• The KSFM Journal of Fluid Machinery
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.11-19
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• 2012

The main function of fuel cell manifold is to render reactants distribution as uniform as possible into a fuel cell stack. The purpose of this study is to numerically investigate the effects of stack manifold design on reactants distribution within a fuel cell stack. Four manifold designs with different manifold entrance shapes (expansion or diffuser) and different values of the extra width between the cell outer channel and manifold side wall are considered and applied to the fuel cell stack consisting of 50 cells. Since the fuel cell stack geometry involves several millions of grid points for numerical calculations, a parallel computing methodology is employed to substantially reduce the computational time and overcome the memory requirement. The numerical simulations are carried out and calculated results clearly demonstrate that both the manifold entrance shape and extra width have a substantial influence on manifold performance, controlling the degree of flow separation and entrance length for fully developed flow in the manifold channel. Finally, we suggest the optimum design of fuel cell manifold based on the simulation results.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.36 no.12
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• pp.1653-1661
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• 2012

In this study, the pressure drop changes and structural characteristics of a SMART rod bundle under the effect of a coolant were investigated. The turbulence model of the BSL Reynolds stress model was used to model the coolant flow, and a fluid solid interaction simulation was conducted. First, fuel rod vibration analysis was performed to confirm the natural frequency of the fuel rod, which was supported by spacer grid assemblies, and this was compared with experimental results. From the experimental results, the natural frequency was found to be 48 Hz, and the error compared with the simulation results was 2%. The pressure drop at the rod bundle was calculated and compared with the experimental data; it showed an error of 8%, demonstrating the simulation accuracy. In the flow analysis, the flow velocity and secondary flow at different domains were calculated, and vortex generation was also observed. Finally, through the fluid solid interaction analysis, the fuel rod displacements caused by flow-induced vibrations were calculated. Then, calculated displacement PSD at maximum displacement happed point.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.12-23
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• 1993

Combustion phenomenon in diesel engine is mainly governed by characteristics of fuel injection and fuel spray system affected by its dimensions and operating condition. Fuel supply system is consisted of fuel injection pump, high pressure pipe and injection nozzle. In order to develope the more economical diesel fuel injection system, it is in need to carryout the fairly wide range experiments, which is quite impossible. Therefore, theoretical analysis for the numberous parameters is powerful method in this case. In the present study, equations of continuity of fuel oil in fuel injection system are solved to obtain the flow and pressure variation in diesel fuel system affected by injection pump speed, plunger diameter, pipe length and nozzle opening pressure.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.347-354
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• 2009

Welding is required for a connection between two different components in the nuclear fuel of a pressurized water reactor. This work relies on a mechanical experiment and analytic results to investigate the structural integrity of nuclear fuel in a situation where some components are not welded to each other. A series of lateral vibration tests are performed in a test facility, and the test structures are examined in terms of dynamic behavior. In the tests, the displacement signal at every grid structure that sustains fuel rods is measured and processed to identify the dynamic properties. The fluid-elastic stability of the structure is also analyzed to evaluate susceptibility to a cross flow with an assumed conservative cross flow distribution. The test and analysis results confirm that the structural integrity can be maintained even in the absence of some welding connections.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2009.06a
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• pp.374-377
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• 2009

The operating temperature of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) usually has to be limited under $100^{\circ}C$ to maintain the proper ionic conductivity. Therefore, the only product from reaction, water, is in the liquid phase. Two-phase flow makes the flow phenomenon in the channel difficult to understand and predict. Water blocking in the PEMFC channel or the pore of Gas Diffusion Layer (GDL), called flooding, is known as the main effect of PEMFC degradation. To analyze two-phase flow, the PEMFC with transparent acrylic plate was used. Two-phase flow patterns were observed by varying the current density. When the PEMFC is mounted horizontally, water in the cathode is mainly transported on the interface between the channel and GDL.

• 한국전산유체공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2008.03b
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• pp.248-251
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• 2008

The objective of this study is to select fuel/air feeders for reliable operation of BOP(Balance of Plant) system for a DMFC (direct methanol fuel cell). A 42-cell 50W DMFC stack is considered for performance comparison of selected fuel pumps and air blowers. The present stack has two serpentine anode channels with depth of 1.2 mm and rib of 1 mm and one serpentine cathode channel with depth of 1.5 mm and rib of 1 mm. The pressure drop through the stack is estimated in advance by utilizing the pre-existing loss coefficients data for various flow configurations. Then the operating points of feeders are determined at the balance point of the flow impedance curves for the channels in the DMFC stack and the selected pump and blower performance curves. After estimating the operating flow rates in the anode and cathode channels, the flow measurement with the selected feeders is performed for the comparison with the estimated flow rates. The measured results show that the discrepancy between the estimation and the measurement for the cathode is about 26%, about 3% for the anode

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.37 no.11
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• pp.1140-1147
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• 2009

Flow analyses have been performed to investigate the uniformity of propellant flow through the fuel and oxidizer manifolds of a full-scaled gas generator for a pump-fed liquid rocket engines. Injectors were simulated as porous medium layers having equivalent pressure drops. The uniformity of propellants has been analyzed for 3 fuel rings and 3 injector head configurations. The mixture ratio distribution at the exit of injectors has been estimated from the mass flow rates of fuel and oxidizer. The best configuration of fuel ring and injection head was selected through these flow analyses.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.147-147
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• 2002

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2007.05b
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• pp.1900-1905
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• 2007

A micro cyclone combustor was developed to be used as a heat source of thermoelectric power generator (TPG). The cyclone combustor was designed so that fuel and air were supplied to the combustion chamber separately. The mixing and flow characteristics in the combustor were investigated numerically. The global equivalence ratio (${\Phi}$), defined using the fuel and air flow rates, was introduced to examine the flow features of the combustor. The mixing of fuel and air inside the combustor could be well understood using the fuel concentration distribution. It was found that the weak recirculating zone was formed upper the fuel-supplying tube in case of ${\Phi}$ < 1.0. In addition, it was found that small regions that have a negative axial velocity exist near the fuel injection ports. It is assumed that these negative axial velocity regions can stabilize a flame inside the micro cyclone combustor.

• Transactions of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering
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• v.22 no.7
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• pp.619-625
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• 2012

Since the fuel is always exposed to turbulent flow, the grid strap shows flow induced vibration characteristics that impact on the nuclear fuel soundness. The dynamic behavior of grids in nuclear fuels is quite complex, since two pairs of spring and dimple support are contacted with rods by friction in the limited space. This paper focuses on investigation of the grid strap(test fuel strap, TFS) vibration in one cell. TFS consists of a single spring and double dimples. To identify the grid strap vibration, modal analysis of the strap is performed using finite element method(FEM). Modal testing on a $5{\times}5$ grid structure without rods is performed. The modal testing results are compared to analytic results. In addition, random test considering rod effect is performed about a $5{\times}5$ grid with rods under real contact condition in the air. Finally, the strap vibration of a $5{\times}5$ fuel bundle in investigation of flow induced vibration(INFINIT) facility is measured in real fluid velocity condition without heating. It is shown that modal frequencies from the test are almost equal to those peak frequencies in the INFINIT test.