Thesis (MScEng (Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The feasibility of a closed loop thermosyphon for the Reactor Cavity Cooling System of the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor has been the subject of many research projects. Difficulties identified by previous studies include the hypothetical inaccuracies of heat transfer coefficient correlations available in literature. The aim of the research presented here is to develop inside-pipe heat transfer correlations that are specific to the current design of the RCCS. In order to achieve this, a literature review is performed which identifies reactors which employ closed loop thermosyphons and natural circulation. The literature review also explains the general one-dimensional two-fluid conservation equations that form the basis for numerical modelling of natural circulation loops. The literature review lastly discusses available heat transfer coefficient correlations with the aim of identifying over which ranges and under which circumstances these correlations are considered accurate. The review includes correlations commonly used in natural circulation modelling in the nuclear industry in aims of identifying correlations applicable to the modelling of the proposed RCCS. One of the objectives of this project is to design and build a one-third-height-scale model of the RCCS. Shortcomings of previous experimental models were assessed and, as far as possible, compensated for in the design of the model. Copper piping is used, eliminating material and surface property uncertainties. Several sight glasses are incorporated in the model, allowing for the visual identification of two-phase flow regimes. An orifice plate is used allowing for bidirectional flow measurement. The orifice plate, thermocouples and pipe-in-pipe heat exchangers are calibrated in-situ to minimize experimental error and aid repeatability. Twelve experiments are performed with data logging occurring every ten seconds. The results presented here are limited to selected single and two-phase flow operating mode results. Error analyses and repeatability of experimental measurements for single and two-phase operating modes as well as cooling water mass flow rates are performed, to show repeatability of experimental results. These results are used to mathematically determine the experimental inside-pipe heat transfer coefficients for both the evaporator and condenser sections. Trends in the heat transfer coefficient profiles are identified and the general behaviour of the profiles is thoroughly explained. The RCCS is modelled as a one-dimensional system. Correlations for the friction factor, heat transfer coefficient, void fraction and two-phase frictional multiplier are identified. The theoretical heat transfer coefficients are calculated using the mathematical model and correlations identified in the literature review. Fluid parameters are evaluated using experimentally determined temperatures and mass flow rates. The resulting heat transfer coefficient profiles are compared to experimentally determined profiles, to confirm the hypothesis that existing correlations do not accurately predict the inside-pipe heat transfer coefficients. The experimentally determined coefficients are correlated to 99% confidence intervals. These generated correlations, along with identified and established twophase heat transfer coefficient correlations, are used in a mathematical model to generate theoretical coefficient profiles. These are compared to the experimentally determined coefficients to show prediction accuracy. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die haalbaarheid van ‘n natuurlike sirkulasie geslote lus vir die Reaktor Holte Verkoeling Stelsel (RHVS) van die Korrelbed Modulêre Kern-Reaktor (KMKR) is die onderwerp van talle navorsings projekte. Probleme geïdentifiseer in vorige studies sluit in die hipotetiese onakkuraatheid van hitte-oordrag koëffisiënt korrelasies beskikbaar in literatuur. Die doel van die navorsing aangebied is om binne-pyp hitte-oordrag koëffisiënt korrelasies te ontwikkel spesifiek vir die huidige ontwerp van die RHVS. Ten einde dit te bereik, word ‘n literatuurstudie uitgevoer wat kern-reaktors identifiseer wat gebruik maak van natuurlike sirkulasie lusse. Die literatuurstudie verduidelik ook die algemene een-dimensionele twee-vloeistof behoud vergelykings wat die basis vorm vir numeriese modellering van natuurlike sirkulasie lusse. Die literatuurstudie bespreek laastens beskikbare hitte-oordrag koëffisiënt korrelasies met die doel om te identifiseer vir welke massavloei tempo waardes en onder watter omstandighede hierdie korrelasies as korrek beskou is. Die ontleding sluit korrelasies in wat algemeen gebruik word in die modellering van natuurlike sirkulasie in die kern industrie met die hoop om korrelasies vir gebruik in die modellering van die voorgestelde RHVS te identifiseer. Een van die doelwitte van die projek is om ‘n een-derde-hoogte-skaal model van die RHVS te ontwerp en te bou. Tekortkominge van vorige eksperimentele modelle is geidentifiseer en, so ver as moonlik, voor vergoed in die ontwerp van die model. Koper pype word gebruik wat die onsekerhede van materiaal en opperkvlak eindomme voorkom. Verkseie deursigtige polikarbonaat segmente is ingesluit wat visuele identifikasie van twee-fase vloei regimes toelaat. ‘n Opening plaat word gebruik om voorwaartse en terugwaartse vloeimeting toe te laat. Die opening plaat, termokoppels en hitte uitruilers is gekalibreer in plek om eksperimentele foute te verminder en om herhaalbaarheid te verseker. Twaalf eksperimente word uitgevoer en data word elke tien sekondes aangeteken. Die resultate wat hier aangebied word, is beperk tot geselekteerde enkel- en tweefase vloei