The potential of HCCI combustion to reduce the internal combustion engines exhaust emissions, particularly NO_X and soot emissions, and to delimit the application range of this technique as well as a detailed analysis of previous and current results of combustion chemistry, emission behaviors, the challenging facing this technique, and all controlling parameters including transient states are introduced. From HCCI combustion chemistry and emissions analysis it was found that, the heavy fuels displays two-stage heat release or two stage combustion process involving low temperature oxidation (LTO) stage followed by high temperature oxidation (HTO) stage separated by a time delay between them is attributed to negative temperature coefficient (NTC), the advantage of NO_X emissions reduction from HCCI engine diminishing at high load condition, HC production is reduced with increasing the engine load, and the soot ejection is negligible during all operating conditions. Valve timing, compression ratio, inlet air temperature, and EGR show an advanced control on the HCCI combustion behaviors over a wide range of speed and load. The use of EGR in HCCI operation is limited at EGR-rates about 70% at this point the reaction rates and ignition timing are so much reduced and retarded, respectively, and leads to misfiring and production of HC-emissions. Homogenization of fuel, air, and recycled burnt gases prior to ignition in addition to the control of ignition and combustion timing, and heat release rates are obstructs that must be overcome in order to realize the advantages of HCCI engine in the future.

View full abstract

Air-water swirling flows in a one-fifth model of a steam separator in a boiling water nuclear reactor are measured to obtain a database for modeling and verification of numerical methods for predicting swirling flows in the separator. Flow patterns, liquid film thicknesses, separated flow rates and the ratio W_s^* of the separated flow to the total liquid flow are measured using a high-speed camera, a laser focus displacement meter and flowmeters. Main conclusions obtained are as follows: (1) liquid transfer from droplets to liquid film is caused not only by droplet deposition but also by the collection of droplets on the vanes of the swirler, (2) W_s^* increases with the gas volume flux J_G and does not depend on the liquid volume flux J_L so much because a large centrifugal force caused by the swirler makes most of droplets in the gas core deposit on the liquid film before the separation and (3) a local peak appears in the axial distribution of film thickness, the position of which corresponds to the location where the droplet deposition caused by the centrifugal force has completed.

View full abstract

The dynamic characteristics of control rod for boiling water reactor being inserted under seismic excitation were investigated using non-linear analytical models. The capability of managing the insertion of control rod is one of the most important factors affecting the safety of nuclear power plant undergoing seismic events. Predicting the behavior of control rod being inserted during earthquakes is important when designing how rod should be controlled during seismic events. We developed analytical models using the finite element method (FEM). The effect of the interaction force between the control rod and the fuel assemblies is considered in non-linear analysis. This interaction force causes resistance force to be applied to the control rod when they are being inserted. The validity of the analytical models was confirmed by comparing the analytical results with the experimental ones. The effects of input seismic motion and structural parameters on the insertion time ware investigated using the analytical models. These analytical methods can be used to predict the time to insert the control rod into the core region of reactor, and are useful for designing control rod system that can survive seismic events.

View full abstract

In this study, the high-temperature mechanical and creep rupture properties of Grade 91/Grade 91 (Mod. 9Cr-Mo) similar welded joints and Grade 91/Inconel 82/SUS304 dissimilar welded joints were examined. The effects of temperature and stress on the failure location in the joints were also investigated. Creep rupture tests were conducted at 823, 873, and 923 K; the applied stress ranges were 160-240, 80-160, and 40-80 MPa, respectively. The creep rupture strengths of the specimens with welded joints were lower than those of the specimens of the base metal at all temperature levels; in addition, these differences in creep strength increased with temperature. After being subjected to long-term creep rupture tests, the fracture type exhibited by the dissimilar welded joints was transformed from Types V and VII to Type IV. It was estimated that the fracture type exhibited by the dissimilar welded joints after 100,000-h rupture strength tests at 823 K and 873 K was Type IV fracture.

