THERMOFLUID MODELING

FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY

APPLICATIONS
REMACHE LEILA
THERMO FLUIDS and ADVANCED MECHANICAL SYSTEMS MODELISATION and CONCEPTION
LABORATORY
MECHANICAL DEPARTMENT
SCIENCES AND APPLIED SCIENCE FACULTY
 INTRODUCTION

Thermofluids is a branch of knowledge which deals

with the energy content in and transport by fluids.
« THERMO » meaning heat, and fluids refers to liquids,
gases and vapors.
Pressure, volume and density all play an important role
in thermofluids.
Temperature, flow, rate, phase change and chemical
reactions may also be important in a thermofluids
context.
 INTRODUCTION

Thermo fluids is made up of the components

Fluid Mechanics, Heat Transfer and
Thermodynamics and it reaches into all areas
of Engineering including issues of human
comfort, power generation and environment.
 INTRODUCTION

HEAT
TRANSFECOMBUSTION
FLUID R
DYNAMIC

THERMOD
YNAMIC

THERMOFLUID
 THERMOFLUIDS APPLICATIONS
Thermofluids is a dynamic field of research and development that is
applicable to almost all energy generation and implementation applications
in our energy-hungry world today. Whether it is in the pulp and paper
industry, fuel cell and hydrogen research, or the aerospace industry,
developments in Thermofluids allow the world to more sustainably use
energy to meet our growing demands.
 THERMOFLUIDS APPLICATIONS

All activities in nature involve some interaction

between energy and matter(anything that has
mass and occupies volume); thus it is hard to
imagine an area that does not relate to thermal-
fluid sciences in some manners. Therefore,
developing a good understanding of basic
principle of thermal-fluid sciences has long been
an essential part of engineering education.

6
 THERMOFLUIDS APPLICATIONS

Some examples include the electric or gas range, the

heating and air-conditioning systems, the refrigerator,
the humidifier, the pressure cooker, the water heater, the
shower, the iron, the plumbing and sprinkling systems,
and even the computer, the TV, and the DVD player On a
large scale, thermal-fluid sciences play a major part in the
design and analysis of automotive engines, rockets, jet
engines, and conventional or nuclear power plants, solar
collectors, the transportation of water, crude oil, and
natural gas, the water distribution systems in cities, and
the design of vehicles from ordinary car to airplanes.
 THERMOFLUIDS MODELING

Thermofluid models consist of conservation

equations (ie mass, energy and momentum)
constitutive equations to deal with physico
chemical phenomena, and physical properties
of individual fluid phases (liquid and gas). Also,
included are relations for thermodynamic
phase equilibrium to determine phase
conditions (liquid, vapor or both)
 THERMOFLUIDS MODELING
The study of physical phenomena involves
two important steps.
I. In the first step, all the variables that
affect the phenomena are identified,
reasonable assumptions and
approximations are made, and the
interdependence of these variables is
studied. The relevant physical laws
and principles are invoked, and the
problem is formulated
mathematically. The equation itself is
very instructive as it shows the degree
of dependence of some variables on
others, and the relative importance of
various terms.
II. In the second step, the problem is
solved using an appropriate approach,
and the results are interpreted.
 THERMOFLUIDS MODELING
2
• Numerical methods for the prediction of
fluid flow and heat transfer phenomena
1 are
usually grouped into the following five
main categories: finite difference
methods, finite
finite difference finite volume methods, finite element methods,
methods volume methods boundary element methods, and spectral
methods. Hybrid numerical methods that
combine the attractive features of the
aforementioned categories of methods
have also been proposed, and examples
include:
Spectral element methods, finite analytic
methods, and control-volume finite
element
4 methods.

