Damian Ramajo

Assessment of a zero‐dimensional model of tumble in four‐valve high performance engine

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess a phenomenological zero‐dimensional model (0‐D model) in order to evaluate both the in‐cylinder tumble motion and turbulence in high‐performance engine, focusing on the capability and sensitivity of the model.Design/methodology/approach – The study was performed using a four‐valve pentroof engine, testing two different intake ports. The first one was a conventional port and the second one was design in such a way to promote tumble. CFD simulations for admission and compression strokes under different engine conditions were carried out. Then, the in‐cylinder entrance mass and mean velocities from CFD were imposed as boundary conditions in the 0‐D model.Findings – Marked discrepancies between 0‐D model and CFD results were found. As expected, for the original port, CFD results displayed a poor tumble generation during the admission period. It was followed by a fast degradation of the tumble momentum along the compression stroke due to it was not dominant over...

In-cylinder flow control in a four-valve spark ignition engine: numerical and experimental steady rig tests

Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations and experimental steady flow tests (flow discharge, swirl, and tumble) were carried out to study the in-cylinder flow in a commercial four-valve spark ignition engine. The present investigation was aimed at analysing and controlling the generation of macro-vortex structures (swirl and tumble) during the inlet process. A comparative study of the most commonly employed tumble benches along with in-house design was performed, the last showing some advantages with respect to the others. The outcomes from the simulations were in agreement with experimental results. Mainly, the tumble generation rate was in general proportional to the valve lift. However, tumble was reduced drastically at medium valve lift due to a change in the vortex pattern. A stagnation zone was observed between inlet valves. CFD calculations successfully captured this tumble-fall effect, which was related to characteristic changes in the vortex pattern downstream of the inlet valves at medium valve lift. This affects tumble production without affecting the mass flowrate efficiency. Finally, at high valve lifts the tumble production and the vortex pattern were recovered. The capability of the cylinder head to induce swirl, tumble, or combined swirl–tumble by modifying the valve timing or by introducing adjustable flow deflectors was evaluated using CFD. Several valve timing strategies were analysed: some of them produced significant swirl, but introduced high mass flowrate losses. On the other hand, adjustable flow deflectors were shown to be an interesting alternative to induce swirl–tumble at low load and to improve tumble at high load.

In-Cylinder Flow Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis of a Four-Valve Spark Ignition Engine: Comparison Between Steady and Dynamic Tests

Numerical and experimental techniques were applied in order to study the in-cylinder flow field in a commercial four-valve per cylinder spark ignition engine. Investigation was aimed at analyzing the generation and evolution of tumble-vortex structures during the intake and compression strokes, and the capacity of this engine to promote turbulence enhancement during tumble degradation at the end of the compression stroke. For these purposes, three different approaches were analyzed. First, steady flow rig tests were experimentally carried out, and then reproduced by computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Once CFD was assessed, cold dynamic simulations of the full engine cycle were performed for several engine speeds (1500 rpm, 3000 rpm, and 4500 rpm). Steady and cold dynamic results were compared in order to assess the feasibility of the former to quantify the in-cylinder flow. After that, combustion was incorporated by means of a homogeneous heat source, and dynamic boundary conditions were introduced in order to approach real engine conditions. The combustion model estimates the burning rate as a function of some averaged in-cylinder flow variables (temperature, pressure, turbulent intensity, and piston position). Results were employed to characterize the in-cylinder flow field of the engine and to establish similarities and differences between the three performed tests that are currently used to estimate the engine mean flow characteristics (steady flow rig, and cold and real dynamic simulations).

Flow Study and Wetting Efficiency of a Perforated-Plate Tray Distributor in a Trickle Bed Reactor

In this work, a computational fluid dynamics analysis (CFD) employing the Eulerian two-fluid model was carried out with the aim to understand the distribution process and to determine the wetting efficiency of the primary tray distributor (perforated plate) of a trickle bed reactor (TBR) under several operating conditions. The overall inlet geometry was considered, and the small holes of the perforated plate were modeled by sinks (drains) and sources, employing CFD and experimental models to obtain the hole discharge flow coefficients. The influence of the ceramic-ball bed above the catalyst bed was considered by a suitable correlation to estimate liquid distribution inside it.Results showed that because of the scarce liquid sloshing above the tray, little difference on liquid flow rate through the tray holes was found. Due to the really low inlet mass flow rate of gas, it has negligible influence on liquid behavior, which drops through holes slowly without spraying. Thus, the ceramic-ball bed above the catalyst bed is exclusively wetted in a small area under the tray holes. Although the ceramic-ball bed improves liquid distribution, which guarantees a minimum liquid volume fraction at all places, significant differences on the liquid mass flow rate across the top of the catalyst bed were found. Additional causes of low efficiency in TBR like the well-known fouling vulnerability of perforated-plate trays and unevenness were analyzed. For the first, two simple modifications were proposed to improve tray performance: reducing the amount of gas chimneys to only one and adding additional drip points and replacing the tray holes by short risers in order to avoid plugging.

High-Rayleigh heat transfer flow: Thermal stratification analysis and assessment of Boussinesq approach

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the Boussinesq approach for a wide range of Ra (10 × 6 to 10 × 11) in two-dimensional (square cavity) and three-dimensional (cubic cavity) problems for air- and liquid-filled domains. Design/methodology/approach The thermal behavior in “differentially heated cavities” filled with air (low and medium Rayleigh) and water (high Rayleigh) is solved using computational fluid dynamics (CFDs) (OpenFOAM) with a non-compressible (Boussinesq) and compressible approach (real water properties from the IAPWS database). Findings The results from the wide range of Rayleigh numbers allowed for the establishment of the limitation of the Boussinesq approach in problems where the fluid has significant density changes within the operation temperature range and especially when the dependence of density with temperature is not linear. For these cases, the symmetry behavior predicted by Boussinesq is far from the compressible results, thus inducing a transient heat imbalance and leading to a higher mean temperature. Research limitations/implications The main limitation of the present research can be found in the shortage of experimental data for very high Rayleigh problems. Practical implications Practical implications of the current research could be use of the Boussinesq approach by carefully observing its limitations, especially for sensible problems such as the study of pressure vessels, nuclear reactors, etc. Originality/value The originality of this paper lies in addressing the limitations of the Boussinesq approach for high Rayleigh water systems. This fluid is commonly used in numerous industrial equipment. This work presents valuable conclusions about the limitations of the currently used models to carry out industrial simulations.