Engineering Commons^™

Flow Loop Simulator, John Abruzzini, Manuel Carrasco, Neil Sutherland, Elise Woolworth

Mechanical Engineering

PG&E’s Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP) has requested an operational flow loop simulator to aid in operator/technician training. The flow loop simulator will provide hands-on training that the current plant training process cannot model. This project is a continuation from the 2009-2010 school year. Project scope and design requirements were gathered from the previous group’s design reports as well as meetings with PG&E. The goal of this year’s project team is to verify, enhance and implement the schematic diagram proposed by last year’s team.

The main focus of the flow loop simulator is to provide operators and technicians with …

Comparison Of Horizontal Ground Source (Geothermal) Heat Pump Layouts For Optimal Performance And Thermal Efficiency, Elizabeth M. Bocchino

Honors Theses

This study investigates the difference in thermal efficiencies of horizontal ground source heat pump layouts through computer simulation and experimental modeling. The main objective of this project was to determine if the shape of the layout affects the total heat exchange in a horizontal geothermal system. Geothermal energy is power extracted from the Earth and studies have been focused on increasing the efficiency of the heat transfer from the Earth to the system. Steady state and transient thermal analyses were conducted on two horizontal layout shapes, a U-loop and a coil, in ANSYS Fluent. This system was not full size, …

Modeling Of Non-Uniform Hydrodynamics And Catalytic Reaction In A Solids-Laden Riser, Rajeshkumar Patel

Dissertations

The riser reactors are widely used in a variety of industrial applications such as polymerization, coal combustion and petroleum refinery because of the strong mixing of gas and solids that yields high heat and mass transfer rates, and reaction rates. In a Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) process, the performance of riser reactor is strongly dependent on the interaction between the fluid and catalysts, since the reaction takes place on the active surface of the catalysts. This is why, the local coupling between hydrodynamics and reaction kinetics is critical to the development of riser reaction models. The local gas-solids flow structure …

Fabrication And Testing Of A Nonstandard Thin-Film Heat Flux Sensor For Power System Applications, Scott D. Wilson

ETD Archive

Stirling convertors are being operated by NASA Glenn Research Center for many years to demonstrate a Radioisotope Power System (RPS) capable of providing reliable power for potential multi-year space missions. Techniques used to monitor Stirling convertors for change in performance include measurements of temperature, pressure, energy addition, and power output. It is difficult to measure energy addition to Stirling convertors due to the complex geometries of the hot components, temperature limits of sensor materials, and invasive integration of sensors. A thin-film heat flux sensor was used to directly measure heat energy addition to a Stirling convertor. The one micron thick, …

Development Of A Heat Transfer Test Rig For Finding Heat Transfer Characteristics Of Liquid Methane, Sergio Flores

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Most large scale rocket engines use a regeneratively cooled system to cool the rocket engine using either the rocket fuel or oxidizer. The use of liquid methane as a rocket fuel is an emerging technology proving to have several advantages over current rocket fuels. However, liquid methane is lacking the extensive research as a rocket fuel compared to highly used rocket fuels like liquid hydrogen. A heat transfer test rig was built with the goal to characterize the heat transfer characteristics of liquid methane as it passes through a heated channel. The development of the test rig underwent considerations designed …

Pool Boiling Enhancement Via Micro Ratchets, Lance Austin Brumfield

LSU Master's Theses

Nucleate boiling is an attractive method for achieving high heat flux at low superheat temperatures. It is frequently used for industrial applications such as heat exchangers and is being considered to cool advanced central processing units (CPU) which produce heat fluxes on the order of 1 MW/m2 and are becoming increasing less efficient to cool via forced conduction of air. The issues with implementing nucleate boiling as a cooling mechanism lies in the difficulty of quantifying the complex and numerous mechanisms which control the process. A comprehensive nucleate boiling model has yet to be formulated and will required in order …