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In the optic of a more sustainable society, research and development of highly efficient fluid machines represent a fundamental process to satisfy the rapidly growing energy needs of the modern world. Radial turbines are characterized by higher efficiencies for a larger range of inflow conditions compared to axial turbines. Due to this favorable characteristic, they find their natural application in turbocharger systems, where the flow is inherently unsteady due to the engine reciprocating. In a turbocharged engine, to exploit the residual energy contained in the exhaust gases, the radial turbine is fed by the exhaust gases from the cylinders of the engine. The particular inflow conditions to which a turbocharger turbine is exposed, i.e. pulsating flow and high gas temperatures, make the turbocharger turbine a unique example in the turbomachinery field. Indeed, pulsating flow causes performance deviations from quasi-steady to pulsating flow conditions, while heat transfer deteriorates the turbine performance. Modeling correctly these phenomena is essential to enhance turbocharger-engine matching. The problem is further complicated since, due to the geometrical diversity of the different parts of the system, each component represents a stand-alone problem both in terms of flow characteristics and design optimization. In this thesis, high-fidelity numerical simulations are used to characterize the performance of a single-entry radial turbine applied in a commercial 4-cylinder engine for a passenger car under engine-like conditions. By treating the hot-side system as a stand-alone device, parametrization of the pulse shape imposed as inlet boundary conditions has let to highlight specific trends of the system response to pulse amplitude and frequency variations. Reduced-order models to predict the deviations of the turbine performance from quasi-steady to pulsating flow conditions are developed. At first, a simple algebraic model demonstrates the proportionality between the intensity of the deviations and the normalized reduced frequency. Then, a neural network model is demonstrated to accurately predict the unsteady turbine performance given a limited number of training data. Lastly, a gradient-based optimization method is developed to identify the optimum working conditions, in terms of pulse shape, to maximize the power output of the turbine. High-fidelity LES simulations are used to improve the understanding of flow physics. The flow at the rotor blade experiences different characteristics between continuous and pulsating flow conditions. In particular, large separations and secondary flows develop on both the pressure and suction sides of the blade as a consequence of the large range of relative inflow angles the blade is exposed to. Such secondary flows are addressed as the main cause of the drop of the isentropic efficiency from continuous to pulsating flow conditions. QC 220921

Despite all environmental and economic advantages of wind power, noise emission remains an issue for population acceptance. In France, the current noise emission regulation defines noise emergence level thresholds, leading to wind turbine curtailment. Great energy generation losses and thus lost revenues are at stake. This master thesis presents current acoustic campaigns conducted for the development of a wind power project in France and proposes acoustic model improvements to predict curtailment losses before the construction of the wind farm. It first gives insights about the French wind power context and a literature review of available technologies to reduce noise emission from the blades. It then presents the particularities of French regulation of emergence levels and the use of the norm NFS 31-114 during the commissioning acoustic control. It explains the current acoustic model used at the development stage to predict noise emission and curtailment and finally proposes improvements such as considering the topography, the environmental characteristics and the use of uncertainties.

This paper discusses experimental techniques for obtaining the acoustic properties of in-duct samples with non-linear acoustic characteristics. The methods developed are intended for studies of non-linear energy transfer to higher harmonics for samples accessible from both side such as perforates or other material used as top sheets in aircraft engine liners and automotive mufflers. New double sided multi-port techniques, using sinusoidal excitation, for characterisation of samples with non-linear properties are developed and experimentally tested. The results of the preliminary experimental tests show that these new techniques can give results which are useful for understanding non-linear energy transfer to higher harmonics. QC 20120424

This paper discusses the possibility to apply polyharmonic distortion modelling, used for nonlinear characterisation of microwave systems, to acoustic characterisation of samples with non-linear properties such as perforates and other facing sheets used in aircraft engine liners and automotive mufflers. In some previous papers multi-port techniques using sinusoidal excitation for characterization of samples with non-linear properties were developed and experimentally tested. These techniques aimed at taking non-linear energy transfer between sound field harmonics into account. Essentially linear system identification theory was however used assuming that superposition applies and that the functions studied are analytical. Polyharmonic distortion modelling does not assume that the function relating waves incident and reflected or transmitted is analytic nor does it assume application of normal superposition. This technique is tested on experimental data obtained from measurements on a perforate mounted in a duct. The similarity to the previously developed nonlinear scattering matrix techniques is demonstrated. It is shown how the results obtained can be used to analyse nonlinear energy transfer to higher harmonics. © 2011 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. All rights reserved.

