Physics-based modelling and data-driven optimisation of a latent heat thermal energy storage system with corrugated fins

Solid-liquid phase transformation of a phase change material in a rectangular enclosure with corrugated fins is studied. Employing a physics-based model, the influence of fin length, thickness, and wave amplitude on the thermal and fluid flow fields is explored. Incorporating fins into thermal energy storage systems enhances the heat transfer...

Laser butt welding of thin stainless steel 316L sheets in asymmetric configurations: A numerical study

Laser butt welding of thin metal sheets is a widely used fusion-based joining technique in industrial manufacturing. A comprehensive understanding of the complex transport phenomena during the welding process is essential for achieving high-quality welds. In the present work, high-fidelity numerical simulations are employed to investigate the...

Numerical Study of Gas Flow in Super Nanoporous Materials Using the Direct Simulation Monte-Carlo Method

The direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method, which is a probabilistic particle-based gas kinetic simulation approach, is employed in the present work to describe the physics of rarefied gas flow in super nanoporous materials (also known as mesoporous). The simulations are performed for different material porosities (0.5≤ϕ≤0.9), Knudsen...

Challenges in preparing for Environmental Technology Verification in a demonstration project: A case study of three innovative water treatment technologies

The European Union's Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) program aims to foster innovative environmental technologies to reach the market and reassure potential users. This paper presents an investigation of using ETV for three technologies, being developed within the EU Zero Brine research and innovation project. The technologies...

Pressure-Driven Nitrogen Flow in Divergent Microchannels with Isothermal Walls

Gas flow and heat transfer in confined geometries at micro-and nanoscales differ considerably from those at macro-scales, mainly due to nonequilibrium effects such as velocity slip and temperature jump. Nonequilibrium effects increase with a decrease in the characteristic length-scale of the fluid flow or the gas density, leading to the failure...

Numerical study of molten metal melt pool behaviour during conduction-mode laser spot melting

Molten metal melt pools are characterised by highly non-linear responses, which are very sensitive to imposed boundary conditions. Temporal and spatial variations in the energy flux distribution are often neglected in numerical simulations of melt pool behaviour. Additionally, thermo-physical properties of materials are commonly changed to...

The influence of surface deformation on thermocapillary flow instabilities in low Prandtl melting pools with surfactants

Heat and fluid flow in low Prandtl number melting pools during laser processing of materials are sensitive to the prescribed boundary conditions, and the responses are highly nonlinear. Previous studies have shown that fluid flow in melt pools with surfactants can be unstable at high Marangoni numbers. In numerical simulations of molten metal...

Laminar convective heat transfer of shear-thinning liquids in rectangular channels with longitudinal vortex generators

Heat and fluid flow in a rectangular channel heat sink equipped with longitudinal vortex generators have been numerically investigated in the range of Reynolds numbers between 25 and 200. Aqueous solutions of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) with different concentrations (200–2000 ppm), which are shear-thinning non-Newtonian liquids, have been...

DSMC investigation of rarefied gas flow through diverging micro- and nanochannels

Direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method with simplified Bernoulli trials (SBT) collision scheme has been used to study the rarefied pressure-driven nitrogen flow through diverging micro- and nanochannels. The fluid behaviours flowing between two plates with different divergence angles ranging between 0° and 17° are described at different...

An investigation on thermo-hydraulic performance of a flat-plate channel with pyramidal protrusions

In this study, a flat-plate channel configured with pyramidal protrusions are numerically analysed for the first time. Simulations of laminar single-phase fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics are developed using a finite-volume approach under steady-state condition. Pure water is selected as the coolant and its thermo-physical...