Date of Award:

5-2013

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Committee Chair(s)

Byard Wood

Committee

Byard Wood

Committee

Robert Spall

Committee

Ling Liu

Abstract

Algae-derived biofuels is a hot topic of research interest when it comes to renewable energy applications. Algae can be grown in open systems that are low-cost, easy to maintain, and open to the environment. However, algae does not grow very dense in these systems. Mixing is an important factor in growing algae. If mixing were to be improved in open systems, the algae may be able to grow more dense. Certain studies show that placing a mechanical device such as an airfoil or airplane wing in the water will be able to increase the capability of mixing in the open system. One specific study showed an increase in the algae by 2.2-2.4 times. This is because the increased mixing allowed the algae to reach the top water surface and obtain much needed sunlight for improved growth.

Utah State University (USU) has used many methods to understand the mixing quality of a delta wing (DW) vortex generator. The DW helps to circulate the algae to the top water surface, like the airfoil, to help the algae grow. Many of the computational and experimental methods previously used focused on understanding the mixing patterns and mixing quality in the open system. However, experiments using a DW to grow algae were yet to be performed. Three algae growth experiments were completed and positive results were obtained. The use of a DW to mix the algae and improve growth showed an overall 27% increase in the biomass.

Since the algae growth experiments were successful, it was important to understand the mixing quality and flow patterns of two DWs side-by-side. Experiments were created and performed to understand the patterns of mixing in the open system created by these two DWs in the water. The mixing quality was shown to be good and the best choice of how to space the DWs apart from each other was determined. Smaller scale DWs were used for these experiments, but using obtained data, mixing at a larger scale was estimated and showed quality mixing

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