meganismes van werking. Fout ontleding en herhaalbaarheid van eksperimentele metings, om die herhaalbaarheid van eksperimentele resultate te toon. Hierdie is gebruik om wiskundig te bepaal wat die eksperimentele binne-pyp hitte-oordrag koëffisiënte is vir beide die verdamper en kondenseerder afdelings. Tendense in die hitte-oordrag koëffisiënt profiele word geïdentifiseer en die algemene gedrag van die profiles is deeglik verduidelik. Die RHVS is gemodelleer as 'n een-dimensionele stelsel. Korrelasies vir die wrywing faktor, hitte-oordrag koëffisiënte, leegte-breuk en twee-fase wrywings vermenigvuldiger word geïdentifiseer. Die teoretiese hitte-oordrag koëffisiënte word bereken deur middle van die wiskundige model en korrelasies wat in literatuur geidentifiseer is. Vloeistof parameters is geëvalueer met eksperimenteel bepaalde temperature en massa-vloei tempos. Die gevolglike hitte-oordrag koëffisiënt profiles is vergelyk met eksperimentele profiele om die hipotese dat die bestaande korrelasies nie die binne-pyp hitte-oordrag koëffisiënte akkuraat voorspel nie, te bevestig. Die eksperimenteel bepaalde koëffisiënte is gekorreleer en die gegenereerde korrelasies, saam met geïdentifiseerde twee-fase hitte-oordrag koëffisiënt korrelasies, word gebruik in 'n wiskundige model om teoretiese koëffisiënt profiele te genereer. Dit word dan vergelyk met die eksperimenteel bepaalde hitteoordrag koëffisiënte om die akkuraatheid van voorspelling te toon. Tekortkominge in die teoretiese en eksperimentele model word geïdentifiseer en aanbevelings gemaak om hulle aan te spreek in die toekoms.

Thesis (MScEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A high temperature reactor (HTR) generates heat inside of the reactor core through nuclear fission, from where the heat is transferred through the core and heats up the reactor pressure vessel (RPV). The heat from the RPV is transported passively through the reactor cavity, where it is cooled by the reactor cavity cooling system (RCCS), through the concrete confinement structure and ultimately into the environment. The concrete confinement structure can withstand temperatures of up to 65°C for normal operating conditions and temperatures of up to 125°C during an emergency. This project endeavours to research the heat transfer between an HTR’s RPV and the outside of the concrete confinement structure by utilising three investigative approaches: experimental, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and analytical. The first approach, an experimental analysis, required the development of an experi- mental model. The model was used to perform experiments and gather temperature data that could be used to verify the accuracy of the CFD simulations. The second approach was a CFD analysis of the experimental model, and the external concrete temperatures from the simulation were compared with the temperatures measured with the experimen- tal model. Finally, an analytical analysis was performed in order to better understand CFD and how CFD solves natural convection-type problems. The experiments were performed successfully and the measurements taken were com- pared with the CFD results. The CFD results are in good agreement with the Dry experiments, but not with the Charged experiments. It was identified that the inaccurate results for the CFD simulations of the Charged experiments arose due to convective heat leakage through gaps in the heat shield and between the heat shield and the sides of the experimental model. A computer program was developed for the analytical analysis and it was established that the program could successfully solve the natural convection in a square cavity - as required. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: ’n Hoë temperatuur reaktor (HTR) genereer hitte binne die reaktor kern deur kernsplyting en die hitte word dan deur die kern versprei en verhit die reaktor se drukvat. Die hitte van die reaktor drukvat word dan passief deur die reaktorholte versprei, waar dit deur die reaktorholte se verkoelingstelsel afgekoel word, en deur die beton beskermingstruktuur gelei word en uiteindelik die omgewing bereik. Die beton beskermingstruktuur kan temperature van tot 65°C onder normale operasietoestande van die reaktor weerstaan, en temperature van tot 125°C tydens ’n noodgeval. Hierdie projek poog om die hitte-oordrag tussen ’n HTR-reaktor drukvat en die buitekant van die beton beskermingstruktuur te on- dersoek deur gebruik te maak van drie ondersoekbenaderings: eksperimenteel, numeriese vloei dinamika (NVD) en analities. Die eerste benadering, ’n eksperimentele analise, het die ontwikkeling van ’n eksper- imentele model vereis. Die model is gebruik om eksperimente uit te voer en temperatu- urmetings te neem wat gebruik kon word om die akkuraatheid van die NVD simulasies te bevestig. Die tweede benadering was ’n NVD-analise van die eksperimentele model, en die eksterne betontemperature verkry van die simulasies is vergelyk met die gemete temperature van die eksperimente. Uiteindelik is ’n analitiese analise uitgevoer ten einde NVD beter te verstaan en hoe NVD natuurlike konveksie-tipe probleme sal oplos. Die eksperimente is suksesvol uitgevoer en die metings is gebruik om die NVD resultate mee te vergelyk. Die NVD resultate van die Droë eksperimente het goeie akkuraatheid getoon. Dit was nie die geval vir die Gelaaide eksperimente nie. Daar is geïdentifiseer dat die verskille in resultate tussen die NVD en die eksperimente aan natuurlike konveksie hitte verliese deur gapings in die hitteskuld en tussen die hitteskuld en die kante van die eksperimentele model toegeskryf kan word. ’n Rekenaarprogram is geskryf vir die analitiese ontleding en die program kon suksesvol die natuurlike konveksie in ’n vierkantige ruimte oplos.

In modern, low emission, gas turbine combustion systems the amount of air available for cooling of the flame tube liner is limited. This has led to the development of more complex cooling systems such as cooling tiles i.e. a double skin system, as opposed to the use of more conventional cooling slots i.e. a single skin system. An isothennal experimental facility has been constructed which can incorporate 10 times full size single and double skin (cooling tile) test specimens. The specimens can be tested with or without effusion cooling and measurements have been made to characterise the flow through each cooling system along with the velocity field and cooling effectiveness distributions that subsequently develop along the length of each test section. The velocity field of the coolant film has been defined using pneumatic probes, hot-wire anemometry and PIV instrumentation, whilst gas tracing technique is used to indicate (i) the adiabatic film cooling effectiveness and (ii) mixing of the coolant film with the mainstream flow. Tests have been undertaken both with a datum low turbulence mainstream flow passing over the test section, along with various configurations in which large magnitudes and scales of turbulence were present in the mainstream flow. These high turbulence test cases simulate some of the flow conditions found within a gas turbine combustor. Results are presented relating to a variety of operating conditions for both types of cooling system. The nominal operating condition for the double skin system was at a coolant to mainstream blowing ratio of approximately 1.0. At this condition, mixing of the mainstream and coolant film was relatively small with low mainstream turbulence. However, at high mainstream turbulence levels there was rapid penetration of the mainstream flow into the coolant film. This break up of the coolant film leads to a significant reduction in the cooling effectiveness. In addition to the time-averaged characteristics, the time dependent behaviour of the .:coolantfilm was. also investigated. In particular, unsteadiness associated with large scale structures in the mainstream flow was observed within the coolant film and adjacent to the tile surface. Relative to a double skin system the single skin geometry requires a higher coolant flow rate that, along with other geometrical changes, results in typically higher coolant to mainstream velocity ratios. At low mainstream turbulence levels this difference in velocity between the coolant and mainstream promotes the generation of turbulence and mixing between the streams so leading to some reduction in cooling effectiveness. However, this higher momentum coolant fluid is more resistant to high mainstream turbulence levels and scales so that the coolant film break up is not as significant under these conditions as that observed for the double skin system. For all the configurations tested the use of effusion cooling helped restore the coolant film along the rear of the test section. For the same total coolant flow, the minimum value of cooling effectiveness observed along the test section was increased relative to the no effusion case. In addition the effectiveness of the effusion patch depends on the amount of coolant injected and the axial location of the patch. The overall experimental data suggested the importance of the initial cooling film conditions together with better understanding of the possible mechanisms that results in the rapid cooling film break-up, such as high turbulence mainstream flow and scales, and this will lead to a more effective cooling system design. This experimental data is also thought to be ideal for the validation of numerical predictions.

L’objectif de cette étude est d’améliorer les performances des transformateurs piézoélectriques en terme de courant de sortie et de puissance pour des applications d’alimentation DC/DC, grâce à la gestion de l’échauffement. Le courant de sortie des transformateurs piézoélectriques, et donc la puissance transmise, sont directement liés à la vitesse de vibration qui pour des valeurs élevées engendre des pertes et une forte élévation de température. Cette élévation excessive de la température a comme conséquence le changement des caractéristiques du transformateur et plus particulièrement la diminution du facteur de qualité Q. Ainsi cela entraine une limite structurelle de la puissance transmise du transformateur. Une solution pour augmenter le courant de sortie est l’utilisation d’un redresseur doubleur de courant, qui grâce à 2 inductances permet, à courant de charge donné, de diminuer la vitesse de vibration du transformateur, mais ne permet pas de régler le problème d’échauffement du transformateur. Dans cette thèse nous proposons des moyens d’évacuation de la chaleur ainsi que le choix de l’environnement dans lequel le transformateur devra fonctionner. L’influence de différents systèmes de refroidissement d’un convertisseur DC/DC à base transformateur piézoélectrique est étudiée. L’étude thermique du transformateur piézoélectrique multicouche polarisé en épaisseur et ayant des électrodes circulaires met en évidence un comportement non linéaire. Une plaque vibrante piézoélectrique est d’abord envisagée pour créer un flux d’air qui augmente l’évacuation de chaleur par convection, puis un module de refroidissement utilisant l’effet thermoélectrique. Les mesures montrent que la première solution est plus avantageuse car elle améliore sensiblement les performances du transformateur pour un coût énergétique très faible. Une étude thermique par éléments finis complète cette étude, montrant que l’approche par schéma électrique est pertinente. La puissance que peut délivrer le transformateur sur une charge optimale est encore augmentée. Enfin, ce travail montre qu’en combinant les dispositifs de refroidissement tout en respectant la condition de température inférieure à 55°C, le rendement du convertisseur reste raisonnable (70%) et la puissance disponible peut doubler dans le meilleur des cas. / The objective of this study was to increase the output current and power in a piezoelectric transformer (PT) based DC/DC converter by adding a cooling system. It is known that the output current of PT is limited by temperature build-up because of losses especially when driving at high vibration velocity. Excessive temperature rise will decrease the quality factor Q of piezoelectric component during the operational process. Simultaneously the vibration energy cannot be increased even if under higher excitation voltage. Although connecting different inductive circuits at the PT secondary terminal can increase the output current, the root cause of temperature build-up problem is not solved.This dissertation presents the heat transfer technology to deal with the temperature build-up problem. With the heat transfer technology, the threshold vibration velocity of PT can be increased and thus the output current and output power (almost three times).Furthermore, a comparison between heat transfer technology and current-doubler rectifier applied to the piezoelectric transformer based DC/DC converter was also studied. The advantages and disadvantages of the proposed technique were investigated. A theoretical-phenomenological model was developed to explain the relationship between the losses and the temperature rise. It will be shown that the vibration velocity as well as the heat generation increases the losses. In our design, the maximum output current capacity can increase 100% when the operating condition of PT temperature is kept below 55°C. The study comprises of a theoretical part and experimental proof-of-concept demonstration of the proposed design method.

