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Performance Improvement of Two-Phase Steam Ejector based on CFD Techniques, Response Surface Methodology and Genetic Algorithm

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Abstract

The steam ejector is a crucial component in the waste heat recovery system. Its performance determines the amount of recovered heat and system efficiency. However, poor ejector performance has always been the main bottleneck for system applications. Therefore, this study proposes an optimization methodology to improve the steam ejector’s performance by utilizing computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques, response surface methodology (RSM), and genetic algorithm (GA). Firstly, a homogeneous equilibrium model (HEM) was established to simulate the two-phase flow in the steam ejector. Then, the orthogonal test was presented to the screening of the key decision variables that have a significant impact on the entrainment ratio (ER). Next, the RSM was used to fit a response surface regression model (RSRM). Meanwhile, the effect of the interaction of geometric parameters on the performance of the steam ejector was revealed. Finally, GA was employed to solve the RSRM’s global optimal ER value. The results show that the RSRM exhibits a good fit for ER (R2=0.997). After RSM and GA optimization, the maximum ejector efficiency is 27.94%, which is 48.38% higher than the initial ejector of 18.83%. Furthermore, the optimized ejector efficiency is increased by 46.4% on average under off-design conditions. Overall, the results reveal that the combination of CFD, RSM, and GA presents excellent reliability and feasibility in the optimization design of a two-phase steam ejector.

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Abbreviations

A :

Area/mm2

c :

Speed of sound/m·s−1

c p :

Specific heat/J·kg−1·K−1

D :

Diameter/mm

h :

Enthalpy/kJ·kg−1

K :

Turbulent kinetic energy/m2·s−2

k :

Thermal conductivity/W·m−1 ·K−1

L :

Length/mm

P :

Pressure/MPa

q :

Mass flow rate/g·s−1

\({{\dot S}_\phi}\) :

Source term

T :

Temperature/K

\({\vec u}\) :

Velocity vector components/m·s−1

α :

Angle/(°)

ρ :

Density/kg·m−3

τ :

Viscous stress/N·m−2

η :

Coefficient

Γ :

Diffusion coefficient/m2·s−1

μ :

Dynamic viscosity/kg·m−1·s−1

μ T :

Turbulent viscosity/kg·m−1·s−1

b:

Back flow

diff:

Diffuser

eff:

Effective

mix:

Mixing chamber

ne:

Nozzle exist

p:

Primary flow

s:

Secondary flow

th:

Throat

φ :

Arbitrary scalar

ANOVA:

Analysis of variance

AR:

Area ratio

CCD:

Central composite design

CFD:

Computational fluid dynamics

DOF:

Degree of freedom

ER:

Entrainment ratio

GA:

Genetic algorithm

HEM:

Homogeneous equilibrium model

MS:

Mean squared error

NXP:

Nozzle exit position

RSM:

Response surface methodology

RSRM:

Response surface regression model

UDF:

User-defined functions

UDS:

User-defined scalars

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Energy and Power Engineering, Shandong University, Ji’nan, 250061, China

    Hao Zhang, Hongxia Zhao, Xiuao Zhang & Hongxuan Zeng

  2. School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, China

    Jianqiang Deng

Authors
  1. Hao Zhang
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  2. Hongxia Zhao
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Correspondence to Hongxia Zhao.

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Zhang, H., Zhao, H., Zhang, X. et al. Performance Improvement of Two-Phase Steam Ejector based on CFD Techniques, Response Surface Methodology and Genetic Algorithm. J. Therm. Sci. 33, 675–695 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11630-024-1923-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11630-024-1923-2

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