Wave energy technology is currently growing and gaining popularity. With around 100 separate technologies researched globally in over 25 countries wave energy are believed to soon be able to compete with other renewable sources such as wind energy. One of the new technologies is WaveTube; a wave energy converter currently under development and in need of technical verification. The basic idea of WaveTube is a partially submerged container with an enclosed fresh water volume. The kinetic energy of the ocean waves are transferred onto the floating container, creating an inner flow in the structure and electricity is generated as the fresh water flows through turbines. Previous small-scale model tests have confirmed the basic idea of WaveTube and an inherent continuation is visualizing and evaluating the inner flow using Computational Fluid Dynamics. A simplified 2D simulation where the WaveTube structure is subject to a pure sinusoidal, rotational motion was believed to be able to give useful information about the inner flow field. However, this Master Thesis project shows that a simulation using ANSYS Fluent of this case is not a successful approach. With inner moving parts a so called dynamic mesh was required, which updates the mesh as the boundaries move. In order for this method to be successful the mesh needs to be of high quality. However, for the complex geometry that WaveTube is no mesh was found to meet the requirements and the calculations using the Volume of Fluid method were not able to proceed.

At the intake of hydropower plants, air-core vortex formation is known to cause severe damage. In order to study how to prevent and reduce the origin of the vortex, Vattenfall has built a scale model of the Akkats hydropower plant dam, where scale testing is possible. This thesis work consists of discerning whether Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) in terms of solving the Unsteady Reynolds Average Navier-Stokes equations (URANS) can be used as a complement to scale testing. For this work, the RNG k-epsilon turbulence model is chosen, and the flow field is solved with implicit time discretization using a pressure-based solver, for three different inlet flow conditions. Despite significant differences in the inflow of these three cases, the resulting flow fields are surprisingly similar. A main result is that no vortex is formed in any of the cases. The cause of this is discussed, but the number of possible answers is large. The main purpose of the report has therefore become to lay the foundation for further research. Amongst the top priorities in parameters to investigate lies the choice of turbulence model, the surface height, the pressure discretization scheme and to perform calculations on a more expensive mesh. Virvlar som uppstår vid intaget i vattenkraftverk kan orsaka stora skador. För att kunna göra studier om hur man bäst motverkar virveln och förhindrar dess uppkomst, har Vattenfall AB byggt en småskalig modell av dammen vid Akkats vattenkraftverk. Det här arbetet behandlar frågeställningen huruvida Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) med lösning av ekvationerna för Unsteady Reynolds Average Navier-Stokes (URANS) kan användas som ett komplement till dessa modell-tester. I det här arbetet har turbulensmodellen RNG k−epsilon valts och flödesfältet löses för tre olika tillstånd för flödet vid inloppet, med hjälp av implicit tidsdiskretisering tillsammans med en tryckbaserad ekvationslösare. Trots betydande skillnader för inflödet för dessa tre fall är de resulterande flödesfälten överraskande lika. Ett huvudresultat är att ingen virvel formas för någon av dessa fall. Anledningen till detta har diskuterats, men antalet möjliga anledningar är många. Huvudsyftet med den här rapporten har därför blivit att lägga en grund för framtida efterforskningar på området. Några av de viktigaste parametrarna att undersöka är valet av turbulensmodell, höjden på vattenytan, tryckdiskretiserings-schema samt att genomföra beräkningar för en finare mesh.