Garantir le confort thermique des bâtiments est directement lié à la consommation d'énergie. Dans les zones tropicales, les systèmes de refroidissement représentent l'un des postes les plus gourmands en énergie. Afin de réduire la consommation d'énergie mondiale, il est primordial d'améliorer l'efficacité de ces systèmes ou bien de développer de nouvelles méthodes de production de froid. Une installation de refroidissement solaire basé sur le cycle à absorption est une alternative pour réduire les émissions de gaz à effet de serre et la consommation d'électricité. Contrairement aux systèmes classiques de refroidissement à compression mécanique, la production de froid par absorption est un système complexe composé de plusieurs composants comme des panneaux solaires, un ballon de stockage, une tour de refroidissement et une machine à absorption. Outre le dimensionnement des composants, ce système complexe nécessite des actions de contrôle pour être efficace parce que la coordination entre le stockage d'eau chaude, la production et la consommation du froid est nécessaire. Le but de cette thèse est de proposer une structure producteur-consommateur d'énergie basée sur la commande prédictive (MPC). Le système de refroidissement par absorption solaire est considéré comme faisant partie de ce système de production-consommation d'énergie, le système de stockage d'eau chaude est le producteur et la machine à absorption qui distribue de l'eau froide au bâtiment est l'un des consommateurs. Pour que la structure de commande soit modulaire, la coordination entre les sous-systèmes est réalisée en utilisant une approche de partitionnement où des contrôleurs prédictifs locaux sont conçus pour chacun des sous-systèmes. Les contrôleurs des consommateurs calculent un ensemble de profils de demande d'énergie. Ces profils sont ensuite envoyés au contrôleur du producteur qui sélectionne le profil qui minimise le coût global. Dans une première partie, l'approche proposée est testée sur un modèle linéaire simplifié composé d'un producteur et plusieurs consommateurs. Dans une deuxième partie, un cas plus complexe est étudié. Un modèle simplifié d'un système de refroidissement à absorption est évaluée en utilisant l'outil de simulation TRNSYS. Le modèle de production n'est plus linéaire, il est décrit par un modèle non linéaire hybride qui augmente la complexité du problème d'optimisation. Les résultats des simulations montrent que la sous-optimalité induite par la méthode est faible. De plus, la performance de l'approche atteint les objectifs de commande tout en respectant les contraintes. / To guarantee thermal comfort in buildings is directly related to energy consumption. In tropical climates, cooling systems for buildings represent one of the largest energy consumers. Therefore, as energy consumption is a major concern around the world, it is important to improve the systems efficiency or seeking new methods of cooling production. A solar cooling installation based on the absorption cycle is an alternative to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and electricity consumption. In contrast to conventional vapor-compression based cooling systems, the absorption cooling production involves a complex system composed of several components as collector panel, storage tank, cooling tower and absorption chiller. Besides the sizing of the components, this complex system requires control actions to be efficient as a coordination between hot water storage, cooling water production and consumption is necessary. The aim of this research is to propose a management approach for a production-consumption energy system based on Model Predictive Control (MPC). The solar absorption cooling system is seen as part of this production-consumption energy system where the hot water storage system is the producer and the chiller-building system is one of the consumers. In order to provide modularity to the control structure, the coordination between the subsystems is achieved by using a partitioning approach where local predictive controllers are developed for each of the subsystems. The consumer controllers compute a set of energy demand profiles sent to the producer controller which selects the profile that better minimize the global optimization cost. In a first part, the proposed approach is tested on a simplified linear model composed of one producer and several consumers. In a second part, a more complex case is studied. A simplified model of an absorption cooling system is evaluated using the simulation tool TRNSYS. The producer model is no longer linear, instead it is described by a nonlinear hybrid model which increases the complexity of the optimization problem. The simulations results show that the suboptimality induced by the method is low and the control strategy fulfills the objectives and constraints while giving good performances.

