WEIZMANN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE SOLAR RESEARCH FACILITIES UNIT

SOLHYCARB Project Meeting CNRS Odeillo, 10 September, 2007

Some additional results about Confined Tornado Flow obtained by CFD Abraham Kogan
Solar Research Facilities Unit Weizmann Institute of Science

The early WIS experimental work on Solar Thermal Methane Splitting (STMS) by application of the Confined Tornado Flow configuration was performed with the small reactor illustrated in Figure 1. The improved reactor geometry of Figure 2 evolved out of that early work. In both these reactors the window was located at the reactor aperture plane. The highest reactor temperature that we were able to achieve with these reactors was 1320 K.

FIG. 1. REACTOR MODEL M2b-CPC ASSEMBLY

FIG. 2. CROSS SECTION OF REACTOR C3

F2
F1 F3, 1

F3,

In an effort to enable work at higher temperatures without overheating the quartz window, we switched to a reactor design in which the reactor window is located some distance in front of the aperture, as illustrated in Figure 3.

Fig. 3. Cross Section of Reactor SR10

During 2005 we decided to explore the usefulness of CFD as a tool in gasdynamic research. In our first effort in this direction, we used a very rudimentary reactor geometry a cylinder-frustum axisymmetric reactor cavity (Figs. 4, 5). A comparison of our previous experimental results with predictions derived from the CFD work was reported in WP1, WIS D1.2.

140 mm

Fig. 4. The cylinder-frustum geometry of a simplified reaction chamber

70

140

Fig. 5. Contours of Stream Function (kg/s). Tair = 1200C

In spite of the geometric dissimilarity of the laboratory reactors and the CFD model, we were able to identify by CFD simulation certain basic characteristics of the confined tornado flow that were observed in the laboratory. Moreover, the CFD simulation helped us to identify certain peculiarities of the flow under study that were previously obscure. Yet in order to use effectively CFD as a tool for making quantitative predictions about well defined flows by similarity rules, the confinements of the prototype flow and of its CFD model must be geometrically similar. The geometry of reactor SR10 (Fig. 3) was therefore chosen for our study of the envelope of performance of this reactor.

The following flow conditions were postulated: Methane is introduced into the reactor model through an annular gap A of radius r = 6.0 cm and gap width d = 0.12 cm at a flowrate F1 = 28.3 SLM. The flow enters the reaction chamber in a whirling motion at an angle of rotation = 35. The reactor wall temperature T is assumed to be constant and the flow simulations are calculated for the following four cases: T = 2200 K, 1900 K, 1600 K and 1300 K.

The variation of kinematic viscosity and Ekman number E = /(r Vtan) with temperature is shown in Table 1.
Table 1

T [K] 2200 1900 1600 1300

[m2/sec] 4.83 10-4 3.83 10-4 2.92 10-4 2.10 10-4

E 123 10-4 97.9 10-4 74.6 10-4 53.5 10-4

The contours of stream function for these steady state flows obtained by CFD are shown in Figures 6 to 9. In all four cases considered, the flows are laminar. In the flow with the highest kinematic viscosity (T = 2200 K) the peripheral streamline follows closely the profile of the peripheral wall, without signs of boundary layer separation near the sharp corner at the end of the frustum section. With decrease in T and the associated decrease in , a tendency to boundary later separation develops gradually. But even at the lowest temperature, T = 1300 K, the flow remains laminar and stable.

F1 = 28.3 l/m Methane, angle of swirl = 35;

T = 2200 K

F1 = 28.3 l/m Methane, angle of swirl = 35; T = 1900 K

Fig. 6. Contours of Stream Function (kg/s)

Fig. 7. Contours of Stream Function (kg/s)

F1 = 28.3 l/m Methane, angle of swirl = 35; T = 1600 K

F1 = 28.3 l/m Methane, angle of swirl = 35; T = 1300 K

Fig. 8. Contours of Stream Function (kg/s)

Fig. 9. Contours of Stream Function (kg/s)

In a second exercise, the influence of the angle of swirl, , was studied. In this case, the reactor wall temperature was kept constant, T = 1110 K. The reactor geometry and the methane flowrate were the same as in the previous case. The angle of swirl was varied in the range 0 75 (see corresponding Figs. 10-15).

The variation of tangential velocity (Vswirl) and Ekman number with is shown in Table 2.
Table 2 0 35 45 55 65 F1(CH4) [SLM] 28.3 28.3 28.3 28.3 28.3 Vt [m/sec] 0 0.724 0.034 1.477 2.217 E 37.5 10-4 26.2 10-4 18.4 10-4 12.2 10-4

75

28.3

3.859

7.0 10-4

F1 = 28.3 l/m Methane at 1100 K. = 0

F1 = 28.3 l/m Methane at 1100 K. = 35

24 mm

36 mm

Fig 10. Contours of Stream Function (kg/s)

Fig. 11. Contours of Stream Function (kg/s)

F1 = 28.3 l/m Methane at 1100 K. = 45

27 mm

19 mm

Fig. 12. Contours of Stream Function (kg/s)

F1 = 28.3 l/m Methane at 1100 K. = 55

21 mm

F1 = 28.3 l/m Methane at 1100 K. = 65

23 mm

39 mm

30 mm

Fig. 13. Contours of Stream Function (kg/s)

Fig. 14. Contours of Stream Function (kg/s)

F1 = 28.3 l/m Methane at 1100 K. = 75

24 mm

19 mm

Fig. 15. Contours of Stream Function (kg/s)