For modeling thermal heat transfer, not only the effects of convection and conduction are relevant, but also thermal and visible radiation. Radiation is especially important for setups with large temperature differences, as well as for interaction with external light sources.Common computational fluid dynamic models usually treat radiation transport as a minor effect, that can be handled by simplified algorithms. All these normal models, e.g. surface to surface model, discrete transfer model, P_N method, discrete ordinates model, exhibit disadvantages in the computing performance and the physical modeling. Hence, there are many technical applications, where the fluid simulation are limited both in accuracy and calculation time by the available radiation model. As exemplary cases combustion chambers, smoke and soot creation, solar power generation, UV water disinfection, condensation in car headlights, fusion and fission reactor chambers, electric arc movement, as well as low-emissivity glass windows can be named. In the fields investigating radiation as main effect, e.g. cinematic 3d animation or illumination simulation for lamps and workspaces, the mentioned methods are not in use anymore as ray tracing is the first choice. In this work, the existing methods for ray tracing were adapted and implemented with the goal to interact with fluid flow simulations and replace existing radiation modeling. This can be regarded as innovative, interdisciplinary method for the interaction of fluids and solids with radiation, incorporating physical effects that could not be included in previous simulations. While in usual light calculations, the geometry exists solely in the form of surfaces and their triangulation, fluid flow requires volumetric calculation grids. Hence, methods are implemented that actually use the volumetric grid, and incorporate volumetric effects with little additional effort. Spectral volumetric path tracing with Monte Carlo integrated, importance sampled emission was hence the method of choice for this work. The implemented ray tracer is able to emit radiation from point sources, geometric surfaces, as well as from volumetric sources. Spectral dependence of material values is treated using radiation bands with hardly no increase of calculation time, whereas in all other models, the calculation time scales linearly with the amount of bands. Direct, diffuse and mixed surface reflection is modeled. The volumetric refraction index is implemented, so refraction is modeled, even including partial and total reflexion. The focusing of lenses or mirror systems can hence be simulated satisfactory, which cannot be treated sufficiently by any other radiation model. Surface and volumetric absorption are implemented, as well as surface and volumetric scattering effects. The radiation emission can be caused by a temperature field at surfaces and volumes. These fields are imported from software calculating the fluid and the thermal system. Ray tracing results in volumetric and surface heat sources that can be returned to the original code, and their effect further calculations. This coupling was implemented and tested with the commercial computational fluid dynamics code Fluent, using its plug-in interface. As most of Fluent's radiation models are only performed after a fixed number of implicit flow and turbulence iterations, no further disadvantages or limitations occur, that are not as well existing for the existing radiation simulations. A fully implicit treatment of radiation is unlikely to be performed, as stability is already sufficient for most applications. Of course, systems containing only heat sources caused by light and no secondary heat radiation can be treated by the implemented ray tracer with high performance. The implemented ray tracer is validated with analytically solved systems, and compared to quantitative simulation results of other simulation methods. Also, the scattering effects are validated against experimental and simulation results from literature. The observed calculation performance is similar or faster then for standard models with geometries of approximately 150000 volume elements, while the modeling is done more accurately. For larger models, even larger advantages can be expected.

The environmental impact of the research project focussed on acoustic properties of lightweight structures for use in rail vehicles is investigated. The Environmental impact of rail transport is compared to that of road and air transport. The environmental impact of different trains are then compared using published data in the form of standardised Environmental Product Declarations (EPD), summarising Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) results. Since the EPDs are made for a certain train in a specified operation on a specified market, it is difficult to compare the environmental impact for trains in different types of operations. In spite of this it is clear that comfort requirements such as acoustics drives weight increase, and that a decrease of total train weight does have a significant impact on the energy consumption. Also the mode of electricity generation for the train operation has an impact. There is a large difference in environmental impact between markets with hydropower generated electricity and those who have to rely on electricity generated by fossil fuels. The conclusion is that research on how to improve acoustic properties, such as sound transmission loss, with a minimum increase of weight, does contribute to making an environmental friendly mode of transport more competitive compared to road and air transport QC 20160711 Centre for ECO2 Vehicle Design

Wind tunnel studies of the wake behind model wind turbines with one, two and three blades have been made in order to get a better understanding of wake development as well as the possibility to predict the power output from downstream turbines working in the wake of an upstream one. Both two-component hot-wire anemometry and particle image velocimetry (PIV) have been used to map the flow field downstream as well as upstream the turbine. All three velocity components were measured both for the turbine rotor normal to the oncoming flow as well as with the turbine inclined to the free stream direction (the yaw angle was varied from 0 to 30 degrees). The measurements showed, as expected, a wake rotation in the opposite direction to that of the turbine. A yawed turbine is found to clearly deflect the wake flow to the side showing the potential of controlling the wake position by yawing the turbine. The power output of a yawed turbine was found to depend strongly on the rotor. The possibility to use active wake control by yawing an upstream turbine was evaluated and was shown to have a potential to increase the power output significantly for certain configurations. An unexpected feature of the flow was that spectra from the time signals showed the appearance of a low frequency fluctuation both in the wake and in the flow outside. This fluctuation was found both with and without free stream turbulence and also with a yawed turbine. The non-dimensional frequency (Strouhal number) was independent of the freestream velocity and turbulence level but increases with the yaw angle. However the low frequency fluctuations were only observed when the tip speed ratio was high. Porous discs have been used to compare the meandering frequencies and the cause in wind turbines seems to be related to the blade rotational frequency. It is hypothesized that the observed meandering of wakes in field measurements is due to this shedding. QC 20101018

Emission and fuel consumption are among the key parameters when designing a combustion system. Combustion CFD can assist in this task only if good enough accuracy is achieved regarding combustion and emission predictions. The aim of this master thesis is to evaluate the use of detailed reaction mechanisms (as a substitute for standard combustion model) in terms of computational time and result accuracy. Several mechanisms for n-heptane are tested. Lund University optical engine experimental case is used for this evaluation.Results showed that detailed chemistry can predict ignition accurately but differences are observed in the peak cylinder pressure. The computational time also increased significantly as size and complexity of the mechanism increased. Recommendations are given to improve predictions using detailed chemistry approach which is found to be an interesting approach especially for lift-off length predictions.