TEHD II - Thermal Electro-Hydrodynamics

Aims & Objectives

Viscous fluids contained between differentially heated coaxial cylinders are capable of highly nonlinear dynamical behavior. Such systems have a wide range of engineering applications, e.g. in energy storage. Application of an external force can improve the efficiency of heat transfer in these configurations, leading to more sustainable operation and decreased costs. We specifically consider dielectric fluids and seek to optimize heat transfer inside the annulus under the action of an electric field. Project TEHD analyzed the thermal electro-hydrodynamical model for vertically aligned cylinders. Our aim is to carry on the investigation with a horizontal setup, where external forces arise due to the electric field and by rotation of the inner cylinder.

Research Topics at EMCL

  • Extension of the existing numerical TEHD solver by mass-preserving (divergence-free) finite elements and stabilized methods
  • Investigation of hydrodynamic stability in natural convection, dielectric force-driven convection and rotating cylinder scenarios
  • Comparison between experimental and simulated data
  • Optimal control

Funding

  • The project is funded by the DFG.

Partners

  • Engineering Mathematics and Computing Lab, Prof. Dr. Vincent Heuveline, IWR, Heidelberg University
  • Lehrstuhl Aerodynamik und Strömungslehre, Prof. Dr. Christoph Egbers, Brandenburgische Technische Universität (BTU) Cottbus - Senftenberg

People

Contact

Publications

  • In preparation