Safety parameters for oxygen-enriched flames

The utilization of low-quality gaseous fuel from biomass gasification and the abundance of oxygen-rich streams obtained as a by-product of nitrogen-air separation by membrane technology has incentivized the development of sustainable oxygen-enriched combustion technologies in the last decades. However, a dearth of experimental and numerical analysis addressing the reactivity and safety aspects of these mixtures at initial low temperatures can be observed in the current literature.In this work, the heat flux burner was adopted for the measurement of the laminar burning velocity of methane in oxygen enriched air at different equivalence ratios. Results were compared with numerical data obtained by means of detailed kinetic mechanisms developed at the University of Bologna and the Gas Research Institute (GriMech3.0). Simplified correlations for the estimation of the laminar burning velocity with respect to the oxygen content at any equivalence ratio were developed, tested and evaluated.An elemental reaction-based function was found appropriate for the estimation of the overall reactivity of the investigated mixtures. Besides, numerical analyses were performed to characterize the flame structures in terms of temperature and product distribution under several initial conditions. These results gave further insights into the reaction mechanisms of gaseous fuels in the case of oxygen-enriched air, highlighting potential bottlenecks for kinetic model refinements. Eventually, relevant safety parameters were estimated, in particular the flammability range of the fuel/oxidant mixture, in terms of lower and upper flammability limits.     

Fire in the woods or fire in the boiler: Implementing rural district heating to reduce wildfire risks in the forest–urban interface

Many rural communities in British Columbia (western Canada) are at risk from wildfire. This risk will increase over time as a result of climate change because of higher average temperatures, longer growing seasons, and more intense droughts. On the other hand, these communities are also faced with rising fuel costs and a growing demand for heat as suburban population increases. The fact these communities are surrounded by forests presents an opportunity to combine community wildfire risk abatement with bioenergy development. Additional co-benefits include: (1) reduced community energy expenditures; (2) the creation of local jobs; (3) climate change mitigation; and (4) increased community energy security. Here, we present results from three pilot rural communities (Burns Lake, Invermere, and Sicamous, all of them in British Columbia) designed to evaluate the feasibility of wildfire risk abatement in conjunction with bioenergy production. Maps were created showing each community's forest–urban interface area with quantified estimates of its sustainable woody biomass resource potential under different management scenarios while monitoring ecosystem and soil health. The results and experience gained through this work has been synthesized in a calculator tool to help other communities make their own screening-level assessments. This calculator is a freely available on-line tool: FIRST Heat.     

Predictive control based double-electrode submerged arc welding for filet joints

Double-electrode submerged arc welding (DE-SAW) is an innovative process to achieve the same metal deposition rate at reduced heat input. To maximally take advantage of this new capability, the heat input needed to produce acceptable welds needs to be reduced. A joint gap is successfully introduced to reduce the required heat input but it introduces variations affecting currents/heat input. To minimize the resultant variations in currents and resultant welds, the process is modeled and a multivariable predictive control algorithm is developed to control the currents at desired levels. Experiments verified the effectiveness of the resultant feedback controlled DE-SAW process.     

Modelling breakdown of industrial thermal insulation during fire exposure

The aging of many of the installations in the oil and gas industry may increase the likelihood of loss of containment of flammable substances, which could lead to major accidents. Flame temperatures in a typical hydrocarbon fire may reach 1100–1200 °C, which are associated with heat flux levels between 250 and 350 kW/m². To limit or delay the escalation of an initial fire, passive fire protection (PFP) can be an effective barrier. Additionally, both equipment and piping may require thermal insulation for heat or cold conservation. Previous studies have investigated whether thermal insulation alone may protect the equipment for a required time period, e.g., until adequate depressurization is achieved. The present study entails the development of a numerical model for predicting the heat transport through a multi-layer wall of a distillation column exposed to fire. The outer surface is covered by stainless-steel weather protective cladding, followed by PFP, thermal insulation, and finally an inner column of carbon steel of variable thicknesses. The model for the breakdown of thermal insulation is based on observed dimensional changes and independent measurements of the thermal conductivity of the insulation after heat treatment. The calculated temperature profiles of thermally insulated carbon steel during fire exposure are compared to fire test results for carbon steel with thicknesses of 16, 12, 6 and 3 mm. The model's predictions agree reasonably well with the experiments. The degradation of the thermal insulation at temperatures above 1100 °C limits its applicability as fire protection, especially for low carbon-steel thickness. However, the model predicts that adding a 10-mm layer of more heat-resistant insulation (PFP) inside the fire-exposed cladding may considerably extend the time to breakdown of the thermal insulation.     

