BURA Community:
http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/8624
2024-03-15T07:15:36ZInvestigating A Clean Natural Gas-based Hydrogen Production Process for Electricity Generation in Power Plants
http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/28530
Title: Investigating A Clean Natural Gas-based Hydrogen Production Process for Electricity Generation in Power Plants
Authors: Babamohammadi, S; Davies, WG; Masoudi Soltani, S
Abstract: This study investigates a clean hydrogen production process (based on a CH4 feedstock flow rate of 1000 kmol/h) integrated with an onsite hydrogen-combustion power plant. A rate-based kinetic model is used to develop steam methane reforming (SMR) and water gas shift (WGS) reactions in the reformer. The impact of auto thermal reforming (ATR) on hydrogen purity and the generated power is investigated by analysing the correlation between temperature, pressure, and steam-to-methane ratio. A full factorial design matrix is used to investigate the potential interactions among the operational variables with a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) i.e. hydrogen purity and generated power. The ATR leads to higher hydrogen purity and generated power at lower feed temperatures Also, increasing the steam-to-methane ratio leads to increased hydrogen purity and generated power in both scenarios. Pressure is found to play a critical role in power generation but has a less pronounced effect on hydrogen purity in comparison. Employment of ATR has been found to be beneficial to achieve higher hydrogen purity and increased power generated at lower feed temperatures, while simultaneously minimizing CO 2 emissions.2023-12-03T00:00:00ZTechno-economic feasibility study of coupling low-temperature evaporation desalination plant with advanced pressurized water reactor
http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/28517
Title: Techno-economic feasibility study of coupling low-temperature evaporation desalination plant with advanced pressurized water reactor
Authors: Alkhalidi, A; Almomani, B; Olabi, AG; Jouhara, H
Abstract: The increasing demand for freshwater necessitates sustainable desalination solutions, and nuclear power plants offer a promising avenue by utilizing their low-grade waste heat. This study assesses a techno-economic feasibility of coupling a 5 MWth low-temperature evaporation plant with a UAE-based Advanced Pressurized Water Reactor (APR1400). The system addresses freshwater demand, aligning with sustainability goals through low-grade heat utilization. The investigation explores three extraction points for low-grade heat steam, with temperatures ranging from 80 °C to 130 °C. Thermodynamic evaluations using DE-TOP illustrate power requirements and losses, considering variations in maximum brine temperature from 50 °C to 65 °C. Economic analysis using DEEP estimates water production costs. Findings reveal negligible variances in power plant parameters and a minimal reduction in overall efficiency (<0.5 %). The power loss ratio increases proportionally (10 % to 18.6 %) with higher-temperature heat extraction, while the total power requirements for the desalination plant rises by around 30 %, with a negligible power output reduction ratios (0.03 % to 0.07 %). A consistent linear correlation between water production rate and maximum brine temperature doubles water production (∼900 to 1800 m3/day). Applying multiple extraction points across low-grade heat sources demonstrates scalability, reaching three times that of single-point extraction, with marginal increases in power requirements and losses, while maintaining the power reduction ratio below 0.15 %. Economic feasibility indicates competitive water production costs, ranging from 1.53 to 0.87 $/m3 for desalination capacities between 900 and 5400 m3/day. This study provides valuable insights into sustainable water production at the nexus of nuclear energy and desalination, with implications for necessary policy intervention.
Description: Data availability:
Data will be made available on request.2024-02-23T00:00:00ZModified TNO-Blake model for aerofoil surface pressure prediction with canopies
http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/28504
Title: Modified TNO-Blake model for aerofoil surface pressure prediction with canopies
Authors: Palani, S; Paruchuri, CC; Joseph, P; Karabasov, SA; Markesteijn, A; Abid, H; Chong, TP; Utyuzhnikov, S
Abstract: The modelling of the surface pressure spectrum beneath a turbulent boundary layer near the trailing edge of an aerofoil with bio-inspired surface treatments, called canopies, is investigated. Canopies are simply a cylindrical rods uniformly spaced along the span of the aerofoil. The velocity measurements indicated that the flow at the trailing edge of an aerofoil treated with canopies is localised and shows periodic behaviour across the span with treatment spacing. As a result, the mean-flow velocity gradient along the span (@U1=@x3) cannot be assumed as zero for x2=h = 4, which is shown in this paper. Therefore, the original surface pressure solution of Poisson’s equation is modified by introducing an additional source term consisting of the mean-shear contribution, given as @U1=@x3 @u3=@x1. Furthermore, the surface pressure attenuation due to the canopies shows a periodic behaviour across the span for treatments with an Open-Area-Ratio (OAR) between 70% and 90 %. This observation is consistent with our previous experimental results; therefore, the primary motivation for proposing a 3D TNO-Blake model, accounting for the interaction between the gradient of the stream-wise mean velocity along the span and span-wise fluctuating component along the stream. The model is built based on the inputs from Large Eddy Simulation results and additional wind tunnel measurements.
Description: Session: Airframe / High-Lift Noise I; View Video Presentation: https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2023-3203.vid2023-06-08T00:00:00ZStructured Porous Coated Cylinder Modifications Based on Internal Flow Field Data
http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/28491
Title: Structured Porous Coated Cylinder Modifications Based on Internal Flow Field Data
Authors: Scholz, MM; Arcondoulis, E; Woodhead, PC; Chong, TP; Smith, E
Abstract: Porous coated cylinders have been proven to reduce vortex shedding tones relative to a bare cylinder. However, many porous treatments are based on the use of very complex, open-cell structures to manipulate turbulent flow. Due to complex geometries the physical mechanisms which can be drawn are problematic to investigate due to a typically randomised porous structure. The novel 3D printed Structured Porous Coated Cylinder (SPCC), which mimics the acoustics of open-cell foam's noise closely, absolves this issue thereby allowing improved observability and modifications. This study aims to draw from previous works and to investigate modified SPCCs to further understand the internal flows which attenuate fundamental vortex shedding tones. The initial study highlighted presented a preliminary analysis on the acoustic far-field of cylindrical structures and the validation against prior works. Following on from this, this paper highlights the modifications to the existing SPCC structure to affect the regions of stagnated flow within the porous layers, to investigate how these internal flows have impacted the vortex shedding attenuating capacity of the SPCC. Conducted at Brunel University London, the acoustic data shown confirms the ability of the SPCC to significantly reduce turbulent shedding noise over its bare cylinder counterparts and the three modified SPCCs proved the importance of the streamwise communication in the internal structure of the SPCC and that the stagnation regions as stipulated by earlier studies can be filled which retains the acoustic performance and most likely reduces the drag. Lastly, the removal of the ability for the flow to travel in the spanwise direction within the SPCC has been shown to improve the acoustic far field radiation over the original SPCC.
Description: Session: Acoustic / Fluid Dynamics Interactions II; View Video Presentation: https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2023-3926.vid2023-06-08T00:00:00Z