Flow Simulator is an integrated flow, heat transfer, and combustion design software that enables multidisciplinary engineering simulations
to optimize machine design.
Flow Simulator uses a separate routine to calculate fluid properties.
The fluid properties are determined by a perfect gas assumption (properties as a
function of temperature only) or interpolation of real gas data. Consider the
following mixing conditions:
Air as a perfect gas
Mixture of air as a perfect gas and steam
Mixture of air as a perfect gas and real gas
Mixture of two real gases
When using air as a perfect gas, the properties are returned as a function of the
absolute temperature. When using steam or real gas, the properties are returned as a
function of absolute temperature, pressure, and the secondary fluid mass fractions.
The following fluid properties are returned:
γ
Specific heat ratio.
Cp
Specific heat at constant pressure.
R
Gas constant.
K
Thermal conductivity.
μ
Viscosity.
Pr
Prandtl number.
Nomenclature
T
Fluid temperature.
Ru
Universal gas constant.
X
Secondary fluid mass fraction in pounds of second fluid per pound of
mixture.
MW1
Molecular weight of fluid 1.
MW2
Molecular weight of fluid 2.
Air Properties
Ideal Gas Assumption
If air is assumed to behave as an ideal gas, its properties are determined by
functions dependent on temperature only. The specific heat ratio, taken from NACA
1135, equation 180, is given as:(1)
Thermal conductivity and viscosity are assumed to follow Sutherland’s Law. The
following equations, taken from White, are used:(2)
Using a value of 28.96451 for the molecular weight of air, the gas constant
becomes:(3)
The specific heat and Prandtl number for air are then calculated from the above using
the equations:(4)
The range of validity of these air properties is –300 F to 3500 F.
Steam Properties
The steam properties were derived from ASME steam tables. The thermodynamic
properties cover the range where the fluid is a vapor for temperatures between 100 ℉
and 1500 ℉ and pressures between 1.0 psia and 1500 psia. Specific heat ratio and the
inverse of specific heat at constant pressure are contained in table form in the
program, and linear interpolation by temperature and pressure is used to extract
values. The transport properties k and μ are functions of temperature only and are
calculated using the equations: Figure 1.
The saturation temperature of steam is contained in tabular form and is checked to
ensure that chamber temperature remains in the superheated range in all chambers.
The solution is stopped if this error occurs. A warning is displayed and/or printed
if the temperature in a chamber gets within 50 ℉ of saturation.
Properties of Mixed Air, Steam, and Real Gases
In Flow Simulator, you can analyze systems with mixtures of steam, air,
and real gases (for example, methane and carbon dioxide). The system used to do this
is approximate because ideal gas assumptions employ Cp rather than enthalpy for the
calculation of the temperature of mixing streams of different fluids.
The mass weighted mixing model is always used for the thermodynamic properties of
specific heat at constant pressure. The partial pressure of the fluid is used to
obtain properties for steam and real gas. Ideal air properties are not a function of
pressure. The mass weighted mixing equations, presented here for specific heat,
entropy, enthalpy, and density, are as follows:Figure 2.
The molecular weight and gas constant of the mixture are calculated using:Figure 3.
The viscosity and conductivity of the mixture are calculated using molecular mixing
models. For the molecular mixing model, the mole fraction of the second fluid,
X2, is calculated from the second fluid mass fraction as:Figure 4.
Specific equations for the transport properties were obtained from reference [6].
Viscosity for the air-steam mixtures (and viscosity and thermal conductivity for
mixtures with real gas) are calculated using the Chapman-Enskog Kinetic Theory from
the equation: Figure 5. Figure 6. Figure 7.
All temperatures are in absolute units.
The Prandtl number and the specific heat ratio for the mixture are computed using the
mixed properties: Figure 8.
Incompressible Liquid Properties
In Flow Simulator, you can model incompressible liquids. Flow Simulator supports seven liquids:
Water
Jet A
Mil PRF 23699 oil
Mil 7808 oil
VG-32 oil
Ethylene glycol - water solution
Propylene glycol - water solution
Note: In the fluid property calculation equations below,
TS,F are in Fahrenheit.
Jet A
Figure 9.
MIL PRF 23699 Oil
Figure 10.
Mil 7808 oil
Figure 11.
Note: In the fluid property calculation equations above,
TS,F are in Fahrenheit.
VG32 Oil
VG32 Oil properties are implemented as tables in Flow Simulator. The tables for each fluid property are plotted
below. Figure 12.
