A numerical method for simulating variable density flows in membrane desalination systems

Municchi, Federico; Liu, Yiming; Wang, Jingbo; Cath, Tzahi Y.; Turchi, Craig S.; Heeley, Michael B.; Hoek, Eric M.V.; Jassby, David; Tilton, Nils

doi:10.1016/j.compfluid.2024.106449

A numerical method for simulating variable density flows in membrane desalination systems

Journal Article · Fri Oct 11 00:00:00 EDT 2024 · Computers and Fluids

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compfluid.2024.106449· OSTI ID:2477387

^[1]; ^[2]; Wang, Jingbo ^[2]; Cath, Tzahi Y. ^[3]; ^[4]; ^[5]; ^[6]; Jassby, David ^[2]; ^[3]

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States)
Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)
Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States)
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)
Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Here, we present a novel method for simulating unsteady, variable density, fluid flows in membrane desalination systems. By assuming the density varies only with concentration and temperature, the scheme decouples the solution of the governing equations into two sequential blocks. The first solves the governing equations for the temperature and concentration fields, which are used to compute all thermophysical properties. The second block solves the conservation of mass and momentum equations for the velocity and pressure. We show that this is computationally more efficient than schemes that iterate over the full coupled equations in one block. We verify that the method achieves second-order spatial-temporal accuracy, and we use the method to investigate buoyancy-driven convection in a desalination process called vacuum membrane distillation. Specifically, we show that with gravity properly oriented, variations in temperature and concentration can trigger a double-diffusive instability that enhances mixing and improves water recovery. We also show that the instability can be strengthened by providing external heating.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE; USDOE Office of Science (SC)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725; AC36-08GO28308; EE0008391

OSTI ID:: 2477387

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 2475706

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA--2C00-92038

Journal Information:: Computers and Fluids, Journal Name: Computers and Fluids Vol. 285; ISSN 0045-7930

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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