Computational Fluid Dynamic analysis of Microbubble Drag Reduction Systems at High Reynolds Number

Authors

John D. Goolcharan, Florida International UniversityFollow

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

Master of Science (MS)

Major/Program

Mechanical Engineering

First Advisor's Name

Dr. Cheng-Xian Lin

First Advisor's Committee Title

Committee chair

Second Advisor's Name

Dr. George Dulikravich

Second Advisor's Committee Title

committee member

Third Advisor's Name

Dr. Yiding Cao

Third Advisor's Committee Title

committee member

Keywords

microbubble, drag reduction, computational fluid dynamics, CFD, fluid dynamics, microbubble drag reduction, ANSYS

Date of Defense

7-8-2016

Abstract

Microbubble drag reduction (MBDR) is an effective method to improve the efficiency of fluid systems. MBDR is a field that has been extensively studied in the past, and experimental values of up to 80% to 90% drag reduction have been obtained. The effectiveness and simplicity of MBDR makes it a viable method for real world applications, particularly in naval applications where it can reduce the drag between the surface of ships and the surrounding water. A two dimensional single phase model was created in ANSYS Fluent to effectively model the behavior of bubble laden flow over a flat plate. This model was used to analyze the effectiveness of MBDR based on the following factors: Reynolds number, types of gas injected, upstream flow velocity, upstream fluid type, density ratio, flow rate of injected gas, using air as the upstream injected fluid.

Identifier

FIDC000788

Recommended Citation

Goolcharan, John D., "Computational Fluid Dynamic analysis of Microbubble Drag Reduction Systems at High Reynolds Number" (2016). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2542.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/2542