A Numerical Study of Unsteady Natural Convection in a Rectangular Enclosure: Transition From Laminar to Turbulent Flow

Author(s):  
K. M. Akyuzlu ◽  
M. Chidurala

A two-dimensional, mathematical model is adopted to investigate the development of buoyancy driven circulation patterns and temperature stratification inside a rectangular enclosure. One of the vertical walls of the enclosure is kept at a higher temperature then the opposing vertical wall. The top and the bottom of the enclosure are assumed insulated. The physics based mathematical model for this problem consists of conservation of mass, momentum (two-dimensional, unsteady Navier-Stokes equations for turbulent compressible flows), and energy equations for the enclosed fluid subjected to appropriate boundary conditions. A standard two equation turbulence model is used to model the turbulent flow in the enclosure. The compressibility of the working fluid is represented by an ideal gas relation. The conservation equations are discretized using an implicit finite difference technique which employs second order accurate central differencing for spatial derivatives and second order (based on Taylor expansion) finite differencing for time derivatives. The linearized finite difference equations are solved using a Coupled Modified Strongly Implicit Procedure (CMSIP) for the unknowns of the problem. Numerical experiments were then carried out to simulate the development of the buoyancy driven circulation patterns inside rectangular enclosures (with aspects ratios 0.5, 1 and 1.5) filled with a compressible fluid (Pr = 0.72). Experiments were repeated for various wall temperature differences which corresponded to Rayleigh numbers between 104 and 106. Changes in unsteady circulation patterns, temperature contours, and vertical and horizontal velocity profiles were predicted while the flow inside the enclosure transferred from laminar to turbulent flow due to the sudden temperature change imposed on the vertical walls of the enclosure. Only the results of the enclosure with aspect ratio one is presented in this paper. These results indicate that this transition is characterized by unicellular circulation patterns breaking up in to multicellular formations and increase in the values of the predicted wall heat fluxes and Nusselt number as flow becomes turbulent.

Author(s):  
K. M. Akyuzlu ◽  
Y. Pavri ◽  
A. Antoniou

A two-dimensional, mathematical model is adopted to investigate the development of buoyancy driven circulation patterns and temperature contours inside a rectangular enclosure filled with a compressible fluid (Pr=1.0). One of the vertical walls of the enclosure is kept at a higher temperature then the opposing vertical wall. The top and the bottom of the enclosure are assumed insulated. The physics based mathematical model for this problem consists of conservation of mass, momentum (two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations) and energy equations for the enclosed fluid subjected to appropriate boundary conditions. The working fluid is assumed to be compressible through a simple ideal gas relation. The governing equations are discretized using second order accurate central differencing for spatial derivatives and first order forward finite differencing for time derivatives where the computation domain is represented by a uniform orthogonal mesh. The resulting nonlinear equations are then linearized using Newton’s linearization method. The set of algebraic equations that result from this process are then put into a matrix form and solved using a Coupled Modified Strongly Implicit Procedure (CMSIP) for the unknowns (primitive variables) of the problem. A numerical experiment is carried out for a benchmark case (driven cavity flow) to verify the accuracy of the proposed solution procedure. Numerical experiments are then carried out using the proposed compressible flow model to simulate the development of the buoyancy driven circulation patterns for Rayleigh numbers between 103 and 105. Finally, an attempt is made to determine the effect of compressibility of the working fluid by comparing the results of the proposed model to that of models that use incompressible flow assumptions together with Boussinesq approximation.


