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Numerical challenges of CFD simulations of two-phase injectors working in the direct contact condensation mode

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Abstract

This work describes numerical simulations applied for the investigation of vapor injection into subcooled flow in a capillary jet loop (CJL) system. The improvement of the injector (or ejector) design is discussed here by examining several parameters influencing its performance. Consequently, this paper covers the influence of the entrainment ratio γ (the ratio of the mass flow rate of the low-pressure secondary flow to the mass flow rate of the high-pressure primary flow), the characteristics of the working fluid, and the geometry on the pressure rise through the mixing region, the criterion chosen here to measure the injector efficiency. Considering that full condensation is expected to occur, part of the simulation will also cover the numerical aspects related to phase change to establish the most appropriate choices for obtaining a reliable solution for full condensation cases. Here, condensation is studied for two different injector designs: one with a vapor nozzle inclined to the direction of subcooled flow and the other with an inline orientation with respect to the secondary flow. From computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations performed using the commercial software Ansys Fluent (versions 19.4 and 2023R1), a parametric study indicated that increasing the injection angle had a negative impact on the pressure increase. The same negative impact was observed for γ. Regarding the working fluid, the use of methanol and acetone appeared to increase the pressure rise in the vapor injection region (in comparison to R1233zd), inducing faster condensation and, consequently, affecting the injector efficiency in a positive manner.

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Abbreviations

CFL:

Courant–Friedrichs–Lewy criterion

CJL:

capillary jet loop

DCC:

direct contact condensation

LES:

large eddy simulation

LHP:

loop heat pipe

RANS:

Reynolds-averaged Navier Stokes

SST:

shear stress transport

TPR:

two-phase ring

VF:

volume fraction

γ :

entrainment ratio

α :

volume fraction

ρ :

density, kg/m3

c p :

specific heat at constant pressure, J/(kg·K)

C :

mass transfer frequency, s−1

e i :

internal energy of the phase, J/kg

h ij :

heat transfer coefficient between the phases, W/(m2·K)

H i :

enthalpy of the phase, J/kg

k :

thermal conductivity, W/(m·K)

L dcc :

length for full condensation

\(\dot{m}_{ij}\) :

mass transfer rate, kg/(m3·s)

M :

mass flow rate, kg/s

p :

pressure shared by all phases, Pa

Q :

heat exchange between the phases, W

T i :

temperature of the phase, K

\(\overrightarrow{v_{i}}\) :

velocity of the phase, m/s

\(\overrightarrow{v_{ij}}\) :

interphase velocity, m/s

cond:

condensation

ev:

evaporation

l:

liquid phase

mix:

mixture

sat:

saturation

v:

vapor phase

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the Walloon Region of Belgium for funding this project under CWALity DE (DGO6) convention no. 1810169 and Skywin SW_ELOISE convention no. 8524.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CENAERO, Gosselies, 6041, Belgium

    Camila Braga Vieira, Olivier Fontaine de Ghelin & Cecile Goffaux

  2. CALYOS, Charleroi, 6040, Belgium

    Thomas Nicolle & Vincent Dupont

Authors
  1. Camila Braga Vieira
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  2. Olivier Fontaine de Ghelin
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  3. Cecile Goffaux
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  4. Thomas Nicolle
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  5. Vincent Dupont
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Correspondence to Camila Braga Vieira.

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Vieira, C.B., de Ghelin, O.F., Goffaux, C. et al. Numerical challenges of CFD simulations of two-phase injectors working in the direct contact condensation mode. Exp. Comput. Multiph. Flow 6, 214–228 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42757-024-0194-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42757-024-0194-1

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