Vol 26, No 2 (2017)

Presented are results of experimental studies of the heat transfer processes in suppression of thermal decomposition of typical forest fuels (FFs) (spruce needles, birch leaves, aspen twigs, or amixture thereof) due to the effect of aerosol water flow (drop radii: 0.01–0.12 mm; concentration: 3.8 · 10⁻⁵ m³ drop/m³ of gas). The experiments have been carried out with FF samples in the form of cylinders of a thickness of 40–100 mm and a diameter of 20–150 mm. The times required to stop the thermal decomposition of FF have been found, as well as amounts of water necessary to lower in a given time the temperature in a layer of material to the point of decomposition beginning. A dimensionless complex has been derived for prediction of water spraying parameters (amount and time of supply) that ensure sustainable termination of FF decomposition within a specified time interval.

In this work we used digital particle image visualization (PIV) to experimentally establish the self-similarity of far wake behind a tandem of two disks of a diameter D (300 mm) with a common axis along the incident flow. The research was performed in a water flume (Re ≈ 2 · 10⁵) with variation of L, the longitudinal dimension of the tandem. The self-similarity of the velocity profile in the wake behind the tandem has been established; the level of turbulent fluctuations of the profile has been measured. Due to the influence of the second disk, the velocity deficit in the wake behind the tandem exceeded the corresponding value for a single disk, being independent of the distance between the disks (L = 4–8D). The velocity fluctuations behind the tandem did not differ much from the level of fluctuations in the case of a single disk up to a distance of forty calibers downstream, where the wake ceased to differ from the background of natural turbulent fluctuations of the incident flow. It has been found that the position of the second disk in the tandem affects the energy loss in the wake due to its expansion but does not influence the decay. The revealed patterns in the wake development behind tandems of bodies will enable optimization of construction of systems of repetitive elements and their movement in different flows.

Thermocouple measurements of temperature have been performed at three main points of heterogeneous water droplet–high-temperature gases system: on the surface and in the depth of a solid inclusion, as well as on the free surface of the water droplet. Investigations have been carried out for water droplets of an initial volume of 5–15 μl with single inclusions of cubic graphite particles of a typical size of 1 mm. The gas temperature varied from 700 K to 1200 K, which corresponds to the main practical applications: thermal purification of water from solid and liquid impurities, fire extinguishing, treatment of heat-loaded surfaces of power equipment, etc. A hypothesis about the dominant role of radiant heat transfer in vaporization within heterogeneous water droplets has been grounded. It has been shown that in a short period (a few seconds), the surface temperature of an opaque solid inclusion within a droplet can reach the boiling point of water. A significant change in the optical properties of water with increasing temperature has been revealed, i.e., water became partially transparent to the infrared radiation. Presence of an opaque heterogeneous inclusion enhances this effect due to intensification of the heating of the water film. The heat and mass transfer characteristics obtained in the experiments were used for designing a model that takes into account the radiative properties of water film and adequately reproduces the results of thermocouplemeasurements. Based on the findings of the investigations, a conclusion has been formulated that models of high-temperature evaporation of water droplets should be developed with due account of changes in the optical properties of water and formation of a vapor buffer layer around inclusions.

In this study, the organic Rankine cycle (ORC) is applied to be integrated into the fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) absorption-stabilization system to extract and convert the low-grade process heat to electricity. This newly integrated system is simulated by the Aspen Plus software. For the simulation, eleven different dry and isentropic working fluids are selected to investigate the energy conversion performance of the incorporated ORC system. It is found that, the performance depends highly on the operational parameters, such as mass flow rate and the evaporation pressure of the working fluids, outlet temperature of the process stream. After optimization, the working fluids R124 and R227ea are determined to be the best candidates due to their highest output net work in HCT (high critical temperature) and LCT (low critical temperature) working fluids, respectively. A further optimization has been conducted based on the economic evaluations (i.e., electricity production cost (EPC) and total annual profit (TAP)). Results show that, for the HCT working fluids, the use of working fluid of R245fa allows the EPC to be the lowest, while the application of R124 obtains the highest TAP. For the LCT working fluids, R227ea is the best choice due to its lowest EPC and highest TAP.

The magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) stagnation point flow of Casson nanofluid over a nonlinear stretching sheet in the presence of velocity slip and convective boundary condition is examined. In this analysis, various effects such as velocity ratio, viscous dissipation, heat generation/absorption and chemical reaction are accentuated. Possessions of Brownian motion and thermophoresis are also depicted in this study. A uniform magnetic field as well as suction is taken into account. Suitable similarity transformations are availed to convert the governing nonlinear partial differential equations to a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations and then series solutions are secured using a homotopy analysis method (HAM). Notable accuracy of the present results has been obtained with the earlier results. Impact of distinct parameters on velocity, temperature, concentration, skin friction coefficient,Nusselt number and Sherwood number is canvassed through graphs and tabular forms.

The Prandtl number, Reynolds number and Nusselt number are functions of thermophysical properties of nanofluids, and these numbers strongly influence the convective heat transfer coefficient. The thermophysical properties vary with volumetric concentration of nanofluids. Therefore, a comprehensive analysis was performed to evaluate the effects on the performance of nanofluids due to variations of density, specific heat, thermal conductivity and viscosity, which are functions of nanoparticle volume concentration. Three metallic oxides, aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃), copper oxide (CuO), and titanium dioxide (TiO₂), dispersed in water as the base fluid were studied. A convenient figure of merit, known as the Mouromtseff number, is used as a base of comparisonfor laminar and turbulent flows. The results indicated that the considered nanofluids can successfully replace water in specific applications for a single-phase forced convection flow in a tube.