In industrial operations, it is common to see situations in which mass and heat can be exchanged between two or more phases. These processes, which are often multiphase, permeate different sectors such as the steel industry, the automotive industry, the food industry, aerospace and many others. Nowadays, it is impossible to ignore the benefits of understanding these phenomena and getting the best out of processes in order to reduce costs and increase productivity. 

For a correct interpretation, some areas of study are necessary to understand these processes, such as knowledge of thermodynamics, chemical kinetics, porous media, heat transfer and fluid mechanics. Mastery of the concepts involved is necessary for the development of projects and optimization in complex industrial operations, providing a mandatory understanding of transport phenomena. The correct use of the disciplines is essential so that processes involving heat and fluids can perform as required in the project, without any loss of production or quality of the product involved. 

In addition to industrial applications, fluids such as water and air are essential to everyday life and life on the planet. The effects of these engineering concepts can be seen in everyday life, for example: refrigeration in heat-generating equipment and in food; the thermal comfort provided by air conditioning; food processing in ovens; the effect of aerodynamics on the performance and consumption of cars and airplanes.

What is Thermofluid Dynamics?

Thermofluid dynamics is an area of science responsible for the development of studies, both theoretical and experimental, focused on the dynamic behavior of fluids and the phenomena associated with heat transfer and mass transport. 

Thermofluid dynamics studies single-phase and multiphase processes and can be related to specific phenomena such as combustion and thermal radiation. 

Combustion is an exothermic and irreversible chemical reaction that occurs between two or more reactants, requiring the presence of fuel and an oxidizer. Thermal radiation, on the other hand, is characterized by the emission and propagation of energy by means of electromagnetic waves.

In industry, there are various pieces of equipment and/or structures that deal with the phenomena of heat and mass transfer between different phases, which may or may not involve chemical reactions. Examples include ovens, heaters, dryers, bag filters, collection and sedimentation channels. 

The operational and conceptual evolution of this equipment in recent decades has been driven by the development of numerical methods. The combination of thermofluid dynamics studies with the application of these methods to simulations of multiphase processes has enabled progress to be made in a very popular area of engineering, Computational Fluid Dynamics.

Computational Fluid Dynamics(CFD) makes it possible to create models for analysis and studies through the numerical simulation of fluid flow, heat transfer and related phenomena. 

Figure 1: Two-dimensional simulation of free-front flow in the dyke breaking problem - SOURCE: COPPE UFRJ.

What are the applications and benefits of Thermofluid Dynamics?

Thermofluid dynamics is widely used in different market segments and assists in the design and manufacture of hundreds of products. Its application extends from the production of airplanes to automobiles, ships and the most diverse types of industrial equipment. 

Among the main applications of fluid dynamics, it is vale highlighting its usefulness: 

• in the oil industry,
• in the steel industry,
• in the food industry,
• in mining,
• in testing propulsion and power generation system projects in general,
• in cooling equipment, 
• in the aerodynamic and aerothermodynamic analysis of aerospace vehicles and land vehicles (trains, trucks, cars).

Thermofluid dynamics also contributes to environmental issues, helping in the planning and management of water resources (analysis and simulation of the release of pollutants and contaminants) and in gas dispersion characterization studies. 

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