Numerical investigation of the temporal evolution of particulate fouling in metal foams for air-cooled heat exchangers

Kuruneru, Sahan Trushad Wickramasooriya; Sauret, Emilie; Saha, Suvash C.; Gu, Yuantong

doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.10.044

Cited by 38 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…One possible reason is that the surface roughness of the model was not accounted for. Kuruneru et al (2016) concluded that Weaire-Phelan models can be used for heat exchangers where low Reynolds number is prevalent such as HVAC&R systems and the Weaire-Phelan model can overestimate the pressure drop at high Reynolds number. Many researchers have used cylindrical arrays of circular struts which is a simple representation to the real metal foam geometry at the pore-level (Dukhan, 2005;Fuller, 2005;Ghosh, 2009;Hooman, 2012;Tamayol, 2011;Mahjoob & Vafai, 2008).…”

Section: Nomenclaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Unfortunately, there are very limited studies that critically examine the complete fundamental aspects of multiphase solid-fluid flows and solid particulate fouling in metal foam heat exchangers. There are limited studies on multiphase solid-fluid flows through metal foam heat exchangers; however, these studies assume isothermal flows in which no heat transfer effects where considered (Kuruneru et al, 2016;Kuruneru et al, 2017a;Kuruneru et al, 2017b;Kuruneru et al, 2017c;Kuruneru et al, 2018). Secondly, the effects of solid particulate fouling coupled with heat transfer effects in porous media was not considered.…”

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confidence: 99%

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A macroscopic particle modelling approach for non-isothermal solid-gas and solid-liquid flows through porous media

Robone

Kuruneru

Islam

et al. 2019

Applied Thermal Engineering

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The complexity of multiphase flows in many engineering systems such as heat exchangers signify the need to develop new and advanced numerical models to analyse the interactions the working fluid and unwanted solid foulants. Fouling is present in a myriad of industrial and domestic processes and it has a negative impact on the economy and the environment. The mechanisms that govern non-isothermal solid-fluid flow through porous metal foam heat exchangers are complex and poorly understood. In this research, a coupled finite volume method (FVM) and macroscopic particle model (MPM) is developed and implemented in ANSYS Fluent to examine the transient evolution of a non-isothermal multiphase solid-fluid flow and the interaction between coupled interactions of solid particles, fluid, and porous media. The maximum particle temperature is dependent on the fluid and solid particle thermo-physical properties in addition to the temperature of the cylindrical ligaments of the porous media. The present results show that the smallest solid particles reach the highest temperatures in the porous heat exchanger and at low inlet velocities, the highest particle temperatures are realized. The results pertaining to maximum particle temperatures are prevalent in many industrial processes and acquiring knowledge of the maximum particle temperature serves as a steppingstone for comprehending complex multiphase solid-fluid flows such as the cohesiveness between the particles and the particle adhesion with the walls. The results of these studies could potentially be used in the future to optimize metal foam heat exchanger designs.

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Section: Nomenclaturementioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

A macroscopic particle modelling approach for non-isothermal solid-gas and solid-liquid flows through porous media

Robone

Kuruneru

Islam

et al. 2019

Applied Thermal Engineering

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“…The cellular configuration design is fundamental, as its purpose is the definition of a commercial foam-like structure that matches specific application requirements. As a consequence of their random structure, the foams offer very valuable materials for filters [29][30][31] or heat exchange processes [32][33][34][35].…”