The objective of the present work is to determinate the pressure drop and the heat transfer coefficients, normally applied to analytical calculations of hydrogenerators thermal design, obtained by applying numerical calculation (Computational Fluid Dynamics - CFD) and validated by experimental results and field measurements. The object of study is limited to the most important region of the ventilation system (the cooling air ducts of stator core) to get numerical results of heat transfer and pressure drop coefficients, which are impacted mostly by the entrance of air ducts. The numerical calculations considered three-dimensional, steady-state, incompressible and turbulent flow; and were based on the Finite Volume methodology. The turbulent flow computations were carried out with procedures based on RANS equations by selecting k-omega SST (Shear-Stress Transport) as turbulence model. Grid quality metrics were monitored and the uncertainties due to discretization errors were evaluated by means of a grid independence study and application of an uncertainty estimation procedure based on Richardson extrapolation. The validation of numerical method developed by the present work (specifically to simulate the flow dynamics behavior and to obtain numerically the pressure drop coefficient of the airflow to enter and pass through the Stator Core Air Duct in a hydrogenerator) is performed by comparing the numerical results to experimental data published by Wustmann (2005). The reference experimental data were obtained by a model test. The comparison between numerical and experimental results shows that the difference of pressure drop for Reynolds numbers higher than 5000 is 2% at maximum, while for lower Reynolds numbers, the difference increases significantly and reaches 10%. It is presented that the most reasonable hypothesis for higher discrepancy at lower Reynolds numbers can be assigned to the experiment\'s non-steady-state condition. It is to conclude that the proposed numerical method is validated for the upper region of the analyzed range. Additionally to the model test validation, field measurements were executed in order to confirm numerical results. Measurements of pressure drop in the stator core of a real hydrogenerator were a challenge. Nevertheless, despite all the difficulties and considerable high field measuring uncertainties, trend curves behavior are similar to numerical results. Finally, series of numerical calculation, varying geometrical parameters of the air-duct inlet design and operational data, were done in order to obtain pressure drop coefficients trend curves to be directly applied to analytical calculation routines of whole hydrogenerator ventilation systems. Parallel to it, thermal numerical calculation was executed in the prototype simulation in order to define the convective heat transfer coefficient. / O objetivo do presente trabalho é determinar os coeficientes de perda de carga e transferência de calor, normalmente aplicados nos cálculos analíticos de design térmico de hidrogeradores, obtido pela aplicação de cálculo numérico (Computacional Fluid Dynamics - CFD) e validado por resultados experimentais e medições de campo. O objeto de estudo é limitado à região mais importante do sistema de ventilação (os dutos de ar de arrefecimento do núcleo do estator) para obter resultados numéricos dos coeficientes de transferência de calor e de perda de carga, que são impactados principalmente pela entrada de dutos de ar. Os cálculos numéricos consideraram escoamentos tridimensionais, em regime permanente, incompressíveis e turbulentos; e foram baseados no método dos volumes finitos. Os cálculos de escoamento turbulento foram realizados com procedimentos baseados em equações médias (RANS), utilizando o modelo k-omega SST (Shear-Stress Transport) como modelo de turbulência. Métricas de qualidade de malha foram monitoradas e as incertezas devido à erros de discretização foram avaliadas por meio de um estudo de independência de malha e aplicação de um procedimento de estimativa de incertezas com base na extrapolação de Richardson. A validação do método numérico desenvolvido pelo presente trabalho (especificamente para simular o comportamento dinâmico do escoamento e obter numericamente o coeficiente de perda de carga do escoamento ao entrar no duto de ar e atravessar o núcleo do estator de um hidrogerador) é realizada comparando os resultados numéricos com dados experimentais publicados por Wustmann (2005). Os dados experimentais foram obtidos como referência por um teste de modelo. A comparação entre os resultados numéricos e experimentais mostra que a diferença da perda de carga para números de Reynolds mais elevados do que 5000 é no máximo de 2%, enquanto que para números de Reynolds inferiores, a diferença aumenta significativamente e atinge 10%. A hipótese mais razoável para a maior discrepância para número de Reynolds menores é a possível influência de instabilidades do escoamento no experimento, fazendo com que o regime seja não-permanente. Conclui-se que o método numérico proposto é validado para a região superior do intervalo analisado. Além da validação pelo ensaio de modelo, medições de campo foram executadas, a fim de confirmar os resultados numéricos. As medições de perda de carga no núcleo do estator de um hidrogerador real era um desafio. No entanto, apesar de todas as dificuldades e consideráveis incertezas da medição campo, o comportamento das curvas de tendência ficou alinhado com resultados numéricos. Finalmente, uma série de cálculos numéricos, variando parâmetros geométricos do design da entrada do duto de ar e dados operacionais, foram executados a fim de se obter curvas de tendência para coeficientes de perda de carga (resultados deste trabalho) a serem aplicadas diretamente à rotinas de cálculos analíticos de sistemas completos de ventilação de hidrogeradores. Paralelamente à isso, o cálculo térmico numérico foi executado na simulação do protótipo, a fim de se definir o coeficiente de transferência de calor por convecção.

