodeur de télévision par le biais d’un caloduc. Il se décompose en deux grandes parties : une étude numérique des caloducs, afin de déterminer les caractéristiques géométriques et physico-chimiques des calo-ducs dans le but de refroidir de manière optimale le décodeur TV. Deux analyses numériques sont effectuées : une première qui est analytique, qui repose sur des simplifications afin d’établir une formule simple du flux maximal que l’on peut dissiper avec un caloduc dont on connais les caractéristiques demandées. Une vérification est de surcrois effectuée pour déterminer si le ca-loduc déterminé ne rentre pas dans des limitations inhérentes aux écoulements diphasiques. Dif-férents fluides sont testés. Une seconde simulation est effectuée, comportant une étude hydrau-lique couuplée a un modèle hydraulique pour simuler toutes les propriétés à l’intérieur du calo-duc, comme le rayon capillaire, les pressions, les vitesses des fluides. Cette simulation est effec-tuée grace a une méthode Runge-Kutta d’un système d’équations différentielles non linéaires couplées. La partie experimentale comporte elle aussi deux sections distinctes. La première con-siste à tester différents caloducs, afin d’optimiser leur fonctionnement lorsqu’ils sont soumis à des puissances données.Pour ce faire, un banc d’essai a été monté et un système de remplissage a été développé afin de répondre aux enjeux de la mise en place d’un caloduc. Plusieurs taux de remplissages, plusieurs fludies et différentes ailettes sont testées. Enfin, le caloduc présentant les meilleures performances est testé sur le décodeur, après avoir au préalable caractérisé le com-portement de celui-ci en fonctionnement normal. / This report presents the study of a passive two-phase cooling of a television decoder using heat pipe. It is composed into two main parts: a first part concerns the numerical studies and the second an experimentalstudy. Numerical study is conducted in order to determine the geometric and physico-chemicalcharacteristics of heat pipes in order to optimally cool the TV decoder. Two numerical analyses arecarried out: a first one, which is analytical model that is based on the global study of the heat pipe inorder to determine the maximum heat flux that can be dissipated. Different working fluid could bestudied and various architectural design of heat pipe are tested. Different fluids are tested in order todetermine the best configuration of the micro-channel respecting heat pipes working limitations. Asecond model is carried out to characterize the local physical parameters such as: pressure in the liquidand vapour phases, temperature, thermal resistances, capillary radius, etc. This second simulation iscarried out by a Runge-Kutta method to solve differential equations. In the experimental part, an experimentalset up is has been installed in the laboratory to study heat pipes performances under variousexperimental conditions. A filling system has been developed for heat pipes in order to test variousworking fluids and different charges. Finally, the best configuration of the heat pipe is tested to coolOrange decoder. Different tests are conducted previously in order to make characterization of the conventionalcooling system and heat pipe cooling mod.

The mathematical model that has been recognized to have the more accurate approximation to the physical laws govern subsurface hydrocarbon flow in reservoirs is the Compositional Model. The features of this model are adequate to describe not only the performance of a multiphase system but also to represent the transport of chemical species in a porous medium. Its importance relies not only on its current relevance to simulate petroleum extraction processes, such as, Primary, Secondary, and Enhanced Oil Recovery Process (EOR) processes but also, in the recent years, carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration. The purpose of this study is to investigate the subsurface compositional flow under isothermal conditions for several oil well cases. While simultaneously addressing computational implementation finesses to contribute to the efficiency of the algorithm. This study provides the theoretical framework and computational implementation subtleties of an IMplicit Pressure Explicit Composition (IMPEC)-Volume-balance (VB), two-phase, equation-of-state, approach to model isothermal compositional flow based on the finite difference scheme. The developed model neglects capillary effects and diffusion. From the phase equilibrium premise, the model accounts for volumetric performances of the phases, compressibility of the phases, and composition-dependent viscosities. The Equation of State (EoS) employed to approximate the hydrocarbons behaviour is the Peng Robinson Equation of State (PR-EOS). Various numerical examples were simulated. The numerical results captured the complex physics involved, i.e., compositional, gravitational, phase-splitting, viscosity and relative permeability effects. Regarding the numerical scheme, a phase-volumetric-flux estimation eases the calculation of phase velocities by naturally fitting to phase-upstream-upwinding. And contributes to a faster computation and an efficient programming development.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration is one of the most attractive methods to reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere by injecting it into the geological formations. Furthermore, it is also an effective mechanism for enhanced oil recovery. Simulation of CO2 injection based on a suitable modeling is very important for explaining the fluid flow behavior of CO2 in a reservoir. Increasing of CO2 injection may cause a structural deformation of the medium. The structural deformation modeling in carbon sequestration is useful to evaluate the medium stability to avoid CO2 leakage to the atmosphere. Therefore, it is important to include such effect into the model. The purpose of this study is to simulate the CO2 injection in a reservoir. The numerical simulations of two-phase flow in homogeneous and heterogeneous porous media are presented. Also, the effects of gravity and capillary pressure are considered. IMplicit Pressure Explicit Saturation (IMPES) and IMplicit Pressure-Displacements and an Explicit Saturation (IMPDES) schemes are used to solve the problems under consideration. Various numerical examples were simulated and divided into two parts of the study. The numerical results demonstrate the effects of buoyancy and capillary pressure as well as the permeability value and its distribution in the domain. Some conclusions that could be derived from the numerical results are the buoyancy of CO2 is driven by the density difference, the CO2 saturation profile (rate and distribution) are affected by the permeability distribution and its value, and the displacements of the porous medium go to constant values at least six to eight months (on average) after injection. Furthermore, the simulation of CO2 injection provides intuitive knowledge and a better understanding of the fluid flow behavior of CO2 in the subsurface with the deformation effect of the porous medium.

