A modelling study is performed to compare the plasma flow and heat transfer characteristics of low-power arc-heated thrusters （arcjets） for three different propellants： hydrogen, nitrogen and argon. The all-speed S...A modelling study is performed to compare the plasma flow and heat transfer characteristics of low-power arc-heated thrusters （arcjets） for three different propellants： hydrogen, nitrogen and argon. The all-speed SIMPLE algorithm is employed to solve the governing equations, which take into account the effects of compressibility, Lorentz force and Joule heating, as well as the temperature- and pressure-dependence of the gas properties. The temperature, velocity and Mach number distributions calculated within the thruster nozzle obtained with different propellant gases are compared for the same thruster structure, dimensions, inlet-gas stagnant pressure and arc currents. The temperature distributions in the solid region of the anode-nozzle wall are also given. It is found that the flow and energy conversion processes in the thruster nozzle show many similar features for all three propellants. For example, the propellant is heated mainly in the near-cathode and constrictor region, with the highest plasma temperature appearing near the cathode tip; the flow transition from the subsonic to supersonic regime occurs within the constrictor region; the highest axial velocity appears inside the nozzle; and most of the input propellant flows towards the thruster exit through the cooler gas region near the anode-nozzle wall. However, since the properties of hydrogen, nitrogen and argon, especially their molecular weights, specific enthMpies and thermal conductivities, are different, there are appreciable differences in arcjet performance. For example, compared to the other two propellants, the hydrogen arcjet thruster shows a higher plasma temperature in the arc region, and higher axial velocity but lower temperature at the thruster exit. Correspondingly, the hydrogen arcjet thruster has the highest specific impulse and arc voltage for the same inlet stagnant pressure and arc current. The predictions of the modelling are compared favourably with available experimental results.展开更多
A modelling study is performed to investigate the characteristics of both plasma flow and heat transfer of a laminar non-transferred arc argon plasma torch operated at atmospheric and reduced pressure. It is found tha...A modelling study is performed to investigate the characteristics of both plasma flow and heat transfer of a laminar non-transferred arc argon plasma torch operated at atmospheric and reduced pressure. It is found that the calculated flow fields and temperature distributions are quite similar for both cases at a chamber pressure of 1.0 atm and 0.1 atm. A fully developed flow regime could be achieved in the arc constrictor-tube between the cathode and the anode of the plasma torch at 1.0 atm for all the flow rates covered in this study. However the flow field could not reach the fully developed regime at 0.1 atm with a higher flow rate. The arc-root is always attached to the torch anode surface near the upstream end of the anode, i.e. the abruptly expanded part of the torch channel, which is in consistence with experimental observation. The surrounding gas would be entrained from the torch exit into the torch interior due to a comparatively large inner diameter of the anode channel compared to that of the arc constrictor-tube.展开更多
A coupling model is proposed in this paper by using the Green Function and Newman＇s product principle, and the solution method is provided here as well. This model can be used to describe the reservoir inflow and wel...A coupling model is proposed in this paper by using the Green Function and Newman＇s product principle, and the solution method is provided here as well. This model can be used to describe the reservoir inflow and wellbore flow for fishbone wells in an unsteady flow or pseudo-steady flow state. A case study indicates that the bottom hole pressure declines quickly in the unsteady flow period which is very short. The pressure drop per unit time remains unchanged under the pseudo-steady flow conditions. The distribution of flow rate along the main wellbore shows a wave shape under the unsteady flow condition, and the flow rate distribution in each branch is similar. The flow rate distribution along the main wellbore is irregular ＂U＂ shaped under the pseudo-steady flow condition, and the space-symmetrical branches have the same flow distribution pattern. In the initial production period, the flow rate increases significantly as the length of branches and the angle between branches and the main wellbore increase. As the production continues, the length and angle of branches have only a slight effect on the flow in fishbone wells.展开更多
Stable and axi-symmetrical DC high-intensity transferred arcs with a coaxial water-cooled constrictor tube have been used to study the arc characteristics for many years. All the previous modeling studies concerning t...Stable and axi-symmetrical DC high-intensity transferred arcs with a coaxial water-cooled constrictor tube have been used to study the arc characteristics for many years. All the previous modeling studies concerning the high-intensity transferred arcs were restricted to the near-anode region. Modeling results are presented in this paper concerning the characteristics of the whole high-intensity transferred arc, referring to a recent experiment. It is shown that the computed flow and temperature fields for different flow rates of the working gas are overall similar, but a fully developed flow regime can only be achieved in the water-cooled constrictor tube at low working-gas flow rates. The predicted radial profiles of plasma temperature at the cross section near the constrictor-tube exit compare favorably with available experimental data, but corresponding comparison about the plasma axial-velocity profiles shows appreciable difference, revealing that there may exist considerable errors in the plasma velocity measurements using a sweeping Pitot tube.展开更多