Este trabalho visa o estudo de uma metodologia de simulação numérica aplicada ao processo de troca térmica do motor de um veículo de passeio. O processo de troca térmica é essencial para evitar o superaquecimento do motor, que provoca o rompimento do filme de óleo lubrificante dos pistões e, conseqüentemente, o seu travamento. Essa metodologia será útil nos estudos preliminares do sistema de arrefecimento de um veículo na fase inicial de projeto por meio de simulações virtuais, o que possibilitará a redução de protótipos, além de proporcionar um ganho em tempo de resposta. A metodologia utiliza um programa comercial de CFD para a simulação do processo de troca térmica no interior do compartimento do motor do veículo. As simulações foram realizadas com base nos testes físicos em túnel de vento que fazem parte do desenvolvimento e projeto de automóveis em condições de operação que representam situações críticas integrantes da vida operacional. Essas condições operacionais de teste, tais como a velocidade do veículo, as cargas térmicas, a potência dos ventiladores e outros parâmetros foram utilizadas como condições de contorno na validação do modelo do veículo. O processo de validação de modelos é composto por: validações de itens isolados do sistema de arrefecimento, avaliação do efeito da densidade de malha computacional de um modelo completo na vazão de ar nos trocadores de calor e simplificações no modelo para a redução do tempo de processamento. Neste trabalho três modelos distintos de veículos foram utilizados, sendo que dois deles para a validação na comparação com os resultados de túnel vento, enquanto o terceiro modelo foi utilizado para a validação da metodologia através de comparações com os dados obtidos nos testes em pista circular. Os resultados das simulações mostraram variações máximas de 5,5% na temperatura do líquido de arrefecimento na entrada do radiador em relação aos testes. A metodologia de simulação mostrou ser uma poderosa ferramenta de otimização durante a fase de desenvolvimento do projeto e complementando os testes físicos para o sistema de arrefecimento veicular. / The present work is applied to a development of a numerical simulation methodology for a passenger vehicle engine cooling process. The heat exchange process is essential to avoid the engine overheat which may result in the piston oil film separation and consequently its halt. This methodology will be useful for the preliminary studies of the cooling system at the initial phase through the virtual simulations which can reduce the number of prototypes and save proposals\' time response. The methodology uses commercial CFD software for airflow simulation and the thermal process at under hood. The simulations were based on the physical wind tunnel tests that are part of the automotive development, with operational conditions representing critical situations experienced by a vehicle in its operating life. The test conditions, such as vehicle speed, thermal loads, fan power and other parameters were used as the boundary conditions for the model validation. The validation process is based on the following phases: validation of the isolated cooling system components, the effect of mesh density at cooling airflow using a complete vehicle model and model simplification in order to improve the processing time. In this work development, three different models were used; two of them for validation with test tunnel data and the third, was used for methodology validation through the circular road test. The simulation results for tunnel and circular road showed 5.5% of differences for the radiator coolant inlet temperature when compared with physical tests. The methodology of the simulation is a powerful tool for optimization during the development phase and complementing the physical tests for the vehicle cooling systems.

Les effets caloriques représentent la capacité d’un matériau à voir son entropie varier sous l’effet d’une sollicitation externe et peuvent être utilisés pour des systèmes de refroidissement à l'état solide en remplacement (ou complément) des dispositifs traditionnels à base de fluides frigorifiques. Dans cette thèse, nous avons cherché à étudier l'effet élastocalorique du caoutchouc naturel. Après une présentation des différents matériaux caloriques et du caoutchouc naturel, le chapitre 2 détaille la caractérisation élastocalorique du caoutchouc naturel, et les résultats sont interprétés à partir de la notion de cristallisation induite par la déformation. Le changement de température adiabatique élastocalorique et la variation d’entropie associée atteignent 9K et 50kJ.m-3.K-1, ce qui est très important comparé aux autres matériaux caloriques. L’effet élastocalorique étant maximum pour une déformation voisine de 4,5, une pré-déformation peut être appliquée pour éviter la zone moindre activité élastocalorique. La mesure directe de l’effet élastocalorique est ensuite comparée à une méthode indirecte déduite du facteur de Clapeyron, et les divergences sont discutées. Dans le chapitre 3, la contrainte et la température élastocalorique sont simulées par un modèle de Flory modifié sur la base de la cristallisation. Il est possible de prédire le comportement contrainte-déformation à différentes températures, ainsi que les variations de température élastocaloriques à température ambiante. Dans le chapitre 4, les effets de la fatigue sur l’effet élastocalorique du caoutchouc naturel sont ensuite étudiés. La résistance à la fatigue pour de grandes amplitudes de déformation est très faible (< 800 cycles). Trois régimes de déformation intermédiaire sont ensuite testés : 0-3, 2-5, et 4-7, et permet d’établir que le régime 2-5 est le plus performant (jusqu’à 100 000 cycles). Dans le dernier chapitre, un modèle de système régénératif de refroidissement à base de matériaux caloriques est développé afin d’établir des lignes directrices pour le choix des matériaux élastocaloriques / In this thesis, we aimed to study the eC effect of natural rubber (NR) and to prove its potential to act as an eC material primarily. The method for improving the eC effect efficiency and fatigue life of NR were also proposed. The eC effect of NR is characterized directly, and interpretation based on the