Altair Case Studies Leveraging IoT in High-Temperature Biomass Reformation

	Leveraging IoT in High-Temperature Biomass Reformation Altair

Leveraging IoT in High-Temperature Biomass Reformation

Altair

Technology Category	Sensors - Infrared Sensors Sensors - Thermal Conductivity Sensors
Applicable Industries	Renewable Energy Transportation
Applicable Functions	Logistics & Transportation
Use Cases	Last Mile Delivery Transportation Simulation
Challenge	A biofuels company based in Longmont, CO, aimed to be a leader in converting woody biomass into drop-in transportation fuels. However, they faced several challenges in the high-temperature bioreforming process. One of the key challenges was the small-scale gas-solid separator classifier, which was designed to separate particles from gases by size from a product stream for subsequent analysis. Another challenge was determining a material’s resistance to thermal stress. The company hypothesized that the rapid insertion of a cold lance into a hot chamber would create a stress spike sufficient to break the specimen. Furthermore, the biomass conversion rates depended on an evolving particle size distribution, particle shape, and porosity. The physical properties used in CFD depended on temperature, pressure, and composition. Read More
About Customer	The customer in this case study is a biofuels company based in Longmont, Colorado. The company's primary goal is to become a leader in the conversion of woody biomass into drop-in transportation fuels. They are committed to leveraging advanced technologies to overcome the challenges associated with high-temperature bioreforming. The company is focused on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of their processes, particularly in the areas of gas-solid separation, thermal stress resistance, and biomass conversion rates. They are also interested in exploring partnerships with technology providers to enhance their capabilities and achieve their objectives. Read More
Solution	The company utilized Altair Technologies, specifically AcuSolve and OptiStruct, to address these challenges. AcuSolve was used for one-way coupling finite-massed particle tracing, sliding-deforming mesh, dynamic LES turbulence model, conjugate heat transfer, and variable physical properties. OptiStruct was used for thermal stress analysis. The company also used acuProj with elemental interpolation to map transient temperature fields from CFD to an FEA mesh of the specimen. Additionally, they partnered with LOGESoft, the creator of the DARS kinetic plug-in to Star CCM+, to add gas-solid chemistry to their solver. LOGESoft was used to estimate temperature-dependent density, viscosity, and enthalpy for the fluid. Altair’s AcuSolve Spalart-Allmaras turbulence, conjugate heat transfer, surface-to-surface radiation, user Rosseland radiation model for particle-laden fluid, and OptiStruct for thermal stress were used to model thermal stresses in a laboratory bioreformer. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Sensors - Infrared Sensors

Sensors - Thermal Conductivity Sensors

Applicable Industries

Renewable Energy

Transportation

Applicable Functions

Logistics & Transportation

Use Cases

Last Mile Delivery

Transportation Simulation

Challenge

A biofuels company based in Longmont, CO, aimed to be a leader in converting woody biomass into drop-in transportation fuels. However, they faced several challenges in the high-temperature bioreforming process. One of the key challenges was the small-scale gas-solid separator classifier, which was designed to separate particles from gases by size from a product stream for subsequent analysis. Another challenge was determining a material’s resistance to thermal stress. The company hypothesized that the rapid insertion of a cold lance into a hot chamber would create a stress spike sufficient to break the specimen. Furthermore, the biomass conversion rates depended on an evolving particle size distribution, particle shape, and porosity. The physical properties used in CFD depended on temperature, pressure, and composition.

About Customer

The customer in this case study is a biofuels company based in Longmont, Colorado. The company's primary goal is to become a leader in the conversion of woody biomass into drop-in transportation fuels. They are committed to leveraging advanced technologies to overcome the challenges associated with high-temperature bioreforming. The company is focused on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of their processes, particularly in the areas of gas-solid separation, thermal stress resistance, and biomass conversion rates. They are also interested in exploring partnerships with technology providers to enhance their capabilities and achieve their objectives.

Solution

The company utilized Altair Technologies, specifically AcuSolve and OptiStruct, to address these challenges. AcuSolve was used for one-way coupling finite-massed particle tracing, sliding-deforming mesh, dynamic LES turbulence model, conjugate heat transfer, and variable physical properties. OptiStruct was used for thermal stress analysis. The company also used acuProj with elemental interpolation to map transient temperature fields from CFD to an FEA mesh of the specimen. Additionally, they partnered with LOGESoft, the creator of the DARS kinetic plug-in to Star CCM+, to add gas-solid chemistry to their solver. LOGESoft was used to estimate temperature-dependent density, viscosity, and enthalpy for the fluid. Altair’s AcuSolve Spalart-Allmaras turbulence, conjugate heat transfer, surface-to-surface radiation, user Rosseland radiation model for particle-laden fluid, and OptiStruct for thermal stress were used to model thermal stresses in a laboratory bioreformer.

Impact #1	The implementation of Altair’s Hyperworks, including AcuSolve and OptiStruct, along with the partnership with LOGESoft, resulted in a robust and accurate solution for the company's challenges. The solution was not only able to accurately simulate the heat flux and stress in the bioreforming process, but it also provided insights into the effects of chemistry on the process. The distribution of stress cracks was found to be consistent with the OptiStruct surface stress distribution, validating the effectiveness of the solution. Furthermore, the solution was easily scalable to larger problems, making it a versatile tool for the company. The ability to couple different technologies also added to the robustness of the solution.

Impact #1

The implementation of Altair’s Hyperworks, including AcuSolve and OptiStruct, along with the partnership with LOGESoft, resulted in a robust and accurate solution for the company's challenges. The solution was not only able to accurately simulate the heat flux and stress in the bioreforming process, but it also provided insights into the effects of chemistry on the process. The distribution of stress cracks was found to be consistent with the OptiStruct surface stress distribution, validating the effectiveness of the solution. Furthermore, the solution was easily scalable to larger problems, making it a versatile tool for the company. The ability to couple different technologies also added to the robustness of the solution.

Benefit #1	The simulated heat flux showed excellent agreement to the experimental results, with a difference of only 2.1473 kw/m2 for the unshielded case and 1.76827 kw/m2 for the shielded case.
Benefit #2	The peak transient stress was found to be similar to the steady state, indicating the effectiveness of the solution.
Benefit #3	The kinetic model validation showed excellent agreement over a wide range of inputs, demonstrating the accuracy of the solution.

Benefit #1

The simulated heat flux showed excellent agreement to the experimental results, with a difference of only 2.1473 kw/m2 for the unshielded case and 1.76827 kw/m2 for the shielded case.

Benefit #2

The peak transient stress was found to be similar to the steady state, indicating the effectiveness of the solution.

Benefit #3

The kinetic model validation showed excellent agreement over a wide range of inputs, demonstrating the accuracy of the solution.

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Overview

Leveraging IoT in High-Temperature Biomass Reformation

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit