Optimal arrangement of structural and functional parts in a flat plate integrated collector storage solar water heater (ICSSWH)

Parameters that affect the efficiency of a flat plate integrated collector storage solar water heater (ICSSWH) are examined experimentally and numerically. This specific ICSSWH contains water that is not refreshed. The service water is heated indirectly through an immersed heat exchanger (HE) in contact with the front and back major surfaces. A forced convection mechanism consisting of a pump that brings the storage water into motion by recirculation is used for heat transfer intensification. The two major (front and back) flat plate surfaces need to be well interconnected so that they are not deformed by the weight of the contained water and the exerted high-pressure. Two main factors that influence the performance are optimized: the position and size of the recirculation ports and the arrangement and size of the interconnecting fins. Both factors are explored to maximize the velocity flow field of the recirculated storage water. Consequently, the heat transfer rate between the two water circuits is maintained at high levels. Various 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models are developed using the FLUENT package. An experimental model, made by Plexiglas, is used for the visualization of the flow field. Flow velocities are measured using a laser doppler velocimetry (LDV) system. The optimal arrangement increases the mean storage water velocity by 65% and raises the outlet temperatures up to 8 °C.     

Experimental and theoretical investigations of falling film evaporation

In this study, a mathematical model was developed for falling film evaporation in vacuum using heat transfer relations. An experimental device was designed. experimental set-up which was used was equipped with a triangular weir distribution device and it had the ability to record data up to 3?m. Experiments were performed in a single-effect process with sucrose–water solution varying from 3 to 20% concentration rate of sucrose and we used a vertical tube evaporator with the dimensions of laboratory scale. The model that was developed considers convection, shear stress, viscosity and conjugate heat transfer while most of the previous works ignored these factors. The main factors influencing the heat transfer mechanism performance of the unit were investigated and analyzed. We concluded that the experimental studies are verified by the developed model. Furthermore, it was also concluded that, the heat transfer is affected by the mass flow rate, sucrose concentration rate in solution, film thickness and pressure.     

Determination of heat transfer correlations for plate-fin-and-tube heat exchangers

This paper presents a numerical method for determining heat transfer coefficients in cross-flow heat exchangers with extended heat exchange surfaces. Coefficients in the correlations defining heat transfer on the liquid- and air-side were determined using a non-linear regression method. Correlation coefficients were determined from the condition that the sum of squared fluid temperature differences at the heat exchanger outlet, obtained by measurements and those calculated, achieved minimum. Minimum of the sum of the squares was found using the Levenberg-Marquardt method. The outlet temperature of the fluid leaving the heat exchanger was calculated using the mathematical model describing the heat transfer in the heat exchanger. Since the conditions at the liquid-side and those at the air-side are identified simultaneously, the derived correlations are valid in a wide range of flow rate changes of the air and liquid. This is especially important for partial loads of the exchanger, when the heat transfer rate is lower than the nominal load. The correlation for the average heat transfer coefficient on the air-side based on the experimental data was compared with the correlation obtained from numerical simulation of 3D fluid and heat flow, performed by means of the commercially available CFD code. The numerical predictions are in good agreement with the experimental data.     

Numerical modeling of compact high temperature heat exchanger and chemical decomposer for hydrogen production

The present study addresses fluid flow and heat transfer in a high temperature compact heat exchanger which will be used as a chemical decomposer in a hydrogen production plant. The heat exchanger is manufactured using fused ceramic layers that allow creation of channels with dimensions below 1 mm. The main purpose of this study is to increase the thermal performance of the heat exchanger, which can help to increase the sulfuric acid decomposition rate. Effects of various channel geometries of the heat exchanger on the pressure drop are studied as well. A three-dimensional computational model is developed for the investigation of fluid flow and heat transfer in the heat exchanger. Several different geometries of the heat exchanger channels, such as straight channels, ribbed ground channels, hexagonal channels, and diamond-shaped channels are examined. Based on the results, methods on how to improve the design of the heat exchanger are recommended.     