The present study aims at investigating the effect of temperature variation due to heat transfer between the formation and drilling fluids considering influx from the reservoir in the underbalanced drilling condition....The present study aims at investigating the effect of temperature variation due to heat transfer between the formation and drilling fluids considering influx from the reservoir in the underbalanced drilling condition. Gas-liquid-solid three-phase flow model considering transient thermal interaction with the formation was applied to simulate wellbore fluid to calculate the wellbore temperature and pressure and analyze the influence of different parameters on fluid pressure and temperature distribution in annulus. The results show that the non-isothermal three-phase flow model with thermal consideration gives more accurate prediction of bottom-hole pressure(BHP) compared to other models considering geothermal temperature. Viscous dissipation, the heat produced by friction between the rotating drilling-string and well wall and drill bit drilling, and influx of oil and gas from reservoir have significant impact on the distribution of fluid temperature in the wellbore, which in turn affects the BHP. Bottom-hole fluid temperature decreases with increasing liquid flow rate, circulation time, and specific heat of liquid and gas but it increases with increasing in gas flow rate. It was found that BHP is strongly depended on the gas and liquid flow rates but it has weak dependence on the circulation time and specific heat of liquid and gas. BHP increase with increasing liquid flow rate and decreases with increasing gas flow rate.展开更多
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos.50836007, 10921062)
文摘A modelling study is performed to compare the plasma flow and heat transfer characteristics of low-power arc-heated thrusters （arcjets） for three different propellants： hydrogen, nitrogen and argon. The all-speed SIMPLE algorithm is employed to solve the governing equations, which take into account the effects of compressibility, Lorentz force and Joule heating, as well as the temperature- and pressure-dependence of the gas properties. The temperature, velocity and Mach number distributions calculated within the thruster nozzle obtained with different propellant gases are compared for the same thruster structure, dimensions, inlet-gas stagnant pressure and arc currents. The temperature distributions in the solid region of the anode-nozzle wall are also given. It is found that the flow and energy conversion processes in the thruster nozzle show many similar features for all three propellants. For example, the propellant is heated mainly in the near-cathode and constrictor region, with the highest plasma temperature appearing near the cathode tip; the flow transition from the subsonic to supersonic regime occurs within the constrictor region; the highest axial velocity appears inside the nozzle; and most of the input propellant flows towards the thruster exit through the cooler gas region near the anode-nozzle wall. However, since the properties of hydrogen, nitrogen and argon, especially their molecular weights, specific enthMpies and thermal conductivities, are different, there are appreciable differences in arcjet performance. For example, compared to the other two propellants, the hydrogen arcjet thruster shows a higher plasma temperature in the arc region, and higher axial velocity but lower temperature at the thruster exit. Correspondingly, the hydrogen arcjet thruster has the highest specific impulse and arc voltage for the same inlet stagnant pressure and arc current. The predictions of the modelling are compared favourably with available experimental results.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 10575127, 10772016)the Doctoral Research Fund of Higher Education of China (No. 20070006022)
文摘A modelling study is performed to investigate the characteristics of both plasma flow and heat transfer of a laminar non-transferred arc argon plasma torch operated at atmospheric and reduced pressure. It is found that the calculated flow fields and temperature distributions are quite similar for both cases at a chamber pressure of 1.0 atm and 0.1 atm. A fully developed flow regime could be achieved in the arc constrictor-tube between the cathode and the anode of the plasma torch at 1.0 atm for all the flow rates covered in this study. However the flow field could not reach the fully developed regime at 0.1 atm with a higher flow rate. The arc-root is always attached to the torch anode surface near the upstream end of the anode, i.e. the abruptly expanded part of the torch channel, which is in consistence with experimental observation. The surrounding gas would be entrained from the torch exit into the torch interior due to a comparatively large inner diameter of the anode channel compared to that of the arc constrictor-tube.
