Sedimention of particles
Capturing tiny particles in a flow can be very important. For example if tiny iron particles contribute to contamination in a flow system. It is important to design devices which filter the particles out of a flow. There are many methods to filter the particles, but one under investigation is a magnet which attracts the iron particles. Together with the particle density within COMSOL multiphysics one is able to apply in built statistical methods to determine the percentage of filtering or capturing of particles in the system. The design is investigated and improvements on particle capturing during time has been optimized for certain geometries.
In the figure to the right an overview is given of a design in its early phase. Particle tracing or particle tracking is an important feature in CFD simulations.
Laminar flow for clean room simulations.
The importancy of predicting Laminar Air Flow (LAF flow) in cleanrooms and hospital environment is very high. With CFD it is possible to model and predict the deposition of tiny particles in the laminar flow hood, and areas where the deposition is highly prevented. In this picture a LAF-flow cabinet is shown. Due to strict specifications one should design the cabinet in such a way that all clean air flows nicely without turbulence or vortices into the room.
Downflow cabinets are another important application in the laboratory environment, especially for pharma and high tech industry.
Radial turbopump,
Centrifugal pumps can be optimized for volume flow, for example. However, there are also other aspects that play an important role. Vibrations can have undesirable effects on the pump housing and, after a long period of time, can cause failure of the housing or the bearings in the pump. When using water and high pressures, the interaction of the water with the house can cause problems or be a source of vibration and excessive noise. Noise reduction in pump housings and fans is an interplay between geometric optimization and reducing vortices in the flow