ABSTRACT
The paper presents results of an experimental study of the fluid velocity field in a stirred tank equipped with a Prochem Maxflo T (PMT) type impeller which was rotating at a constant frequency of N = 4.1 or 8.2 s-1 inducing transitional (Re = 499 or 1307) or turbulent (Re = 2.43 × 104) flow of the fluid. The experiments were performed for a Newtonian fluid (water) and a non-Newtonian fluid (0.2 wt% aqueous solution of carboxymethyl cellulose, CMC) exhibiting mild viscoelastic properties. Measurements were carried out using laser light scattering on tracer particles which follow the flow (2-D PIV). For both the water and the CMC solution one primary and two secondary circulation loops were observed within the fluid volume; however, the secondary loops were characterized by much lower intensity. The applied PMT-type impeller produced in the Newtonian fluid an axial primary flow, whilst in the non-Newtonian fluid the flow was more radial. The results obtained in the form of the local mean velocity components were in satisfactory agreement with the literature data from LDA. Distribution of the shear rate in the studied system was also analyzed. For the non-Newtonian fluid an area was computed where the elastic force dominates over the viscous one. The area was nearly matching the region occupied by the primary circulation loop.
ABSTRACT
Results of numerical simulations of momentum transfer for a highly shear-thinning fluid (0.2% Carbopol) in a stirred tank equipped with a Prochem Maxflo T type impeller are presented. The simulation results were validated using LDA data and both tangential and axial force measurements in the laminar and early transitional flow range. A good agreement between the predicted and experimental results of the local fluid velocity components was found. From the predicted and experimental values of both tangential and axial forces, the power number, Po, and thrust number, Th, were also calculated. Values of the absolute relative deviations were below 4.0 and 10.5%, respectively, for Po and Th, which confirms a satisfactory agreement with experiments. An intensive mixing zone, known as cavern, was observed near the impeller. In this zone, the local values of fluid velocity, strain rate, Metzner-Otto coefficient, shear stress and intensity of energy dissipation were all characterized by strong variability. Based on the results of experimental study a new model using non-dimensional impeller force number was proposed to predict the cavern diameter. Comparative numerical simulations were also carried out for a Newtonian fluid (water) and their results were similarly well verified using LDA measurements, as well as experimental power number values.
ABSTRACT
A typical operating temperature of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is quite high above 750 °C and affects the thermomechanical behavior of the cell. Thermal stresses may cause microstructural instability and sub-critical cracking. Therefore, a joint analysis by the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and computational structural mechanics based on the finite element method (FEM) was carried out to analyze thermal stresses in a planar SOFC and to predict potential failure locations in the cell. A full numerical model was based on the coupling of thermo-fluid model with the thermo-mechanical model. Based on a temperature distribution from the thermo-fluid model, stress distribution including the von Mises stress, shear stress as well as the operating principal stress were derived in the thermo-mechanical model. The FEM calculations were performed under different working conditions of the planar SOFC. The highest total stress was noticed at the lower operating voltage of 0.3 V, while the lowest total stress was determined at the voltage of 0.7 V. The obtained stress distributions allowed a better understanding of details of internal processes occurring within the SOFC and provided helpful guidance in the optimization of a new SOFC design.
