Experimental investigation on performance of ice storage air-conditioning system with separate heat pipe

An experimental study on operation performance of ice storage air-conditioning system with separate helical heat pipe is conducted in this paper. The experimental system of ice storage air-conditioning system with separate heat pipe is set up. The performance parameters such as the evaporation pressure and the condensation pressure of refrigeration system, the refrigeration capacity and the COP (coefficient of performance) of the system, the IPF (ice packing factor) and the cool storage capacity in the cool storage tank during charging period, and the cool discharge rate and the cool discharge capacity in the cool storage tank, the outlet water temperature in the cool storage tank and the outlet air temperature in room unit during discharging period are investigated. The experimental results show that the ice storage air-conditioning system with separate helical heat pipe can stably work during charging and discharging period. This indicates that the ice storage air-conditioning system with separate helical heat pipe is well adapted to cool storage air-conditioning systems in building.     

Effect of porosity and the inlet heat transfer fluid temperature variation on the performance of cool thermal energy storage system

This paper discusses the results of numerical and experimental study of an encapsulated cool thermal energy storage system. The storage system is a cylindrical storage tank filled with phase change material encapsulated in spherical container, placed in a refrigeration loop. A simulation program was developed to evaluate the temperature histories of the heat transfer fluid and the phase change material at any axial location during the charging period. The present analysis aims at studying the influence of the inlet heat transfer fluid temperature and porosity on system performance. An experimental setup was designed and constructed to conduct the experiments. The results of the model were validated by comparison with experimental results of temperature profiles for different inlet heat transfer fluid temperatures and porosity. The results are in good agreement with the experimental results. The results reported are much useful for designing cool thermal energy storage systems.     

An experimental study of influence of hot water consumption rate on the thermal stratification inside a horizontal mantle storage tank

In this study the thermal characteristics of horizontal mantle heat exchangers are investigated for application in active solar water heaters. Some important parameters such as flow rate, thermal short circuit, average temperature, and convection heat transfer coefficient and inlet velocity have been investigated too. The results show that the thermal efficiency of the storage tank is critically impaired by the effect of short circuit phenomenon and mixing caused by turbulence.     

An experimental investigation of nucleation probability of supercooled water inside cylindrical capsules

This article experimentally investigates the nucleation probability of supercooled water inside cylindrical capsules with or without nucleators during a cold storage process. The nucleation probability curves of initial appearance of dendritic ice as a function of coolant temperature, size of capsule, and mass of different heterogeneous nucleators are characterized, respectively, by performing a number of experiments. The results show that the lower the coolant temperature, the greater the nucleation probability. The larger the volume of water contained, the higher the nucleation temperature. The addition of nucleating agents, such as iron ore, iron chips and silver iodide, into the water container can effectively improve the nucleation probability, and thus increase the coefficient of performance (COP) of a thermal storage air-conditioning system. Since the crystal structure of silver iodide is very similar to that of ice, the comparison among three types of agents indicates that it has the best effect in facilitating nucleation.     

Thermal characteristics of a high heat flux micro-evaporator

Our purpose is to design a high heat flux micro-evaporator that can remove more than 100 W/cm². For this purpose a thin liquid film is evaporized. The liquid film is stabilized in micro-channels by capillary forces. The micro-channels are fabricated by chemical etching on silicon to reduce thermal resistance. For the experiments, the channel plate is heated by an ITO thin film heater deposited on the opposite side of the channel plate. Influence of heat flux, coolant flow rate, and inlet temperature on the temperature of the heater element are investigated. Water is used as working fluid. A maximal heat flux of 125 W/cm² could be achieved for water inlet temperature of 90 °C and flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The temperature of the heater element is kept constant at about 120 °C with fluctuations within 8 °C. The measured pressure drop is less than 1000 Pa.     

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.     

零重力条件下低温射流抑制大尺寸液氢储罐热分层的数值研究

液氢是一种常用的沸点低、易蒸发的空间低温推进剂.空间微重力环境中浮力对流被极大减弱,当推进剂储罐壁面存在局部漏热时,储罐内部气液两相流体系会出现环绕漏热源的热分层现象,引起局部过热沸腾,导致储罐内部压力急剧增大,危害系统结构安全.利用低温射流抑制储罐热分层现象是一种有效手段.低温流体通过设置在储罐内部的射流喷嘴与储罐内...     