Thermal behavior of spiral fin-and-tube heat exchanger having fly ash deposit

This research investigates the effect of fly-ash deposit on thermal performance of a cross-flow heat exchanger having a set of spiral finned-tubes as a heat transfer surface. A stream of warm air having high content of fly-ash is exchanging heat with a cool water stream in the tubes. In this study, the temperature of the heat exchanger surface is lower than the dew point temperature of air, thus there is condensation of moisture in the air stream on the heat exchanger surface. The affecting parameters such as the fin spacing, the air mass flow rate, the fly-ash mass flow rate and the inlet temperature of warm air are varied while the volume flow rate and the inlet temperature of the cold water stream are kept constant at 10 l/min and 5 °C, respectively.

From the experiment, it is found that as the testing period is shorter than 8 h the thermal resistance due to the fouling increases with time. Moreover, the deposit of fly-ash on the heat transfer surface is directly proportional to the dust–air ratio and the amount of condensate on heat exchange surface. However, the deposit of fly-ash is inversely proportional to the fin spacing. The empirical model for evaluating the thermal resistance is also developed in this work and the simulated results agree well with those of the measured data.     

Numerical investigation of flow and heat transfer in a gas-droplet separated turbulent stream using the Reynolds stress transfer model

The results of the numerical modeling of flow structure, turbulence, and heat transfer in a gas-droplet stream after sudden tube expansion on the basis of the Eulerian approach are presented. The gas phase turbulence was modeled using the Reynolds stress transfer model modified to allow for the presence of particles. The results are compared with those obtained using the two-equation k-ε model. The latter results overestimate the heat transfer in the separation flow as compared with the Reynolds stress transfer model. The heat transfer is shown to considerably increase, when evaporating droplets are incorporated in the separation flow (by a factor of more than 1.5 compared with the case of a single-phase flow at a small mass concentration of the droplets M _L1 ≤ 0.05). The addition of the disperse phase in the turbulent gas flow leads a slight increase in the recirculation zone length. Good agreement with the experimental data indicates the adequacy of the numerical model developed.     

Thermal performance of an integrated collector storage solar water heater (ICSSWH) with a storage tank equipped with radial fins of rectangular profile

The thermal behavior of an integrated collector storage solar water heater (ICSSWH) is numerically studied using the package Fluent 6.3. Based on the good agreement between the numerical results and the experimental data of Chaouachi and Gabsi (Renew Energy Revue 9(2):75–82, 2006), an attempt to improve this solar system operating was made by equipping the storage tank with radial fins of rectangular profile. A second 3D CFD model was developed and a series of numerical simulations were conducted for various SWH designs which differ in the depth of this extended surface for heat exchange. As the modified surface presents a higher characteristic length for convective heat transfer from the storage tank to the water, the fins equipped storage tank based SWH is determined to have a higher water temperature and a reduced thermal losses coefficient during the day-time period. Regarding the night operating of this water heater, the results suggest that the modified system presents higher thermal losses.     

Heat transfer characteristics of a new helically coiled crimped spiral finned tube heat exchanger

In the present study, the heat transfer characteristics in dry surface conditions of a new type of heat exchanger, namely a helically coiled finned tube heat exchanger, is experimentally investigated. The test section, which is a helically coiled fined tube heat exchanger, consists of a shell and a helical coil unit. The helical coil unit consists of four concentric helically coiled tubes of different diameters. Each tube is constructed by bending straight copper tube into a helical coil. Aluminium crimped spiral fins with thickness of 0.5 mm and outer diameter of 28.25 mm are placed around the tube. The edge of fin at the inner diameter is corrugated. Ambient air is used as a working fluid in the shell side while hot water is used for the tube-side. The test runs are done at air mass flow rates ranging between 0.04 and 0.13 kg/s. The water mass flow rates are between 0.2 and 0.4 kg/s. The water temperatures are between 40 and 50°C. The effects of the inlet conditions of both working fluids flowing through the heat exchanger on the heat transfer coefficients are discussed. The air-side heat transfer coefficient presented in term of the Colburn J factor is proportional to inlet-water temperature and water mass flow rate. The heat exchanger effectiveness tends to increase with increasing water mass flow rate and also slightly increases with increasing inlet water temperature.     