theory of strain-induced crystallization/crystallite (SIC) is proposed. The eC adiabatic temperature change and isothermal entropy change of NR can be up to 9 K and 50 kJ.m-3.K-1 (56 J.kg-1.K-1), which are larger than most of caloric materials. Two coefficients, eC strain coefficient and eC stress coefficient , are defined for evaluating the eC performance at different strains, where is the specific entropy, is the engineering strain, is the temperature and is the stretching stress. It’s found that both coefficients are maximum for a strain around 4.5, indicating that the highest eC performance occurred at middle strain, which is attributed to the occurrence of SIC. To improve the eC performance, it is proposed to apply a pre-strain, so that the low strain regime where eC performance is low can be skipped. Moreover, the large needed deformation can be reduced by the pre-strain and thus the possibility of a compact cooling system designed based on NR is improved. The fatigue property of eC effect of NR is then investigated. The fatigue life at large deformation strain amplitudes (strain of 1-6) is about 800 cycles for the tested NR, which is too short to be used for a cooling system. Decreasing strain amplitude is necessary to extend fatigue life up to requirement of a cooling device. For the same small strain amplitude of 3, the fatigue property is compared at amorphous strain regime (strain of 0-3), onset strain of melting (strain of 2-5) and high strain of SIC (strain of 4-7). It’s found that a larger eC temperature change and a better fatigue property can be obtained at two SIC strain regimes (strain of 2-5 and 4-7) than amorphous strain regime. Especially, the fatigue property at the onset strain of melting (strain of 2-5) is better than that at high strain of SIC (strain of 4-7). A high-cycle fatigue was applied at the strain of 2-5 (most promising strain regime) up to 1.7×105 cycles. It was observed that there is no crack of the sample, as well as a degradation degree of 12% of the eC temperature change. Furthermore, the eC stress coefficient (4.4 K/MPa) at onset strain of melting is larger than that at high strain of SIC (1.6 K/MPa). As a result, the middle strain regime (onset strain regime of melting) can get a higher eC performance, larger temperature change, and better fatigue life, which should be chosen for eC cooling system.

Les effets électrocaloriques, qui se traduisent par une variation de température induite par une variation d’entropie ont été étudiés comme alternative aux systèmes de réfrigération utilisant un cycle de compression/détente. Le travail de thèse se focalise sur l’étude de l’effet élastocalorique dans le caoutchouc naturel et le terpolymère (P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE). En premier lieu, l’effet élastocalorique dans le caoutchouc naturel qui compte parmi les meilleurs candidats, a été évalué pour des cycles de déformation réalisés avec différentes valeurs d’allongement. Une variation de température de 4 °C a pu être observée. Il est usuel d’utiliser la relation déformation/contrainte en fonction de la variation de température pour évaluer l’effet élastocalorique. Il a été démontré que cette méthode ne peut pas être utilisée dans le cas du caoutchouc naturel et qu’elle doit être remplacée par la mesure de la variation de l’énergie mécanique en fonction de la température. Et dans ce cas, une variation linéaire entre ces deux dernières grandeurs a été observée. En réalisant un bilan d’énergie pendant l’essai, non seulement, le rendement énergétique a pu être évalué mais il a été aussi possible de prendre en compte l’effet Mullins et la cristallisation induite par la déformation pour le caoutchouc naturel. Dans un second temps, l’effet élastocalorique a été étudié sur le terpolymère (P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE), ce qui a permis de montrer qu’il était possible d’obtenir une variation de température de 2.1 °C sous réserver de pré-déformer le terpolymère à plus de 1050 % avant. Par comparaison avec d’autres matériaux présentant une bonne conversion élastocalorique, le fort potentiel de ce matériau a pu être mis en évidence. Enfin, il a été mis en évidence que la plus grande partie de l’énergie mécanique était bien convertie en énergie thermique. / Caloric effects (CEs), which are the phenomena that temperature variation is caused by entropy change, have been investigated for the novel system which might be able to replace conventional vapor compression refrigeration system. In the present thesis, the elastocaloric effect (ElCE) of natural rubber (NR) and terpolymer, poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene-chlorotrifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE)), was focused. First of all, NR, which is an excellent candidate material for ElCE, was evaluated in cyclic deformation with different strain levels. It was found that NR exhibits temperature variation of around 4.0 °C. In general, the relation between stress/strain versus temperature variation is used to evaluate ElCE. The unsuitability of such evaluation method for NR was demonstrated. The evaluation method for ElCE which uses energy balance was then proposed. A linear relation between the temperature variation caused by ElCE and the applied mechanical energy by deformation was experimentally found. This fact verifies the suitability of the proposed method. Using the energy balance, besides, not only the conversion efficiency but also the influences of the Mullins effect and the strain-induced crystallization on the ElCE of NR were discussed. ElCE of P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) was also evaluated in order to find out the potential of polymer. It was found that present terpolymer which is not one of the elastomers can also exhibit a large temperature variation, 2.1 °C, caused by ElCE if a large pre-stretch such as more than 1050 % is applied in advance. By comparison with other materials for ElCE, it was demonstrated that P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) can be a high potential material for ElCE. It was also shown that P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) converts most of the applied mechanical energy into the heat energy.