Author(s):  
K. M. Akyuzlu ◽  
K. Hallenbeck

A numerical study is conducted to identify the unsteady characteristics of momentum and heat transfer in lid-driven cavity flows. The cavity under study is filled with a compressible fluid and is of rectangular shape. The bottom of the cavity is insulated and stationary where as the top of the cavity (the lid) is pulled at constant speed. The vertical walls of the cavity are kept at constant but unequal temperatures. A two-dimensional, mathematical model is adopted to investigate the shear and buoyancy driven circulation patterns inside this rectangular cavity. This physics based mathematical model consists of conservation of mass, momentum (two-dimensional, unsteady Navier-Stokes equations for compressible flows) and energy equations for the enclosed fluid subjected to appropriate boundary and initial conditions. The compressibility of the working fluid is represented by an ideal gas relation and its thermodynamic and transport properties are assumed to be function of temperature. The governing equations are discretized using second order accurate central differencing for spatial derivatives and second order finite differencing (based on Taylor expansion) for the time derivatives. The resulting nonlinear equations are then linearized using Newton’s linearization method. The set of algebraic equations that result from this process are then put into a matrix form and solved using a Coupled Modified Strongly Implicit Procedure (CMSIP) for the unknowns of the problem. Grid independence and time convergence studies were carried out to determine the accuracy of the square mesh adopted for the present study. Two benchmark cases (driven cavity and rectangular channel flows) were studied to verify the accuracy of the CMSIP. Numerical experiments were then carried out to simulate the unsteady development of the shear and buoyancy driven circulation patterns for different Richardson numbers in the range of 0.036<Ri<100 where the Re number is kept less than 2000 to assure laminar flow conditions inside the cavity. Simulations start with a stagnant fluid subjected to a sudden increase in one of the walls temperature. At the same time the upper lid of the cavity is accelerated, instantaneously, to a constant speed. The circulation patterns, temperature contours, vertical and horizontal velocity profiles were generated at different times of the simulation, and wall heat fluxes and Nusselt numbers were calculated for the steady state conditions. Only the results for a square cavity are presented in this paper. These results indicate that the heat transfer rates at the vertical walls of the cavity are enhanced with the decrease in Richardson number.


Author(s):  
K. M. Akyuzlu ◽  
K. Albayrak ◽  
C. Karaeren

This paper presents a mathematical model that was developed to study instabilities (primarily thermoacoustic oscillations) experienced inside a channel (with a rectangular cross section) heated symmetrically (from its top and bottom.) The heated channel is configured to simulate a combustion chamber of a rocket hybrid rocket motor and is connected to a converging–diverging nozzle in the downstream and to a plenum with a flow straightener in the upstream side. The working fluid is supplied from a pressurized storage tank to the upstream plenum through a throttle valve. A multi-component approach is used to model this test apparatus. In this integrated component model, the unsteady flow through the throttle valve and the nozzle is assumed to be one-dimensional and isentropic where as the flow in the forward plenum and the heated channel is assumed to be a two-dimensional, unsteady, compressible, turbulent, and subsonic. The physics based mathematical model of the flow in the channel consists of conservation of mass, momentum (two-dimensional Navier-Stokes) and energy equations subject to appropriate boundary conditions as defined by the physical problem stated above. The working fluid is assumed to be compressible where the density of the fluid is related to the pressure and temperature of the fluid through a simple ideal gas relation. The governing equations are discretized using second order accurate central differencing for spatial derivatives and second order accurate (based on Taylor expansion) finite difference approximations for temporal derivatives. The resulting nonlinear equations are then linearized using Newton’s linearization method. The set of algebraic equations that result from this process are then put into a matrix form and solved using a Coupled Modified Strongly Implicit Procedure (CMSIP) for the unknowns (primitive variables, i.e., pressure, temperature, and the velocity field) of the problem. The turbulence model equations and the unsteady flow equation for the throttle valve are solved using a second order accurate explicit finite difference technique. Convergence and grid independence studies were done to determine the optimum mesh size and computational time increment. Furthermore, two benchmark cases (unsteady driven cavity and laminar channel flows) were simulated using the developed numerical model to verify the accuracy of the proposed solution procedure. Numerical experiments were then carried out to simulate the thermoacoustic oscillations inside rectangular channels with various aspect ratios ranging from 5 to 20 for various operating conditions (i.e., for Re numbers between 102 and 106) and to determine the flow regions where these oscillations are sustained. The numerical simulation results indicate that the mathematical model for the gas flow in the heated channel predicts the expected unsteady temperature and pressure distributions, and the velocity field, successfully. Furthermore, it is concluded that the proposed integrated component model is successful in generating the characteristics of the instabilities associated with thermal, hydrodynamic, and thermoacoustic oscillations in heated channels.