辐射板强化喷管换热与红外抑制效果试验研究

试验研究了在发动机喷管中加装金属辐射板前后,喷管壁面温度、热喷流温度与喷管红外辐射特征的变化。结果表明,加装金属辐射板后,热喷流与喷管壁面之间的热量传递显著增强,热喷流中心温度降低,壁面温度明显升高,在90°方向上,热喷流3～5μm波段的红外辐射强度降低了38.5%。文中从热喷流、喷管壁面以及金属辐射板等相关部件的温度变化情况对红外辐射强度的变化原因进行了解释。      

机械式立体停车库中巷道防火分隔效果研究

使用火灾CFD模拟软件Fire Dynamic Simulator(FDS)建立某机械式立体停车库的火灾动力学模型,研究停车库内巷道的防火分隔作用和巷道顶部的排烟窗对烟气的控制情况。确定了此机械立体停车库的火灾发生概率为0.00786起/年,并调研了车库汽车火灾的热释放速率模型。根据模拟结果,当巷道一侧一辆车着火后,巷道另一侧车辆受到的辐射热流密度为0.6kW/m2~2.0kW/m2,不会引燃巷道另一侧车辆,利用巷道空间作为防火分隔措施是可行的。巷道顶部自然排烟百叶对于控制烟气有着显著作用,在顶层距地面10m高度处,500s时仅起火停车单元及其对面停车单元能见度低于10m,而未开设排烟窗时整个车库能见度均降至10m以下,局部区域在2m以下。     

广西苍梧马尾松林和大叶栎林的火行为比较

马尾松(Pinus massoniana)是中国南方大面积造林的树种,也是抗火能力最弱的树种。研究了广西苍梧11龄马尾松用材林和4龄大叶栎萌芽林在正常冬季和干旱夏季情景下的火行为,用behaveplus计算了火线强度、蔓延速度、树冠火可能性等参数。结果表明,两种林分在干旱夏季的火行为高于在正常冬季的火行为。无论是在正常冬季还是在干旱夏季,都没有出现马尾松可燃物模型的火行为一致高于大叶栎可燃物模型的情况;天气、地形、可燃物床结构对可燃物含水率有很大影响,而含水率是火行为的决定因素。虽然大叶栎被划分为难燃树种,大叶栎萌芽林的火行为高于成年大叶栎乔木林,苍梧大叶栎萌芽林在极端干旱的夏季情景有被火把点燃的可能性。如果将大叶栎萌芽林作为防火林带使用,需要经常清除林下枯枝落叶,割除黑莎草,减少细小可燃物。     

A Heat Dynamic Model for Intelligent Heating of Buildings

This article presents a heat dynamic model for prediction of the indoor temperature in an office building. The model has been used in several flexible load applications, where the indoor temperature is allowed to vary around a given reference to provide power system services by shifting the heating of the building in time. This way the thermal mass of the building can be used to absorb energy from renewable energy source when available and postpone heating in periods with lack of renewable energy generation. The model is used in a model predictive controller to ensure the residential comfort over a given prediction horizon.     

沈阳市城市污水中的热能回收及利用研究

以北部污水处理厂为例，结合沈阳城市污水源热泵系统规划思路，对沈阳市7座污水处理厂及污水特征参数进行了论述及推算。通过调查分析供暖企业的燃煤现状及供暖情况，推算出了采用污水供暖取代燃j采供暖后的环境效益及经济效益，提出了沈阳建立污水源热泵系统的对策及建议。     

Numerical Analysis of Heat Transfer and Gas Flow in PEM Fuel Cell Ducts by a Generalized Extended Darcy Model

Abstract

In this work, gas flow and heat transfer have been numerically investigated and analyzed for both cathode/anode ducts of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. The simulation is conducted by solving a set of conservation equations for the whole domain consisting of a porous medium, solid structure, and flow duct. A generalized extended Darcy model is employed to investigate the flow inside the porous layer. This model accounts for the boundary-layer development, shear stress, and microscopic inertial force as well. Effects of inertial coefficient, together with permeability, effective thermal conductivity, and thickness of the porous layer on gas flow and heat transfer are investigated.