The objective of the present work is to determinate the pressure drop and the heat transfer coefficients, normally applied to analytical calculations of hydrogenerators thermal design, obtained by applying numerical calculation (Computational Fluid Dynamics - CFD) and validated by experimental results and field measurements. The object of study is limited to the most important region of the ventilation system (the cooling air ducts of stator core) to get numerical results of heat transfer and pressure drop coefficients, which are impacted mostly by the entrance of air ducts. The numerical calculations considered three-dimensional, steady-state, incompressible and turbulent flow; and were based on the Finite Volume methodology. The turbulent flow computations were carried out with procedures based on RANS equations by selecting k-omega SST (Shear-Stress Transport) as turbulence model. Grid quality metrics were monitored and the uncertainties due to discretization errors were evaluated by means of a grid independence study and application of an uncertainty estimation procedure based on Richardson extrapolation. The validation of numerical method developed by the present work (specifically to simulate the flow dynamics behavior and to obtain numerically the pressure drop coefficient of the airflow to enter and pass through the Stator Core Air Duct in a hydrogenerator) is performed by comparing the numerical results to experimental data published by Wustmann (2005). The reference experimental data were obtained by a model test. The comparison between numerical and experimental results shows that the difference of pressure drop for Reynolds numbers higher than 5000 is 2% at maximum, while for lower Reynolds numbers, the difference increases significantly and reaches 10%. It is presented that the most reasonable hypothesis for higher discrepancy at lower Reynolds numbers can be assigned to the experiment\'s non-steady-state condition. It is to conclude that the proposed numerical method is validated for the upper region of the analyzed range. Additionally to the model test validation, field measurements were executed in order to confirm numerical results. Measurements of pressure drop in the stator core of a real hydrogenerator were a challenge. Nevertheless, despite all the difficulties and considerable high field measuring uncertainties, trend curves behavior are similar to numerical results. Finally, series of numerical calculation, varying geometrical parameters of the air-duct inlet design and operational data, were done in order to obtain pressure drop coefficients trend curves to be directly applied to analytical calculation routines of whole hydrogenerator ventilation systems. Parallel to it, thermal numerical calculation was executed in the prototype simulation in order to define the convective heat transfer coefficient. / O objetivo do presente trabalho é determinar os coeficientes de perda de carga e transferência de calor, normalmente aplicados nos cálculos analíticos de design térmico de hidrogeradores, obtido pela aplicação de cálculo numérico (Computacional Fluid Dynamics - CFD) e validado por resultados experimentais e medições de campo. O objeto de estudo é limitado à região mais importante do sistema de ventilação (os dutos de ar de arrefecimento do núcleo do estator) para obter resultados numéricos dos coeficientes de transferência de calor e de perda de carga, que são impactados principalmente pela entrada de dutos de ar. Os cálculos numéricos consideraram escoamentos tridimensionais, em regime permanente, incompressíveis e turbulentos; e foram baseados no método dos volumes finitos. Os cálculos de escoamento turbulento foram realizados com procedimentos baseados em equações médias (RANS), utilizando o modelo k-omega SST (Shear-Stress Transport) como modelo de turbulência. Métricas de qualidade de malha foram monitoradas e as incertezas devido à erros de discretização foram avaliadas por meio de um estudo de independência de malha e aplicação de um procedimento de estimativa de incertezas com base na extrapolação de Richardson. A validação do método numérico desenvolvido pelo presente trabalho (especificamente para simular o comportamento dinâmico do escoamento e obter numericamente o coeficiente de perda de carga do escoamento ao entrar no duto de ar e atravessar o núcleo do estator de um hidrogerador) é realizada comparando os resultados numéricos com dados experimentais publicados por Wustmann (2005). Os dados experimentais foram obtidos como referência por um teste de modelo. A comparação entre os resultados numéricos e experimentais mostra que a diferença da perda de carga para números de Reynolds mais elevados do que 5000 é no máximo de 2%, enquanto que para números de Reynolds inferiores, a diferença aumenta significativamente e atinge 10%. A hipótese mais razoável para a maior discrepância para número de Reynolds menores é a possível influência de instabilidades do escoamento no experimento, fazendo com que o regime seja não-permanente. Conclui-se que o método numérico proposto é validado para a região superior do intervalo analisado. Além da validação pelo ensaio de modelo, medições de campo foram executadas, a fim de confirmar os resultados numéricos. As medições de perda de carga no núcleo do estator de um hidrogerador real era um desafio. No entanto, apesar de todas as dificuldades e consideráveis incertezas da medição campo, o comportamento das curvas de tendência ficou alinhado com resultados numéricos. Finalmente, uma série de cálculos numéricos, variando parâmetros geométricos do design da entrada do duto de ar e dados operacionais, foram executados a fim de se obter curvas de tendência para coeficientes de perda de carga (resultados deste trabalho) a serem aplicadas diretamente à rotinas de cálculos analíticos de sistemas completos de ventilação de hidrogeradores. Paralelamente à isso, o cálculo térmico numérico foi executado na simulação do protótipo, a fim de se definir o coeficiente de transferência de calor por convecção.