The computational investigation is performed to find out the interaction of arc plasmas with surrounding materials and the thermal flow characteristics in a PASB (Puffer-Assisted Self-Blast) chamber, which is one of new breaking concepts in switchgears. It is very important to define the flow and mass transfer happened during the full arcing history for further understanding complex physics inside the chamber. In this study, we have considered two diffusion processes by the hot arc plasma, one is PTFE nozzle ablation and the other is Cu electrode evaporation, simultaneously. It was found that the principle of the pressure-rise inside the chamber is confirmed by the computational results and the increase of the electrical conductivity of the residual gas near current zero is critical to the chamber design.

The prediction for gaseous leak flows through a narrow crack is important for a leak-before-break (LBB) analysis. Therefore, the methodology to obtain the flow characteristics of gaseous leak flow in a narrow crack for the wide range by using the product of friction factor and Reynolds number correlations (fRe) for a micro-channel is developed and presented. The correlation applied here was proposed by the previous study. The fourth-order Runge-Kutta method was employed to integrate the nonlinear ordinary differential equation for the pressure and the regular-Falsi method was also employed to find the inlet Mach number. A narrow crack whose opening displacement ranges from 10 to with a crack length in the range from 2 to 200mm was chosen for sample prediction. The present results are compared with both numerical simulation results and available experimental measurements. The results are in excellent agreement with them. The leak flow rate can be approximately predicted by using proposed methodology.

In this study, computer applied engineering (CAE) techniques are fully used to conduct structural and dynamic analyses of a huge composite rotor blade. Computational fluid dynamics is used to predict aerodynamic load of the rotating wind-turbine blade model. Static and dynamic structural analyses are conducted based on finite element method for composite laminates and multi-body dynamic simulation tools. Various numerical results for aerodynamic load, static stress, buckling and dynamic analyses are presented and characteristics of structural behaviors are investigated herein.

In this study, we have introduced an improved equivalent modeling technique for large scale composite wind-turbine blade. Conventional or general equivalent modeling procedure may give critical error in the analysis results because of geometric coupling effects. For the analyses of structural vibration and aeroelastic problems, the accuracy of equivalent structural models is very important since it can have high numerical efficiency and various practical applications. Three-dimensional realistic composite wind-turbine blade model is practically considered for numerical study. In order to validate the effect of the mass and the stiffness of the equivalent beam model, comparison study based on the natural vibration analysis has been conducted, and the accuracy levels of the conventional and modified equivalent modeling techniques are presented.

This paper describes the performance and internal flow characteristics of two-stage high pressure ring blower. Chamber-type test rig is designed and manufactured for the performance test of the ring blower. Detailed flow characteristics inside the impeller and casing are analyzed by three-dimensional numerical simulation. Throughout numerical simulation, non-uniform inflow to the impeller inlet and reverse flow are observed near the inlet duct of the blower. This non-uniform inflow makes various recirculation flow inside the casing with the complicated shape of casing. Low velocity region is locally formed near the both sides of impeller outlet due to the non-uniform inflow to the impeller, thus deteriorates the performance of a ring blower.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of nozzle shape on the performance and internal flow of a cross-flow hydro turbine. CFD analysis for three kinds of nozzle shape is conducted to simulate the effect of nozzle shape. The results reveal that relatively narrow nozzle width is effective to increase the turbine efficiency and output power. Almost output power is achieved at Stage 1. Therefore, optimum design of the nozzle shape is necessary to improve the turbine performance. Recirculation flow in the runner passage decreases the turbine efficiency and output power because the flow make hydraulic loss and collision loss in the region. Air should be put into the runner passage and the recirculating flow should be suppressed by the air layer in the runner.

All forecasts of a future energy demand anticipate an increase across the globe. With the increase of energy demand, the emission of is also likely to increase by at least the same amount because energy supply will be based on fossil fuels, which is more apparent in a number of developing countries. In this context, the Micro Gas Turbine (MGT) is being considered as a promising solution. In order to propose a feasible concept of those technologies such as improving environmental effect and economics, we performed a sensitivity study for a biomass fueled MGT using a simulation model. The study consists of 1) the fundamental modeling using manufacturer`s technical specifications, 2) the correction with the experimental data, and 3) the sensitivity study for system parameters. The simulation model was developed by PEPSE-GT 72, commercial steam/gas turbine simulation toolbox.