A study of internal heat transfer in nonuniform porous structures

The results of theoretical and experimental studies of heat transfer and pressure drop in nonuniform porous materials and systems are presented. In experiments, measurements were made of the air flow rate, inlet and outlet air pressures, and air and porous sample temperatures. Experimental determination of the heat transfer coefficient in porous structures is associated with certain difficulties. The problem of determining a temperature difference between coolant and porous skeleton is the most complex. As a rule, under laboratory conditions this difference is small and cannot be found with sufficient accuracy. In the present work, the method of determination of the internal heat transfer coefficient is based on solving the inverse unsteady heat transfer problem for porous structures. Using this approach, the heat transfer coefficient is calculated indirectly or on the basis of the porous material temperature variation over time.     

Effects of the heat transfer fluid velocity on the storage characteristics of a cylindrical latent heat energy storage system: a numerical study

A numerical study of the effects of the thermal fluid velocity on the storage characteristics of a cylindrical latent heat energy storage system (LHESS) was conducted. Due to the low thermal conductivity of phase change materials (PCMs) used in LHESS, fins were added to the system to increase the rate of heat transfer and charging. Finite elements were used to implement the developed numerical method needed to study and solve for the phase change heat transfer (melting of PCM) encountered in a LHESS during charging. The effective heat capacity method was applied in order to account for the large amount of latent energy stored during melting of the PCM and the moving interface between the solid and liquid phases. The effects of the heat transfer fluid (HTF) velocity on the melting rate of the PCM were studied for configurations having between 0 and 18 fins. Results show that the overall heat transfer rate to the PCM increases with an increase in the HTF velocity. However, the effect of the HTF velocity was observed to be small in configurations having very few fins, owing to the large residual thermal resistance offered by the PCM. However, the effect of the HTF velocity becomes more pronounced with addition of fins; since the thermal resistance on the PCM side of the LHESS is significantly reduce by the large number of fins in the system.     

Effect of the storage tank thermal insulation on the thermal performance of an integrated collector storage solar water heater (ICSSWH)

The thermal behavior of an integrated collector storage solar water heater (ICSSWH) is numerically studied using CFD simulations. Based on the good agreement between the numerical results and the experimental data from literature, we propose a geometrical change allowing limiting the main disadvantage of this solar system which is its high night losses due to the non-insulated storage tank surface. A second 3D CFD model of an ICSSWH in which the storage tank is partially insulated is developed and three values of this tank thermal insulated fraction are studied. Numerical results show that the partially insulated tank based ICSSWH presents lower thermal losses during the night and this night thermal losses coefficient is reduced from 14.6 to 11.64 W K^?1 for the tank thermal insulation fraction τ = 1/4. Similarly, the modified system presents the advantage of its lower thermal losses even during the day. Regarding the thermal production, it is seen that the modified system presents higher water temperature at night and that for all the tank thermal insulation fractions. Concerning the operation of this modified system during the day, the water temperature is lower during the day and that up to 16 h but the water temperature which achieves 324 K for the storage tank thermal insulation fraction τ = 1/8 still sufficiently high to satisfy a family hot water needs.     

Modeling fluid and heat transport in the reactive, porous bed of downdraft (biomass) gasifier

A fluid flow and heat transfer model has been developed for the reactive, porous bed of the biomass gasifier to simulate pressure drop, temperature profile in the bed and flow rates. The conservation equations, momentum equation and energy equation are used to describe fluid and heat transport in porous gasifier bed. The model accounted for drag at wall, and the effect of radial as well as axial variation in bed porosity to predict pressure drop in bed. Heat transfer has been modeled using effective thermal conductivity approach. Model predictions are validated against the experiments, while effective thermal conductivity values are tested qualitatively using models available in literature. Parametric analysis has been carried out to investigate the effect of various parameters on bed temperature profile and pressure drop through the gasifier. The temperature profile is found to be very sensitive to gas flow rate, and heat generation in oxidation zone, while high bed temperature, gas flow rate and the reduction in feedstock particle size are found to cause a marked increase in pressure drop through the gasifier. The temperatures of the down stream zones are more sensitive to any change in heat generation in the bed as compared to upstream zone. Author recommends that the size of preheating zone may be extended up to pyrolysis zone in order to enhance preheating of input air, while thermal insulation should not be less than 15 cm.     