Flow analysis of an innovative compact heat exchanger channel geometry

In the framework of CEA R&D program to develop an industrial prototype of sodium-cooled fast reactor named ASTRID, the present work aims to propose an innovative compact heat exchanger technology to provide solid technological basis for the utilization of a Brayton gas-power conversion system, in order to avoid the energetic sodium–water interaction if a traditional Rankine cycle was used. The aim of the present work is to propose an innovative compact heat exchanger channel geometry to potentially enhance heat transfer in such components. Hence, before studying the innovative channel performance, a solid experimental and numerical database is necessary to perform a preliminary thermal–hydraulic analysis. To do that, two experimental test sections are used: a Laser Doppler Velocimetry (LDV) test section and a Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) test section. The acquired experimental database is used to validate the Anisotropic Shear Stress Transport (ASST) turbulence model. Results show a good agreement between LDV, PIV and ASST data for the pure aerodynamic flow. Once validated the numerical model, the innovative channel flow analysis is performed. Principal and secondary flow has been analyzed, showing a high swirling flow in the bend region and demonstrating that mixing actually occurs in the mixing zone. This work has to be considered as a step forward the preposition of a reliable high-performance component for application to ASTRID reactor as well as to any other industrial power plant dealing needing compact heat exchangers.     

Theoretical study and experimental verification of the behaviour of a passive conditioning system for electronic components

 The paper describes the theoretical determination of the flow and the temperature distribution in a water natural circulation loop for passive conditioning of a big shelter for electronic components. A cylinder filled with phase change material in thermal connection with the inner of the shelter and with the ambient by a water natural circulation loop forms the system. The system operates in natural convection, consequently during the daytime the water flow in the exchanger is stopped because the external temperature is greater then the melting temperature. During the night the situation is reversed, thus the convective flow begins allowing the water circulating and exchanging heat with the ambient. The paper presents a simulation model which describes the flow and the temperature field of the water in the loop during the night. Moreover the theoretical values of temperature are compared with the experimental data obtained in a climatic chamber. Received on 17 January 2000     

Performance analysis of wick-assisted heat pipe solar collector and comparison with experimental results

The performance of heat pipe solar collector is investigated theoretically and experimentally. The system employs wick-assisted heat pipe for the heat transfer from the absorber (evaporator) to a heat exchanger (condenser). The heat pipe is made with a copper tube and the evaporator section is finned with aluminium plate. Theoretical model predicts the outlet water from heat exchanger, heat pipe temperature and also the thermal efficiency of solar collector. The results are compared with experimental data.     

A computational fluid dynamics study by conjugate heat transfer in OpenFOAM: A liquid cooling concept for high power electronics

A conjugate heat transfer (CHT) study of a liquid cooling heat exchanger is carried out using the open source computational fluid dynamics (CFD) library OpenFOAM. The heat exchanger was 3D printed using aluminium and experimentally verified by temperature probing and thermal imaging. The functionality of the heat exchanger in cooling localized heat sources is demonstrated. Three different turbulence models were utilized including k-$\omega$ shear stress transport (SST) model, the standard k-$\epsilon$ model and large-eddy simulation (LES). The numerical results indicate that the k-$\omega$ SST and LES models produced similar results in terms of flow structures and temperature levels while the k-$\epsilon$ model deviated from the two other models. The scalability of the heat exchanger was numerically demonstrated by comparing the flow uniformity by varying the inlet Reynolds number between 4960 and 14880. The conclusions of the paper consists of the following main results. (1) The numerical results indicate that the flow uniformity in the channels is noted to be affected by the flow structures before and after the fin system. (2) The simulated hot-spot temperatures were noted to be relatively sensitive to the predicted flow laminarization inside the channels. (3) The heat exchanger was shown to be functional and to maintain cool surface temperatures in the simulations and the experiments. Additionally, the used CHT solver in OpenFOAM is tested and verified in different ways.     

