Flow and pressure drop on the shellside of cylindrical heat exchangers

This work presents pressure distributions and fluid flow patterns on the shellside of a cylindrical shell-and-tube heat exchanger. The apparatus used was constructed from glass enabling direct observation of the flow using a dye release technique and had ten traversable pressure instrumented tubes permitting detailed pressure distributions to be obtained. The `exchanger' had a large tube bundle (278 tubes) and main flow areas typical of practical designs. Six geometries were studied: three baffle spacings both with and without baffle leakage. Results are also presented of three-dimensional modelling of shellside flows using the Harwell Laboratory's FLOW3D code. Flow visualisation provided flow patterns in the central plane of the bundle and adjacent to the shell wall. Comparison of these high-lighted significant radial flow variations. In particular, separated regions, originating from the baffle tips, were observed. The size of these regions was small in the bundle central plane but large adjacent to the shell wall and extended into the bypass lane. This appeared to reduce the bypass flow area and hence the bypass flow fraction. The three-dimensional flow modelling results were presented as velocity vector and isobar maps. The vector maps illustrated regions of high and low velocity which could be prone to tube vibration and fouling. Separated regions were also in evidence. A non-uniform crossflow was discovered with, in general, higher velocities in the central plane of the bundle than near the shell wall._The form of the isobar maps calculated by FLOW3D was in good agreement with experimental results. In particular, larger pressure drops occurred across the inlet than outlet of a crossflow region and were higher near the upstream than downstream baffle face. The effect of baffle spacing and baffle leakage on crossflow and window pressure drop measurements was identified. Agreement between the current measurements, previously obtained data and commonly used design correlations/models was, in general, poor. This was explained in terms of the increased understanding of shellside flow. The bulk of previous data, which dervies from small-scale rigs with few tubes, have been shown to be unrepresentative of typical commerical units. The Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow Service design program TASC provided the best predictions of the current pressure drop results. However, a number of simple one-dimensional models in TASC are, individually, questionable. Some revised models have been proposed.

The mechanical behaviour of cylindrical GRP panels

Glass reinforced plastic (GRP) is now an established material for the fabrication of sonar windows. Its good mechanical strength, light weight, resistance to corrosion and acoustic transparency, are all properties which fit it for this application. This thesis describes a study, undertaken at the Royal Naval Engineering College, Plymouth, into the mechanical behaviour of a circular cylindrical sonar panel. This particular type of panel would be used to cover a flank array sonar in a ship or submarine. The case considered is that of a panel with all of its edges mechanically clamped and subject to pressure loading on its convex surface. A comprehensive program of testing, to determine the orthotropic elastic properties of the laminated composite panel material is described, together with a series of pressure tests on 1:5 scale sonar panels. These pressure tests were carried out in a purpose designed test rig, using air pressure to provide simulated hydrostatic and hydrodynamic loading. Details of all instrumentation used in the experimental work are given in the thesis. The experimental results from the panel testing are compared with predictions of panel behaviour obtained from both the Galerkin solution of Flugge's cylindrical shell equations (orthotropic case), and finite element modelling of the panels using PAFEC. A variety of appropriate panel boundary conditions are considered in each case. A parametric study, intended to be of use as a preliminary design tool, and based on the above Galerkin solution, is also presented. This parametric study considers cases of boundary conditions, material properties, and panel geometry, outside of those investigated in the experimental work Final conclusions are drawn and recommendations made regarding possible improvements to the procedures for design, manufacture and fixing of sonar panels in the Royal Navy.

Investigations into vibration and sound transmission characteristics of cylindrical shells

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Fluid mechanical and electrostatic study on the osmotic flow through cylindrical pores

When two solutions differing in solute concentration are separated by a porous membrane, the osmotic pressure will generate a net volume flux of the suspending fluid across the membrane; this is termed osmotic flow. We consider the osmotic flow across a membrane with circular cylindrical pores when the solute and the pore walls are electrically charged, and the suspending fluid is an electrolytic solution containing small cations and anions. Under the condition in which the radius of the pores and that of the solute molecules greatly exceed those of the solvent as well as the ions, a fluid mechanical and electrostatic theory is introduced to describe the osmotic flow in the presence of electric charge. The interaction energy, including the electrostatic interaction between the solute and the pore wall, plays a key role in determining the osmotic flow. We examine the electrostatic effect on the osmotic flow and discuss the difference in the interaction energy determined from the nonlinear Poisson-Boltzmann equation and from its linearized equation (the Debye-Hückel equation).