3
finite element boundary element
methods methods:

spectral
methods
 ENERGY EFFICIENCY APPLICATIONS

The majority of energy efficiency applications are

undertaken with the goal of resource conservation,
climate protection, and most commonly cost savings.
Energy efficiency is about providing a better
understanding of how and where energy is being consumed
and using this data to make effective adjustments to
energy consumption.
By adopting more efficient technology or production
processes a greater level of energy efficiency can be
attained. Auditing the energy efficiency in a
home/building before and after these upgrades is key to
verifying performance improvements.
 ENERGY EFFICIENCY APPLICATIONS

RED MEET
SAV UCE CRE GRO
WING
E GRE ATE
ENER ENERGY EFFICIENCY

MO ENH JOB GY
NEY OUS S DEM
E AND
ENERGY EFFICIENCY APPLICATIONS
 THERMOFLUIDS MODELING FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY APPLICATIONS

1er example: Application of Nanofluid in Heat Exchangers for Energy Savings

Fig. 1: Physical model of numerical

problem and the mesh of the domain
Fig.2 Effect of volume fraction of AL2O3 – Fig.3 Effect of using different nanofluids at
water nanofluid on the pumping power per the volume 2% on the pumping power per
unit length of pipe for different Reynolds unit length of pipe
number.
 THERMOFLUIDS MODELING FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY APPLICATIONS
2ème EXaMPLE: Mathematical Modelling of Drying Kinetics of a Partitioned Single Pass Low-Cost
Solar Drying of Cocoyam
Chips with Economic Assessments

MODELING OF DRYING CINETIC

Fig.4. (A) Schematics of the partitioned single passage solar dryer indicating the
wind generator (B) The picture of the solar dryer (C) Air flow direction.
THERMOFLUIDS MODELING FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY APPLICATIONS
Table1: Summary of the drying performance of the two
developed solar dryers
The ecological benefit of using such
a dryer is the mitigation of
atmospheric CO2, unlike fossil-
based dryers where the energy
sources release CO2 into the
atmosphere. A comparative analysis
was performed using this solar dryer
and a diesel-powered dryer in
terms of an equal amount of energy
utilization to dry the same amount
of cocoyam. The determined CO2
reduction per year was 317.11
tonnes per year, as presented in
Table 1.
This is high and represents an
indicator of the ecological benefits
of using the solar dryer.
 THERMOFLUIDS MODELING FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY APPLICATIONS
3ème EAaMPLE: Modeling of Thermofluid Phenomena in Segmented Network Simulations of
Loop Heat Pipes

Fig.6 . Flow regime map for

Fig.5 Schematic representation of a conventional
laminar-liquid/turbulent – vapor
(cylindrical-type) loop heat pipe
flow
THERMOFLUIDS MODELING FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY APPLICATIONS

The enhanced segmented network

thermofluid model of LHPs
proposed , could be used for
achieving optimal designs of these
devices for applications in
advanced sustainable energy
systems, state-of-the-art
computers and electronics,
process and materials
industries, agriculture and food
industries, transportation
systems, biomedical systems,
and spacecrafts, for example.
THERMOFLUIDS RESEARCH
 CONCLUSION

• THERMO FLUIDS MODELING is clearly focused on the strategic line of

developing high efficiency thermal systems and equipments
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

[1] Mohammad Monjurul Ehsan, Shafi Noor, Sayedus Salehin, A.K.M. Sadrul Islam Application of Nanofluid in Heat Exchangers for Energy Savings
September 2015, DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-802397-6.00004-X, In book: Thermofluid Modeling for Energy Efficiency Applications, Edition: 1st, Chapter: 4
Publisher: Academic Press, Elsevier, Editors: Masud K. Khan, Nur M.S Hassan,
[2] Macmanus C. Ndukwu 1 , Mathew Ibeh 2, Inemesit Ekop 3 , Ugochukwu Abada 4, Promise Etim 3 Analysis of the Heat Transfer Coefficient, Thermal
Effusivity and Mathematical Modelling of Drying Kinetics of a Partitioned Single Pass Low-Cost Solar Drying of Cocoyam Chips with Economic
Assessments, Energies 2022, 15, 4457. https://doi.org/10.3390/en15124457
[3]Nirmalakanth Jesuthasan, Modeling of thermofluid phenomena in segmented network simulations of loop heat pipes, thesis, McGill university, 2011
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