This diploma thesis focuses on the phenomena of multiphase flow in a steam generator as a one of probable causes of tubes and tubesheet weld cracking. In the first part of the work, a research was carried out focusing on the boiling and the phenomenon of two-phase flow in technical applications, its characteristics and properties. The thesis continuous with an overview of available numerical multiphase models in the ANSYS Fluent 2021 R1 and a research of previously published works focused on two-phase flow with the presence of boiling. The research is followed by a description of the particular boiler, which is part of the nitric acid production plant in the chemical company DUSLO, a.s., its operating conditions and a more detailed description of the issue that is being addressed in this thesis. The second part of the work continuous with a description of the computational model, including a description of the geometry of the model and used simplifications, the computational mesh and the description of boundary conditions. Important part is the description of calculation setting of steady-state and transient CFD simulations in ANSYS Fluent. Finally, the results of the two-phase flow calculation are presented and then discussed in the conclusions.

A reusable oxidizer-cooled annular aerospike nozzle was designed for testing on a labscale PMMA-N20[1] hybrid rocket motor at Cal Poly-SLO.[2] The detailed design was based on the results of previous research involving cold-flow testing of annular aerospike nozzles and hot-flow testing of oxidizer-cooled converging-diverging nozzles. In the design, nitrous oxide is routed to the aerospike through a tube that runs up the middle of the combustion chamber. The solid fuel is arranged in an annular configuration, with a solid cylinder of fuel in the center of the combustion chamber and a hollow cylinder of fuel lining the circumference of the combustion chamber. The center fuel grain insulates the coolant from the heat of the combustion chamber. The two-phase mixture of nitrous oxide then is routed through channels that cool the copper surface of the aerospike. The outer copper shell is brazed to a stainless steel core that provides structural rigidity. The gaseous N2O flows from the end of aerospike to provide base bleed, compensating for the necessary truncation of the spike. Sequential and fully-coupled thermal-mechanical finite element models developed in Abaqus CAE were used to analyze the design of the cooled aerospike. The stress and temperature distributions in the aerospike were predicted for a 10-sec burn time of the hybrid rocket motor. [1] PMMA stands for polymethyl methacrylate, a thermoplastic commonly known by the brand name Plexiglas®. N2O is the molecular formula for nitrous oxide. [2] California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

A great deal of work has been conducted on in-tube condensation in horizontal and vertical smooth tubes. The available literature points to mechanisms governing two-phase condensation heat transfer coefficients and pressure drops, which are directly linked to the local flow pattern for both horizontal and inclined configurations. However, the work has been limited to flow pattern observations, heat transfer, pressure drops and void fractions for both horizontal and inclined tubes at high mass fluxes. No work has been conducted on the analysis of the observed flow patterns and the effect of temperature difference between the average wall temperature and average saturation temperature for different inclination angles at mass fluxes of 100 kg/m2.s and below. The purpose of this study is to carry out a qualitative analysis of flow patterns, and show the effect of temperature difference on the heat transfer coefficient for inclination angles from +90° (upward flow) to -90° (downward flow) at mass fluxes below 100 kg/m2.s. An experimental set-up provided the measurements for the two-phase condensation of R-143a in a smooth tube with an inside diameter of 8.38 mm and a length of 1.5 m. The mass fluxes were 25 kg/m2.s to 100 kg/m2.s, the saturation temperature was 40 °C and the mean qualities were 0.1 to 0.9. A high-speed camera was used to visually analyse and determine the flow patterns for both the inlet and the outlet of the test section. Through the results, eight flow patterns were observed: stratified-wavy, stratified, wavy, wavy-churn, intermittent, churn, annular and wavy-annular. The maximum heat transfer was observed for downward flow between inclination angles of -15° and -30°. The Thome-Hajal flow pattern map correctly predicted horizontal flow patterns, but failed to predict most of the inclined flow patterns. Various flow pattern transitions were identified and proposed for all the investigated inclination angles in this study. Finally, the heat transfer coefficient was found to be dependent on quality, mass flux, temperature difference and inclination angle. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering / MSc / Unrestricted