View full abstract

Thermal fatigue may initiate at a T-junction or a branched off line where high and low temperature fluids mix. These are common piping elements in nuclear power plants. To ensure structural integrity against thermal fatigue during the design phase, it is important to estimate thermal load from such design specifications as flow rate, temperature difference, pipe diameter, etc. IMAT-F, an evaluation method integrating thermal hydraulic and structural analysis, was developed in this study to precisely determine thermal load excluding safety margins or conservative engineering judgment. The method was validated by numerical flow simulations of high-cycle thermal fatigue experiment SPECTRA, conducted by Japan Atomic Energy Agency. Results confirmed that IMAT-F can accurately simulate fluid and pipe wall temperature fluctuation using fluid-structure coupled analysis. Thermal stress fluctuation resulting from distribution of temperature fluctuation in the pipe wall was then calculated. Fluctuation fatigue life was also estimated for comparison with the experimental results.

View full abstract

Green energy utilization technology is an effective means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In this paper, the production-of-electricity prediction algorithm (PAS) of the solar cell was developed. In PAS, a layered neural network is made to learn based on past weather data and the operation plan of the hybrid system (proposed system) of a solar cell and a diesel engine generator was examined using this prediction algorithm. In addition, system operation without a electricity-storage facility, and the system with the engine generator operating at 25% or less of battery residual quantity was investigated, and the fuel consumption of each system was measured. Numerical simulation showed that the fuel consumption of the proposed system was modest compared with other operating methods. However, there was a significant difference in the prediction error of the electricity production of the solar cell and the actual value, and the proposed system was shown to be not always superior to others. Moreover, although there are errors in the predicted and actual values using PAS, there is no significant influence in the operation plan of the proposed system in almost all cases. In the operation plan of the system with PAS, there was a case where the fuel consumption decreased by 15% compared with other systems.

View full abstract

With the global warming problem aggravating and subsequent implementation of the Kyoto Protocol, CO₂ emissions are becoming an important factor when verifying the usability of cogeneration systems. Considering this, the purpose of this work is to study the effect of the capacity of a cogeneration system on its CO₂ emissions under two kinds of operation strategies: one focused on exergetic efficiency and another on running cost. The system meets the demand pattern typical of a hospital in Japan, operating during one year with an average heat-to-power ratio of 1.3. The main equipments of the cogeneration system are: a gas turbine with waste heat boiler, a main boiler and an auxiliary steam turbine. Each of these equipments was characterized with partial load models, and the turbine efficiencies at full load changed according to the system capacity. Still, it was assumed that eventual surplus of electricity generated could be sold. The main results showed that for any of the capacities simulated, an exergetic efficiency-focused operational strategy always resulted in higher CO₂ emissions reduction when compared to the running cost-focused strategy. Furthermore, the amount of reduction in emissions decreased when the system capacity decreased, reaching a value of 1.6% when the system capacity was 33% of the maximum electricity demand with a heat-to-power ratio of 4.1. When the system operated focused on running cost, the economic savings increased with the capacity and reached 42% for a system capacity of 80% of maximum electricity demand and with a heat-to-power ratio of 2.3. In such conditions however, there was an increase in emissions of 8.5%. Still for the same capacity, an exergetic efficiency operation strategy presented the best balance between cost and emissions, generating economic savings of 29% with a decrease in CO₂ emissions of 7.1%. The results found showed the importance of an exergy-focused operational strategy and also indicated that lower capacities resulted in lesser gains of both CO₂ emissions and running cost reduction.

View full abstract

The two-dimensional intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) growth model has been developed to simulate branching cracks of IGSCC. In the model, the IGSCC is grown using the "grain-scaled" factors such as the length and strength of grain boundary and so on. Especially, the corrosion of grain boundary and the influence of shear stress acting on the grain boundary are introduced in the model. Using the model, computer simulation of crack growth was carried out under several load conditions with changing the ratio of axial to shear stress against the grain boundary. As a result of the simulations, we found out that the cause of crack branching was the influence of shear stress against the grain boundary, and that the synergistic effect of shear stress and corrosion of grain boundary leads to the oblique crack growth.

View full abstract