Vijay R. Raghavan

Numerical Investigation of Turning Diffuser Performance by Varying Geometric and Operating Parameters

This paper presents a numerical investigation of pressure recovery and flow uniformity in turning diffusers with 90o angle of turn by varying geometric and operating parameters. The geometric and operating parameters considered in this study are area ratio (AR= 1.6, 2.0 and 3.0) and inflow Reynolds number (Rein=23, 2.653E+04, 7.959E+04, 1.592E+05 and 2.123E+05). Three turbulence models, i.e. the standard k-e turbulence model (std k-e), the shear stress transport model (SST-k-W) and the Reynolds stress model (RSM) were assessed in terms of their applicability to simulate the actual cases. The standard k-e turbulence model appeared as the best validated model, with the percentage of deviation to the experimental being the least recorded. Results show that the outlet pressure recovery of a turning diffuser at specified Rein improves approximately 32% by varying the AR from 1.6 to 3.0. Whereas, by varying the Rein from 2.653E+04 to 2.123E+05, the outlet pressure recovery at specified AR turning diffuser improves of approximately 24%. The flow uniformity is considerably distorted with the increase of AR and Rein. Therefore, there should be a compromise between achieving the maximum pressure recovery and the maximum possible flow uniformity. The present work proposes the turning diffuser with AR=1.6 operated at Rein=2.653E+04 as the optimum set of parameters, producing pressure recovery of Cp=0.320 and flow uniformity of su=1.62, with minimal flow separation occurring in the system.

Design and Development of Low Subsonic Wind Tunnel for Turning Diffuser Application

In practice, it is basically difficult even with controlled measurement environment to acquire a steady, uniform and fully developed flow. The flow entering diffuser was severely distorted despite a sufficient hydrodynamic entrance length already introduced. This was mainly due to the imperfect joining of duct and the abrupt change of the inlet cross-section applied. In this study, several basic features of a low subsonic wind tunnel, i.e. a centrifugal blower with 3-phase inverter, a settling chamber, screens and a contraction cone, are designed and developed for a turning diffuser application in order to improve the flow quality. The flow profiles are examined using Pitot static probe at five measurement points within the range of inflow Reynolds number, Rein= 5.786E+04-1.775E+05. The steady, uniform and fully developed turbulent flow profiles with an average deviation with theory of about 3.5% are obtained. This proves that a good flow quality could be produced by means of incorporating some basic features of a low subsonic wind tunnel to the system.

The Performance of Turning Diffusers at Various Inlet Conditions

A turning diffuser is often introduced in the flow line to recover the energy losses by converting the kinetic energy to pressure energy. There are two types of turning diffusers, i.e. a 2-D and 3-D diffuser that are commonly defined by their expansion direction. This study aims to investigate the performance of a 2-D and a 3-D turning diffuser with 90o angle of turn and an area ratio, AR=2.16 by means of varying operating conditions. The geometry configurations applied for a 2-D turning diffuser are outlet-inlet configurations, W2/W12-D=2.160, X2/X12-D =1.000 and an inner wall length to an inlet throat width ratio, Lin/W12-D=4.370, whereas for a 3-D turning diffuser, they are W2/W13-D=1.440, X2/X13-D =1.500 and Lin/W13-D=3.970. The operating conditions represented by inflow Reynolds numbers, Rein are varied from 5.786E+04 to 1.775E+05. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) is used to examine the flow quality, and a digital manometer provides the average static pressure at the inlet and outlet of the turning diffuser. A compromise between the maximum permissible pressure recovery and flow uniformity is determined based upon the need. Whenever the flow uniformity being the need it is promising to apply a 3-D turning diffuser for Rein=1.027E+05 - 1.775E+05 and a 2-D turning diffuser for Rein=5.786E+04-6.382E+04. On the other hand, it is viable to opt for a 3-D turning diffuser for Rein=5.786E+04-6.382E+04 and a 2-D turning diffuser for Rein=1.027E+05-1.775E+05 in the case of the outlet pressure recovery being the need. The secondary flow separation takes place prior at 1/2Lin/W1 for a 2-D turning diffuser, whereas approximately at 3/4Lin/W1 for a 3-D turning diffuser.