Author(s):  
K. M. Akyuzlu ◽  
J. Farkas

An experimental study is conducted to determine the circulation patterns inside a rectangular enclosure due to natural convection using a Particle Image Velocimeter (PIV). Experiments were conducted using two different fluids (air and water) and for rectangular enclosures with aspect ratios 0.5 and 1.0. Natural convection in enclosures has been experimentally studied in the past. Many of these studies cited in the literature use some kind of an optical method like interferograms, shadowgraphs, streak photographs, or multi-exposure photographs to visualize the flow patterns in the enclosure. The present study employs a commercial two-dimensional PIV to capture, instantaneously, the circulation patterns inside the test section. The test cavity in the present setup is of rectangular shape, which is 5 inches (127 mm) wide, where the height of the enclosure can be changed to obtain aspect ratios of 0.5 and 1.0. The depth of the rectangular enclosure measures 12 inches (305 mm) to minimize the effect of walls normal to the two dimensional flow patterns that are expected in this type of arrangement. The walls of the cavity are made of Aluminum plates. These plates are kept at constant but different temperatures during the experiments. In the present study, hollow glass sphere particles with 10 microns in diameter were used as seeding for water experiments and fine particles/flakes of ash generated from burned incense were used as seeding in the air experiments. For each working fluid, the experiments were repeated for different aspect ratios and for different wall temperature differences which corresponded to Rayleigh numbers in the range of 106 and 107. Velocity fields were captured at steady state for each experiment using the two-dimensional PIV system. Numerical studies were also carried out using a commercial CFD software. Comparisons of the numerical and experimental results indicate a good match in terms of circulation patterns and velocity magnitudes in the core of the buoyancy driven flow. Discrepancies in measured and predicted values of velocities are more pronounced near to the boundaries of the enclosure. Separate measurements with finer interrogation areas and different PIV setting were required to improve the accuracy of the measurements near the corners (top and bottom) of the enclosure. The results of these measurements are also presented.


Author(s):  
K. M. Akyuzlu ◽  
M. Chidurala

A two-dimensional, mathematical model is adopted to investigate the development of buoyancy driven circulation patterns and temperature contours inside a rectangular enclosure (with aspect ratio of one) filled with a compressible fluid (Pr = 0.72). One of the vertical walls of the enclosure is kept at a higher temperature than the opposing vertical wall. The top and the bottom of the enclosure are assumed insulated. The physics based mathematical model for this problem consists of conservation of mass, momentum (two-dimensional, unsteady Navier-Stokes equations for compressible flows) and energy equations for the enclosed fluid subjected to appropriate boundary conditions. The compressibility of the working fluid is represented by an ideal gas relation. Thermodynamic and transport properties of the fluid are assumed to be function of temperature. The governing equations are discretized using second order accurate central differencing for spatial derivatives and second order finite differencing based on Taylor expansion for time derivatives. The resulting nonlinear equations are then linearized using Newton’s linearization method. The set of algebraic equations that result from this process are then put into a matrix form and solved using a Coupled Modified Strongly Implicit Procedure (CMSIP) for the unknowns of the problem. Grid independence and time convergence studies were carried out on different mesh sizes and also on a stretched orthogonal mesh to determine the accuracy of the square mesh adopted for the present study. Numerical experiments were carried out for a benchmark case (driven cavity flows) to verify the accuracy of the CMSIP, the proposed solution procedure. Numerical experiments were then carried out to simulate the development of the buoyancy driven circulation patterns for Rayleigh (Ra) numbers between 103 and 106. Also a parametric study was carried out (where Ra number was kept constant) to determine the effect of variations in wall temperature difference and reference length on the velocity and temperature fields. The effects of variable fluid properties on circulation patterns, temperature distributions, vertical and horizontal velocity profiles, and heat transfer from the walls of the enclosure were determined in a separate set of numerical experiments. Finally, unsteady thermal and hydrodynamic behavior of the working fluid was studied by imposing a sudden wall temperature change in the square enclosure. It is concluded that there is notable difference between the results of the variable property and the constant property models. Also, the variable property model predicts lower values for wall heat fluxes and Nu number than the constant property one. This seems to be more true when the temperature difference between the hot and cold walls of the enclosure is larger.


