Author: Will English

SUGAR BEET CLAMP CFD MODELLING: HEAT OF RESPIRATION AND CONVECTION ONLY

OpenFOAM version: 9 Case: clamp_11 Solver: clampPimpleFoam v3 BACKGROUND So far, the clamp modelling project has developed to the point where basically all the components of the model are in place. However, and as noted in the last post in the Results section, issues remain. The rate of heat transfer in the porous zone is…
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OpenFOAM – AIR FLOW THROUGH A VENTILATED SUGAR BEET CLAMP. UPDATE

In the first attempt at finding a solution to this model, the wrong kinematic viscosity was used. This permitted a solution to be found, but it was worthless. Once the correct kinematic viscosity for air was given, the steady state model would just diverge. The reason appears to be the simple fact that the model…
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OpenFOAM: COARSER MESH AND ADJUST TIME STEP

OpenFOAM version: 9 Case: clamp_09 Points of note: new coarser mesh, adjust time step implemented, 60 minute simulation. NEW MESHES There is a need for more speed in this simulation. It is currently moving at about 0.1 seconds per second. So a 3 day simulation would take 30 days. To achieve this increase in speed,…
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CONVECTIVE HEAT TRANSFER IN SUGAR BEET STORES

Cover image: a sugar beet clamp captured with a drone mounted thermal camera. Skip to Coding convective heat transfer coefficient as a scalar field. BACKGROUND Convective heat transfer is the process by which heat is transfer from one region to another through the movement of a fluid. It results when there is a temperature difference…
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OpenFOAM: STEADY STATE AIR FLOW THROUGH A SUGAR BEET CLAMP. UPDATE

THIS POST IS AN UPDATE ON A PREVIOUS POST IN WHICH THE WRONG KINEMATIC VISCOSITY WAS APPLIED IN THE SIMULATION. In 2003, Lope G. Tabil and three co-authors decided that they would make my 2021 life much much easier by publishing the paper Airflow Resistance of Sugarbeet. This paper reports some very useful values for…
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OpenFOAM: MODELLING A POROUS MEMBRANE

UNDER CONSTRUCTION 2022-03-03: require experimental data for the permeability of the cover material TopTex. OpenFOAM version: 9 CASE: clamp_06, case_06_empty_clamp Solver: clampPimpleFoam-2 This post builds on two previous posts in which two heat equations were added to the pimpleFoam solver: one for the fluid phase, and one for the solid phase. That said, this post…
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OpenFOAM: pimpleFoam w HEAT TRANSFER -2

Case: clamp_05 Solver: clampPimpleFoam-1 -> clampPimpleFoam-2 This post is the second of two that are a record of how to modify the pimpleFoam solver of OpenFOAM to include heat transfer when there is: a porous region, two phases in this porous region (gas and solid), and a heat source within the solid phase. In the…
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USING PENETROMETER DATA IN SUGAR BEET VARIETY SELECTION

This post summaries the current information around how using data from a penetrometer could inform decisions around variety selection in sugar beet, including the particular cautions that need to be observed. SUMMARY The data is informative, can be cheap to obtain, but does not provide a complete picture. AVAILABLE DATA The exact terminology used in…
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KAPPA

The ‘Thesis’, if you will. The grand description and summary of the doctoral project. This is the template that I will be using, based of discussion with my supervisors, and from looking at the works of some of my recently graduated peers. It is a meta/ broad summary of the project, addressing the general themes…
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SUGAR BEET SURFACE AREA

This post discusses the estimation of the surface area of sugar beet. For now, this is largely guess work – no empirical data to confirm the modelling results has yet been sourced. It seems likely that some experiment data exists (Stefan Paulus at Ifz, I’m looking at you), but it hasn’t been asked for yet.…
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