Zonal flow induced by longitudinal librations of a rotating cylindrical cavity

Longitudinal librations represent oscillations about the axis of a rotating axisymmetric fluid filled cavity. An analytical theory is developed for the case of a cylindrical cavity in the limit when the libration frequency is small in comparison with the rotation rate, but large in comparison with the inverse of the spin-up time. It is shown that through the nonlinear advection in the Ekman layers the librations cause the fluid to rotate more slowly. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Evaluating the effect of splitting cylindrical power on improving patient tolerance to toric lens misalignment

Purpose: Evaluating the impact of splitting toric power on patient tolerance to misorientation such as with intraocular lens rotation. Setting: University vision clinic. Methods: Healthy, non astigmats had +1.50D astigmatism induced with spectacle lenses at 90°, 135°, 180° and +3.00D at 90°. Two correcting cylindrical lenses of the opposite sign and half the power each were subsequently added to the trial frame misaligned by 0°, 5° or 10° in a random order and misorientated from the initial axis in a clockwise direction by up to 15° in 5° steps. A second group of adapted astigmats with between 1.00 and 3.00DC had their astigmatism corrected with two toric spectacle lenses of half the power separated by 0°, 5° or 10° and misorientated from the initial axis in both directions by up to 15° in 5° steps. Distance, high contrast visual acuity was measured using a computerised test chart at each lens misalignment and misorientation. Results: Misorientation of the split toric lenses caused a statistically significant drop in visual acuity (F= 70.341; p< 0.001). Comparatively better acuities were observed around 180°, as anticipated (F= 3.775; p= 0.035). Misaligning the split toric power produced no benefit in visual acuity retention with axis misorientation when subjects had astigmatism induced with a low (F= 2.190, p= 0.129) or high cylinder (F= 0.491, p= 0.617) or in the adapted astigmats (F= 0.120, p= 0.887). Conclusion: Misalignment of toric lens power split across the front and back lens surfaces had no beneficial effect on distance visual acuity, but also no negative effect. © 2013 British Contact Lens Association.

Investigations into responses of cylindrical shells to random acoustic excitation

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A new creep test method for asphalt mixtures

A new creep test, Partial Triaxial Test (PTT), was developed to study the permanent deformation properties of asphalt mixtures. The PTT used two duplicate platens whose diameters were smaller than the diameter of the cylindrical asphalt mixtures specimen. One base platen was centrally placed under the specimen and another loading platen was centrally placed on the top surface of the specimen. Then the compressive repeated load was applied on the loading platen and the vertical deformation of the asphalt mixture was recorded in the PTTs. Triaxial repeated load permanent deformation tests (TRT) and PTTs were respectively conducted on AC20 and SMA13 asphalt mixtures at 40°C and 60°C so as to provide the parameters of the creep constitutive relations in the ABAQUS finite element models (FEMs) which were built to simulate the laboratory wheel tracking tests. The real laboratory wheel tracking tests were also conducted on AC20 and SMA13 asphalt mixtures at 40°C and 60°C. Then the calculated rutting depth from the FEMs were compared with the measured rutting depth of the laboratory wheeling tracking tests. Results indicated that PTT was able to characterize the permanent deformation of the asphalt mixtures in laboratory. The rutting depth calculated using the parameters estimated from PTTs' results was closer to and showed better matches with the measured rutting than the rutting depth calculated using the parameters estimated from TRTs' results. Main reason was that PTT could better simulate the changing confinement conditions of asphalt mixtures in the laboratory wheeling tracking tests than the TRT.

The application of fixed hydrophobic patterns for confinement of aqueous solutions in proteomic microarrays

A protein microarray hybridisation system has been implemented by employing patterned hydrophobic thin films on hydrophilic substrates as a means of confinement for aqueous samples. This approach has the ability to handle, and keep separate, small sample volumes of just a few microlitres. In addition, the system is more straightforward to use than the existing multi-well gasket solution. The paper describes the fabrication method and the system is demonstrated for a model protein microarray assay. © 2011 American Institute of Physics.

Pore confinement effects and stabilization of carbon nitride oligomers in macroporous silica for photocatalytic hydrogen production

An ordered macroporous host (mac-SiO2) has been used to prevent aggregation of layered photocatalysts based on carbon nitride. Using typical carbon nitride synthesis conditions, cyanamide was condensed at 550 °C in the presence and absence of mac-SiO2. Condensation in the absence of mac-SiO2 results in materials with structural characteristics consistent with the carbon nitride, melon, accompanied by ca. 2 wt% carbonization. For mac-SiO2 supported materials, condensation occurs with greater carbonization (ca. 6 wt%). On addition of 3 wt% Pt cocatalyst photocatalytic hydrogen production under visible light is found to be up to 10 times greater for the supported composites. Time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy shows that excited state relaxation is more rapid for the mac-SiO2 supported materials suggesting faster electron-hole recombination and that supported carbon nitride does not exhibit improved charge separation. CO2 temperature programmed desorption indicates that enhanced photoactivity of supported carbon nitride is attributable to an increased surface area compared to bulk carbon nitride and an increase in the concentration of weakly basic catalytic sites, consistent with carbon nitride oligomers.

Random distributed feedback fiber laser

Researchers conducted investigations to demonstrate the advantages of random distributed feedback fiber laser. Random lasers had advantages, such as simple technology that did not require a precise microcavity and low production cost. The properties of their output radiation were special in comparison to those of conventional lasers and they were characterized by complex features in the spatial, spectral, and time domains. The researchers demonstrated a new type of one-dimensional laser with random distributed feedback based on Rayleigh scattering (RS) that was presented in any transparent glass medium due to natural inhomogeneities of refractive index. The cylindrical fiber waveguide geometry provided transverse confinement, while the cavity was open in the longitudinal direction and did not include any regular point-action reflectors.