Influence of drag laws on pressure and bed material recirculation rate in a cold flow model of an 8 MW dual fluidized bed system by means of CPFD

A cold flow model of an 8 MW dual fluidized bed (DFB) system is simulated using the commercial computational particle fluid dynamics (CPFD) software package Barracuda. The DFB system comprises a bubbling bed connected to a fast fluidized bed with the bed material circulating between them. As the hydrodynamics in hot DFB plants are complex because of high temperatures and many chemical reaction processes, cold flow models are used. Performing numerical simulations of cold flows enables a focus on the hydrodynamics as the chemistry and heat and mass transfer processes can be put aside. The drag law has a major influence on the hydrodynamics, and therefore its influence on pressure, particle distribution, and bed material recirculation rate is calculated using Barracuda and its results are compared with experimental results. The drag laws used were energy-minimization multiscale (EMMS), Ganser, Turton–Levenspiel, and a combination of Wen–Yu/Ergun. Eleven operating points were chosen for that study and each was calculated with the aforementioned drag laws. The EMMS drag law best predicted the pressure and distribution of the bed material in the different parts of the DFB system. For predicting the bed material recirculation rate, the Ganser drag law showed the best results. However, the drag laws often were not able to predict the experimentally found trends of the bed material recirculation rate. Indeed, the drag law significantly influences the hydrodynamic outcomes in a DFB system and must be chosen carefully to obtain meaningful simulation results. More research may enable recommendations as to which drag law is useful in simulations of a DFB system with CPFD.     

Experimental distribution of phases and pressure drop in a two-phase offset strip fin type compact heat exchanger

Uniform distribution of fluids is crucial to obtain high performance in compact heat exchangers. Maldistribution has been studied by many authors, especially for parallel channels heat exchangers. But theoretical models and experimental studies for predicting flow maldistribution in offset strip fins exchangers are scarce. Offset strip fins, besides their higher thermal hydraulic performances, favour lateral distribution due to their geometry. In this work, an experimental investigation has been carried out for this type of heat exchanger. The experimental set-up consists in a flat vertical compact heat exchanger (1 m × 1 m area and 7.13 mm thickness) equipped with offset strip fins with a hydraulic diameter of 1.397 mm. Air and water are the working fluids. The flow rates of each phase in seven zones regularly distributed at the outlet have been measured as well as the pressures at the inlet, the outlet and two intermediate positions. These measurements were completed with visualisations using a high-speed camera.     

Experimental investigation of the flow pattern,pressure drop and void fraction of two-phase flow in the corrugated gap of a plate heat exchanger

The two-phase flow in the corrugated gap created by two adjacent plates of a plate heat exchanger was investigated experimentally. One setup consisting of a transparent corrugated gap was used to visualize the two-phase flow pattern and study the local phenomena of phase distribution, pressure drop and void fraction. Saturated two-phase R365mfc and an air-water mixture were used as working fluids.In a second experimental setup, the heat transfer coefficients and the pressure drop inside an industrial plate heat exchanger during the condensation process of R134a are determined. Both experimental setups use the same type of plates, so the experimental results can be connected and a flow pattern model for the condensation in plate heat exchangers can be derived. In this work the results of the flow pattern visualization, the two-phase pressure drop in the corrugated gap and the void fraction analysis by measurement of the electrical capacity are presented. A new pressure drop correlation is derived, which takes into account different flow patterns, that appear during condensation. The mean deviation of the presented pressure drop model compared to the experimental data and data from other experimental works is 18.9%. 81.7% of the calculated pressure drop lies within ±30% compared to the experimental data.     

Investigation of flow and heat transfer in corrugated-undulated plate heat exchangers

 An experimental and numerical investigation of heat transfer and fluid flow was conducted for corrugated-undulated plate heat exchanger configurations under transitional and weakly turbulent conditions. For a given geometry of the corrugated plates the geometrical characteristics of the undulated plates, the angle formed by the latter with the main flow direction, and the Reynolds number were made to vary. Distributions of the local heat transfer coefficient were obtained by using liquid-crystal thermography, and surface-averaged values were computed; friction coefficients were measured by wall pressure tappings. Overall heat transfer and pressure drop correlations were derived. Three-dimensional numerical simulations were conducted by a finite-volume method using a low-Reynolds number k–ɛ model under the assumption of fully developed flow. Computed flow fields provided otherwise inaccessible information on the flow patterns and the mechanisms of heat transfer enhancement. Received on 5 February 1999     

