ME 598 Computational Modeling of Industrial Transport Processes

ME 598

Objectives
Computer simulations of transport phenomena comprising fluid flow, heat transfer, chemical reactions, particle transport and multiple phases have become ubiquitous in the process design cycle. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software is widely used by industry, academia and research laboratories world-wide. Several different methodologies including finite difference, finite volume, finite-element and spectral methods are commonly used in simulating a diverse set of practical flows in mechanical, aerospace, chemical, nuclear, environmental and agricultural industries. Knowledge of the methodologies and proper use of the CFD software is essential for accurately simulating and optimizing the industrial process. The objective of this course is to provide knowledge of the methodologies, models for turbulence, chemical reaction and multiple phases commonly used in the commercial software. Half of the course will also provide the participants to exercise one of the industrial CFD codes to simulate several model and industrial flows. The course consists of 30 hours of classroom / online lectures on the theoretical aspects of finite difference, finite volume methods, solution algorithms and the various models for physical processes.

The objectives of the course are:
1. Introduce the basic equations governing fluid flows, heat transfer, and combustion
2. Discuss finite difference and finite volume methods for discretizing the equations
3. Present algorithms for solving the coupled nonlinear discrete equations
4. Discuss techniques for modeling turbulence, and models commonly used in industrial flow software
5. Discuss techniques for modeling combustion processes, and models for turbulent combustion
6. Present various approaches for modeling multiphase flows including gas particle flows, and gas liquid flows, including Eulerian-Eulerian and Eulerian-Lagrangian methodologies
7. Provide practical knowledge and examples in modeling practical industrial flows, including inflow-outflow conditions, model selection, grid, and solution convergence.

Who should attend?
Students enrolled in the M.Eng.ME program interested in specialization in energy sciences, and manufacturing/materials processing

Course Outline
The course will consist of a total of 60 hours of instruction. Of these, 30 hours will be formal class room / online lectures. The lectures will cover the theoretical aspects of modeling fluid flows, heat transfer, and combustion. The other 30 hours of instruction (once a week) will consist of practical use of the CFD software. Students will set up a total of 7 different problems, and study convergence, accuracy and physics of the simulated flow. For each problem simulated, a formal report will be expected.

The theory part of 30 lectures will approximately consist of the following topics:
1. Importance and Examples of Computer Simulations of Industrial Fluid Flows (1)
2. Governing Equations for Fluid Flows and Approximations (2)
3. Finite Difference Methods for Discretization (4)
4. Finite Volume Methods (2)
5. Solution Methods for Linear Equations (2)
6. Algorithms for Fluid Flows (6)
7. Turbulence Modeling (4)
8. Combustion Modeling (4)
9. Computations of Multiphase Flows (5)
Total (30)

The practical problems to be simulated will be selected from:
1. Laminar flows in enclosures: Flow in a Channel, Sudden Expansion, Driven Cavity
2. Laminar Natural Convection in Enclosures
3. Turbulent Flow in a Sudden Expansion
4. Coaxial Turbulent Diffusion Flame
5. Premixed Flame in a Sudden Expansion
6. Multiphase Gas Particle Flows
7. Bubble Rise in a Liquid
8. A Practical Industrial Flow

The class will meet for two hours every Tuesday and Thursday for 15 weeks. Thursdays will be devoted to use of the software. Each project will be given two weeks to learn, set up, and perform calculations. There will be a final examination on the theory aspects. For each project, the students will write a 10-page report with problem description, numerical aspects, and results.

Pratap Vanka
Pratap Vanka
Course Instructor:
Pratap Vanka is Professor Emeritus and Research Professor in the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering. He has pioneered several numerical algorithms including multigrid methods, Lattice Boltzmann methods, meshless techniques, GPU computing, and partially-parabolic methods. He has taught a graduate-level CFD course at University of Illinois for 25 years, and continues to teach that course after taking Emeritus status. He is passionate about developing codes for CFD and heat transfer, and has developed more than 25 research level CFD codes since his graduate research at Imperial College. He worked for his PhD with Professor D. B. Spalding (late), a pioneer in computational fluid dynamics and computational heat transfer. Pratap Vanka has published close to 170 papers in journals and reviewed technical conferences. He has received both teaching and research awards. He is a Life Fellow of ASME, and Associate Fellow of AIAA, and recipient of the ASME Freeman Scholar lecture award.

 

Back to New Courses >>