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confidence: 99%

Design and Mechanical Characterization of Voronoi Structures Manufactured by Indirect Additive Manufacturing

et al. 2020

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Additive manufacturing (AM) is a production process for the fabrication of three-dimensional items characterized by complex geometries. Several technologies employ a localized melting of metal dust through the application of focused energy sources, such as lasers or electron beams, on a powder bed. Despite the high potential of AM, numerous burdens afflict this production technology; for example, the few materials available, thermal stress due to the focused thermal source, low surface finishing, anisotropic properties, and the high cost of raw materials and the manufacturing process. In this paper, the combination by AM of meltable resins with metal casting for an indirect additive manufacturing (I-AM) is proposed. The process is applied to the production of open cells metal foams, similar in shape to the products available in commerce. However, their cellular structure features were designed and optimized by graphical editor Grasshopper®. The metal foams produced by AM were cast with a lost wax process and compared with commercial metal foams by means of compression tests.Materials 2020, 13, 1085 2 of 11 AM processes for metallic materials represent an interesting technology in manufacturing applications. The most applied AM processes for metals include laser beam melting (LBM), electron beam melting (EBM), and laser metal deposition (LMD). Metallic parts produced by AM are more suitable for industrial applications compared to polymeric parts. However, expensive machineries, as well as low surface finishing and demanding process settings, limit the application of these methodologies in industrial environments [7]. Metal foams are composed of biphasic and cellular materials, which combine good mechanical resistance with excellent thermal and acoustic properties [8].In particular, high specific strength [9][10][11][12][13] and strain [14][15][16], excellent energy absorption [17,18], acoustic insulation [19], and heat dissipation media [20][21][22][23][24] make this class of materials increasingly useful for several multifunctional applications. The main problem afflicting metal foams regards the manufacturing process, and specifically the porosity distribution [25,26], as well as the connection with other components. The latter is a critical factor in structural and heat-exchange devices, because welding and brazing processes are time-consuming, costly, and not suitable for the most common materials exploited in metal foams production. This burdens their feasibility in industrial applications [27,28]. The cellular configuration design is fundamental, as its purpose is the definition of a commercial foam-like structure that matches specific application requirements. As a consequence of their random structure, the foams offer very valuable materials for filters [29][30][31] or heat exchange processes [32][33][34][35].

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“…The design of the cellular structure has been fundamental because the purpose of the design process is to define a morphology, completely definable and repeatable, of the structure of commercial metal foam that can be modified according to the specific application. Due to their random structure, the commercial foams are very interesting for application as a filter [31,32,33] or heat transfer [34,35]. The aim of this work is the design, realization, and thermal comparison of structures similar to commercial foams, but, due to AM technology, definable in the various geometrical characteristics as sections of ligaments and pore distribution.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design and Thermal Comparison of Random Structures Realized by Indirect Additive Manufacturing

Almonti

Ucciardello

2019

Materials

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Additive manufacturing (AM) processes are used to fabricate three-dimensional complex geometries. There are several technologies that use laser or electron beam over metal powder beds. However, the direct AM processes have inconveniences such as specific set of materials, high thermal stress traced, high local energy absorbed, poor surface finish, anisotropic properties, high cost of material powder, and manufacturing with high-power beams. In this paper, an alternative process was developed. An indirect additive manufacturing (I-AM) combining a 3D print of castable resin and metal casting in order to obtain a cellular structure similar in shape to commercial metal foams but completely definable as design features was developed. Design of the cellular structure was made by the graphical algorithm editor Grasshopper®. Designed structures were realized by a lost-wax casting process and compared with commercial foam specimens by a system designed for this work. The designed metal foams showed a performance superior to that of commercial metal foam; in particular, the heat thermal coefficient of designed metal foams in the better case was 870 W/m2·K, almost doubled in comparison with the commercial foam tested in this work.

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Numerical investigation of the temporal evolution of particulate fouling in metal foams for air-cooled heat exchangers

Cited by 38 publications

References 54 publications

A macroscopic particle modelling approach for non-isothermal solid-gas and solid-liquid flows through porous media

A macroscopic particle modelling approach for non-isothermal solid-gas and solid-liquid flows through porous media

Design and Mechanical Characterization of Voronoi Structures Manufactured by Indirect Additive Manufacturing

Design and Thermal Comparison of Random Structures Realized by Indirect Additive Manufacturing

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