Computational Fluid Dynamics (Cfd) Analysis of Decomposition Reaction Inside the Solar Fluid Wall Eactr Or
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UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations 1-1-2006 Computational fluid dynamics (Cfd) analysis of decomposition reaction inside the solar fluid wall eactr or Vijaykaartik Kumar University of Nevada, Las Vegas Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/rtds Repository Citation Kumar, Vijaykaartik, "Computational fluid dynamics (Cfd) analysis of decomposition reaction inside the solar fluid wall eactr or" (2006). UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations. 2038. http://dx.doi.org/10.25669/lym3-mqfv This Thesis is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Scholarship@UNLV with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Thesis in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Thesis has been accepted for inclusion in UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Scholarship@UNLV. For more information, please contact [email protected]. COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS (CFD) ANALYSIS OF DECOMPOSITION REACTION INSIDE THE SOLAR FLUID WALL REACTOR by Vijaykaartik Kumar Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering University of Madras, India 2002 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering Department of Mechanical Engineering Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas December 2005 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 1441229 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI UMI Microform 1441229 Copyright 2007 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced witfi permission of tfie copyrigfit owner. Furtfier reproduction profiibited witfiout permission. Thesis Approval The Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas November 0 4 20^5 The Thesis prepared by Vijaykaartik Kumar Entitled Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Analysis of Decomposition Reaction Inside the Solar Fluid Wall Reactor. is approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering. txamination/Committee Chair Dean of the Graduate College Examination Committee Member Examination Committee Member Graduate College Faculty Representative 11 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis of Decomposition Reaction Inside the Solar Fluid Wall Reactor by Vijaykaartik Kumar Dr. Yitung Chen, Examination Committee Chair Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering University of Nevada, Las Vegas A solar thermo-chemical reactor has been designed and modeled to study the flow of decomposition reactions. The reaction considered in this case is the thermal reduction of metal oxide, as part of a two-step water splitting cycle for hydrogen generation and methane decomposition, which directly generates hydrogen in a single step reaction. The reaction takes place at 2000 K to 2500 K using concentrated solar energy as the source. In this model, the reactor is comprised of two concentric cylinders, which are made of graphite. The input zinc oxide is assumed to be uniform in particle size during the simulation. The inert argon gas passes through the inner porous medium, acts as a fluidized bed for the reactor that prevents reaction between oxygen and graphite wall. A mixture of Zn (g), O 2 (g) and Ar (g) comes out as the output. The suitable initial and boundary conditions have been specified and analysis has been done using FLUENT, under unsteady state laminar conditions. The chemical reaction rate constant was calculated based on the Arrhenius equation. Various parametric studies have been examined for optional design of this thermo-chemical 111 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. reactor, and a full understanding the behavior of the fluid flow and reaction has been obtained. A variable solar heat flux has been assumed to be on the wall of the reactor, and the effects of wall temperature on the reaction have been studied. The results indicate that pore diameter, inlet temperature of argon gas and the reactor material significantly affect the flow behavior. Increasing the inlet temperature of argon gas drastically improves the fluid flow profile. This simulation also provides the detailed information about the mole fractions of species which are involved in the chemical reactions. IV Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT..........................................................................................................................................iii LIST OF FIGURES............................................................................................................................vi LIST OF TABLES........................................................................................................................... viii NOMENCLATURE...........................................................................................................................ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.............................................................................................................. xi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Basic concepts of solar energy generation ........................................................................ 2 1.2 Solar thermal chemistry and fluid wall reactor ................................................................ 5 1.3 Research objectives .................................................................................................................9 1.4 Outline o f thesis .....................................................................................................................10 CHAPTER 2 DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM AND GEOMETRY........................11 2.1 Metal oxide reduction.......................................................................................................... 11 2.2 Methane decomposition .......................................................................................................15 CHAPTER 3 GOVERNING EQUATIONS AND NUMERICAL METHOD ................ 16 3.1 Governing equations.............................................................................................................16 3.2 Discretizing the governing equations ............................................................................... 21 3.3 Method of solving .................................................................................................................22 3.4 Boundary conditions ............................................................................................................ 23 CHAPTER 4 RESULTS OF TWO-DIMENSIONAL AXISYMMETRIC NUMERICAL MODELING .............................................................................. 24 4.1 Metal oxide reduction..........................................................................................................24 4.2 Methane decomposition ...................................................................................................... 33 CHAPTER 5 THREE-DIMENSIONAL NUMERICAL MODELING ............................ 39 5.1 Methane decomposition ...................................................................................................... 41 5.2 Metal oxide decomposition .................................................................................................47 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS....................................................... 56 REFERENCES................................................................................................................................... 60 VITA ......................................................................................................................................................63 VI Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 Basic geometry of the reactor ..................................................................................12 Figure 2.2 2-D computational mesh of the fluid wall reactor .............................................. 13 Figure 4.1 Variation of outlet velocity of