基金support from the National Science and Technology Major Projects of China(Grant No. 2011ZX05031-003)
文摘A coupling model is proposed in this paper by using the Green Function and Newman＇s product principle, and the solution method is provided here as well. This model can be used to describe the reservoir inflow and wellbore flow for fishbone wells in an unsteady flow or pseudo-steady flow state. A case study indicates that the bottom hole pressure declines quickly in the unsteady flow period which is very short. The pressure drop per unit time remains unchanged under the pseudo-steady flow conditions. The distribution of flow rate along the main wellbore shows a wave shape under the unsteady flow condition, and the flow rate distribution in each branch is similar. The flow rate distribution along the main wellbore is irregular ＂U＂ shaped under the pseudo-steady flow condition, and the space-symmetrical branches have the same flow distribution pattern. In the initial production period, the flow rate increases significantly as the length of branches and the angle between branches and the main wellbore increase. As the production continues, the length and angle of branches have only a slight effect on the flow in fishbone wells.
基金The project supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 50336010, 10405015, 10575127) and the ChinesePostdoctoral Science Foundation (No. 20040350044)
文摘Stable and axi-symmetrical DC high-intensity transferred arcs with a coaxial water-cooled constrictor tube have been used to study the arc characteristics for many years. All the previous modeling studies concerning the high-intensity transferred arcs were restricted to the near-anode region. Modeling results are presented in this paper concerning the characteristics of the whole high-intensity transferred arc, referring to a recent experiment. It is shown that the computed flow and temperature fields for different flow rates of the working gas are overall similar, but a fully developed flow regime can only be achieved in the water-cooled constrictor tube at low working-gas flow rates. The predicted radial profiles of plasma temperature at the cross section near the constrictor-tube exit compare favorably with available experimental data, but corresponding comparison about the plasma axial-velocity profiles shows appreciable difference, revealing that there may exist considerable errors in the plasma velocity measurements using a sweeping Pitot tube.
文摘The present study aims at investigating the effect of temperature variation due to heat transfer between the formation and drilling fluids considering influx from the reservoir in the underbalanced drilling condition. Gas-liquid-solid three-phase flow model considering transient thermal interaction with the formation was applied to simulate wellbore fluid to calculate the wellbore temperature and pressure and analyze the influence of different parameters on fluid pressure and temperature distribution in annulus. The results show that the non-isothermal three-phase flow model with thermal consideration gives more accurate prediction of bottom-hole pressure(BHP) compared to other models considering geothermal temperature. Viscous dissipation, the heat produced by friction between the rotating drilling-string and well wall and drill bit drilling, and influx of oil and gas from reservoir have significant impact on the distribution of fluid temperature in the wellbore, which in turn affects the BHP. Bottom-hole fluid temperature decreases with increasing liquid flow rate, circulation time, and specific heat of liquid and gas but it increases with increasing in gas flow rate. It was found that BHP is strongly depended on the gas and liquid flow rates but it has weak dependence on the circulation time and specific heat of liquid and gas. BHP increase with increasing liquid flow rate and decreases with increasing gas flow rate.