Ethylene Glycol - Water Solution
T
Temperature of the solution in Celsius
x
Mass fraction of Ethylene Glycol
Density Calculation - D. Bohne, S. Fischer, and E. Obermeie: Thermal
Conductivity, Density, Viscosity, and Prandtl-Numbers of Ethylene Glycol-Water
Mixtures(5) Figure 13. Figure 14. Density of ethylene glycol-water mixtures
Thermal Conductivity Calculation: D. Bohne, S. Fischer, and E. Obermeie:
Thermal Conductivity, Density, Viscosity, and Prandtl-Numbers of Ethylene
Glycol-Water Mixtures
κSOL = (1-x) * kH20+ x * κEG - κCONST *
(κH20- κEG ) * (1-x) * x
κSOL = κSOL * 0.5781759824 (convert from W/m-K to
BTU/hr-ft-degR) Figure 15. Thermal conductivity of ethylene glycol-water mixtures
Dynamic Viscosity Calculation: Tongfan Sun and Amyn S. Teja: Density,
Viscosity, and Thermal Conductivity of Aqueous Ethylene, Diethylene, and
Triethylene Glycol Mixtures between 290 K and 450 K
µEG = -3.613590 + 986.5190 / (T + 127.8610)
µH20 = -3.758023 + 590.9808 / (T + 137.2645)
µCONST = -0.165301 -0.287325 * x +1.10978e-3 * T
µSOL = EXP [ x * µEG + (1-x) * µH20 +
(µEG - µH20)* x * (1-x) * µCONST]
µSOL = µSOL * 2.4190883293091 (convert from mPa/s to
lbm/hr-ft) Figure 16. Viscosity of ethylene glycol-water mixtures
Specific Heat Calculations/Property Tables (source: Engineering Toolbox
(https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/)
Propylene Glycol - Water Solution, Tongfan Sun and Amyn S. Teja: Density,
Viscosity and Thermal Conductivity of Aqueous Solutions of Propylene Glycol,
Dipropylene Glycol, and Tripropylene Glycol between 290 K and 460 K
T
Temperature of the solution in Celsius
w
Mass fraction of ethylene glycol
Figure 17. Density Calculation Figure 18. Density Calculation
µSOL = (1-FS) * µH20 + w * µPG - µCONST *
(µH20 - µPG) * (1-w) * w
µSOL = µSOL * 0.5781759824 (convert from W/m-K to
BTU/hr-ft-degR) Figure 19.
Specific Heat Calculations/property tables - source is Engineering Toolbox
(https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/)
Dynamic Viscosity Calculations/property tables - source is Engineering Toolbox
(https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/)
Water
Water properties are implemented as tables in Flow Simulator. The tables
for each fluid property are plotted below:Figure 20. Figure 21. Figure 22. Figure 23. Figure 24.
Solid Material Properties
Flow Simulator supports the following solid materials:
Stainless Steel 321
Inco 625
SuperWool 607
Ceramic Paper
PTFE_PBI
Copper
Aluminum
Stainless Steel 321
ρ = 501.11 ! lbm/ft^3
EMISS = 0.85
Cp = 0.119503 ! BTU/(lb.F)
Figure 25.
Inco 625
ρ = 523.58 ! lbm/ft^3
EMISS = 0.71
Cp = 0.098 ! BTU/(lb.F)
Figure 26.
Superwool 607
ρ = 13.10988 ! lbm/ft^3
EMISS = 0.79
Cp = 0.1624152097 ! BTU/(lb.F)
Figure 27.
PTFE_PBI
k = 0.142 ! BTU/hr.ft.F
ρ = 137.3416 ! lbm/ft^3
EMISS = 0.92
Cp = 0.23168 ! BTU/(lb.F)
Copper
ρ = 558.0 lbm/ft^3
EMISS = 0.55
Cp = 0.0932 BTU/(lb.F)
Figure 28.
Aluminum
ρ = 169.0 lbm/ft^3
EMISS = 0.40
Cp = 0.215 BTU/(lb.F)
Figure 29.
General Mixing Equations
These mixing laws are used in Flow Simulator for
mixtures of two or more built-in fluids or if the Coolprop mixing fails.
Liquid Mixtures
(6)
“Refutas” method is used for viscosity of liquids(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)
(11)
Liquid/Gas Mixtures
(12)
(13)
(14)
(15)
Gas Mixtures
The properties of each species in a gas mixture is retrieved using the partial
pressure of the gas.
(16)
(17)
“Wilke’s” correlation is used for viscosity and conductivity of
gases.(18)