Author(s):  
S. Srivastava ◽  
J. R. Eastridge ◽  
B. M. Taravella ◽  
K. M. Akyuzlu

Abstract A study was conducted to investigate the characteristics of incompressible unsteady boundary layer flows (laminar and intermittently turbulent), numerically and experimentally. The main objective of the study is to validate and verify (V&V) the accuracy of the proposed pseudo-compressibility model in solving the incompressible Navier-Stokes (NS) equations. This approach will enable one to use a second order accurate (temporally and spatially) implicit finite-difference (FD) technique to solve NS equations (including RANS equations). Here, the proposed pseudo-compressibility model is used for laminar and intermittent turbulent flow simulations. Flow over a flat plate is chosen as the benchmark case for the validation of the proposed pseudo-compressibility model. An in-house code is developed to solve the boundary layer equations using an Alternating-Direction Explicit (ADE) FD technique. The boundary layer equations are discretized using explicit FD techniques which are second order accurate. The velocity field predicted by this code is compared to the one given by Blasius’ analytical solution. A second in-house code is also developed which adopts the proposed model of pseudo-compressibility to solve the incompressible NS equations. The two dimensional, unsteady conservation of mass and momentum equations are discretized using explicit finite-difference techniques. A standard K-ε closure model is used along with RANS equation to simulate turbulent flows. The primitive variables (velocity and pressure) predicted by this code are compared to the ones predicted by a commercial CFD package (Fluent). Once the method of pseudo-compressibility is validated, it is then implemented into another in-house computer code which employs implicit FD technique and Coupled Modified Strongly Implicit Procedure (CMSIP) to solve for the unknowns of the problem under study. The predictions based on the pseudo-compressibility model for laminar flow are validated using the results of the experiments in which Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique was employed. The verification; that is, the numerical uncertainty estimation of the pseudo-compressible code was accomplished by using the Grid Convergence Index (GCI) method. The results of the present study indicate that the proposed pseudo-compressibility model is capable of predicting experimentally observed characteristics of the external flows successfully, and deviations between the predicted velocity magnitudes and experimentally measured velocities are within an acceptable range for laminar and intermittently turbulent flows conditions.


Author(s):  
Tomoaki Watanabe ◽  
Hiroki Yasuhara ◽  
Yasuhiko Sakai ◽  
Takashi Kubo ◽  
Kouji Nagata ◽  
...  

It is important in engineering to elucidate the mechanism of a chemical reaction in turbulent flow. But there are still few studies on reacting turbulent flow in a liquid phase. In this study, the two-dimensional liquid jet with the second-order reaction (A+B←R) is investigated. The concentrations of the species R and the conserved scalar (which is the concentration of other species independent of the above chemical reaction) are measured simultaneously by the optical fiber probe based on light absorbtion spectroscopic method. The concentrations of species A and B are obtained from the conserved scalar theory. Regarding the velocity field, the streamwise velocity is measured by the hot-film anemometer. The moment closure methods are often used for the prediction of turbulent flow. But it is difficult to apply it to the reacting turbulent flow because of the high non-linearity of the reaction rate terms. It is commonly known that the values of concentrations depend strongly on the mixture fraction (which is a conserved scalar) defined as the normalized concentration of the species which is independent of reaction. Hence, Conditional moment closure (CMC) methods are useful for the prediction of the turbulent flow with chemical reactions. In this study, conditional scalar statistics are investigated by using the conditional moment closure methods and experimental data. It is shown that the conditional averages of concentration of reactant and product species approach the equilibrium limit (which correspond to the limiting case of the fast chemical reaction) in the downstream direction and the value of the conditional scalar (mixture fraction) dissipation decreases and its distribution varies in the downstream direction and comes to show the local minimum value near the point η = ξS (which is the stoichiometric value of the mixture fraction).


2019 ◽  
Vol 128 ◽  
pp. 07001
Author(s):  
Georges El Achkar ◽  
Bin Liu ◽  
Rachid Bennacer

In this paper, the thermohydraulic performance of a reciprocating room temperature active magnetic regenerator (AMR), with gadolinium (Gd) particles used as a magnetocaloric material (MCM) and water used as a working fluid, was numerically investigated. A two-dimensional transient flow model was developed using COMSOL Multiphysics, in order to determine the water flow distribution in two AMRs of cross and parallel Gd particles distributions for different water inlet velocities of 0.06 m.s-1, 0.08 m.s-1 , 0.1 m.s-1 and 0.12 m.s-1. The Gd particles have a radius of 1.5 mm and a distance from one another of 0.9 mm. Based on the simulations results of the first model, a two-dimensional transient coupled flow and heat transfer model was then developed using COMSOL Multiphysics, in order to characterise the convective heat transfer in the AMR of cross Gd particles distribution for the same water inlet velocities.


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