Meshes and flow fields for the optimum design of autothermal reactors with different flow channel shapes

The cross-sectional shape of the flow channels can be defined by means of a number of geometric parameters. A methanol-steam mixture is supplied to the reforming channels to be reformed, and a methanol-air mixture is supplied to the combustion channels to be combusted. The temperatures and pressures of the two streams entering the combustion channels and the reforming channels, respectively, are the same.

The temperature of the two streams is 373 degrees Kelvin at the flow inlets. The system operates at a pressure of up to 1.5 megapascals. Typically, high pressure combustion is widely practiced.

Although a stoichiometric ratio of fuel to air is sufficient, an equivalence ratio of 0.8 is employed. A steam-to-carbon molar ratio of 1.4 is employed. The fluids flow essentially parallel to the axes of the channels.

The velocity of the fluid flowing into the reforming channels is 2.0 meters per second at the flow inlets. In contrast, the velocity of the fluid flowing into the combustion channels varies depending on the desired design requirements. To obtain the solution of the problem, numerical simulations are performed using fluid mechanics.

Contributor: Junjie Chen, E-mail address: koncjj@gmail.com, ORCID: 0000-0002-5022-6863, Department of Energy and Power Engineering, School of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Henan Polytechnic University, 2000 Century Avenue, Jiaozuo, Henan, 454000, P.R. China