Experimental and numerical study on the falling film flow characteristics outside circular tube applied in floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) under offshore conditions

Spiral wound heat exchanger (SWHE) relying on falling film evaporation and boiling is often used for FLNG. The performance of SWHE can be impacted strongly by the motion of the FLNG caused by the wave and typhoon. The falling film characteristics of SWHE outside circular tube are studied experimentally and numerically by a visualization experimental device based on the high-speed camera and a numerical model based on the dynamic grid. The results show that the wave crest of the liquid film moves to the titled side under offshore conditions. The evolution process of falling film flow pattern outside circular tube with the tilt angle of 9° can be divided into four stages: droplet formation and migration, liquid column formation and migration, liquid column coalescence, liquid sheet formation. A correlation permitting the prediction of the falling film flow pattern outside circular tube and the other one permitting the prediction of the average film thickness of circular tube are developed respectively based on the experimental and numerical data.     

In search of physical parameters influenced by flow patterns in a heterogeneous two-phase mixture in microchannels using concomitant measurements

Space transportation systems require high-performance thermal protection and fluid management for systems ranging from cryogenic fluid devices to primary structures, and for propulsion systems exposed to extremely high temperatures, and other space systems, e.g., integrated circuits and cooling/environment control devices for advanced space suits. Although considerable developmental effort is underway to bring promising technologies to a readiness level for practical use, new and innovative methods are still needed. One such method is the Advanced Micro Cooling Module (AMCM), essentially a compact two-phase heat exchanger constructed of microchannels and designed to rapidly remove large quantities of heat from critical systems by incorporating phase transition. This paper describes the results of experimental research in two-phase flow phenomena, encompassing both an experimental and an analytical approach to the incorporation of flow patterns for air–water mixtures flowing in microchannels. Specifically addressed are: (1) design and construction of a sensitive two-phase experimental system which measures both ac and dc components of in situ physical mixture parameters including spatial concentration, using concomitant methods; (2) data acquisition and analysis in the amplitude, time, and frequency domains; and (3) analysis of results including evaluation of in situ physical parameters, and assessment of their validity for application in flow pattern determination.     

Experimental study on frost release on fin-and-tube heat exchangers by use of a novel anti-frosting paint

Frost formation on heat exchangers is an undesirable phenomenon that almost inevitably exists in refrigeration and cryogenic equipment; it can significantly affect the thermal efficiency of heat exchangers and reduce the performance of the refrigeration system. In this paper, a newly developed anti-frosting paint was used to spray on the heat exchanger fins with coating thickness of 30 μm, and a series of comparative experiments were conducted to test its effectiveness in restraining frost deposition under different repeated frosting–defrosting cycles. The experimental results demonstrated that the anti-frosting time of the coated heat exchanger was substantially longer when compared with the uncoated heat exchanger. In addition, there was no appreciable frost deposition on the coated fins surface during the whole test.     

Numerical investigation of premixed combustion in a porous burner with integrated heat exchanger

In this paper, we perform a numerical analysis of a two-dimensional axisymmetric problem arising in premixed combustion in a porous burner with integrated heat exchanger. The physical domain consists of two zones, porous and heat exchanger zones. Two dimensional Navier–Stokes equations, gas and solid energy equations, and chemical species transport equations are solved and heat release is described by a multistep kinetics mechanism. The solid matrix is modeled as a gray medium, and the finite volume method is used to solve the radiative transfer equation to calculate the local radiation source/sink in the solid phase energy equation. Special attention is given to model heat transfer between the hot gas and the heat exchanger tube. Thus, the corresponding terms are added to the energy equations of the flow and the solid matrix. Gas and solid temperature profiles and species mole fractions on the burner centerline, predicted 2D temperature fields, species concentrations and streamlines are presented. Calculated results for temperature profiles are compared to experimental data. It is shown that there is good agreement between the numerical solutions and the experimental data and it is concluded that the developed numerical program is an excellent tool to investigate combustion in porous burner.