Energy Engineering applications

In this section, we discuss the role of numerical simulations in studying the response of materials and structures to large deformation or shock loading. The methods we consider here are based on solving discrete approximations to the continuum equations of mass, momentum, and energy balance. Such computational techniques have found widespread use for research and engineering applications in government, industry, and academia. 

Grant, A. D. (1997). Simplified Tidal Barrage for Small-Scale Applications. Journal of Energy Engineering 123 11-19. 

The proposed mechanisms of models to explain the drag reduction phenomenon are based on either a molecular approach or fluid dynamical continuum considerations, but these models are mainly empirical or semi-empirical in nature. Models constructed from the equations of motion (or energy) and from the constitutive equations of the dilute polymer solutions are generally not suitable for use in engineering applications due to the difficulty of placing numerical values on all the parameters. In the absence of a more generally accurate model, semi-empirical ones remain the most useful for applications. 

Figure 3. Ranges of kinetic energy and equivalent flux density of incident species for various engineering applications for ion-surface and gas-surface interactions. Kinetic energy ranges of particles in which significant interactions occur are also shown. (Reproduced with permission from reference 36. Copyright 1984 American Institute of Physics.)...

M. Tribus. Thermostatics and Thermodynamics. An Introduction to Energy, Information and States of Matter, with Engineering Applications, D. Van Nostrand, Princeton, NJ, 1961. 

Most aquatic oxidation reactions are attributable to well-defined chemical oxidants. As a result, model systems can be designed where second-order rate constants can be determined precisely for families of organic congeners. The comparatively high quality of these data allows mechanistic models of electron transfer to describe aquatic oxidations of environmental interest. Kinetic studies of these processes have produced many QSARs, mostly simple empirical correlations with common convenient descriptors such as the Hammett constant (a), half-wave oxidation potential ( j/2)> energies of the highest occupied molecular orbital ( HOMO), or rate constants for other oxidation reactions as descriptors (Canonica and Tratnyek, 2003). Their predictive power has lead to engineering applications in water treatment and remediation. 

Each term has the dimensions of energy per unit of mass - in this case, ft-lbp/lbM. The factor, a, in the kinetic energy term, Av /2agc, corrects for the velocity profile across a duct. For laminar flow in a circular duct, the velocity profile is parabolic, and a = 1/2. If the velocity profile is flat, a = 1. For very rough pipes and turbulent flow, a may reach a value of 0.77 [10]. In many engineering applications, it suffices to let a = 1 for turbulent flow. 

In Eqs. (6) and (7) e represents the internal energy per unit mas, q the heat flux vector due to molecular transport, Sh the volumetric heat production rate, ta, the mass fraction of species i, Ji the mass flux vector of species i due to molecular transport, and 5, the net production rate of species i per unit volume. In many chemical engineering applications the viscous dissipation term (—t Vm) appearing in Eq. (6) can safely be neglected. For closure of the above set of equations, an equation of state for the density p and constitutive equations for the viscous stress tensor r, the heat flux vector q, and the mass flux vector 7, are required. In the absence of detailed knowledge on the true rheology of the fluid, Newtonian behavior is often assumed. Thus, for t the following expression is used ... 

For many engineering applications, impact fracture behavior is of prime practical importance. While impact properties of plastics are usually characterized in terms of notched or un-notched impact fracture energies, there has been an increasing tendency to also apply fracture mechanics techniques over the last decade [1, 2 and 3]. For quasi-brittle fracture, a linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) approach with a force based analysis (FBA) is frequently applied to determine fracture toughness values at moderate loading rates. 

The infinite heat reservoir is an abstraction, often approximated in engineering applications by large bodies of air or water. Apply the closed-sy stemform of the energy balance [Eq. (2.3)] to such a reservoir, treating it as a constant-volume system. How is it that heat transfer to orfrom tire reservoir can be nonzero, yet the temperature of the reservoir remains constant ... 

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