Selected papers from ThermaCOMP09, First International Conference on Computational Methods for Thermal Problems, 8-10 September 2009, Napoli, Italy - Part I

Citation

Massarotti, N. and Nithiarasu, P. (2010), "Selected papers from ThermaCOMP09, First International Conference on Computational Methods for Thermal Problems, 8-10 September 2009, Napoli, Italy - Part I", International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, Vol. 20 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/hff.2010.13420eaa.001

Selected papers from ThermaCOMP09, First International Conference on Computational Methods for Thermal Problems, 8-10 September 2009, Napoli, Italy - Part I

Article Type: Guest editorial From: International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, Volume 20, Issue 5.

This special issue collates some of the papers presented by invited keynote lecturers at the First International Conference on Computational Methods for Thermal Problems (ThermaComp 2009) held in Napoli, Italy, 8-10 September 2009.

The first paper, presented by Jaluria (2010), discusses the role and importance of experimental data in the accurate numerical simulation of a variety of fundamental and practical problems. The paper presents several examples, from different areas such as materials processing, and cooling of electronic equipment, where the numerical simulation may be efficiently combined with experiments, and indeed driven by experimental data, to obtain accurate, valid and realistic numerical predictions. The second paper, presented at the conference by Codina et al. (2010) describes a variational multiscale finite element discretization of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations using the Boussinesq approximation to model thermal coupling. The approach developed by the authors allows them to deal with thermal turbulence from a strictly numerical point of view and discusses important issues, such as the relationship between the turbulent mechanical dissipation and the turbulent thermal dissipation.

The third paper, by Drikakis and Asproulis (2010) presents an overview of different approaches for applying macroscopic boundary conditions in hybrid multiscale modelling. A number of tests, reported in the paper, show how the choice of the most suitable method depends on factors such as accuracy requirements and availability of computational resources. The fourth paper, by Samadiani and Joshi (2010) presents a review of the numerical methods for the airflow/thermal modelling of air-cooled data centres through CFD/HT. The paper shows that low-dimensional models are needed in order to accurately and rapidly predict the thermal behaviour of data centres for design and control purposes. In particular, the authors highlighted the potential of wavelet-based techniques as new promising tools for reduced order thermal modelling of complex electronic systems such as data centres.

Sunden (2010) reviews the computational procedures that are currently used for the simulation of compact heat exchangers. The paper presents examples of these methods and identifies some of the critical issues to be considered when computational heat transfer methods are used for the simulation of compact heat exchangers. The sixth paper, by Voller (2010) shows for the first time how numerical heat transfer inspired models can be used for the simulation of a three-dimensional sediment delta deposit over both land and ocean domains. Thus, proving that heat transfer and numerical modelling can be also used in a number of different applications and multidisciplinary problems that still need to be discovered. The last paper by, Mauro et al. (2010) presents the application of a fully matrix inversion free algorithm for the simulation of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). The transport phenomena and the electrochemical reactions that occur in these direct energy conversion devices are modelled in this paper. The solution of a generalized porous medium model that describes porous electrodes and fluid channels with a single-domain approach is solved using an artificial compressibility algorithm. This presentation was awarded one of the three R.W. Lewis prize runners-up awards for best graduate student work.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all authors for their excellent contributions. Their work represents the spirit of this new series of conferences that brings together fundamental and applied numerical researchers in the area of heat and fluid flow. We would like to thank Professor R.W. Lewis for acting as the honorary chair of ThermaCOMP09 and giving us the opportunity to edit this special issue.

Nicola MassarottiDiT – Dipartimento per le Tecnologie Università degli Studi di Napoli “Parthenope” Centro Direzionale, Napoli, Italy

Perumal NithiarasuSchool of Engineering, Swansea University, Swansea, UK