Abstract : The tundish is a shallow, refractory-lined vessel that is located in between the ladle containing molten steel and the continuous casting mold. Major efforts are being made worldwide to obtain the most favorable shapes of the tundish interior by using dams, overfills and partitions, which favor inclusions floating into the slag and also to reduce possible dead zones. This project aims to develop a ctypical tundish. The effect of the vessel shape, interior dams, overfills and partitions within the vessel on the hydrodynamics of liquid steel flow will be investigated numerically and optimized. A novel design of a turbo-stopper is to be tested numerically to reduce slag entrapment to enhance quality of the steel. Such numerical investigation improve our understanding of the hydrodynamics of liquid steel flow in the tundish and contribute to an optimized operation. Results will be compared with experimental results using a water model.- theme of a complentary FYP project.

Abstract : The tundish is a shallow, refractory-lined vessel that is located in between the ladle containing molten steel and the continuous casting mold. Major efforts are being made worldwide to obtain the most favorable shapes of tundish interior by using dams, overfills and partitions, which favors inclusions floating into the slag and also reduce the dead zones. A CFD model has been developed to simulate the flow behavior in a Tundish which needs validation. This project involves construction of a simple tundish-shaped vessel filled with water. Dye injection at selected locations will be used to visualize the flow behavior in the tundish. Mustard oil layer on top of the free surface of water is to be used to visualize the vortex formation during the water drain out. Vortexing action brings in slag impurities and hence is undesirable in casting. The experimental data will be compared with numerical results obtained in a concurrent FYP project. Such investigation are of great industrial interest t steelmakers.

Abstract : Over the last several years synthetic jets have been researched as an alternative to fans as air moving devices. Because of their ability to direct airflow precisely along hot surfaces in a confined environment and induce small-scale mixing, theses jets are ideally suited for cooling applications at electronics package and heat sink levels. This project aims to develop a numerical model to predict the cooling performance of a synthetic jet ejector and to validate it with published or experimental data. In a companion study CFD studies will be made of pulsating laminar impinging jets for same applications. Parametric studies will be carried out to investigate the effect of channel spacing on the induced flow rate, heat transfer coefficient, thermal resistance and overall power dissipated. Such numerical investigation improve our understanding of the synthetic jets and show an industrial interest.

Abstract : Pulse combustors have major industrial application potential in space heating, furnaces, incinerators, boilers, dryers etc due to their increased combustion efficiency and reduced pollutant emissions. Conventional pulse combustor design is based on a cylindrical combustion chamber and a long cylindrical tailpipe. New geometry design may exist, which provide better performance and may be suitable or a specific application. In our previous research project, several novel concept designs have been proposed and one design has been tested successfully. This project is a consequent one and aims to test another two geometry designs. The CFD model developed in a previous project will be extended to evaluate the pulse combustion performance of each design and find its operation ranges such as fuel species, fuel/air ratio, etc.

Abstract : Batteries have come to play a significant role in our everyday lives. We employ them in laptop computers, mobile telephones and cars to name but a few applications. With increasing demand on power and battery time, new types of batteries need to be developed and existing ones improved as much as possible. In doing so, batteries tend to become more prone to overheating and might even explode. We will in this project study heat transfer in a battery and various strategies for cooling. A model will be derived and implemented in COMSOL Multiphysics, an easy-to-use yet powerful finite element software. Some experimental testing may be carried out as well.

Abstract : In view of the increasing levels of environmental pollution and a desire to replace the fossil-fuel-based economy with a cleaner alternative, fuel cells have emerged as prime candidates for automotive, portable and stationary applications. Fuel cells convert hydrogen or hydrocarbon fuels directly into electricity. Understanding fuel cells calls for mathematical modeling of the various transport phenomena and other phenomena that take place inside the cell. This project seeks to develop such a model for the Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell in Fluent by tapping into the power of user-defined functions.

Abstract : The polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) is a promising alternative to traditional power sources for a wide range of portable, automotive and stationary applications. Despite the many advantages of PEFCs, such as high efficiency and low emissions, substantial improvements in cost and technology are still necessary for the PEFC to be able to contend with traditional power sources. This project seeks to develop a two-phase model for the PEFC in order to study the evolution of liquid droplets inside the flow fields and gas diffusion layer. The modeling will be carried out in the commercial solver Fluent and be powered by super computers.

Abstract : Hydrocyclones are used commonly to concentrate mineral ores using vortex of cyclonic action similar to what is done in cyclones for gas cleaning. Most mineral particles tend to be abrasive which causes wear of hydrocyclone walls at specific locations.is makes hydrocyclone operation expensive in terms of initial costs as well as maintenance costs. The objective of this project is to evaluate innovative designs of the enlet ducts as well as the hydrocyclone geometry using computational fluid dynamic modeling of the flow and ersion kinetics. This project is of interest to M3TC Centre.