Verification of Fully Developed Flow Entering Diffuser and Particle Image Velocimetry Procedures

3-Dstereoscopic PIV is capable of measuring 3-dimensional velocity components. Itinvolves a very sophisticated routine during setup, calibration, measurementand data processing phases. This paper aims to verify the 3-D stereoscopic PIVmeasurement procedures and to prove that the flow entering thediffuser is a fully developed flow. A diffuser inlet of rectangularcross-section, 130 mm x 50 mm is presently considered. For verification, thevelocities from PIV are compared with the velocities from pitot static probeand theory. The mean velocity obtained using pitot static probe is 2.44 m/s,whereas using PIV is 2.46 m/s. It thus gives the discrepancy of 0.8%. There isalso a good agreement between the mean velocity measured by PIV and theoreticalvalue with the discrepancy of 1.2%. This minor discrepancy is mainly due touncertainties in the experiments such as imperfect matching of coordinatesbetween the probe and laser sheet, unsteadiness of flow, variation in density andless precision in calibration. Basically, the operating procedures of 3-Dstereoscopic PIV have successfully been verified. Nevertheless, the flowentering diffuser is not perfectly developed due to the imperfect joining ductand the abrupt change of inlet cross-section introduced. Therefore, improvementto the existing rig is proposed by means of installing settling chamber withmultiple screens arrangement and contraction cone.

Fluidization of Geldart Type-D Particles in a Swirling Fluidized Bed

Geldart Type-D particles are often associated with poor fluidization characteristics due to their large sizes and higher densities. This paper reports the hydrodynamics of various Geldart Type-D particles when fluidized in a swirling fluidized bed (SFB). Four different sizes of particles ranging from 3.85 mm to 9.84 mm with respective densities ranging from 840 kg/m3 to 1200 kg/m3 were used as bed material to study the effect of various bed weights (500 gram to 2000 gram) and centre bodies (cone and cylinder) for superficial velocities up to 6 m/s. The performance of the SFB was assessed in terms of pressure drop values, minimum fluidization velocity, Umf and fluidization quality by physical observation on regimes of operation. The swirling fluidized bed showed excellent capability in fluidizing Geldart Type-D particles in contrast to the conventional fluidized beds. The bed pressure drop of increased with superficial velocity after minimum fluidization as a result of increasing centrifugal bed weight. It was also found that the particle size and centre body strongly influence the bed hydrodynamics.

Investigation of Flow Uniformity and Pressure Recovery in a Turning Diffuser by Means of Baffles

Turning diffuser is an engineering device that is widely used in the industry to reduce the flow velocity as well as change the direction of the flow. Having a curvature shape causes its performance to decrease in terms of pressure recovery (Cp) and flow uniformity (σu). Therefore, this study presents the work done in designing baffles to be installed in the turning diffuser with ratio of AR=2.16 to improve the flow uniformity and pressure recovery. It also aims to investigate the mechanism of flow structure and pressure recovery in turning diffusers by means of turning baffles. The results with varying inflow Reynolds number (Rein) between 5.786E+04 1.775E+05 have been experimentally tested and compared with previous study. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) was used to determine the flow uniformity. On the other hand, a digital manometer provided the average static pressure of the inlet and outlet of turning diffuser. The best produced pressure recovery of Cp=0.526 were recorded when the system were operated at the highest Reynolds number tested Rein=1.775E+05. This result shows an improvement up to 54.625% deviation from previous study with Cp=0.239. The flow uniformity also shows an improvement of 47.127% deviation from previous study at the same Rein with σu=3.235 as compared to previous study σu=6.12.

Elemental and thermo-chemical analysis of oil palm fronds for biomass energy conversion

Oil palm frond is the most abundant yet untapped biomass waste in Malaysia. This paper investigates the characteristics of raw oil palm fronds and its ash to evaluate its potential utilization as a biomass fuel for gasification process using single throat downdraft gasifier. The morphological nature, elemental content, proximate and ultimate analysis and calorific value were studied. Field emission scanning electron microscopy and x-ray fluorescence were used to investigate the surface morphology, elemental and mineralogical nature of oil palm frond and its ash. The results were compared with other agricultural and forestry biomass wastes. From proximate analysis volatile matter, fixed carbon and ash were found to be 83.5%, 15.2% and 1.3%, respectively on dry basis. From ultimate analysis result values of 44.58%, 4.53%, 0.71% and 0.07% for carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and sulfur were found respectively on dry basis. Oxygen was determined by difference and found to be 48.81%. The proximate and ultimate analy...

Hydrodynamics of oil palm frond in a swirling fluidized bed dryer

This paper presents the hydrodynamics of chopped oil palm fronds (OPF) from cold flow experiments carried out in a swirling fluidized bed dryer (SFBD). The chopped OPF was 10 – 15 mm in size and falls in between Geldart type B and D. The OPF which consisted of leaves and petiole (stem) were first separated before studied individually due to their different physical characteristics. 2 bed loadings of 120g and 140g were investigated for bed pressure drop, (ΔPb), minimum fluidization velocity (Umf) and minimum swirling velocity (Ums) while regimes of operation were closely observed. The experiments yield that the OPF leaves and petiole have distinct hydrodynamic behavior due to their different bulk densities and voidage, hence suggesting drying should also be conducted separately unlike the current industrial practice. The leaves have lower Umf and Ums compared to the petiole and thus swirling motion was initiated earlier in SFBD when operating with leaves. Both samples however, have limited operating velocities due to elutriation. In conclusion, the SFBD was found to fluidize the chopped OPF well while providing good solid-gas contact which is highly desired for drying.

Effect of varying inflow reynolds number on pressure recovery and flow uniformity of 3-D turning diffuser

Various diffuser types characterized by the geometry are introduced in the flow line to recover the energy. A 3-D turning diffuser is a type of diffuser that its cross-section diffuses in all 3 directions of axes, i.e. x, y and z. In terms of applicability, a 3-D turning diffuser offers compactness and more outlet-inlet configurations over a 2-D turning diffuser. However, the flow within a 3-D turning diffuser is expected to be more complex which susceptible to excessive losses. As yet there is no established guideline that can be referred to choose a 3-D turning diffuser with an optimum performance. This paper aims to investigate the effects of varying inflow Reynolds number (Rein) on the performance of 3-D turning diffuser with 90o angle of turn. The outlet pressure recovery (Cp) and flow uniformity (σu) of 3-D turning diffuser with an area ratio (AR = 2.16) and outlet-inlet configurations (W2/W1 = 1.44, X2/X1 = 1.5), operated at inflow Reynolds number of Rein = 5.786E+04 - 1.775E+05 have been experimentally tested. The experimental rig was developed by incorporating several features of low subsonic wind tunnel. This was mainly to produce a perfect fully developed and uniform flow entering diffuser. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) was used to examine the flow quality, and a digital manometer was used to measure the average static pressure of the inlet and outlet of turning diffuser. There is a promising improvement in terms of flow uniformity when a 3-D turning diffuser is used instead of a 2-D turning diffuser with the same AR. An unexpected trend found with a drop of pressure recovery at maximum operating condition of Rein = 1.775E+05 shall require further investigations. The results obtained from this study will be in future used to validate the numerical codes. Upon successful validation, several other configurations will be numerically tested in order to establish the guidelines in the form of mathematical models.

Pressure Drop and Heat Transfer Characteristics of Louvered Fin Heat Exchangers

This paper presents the effect of the changes in fin geometry on pressure drop and heat transfer characteristics of louvered fin heat exchanger numerically. Three dimensional simulation using ANSYS Fluent have been conducted for six different configurations at Reynolds number ranging from 200 to 1000 based on louver pitch. The performance of this system has been evaluated by calculating pressure drop and heat transfer coefficient. The result shows that, the fin pitch and the louver pitch have a very considerable effect on pressure drop as well as heat transfer rate. It is observed that increasing the fin pitch will relatively result in an increase in heat transfer rate but at the same time, the pressure drop will decrease. On the other hand, low pressure drop and low heat transfer rate will be obtained when the louver pitch is increased. Final result shows a good agreement between experimental and numerical results of the louvered fin which is about 12%. This indicates the capability of louvered fin in enhancing the performance of heat exchangers.