Periodic oscillations in a horizontal single boiling channel with thermal wall capacity

The dynamic behavior of a horizontal boiling channel with a surge tank is investigated through nonlinear analysis. The model involves a surge tank that is subject to inlet mass flow rate and a constitutive model containing a cubic nonlinearity is used to describe the outlet pressure-flow rate relation of the downstream boiling regime. The model also includes boiling heat transfer process and incorporates the effect of the wall thermal capacity which allows the temperature and heat transfer coefficient of the heater wall to vary with time. Within certain operating regimes, the model exhibits self-excited periodic oscillations, which can be identified with pressure-drop oscillations. In this study, these oscillations are described as relaxation oscillation and the qualitative features of the response can be understood in terms of the underlying model. Finally, the present model is compared with the experimental data available in literature to investigate that transient effects of temperature heater walls, pressure, and mass flow rate.     

Exergy analysis of absorber using water/lithium bromide solution

It is necessary to understand the heat and mass transfer processes and determine the variation of the exergy destruction in the absorber for improving the performance. In this study, the exergy analysis of a coil absorber using water/lithium bromide solution pair is carried out. By using the developed simulation, the effects of variation of parameters affecting the performance of the absorber on the exergy destruction are investigated. The results show that the exergy destruction increases with increasing coolant flow rate, inlet concentration of solution, absorber vapor pressure, total coil turn and dead state temperature but decreases with increasing inlet temperatures of coolant and vapor. The dead state and vapor temperatures do not affect more when compared to other parameters. The variation of the solution flow rate produce an optimum point of absorber performance.     

Effects of the number and distribution of fins on the storage characteristics of a cylindrical latent heat energy storage system: a numerical study

A numerical study of the effects of the number and distribution of fins on the storage characteristics of a cylindrical latent heat energy storage system (LHESS) was conducted. Due to the low thermal conductivity of phase change materials (PCMs) used in LHESS, fins were added to the system to increase the rate of heat transfer and charging. Finite elements were used to implement the developed numerical method needed to study and solve for the phase change heat transfer (melting of PCM) encountered in a LHESS during charging. The effective heat capacity method was applied in order to account for the large amount of latent energy stored during melting of the PCM and the moving interface between the solid and liquid phases. The effects of increasing the number and distribution of fins on the melting rate of the PCM were studied for configurations having between 0 and 27 fins for heat transfer fluid (HTF) velocities of 0.05 and 0.5?m/s. Results show that the overall heat transfer rate to the PCM increases with an increase in the number of fins irrespective of the HTF velocity. It was also observed that the total amount of energy stored after 12?h increases nearly linearly with the addition of fins up to 12 fins; further addition of fins increasing the total energy stored by ever smaller amounts.     

Experimental investigation of flow boiling characteristics in a cross-linked microchannel heat sink

This paper experimentally investigates flow boiling characteristics in a cross-linked microchannel heat sink at low mass fluxes and high heat fluxes. The heat sink consists of 45 straight microchannels each with a hydraulic diameter of 248 μm and heated length of 16 mm. Three cross-links, of width 500 μm, are introduced in the present microchannel heat sink to achieve better temperature uniformity and to avoid flow mal-distribution. Flow visualization, flow instability, two-phase pressure drop, and two-phase heat transfer measurements are conducted using the dielectric coolant FC-72 over a range of heat flux from 7.2 to 104.2 kW/m², mass flux from 99 to 290 kg/m² s, and exit quality from 0.01 to 0.71. Thermochromic liquid crystals are used in the present study as full-field surface temperature sensors to map the temperature distribution on the heat sink surface. Flow visualization studies indicate that the observed flow regime is primarily slug. Visual observations of flow patterns in the cross-links demonstrate that bubbles nucleate and grow rapidly on the surface of the cross-links and in the tangential direction at the microchannels’ entrance due to the effect of circulations generated in those regions. The two-phase pressure drop strongly increases with the exit quality, at x_e,o < 0.3, and the two-phase frictional pressure drop increases by a factor of 1.6–2 compared to the straight microchannel heat sink. The flow boiling heat transfer coefficient increases with increasing exit quality at a constant mass flux, which is caused by the dominance of the nucleation boiling mechanism in the cross-link region.     

An effect of a horizontal buoyant jet on the temperature distribution inside a hot water storage tank

The hot water storage tank (for stratified thermal storage) with a heat pump draws a lot of attention nowadays due to its high performance. In Japan, reheating of the bath is commonly used, and as this mode, the jet injects horizontally at the middle of the tank, so the temperature distribution of the tank changes complexly with time. Hence a model is needed to simulate this phenomenon, precisely. Additionally, in the process of designing a hot water storage system, it is necessary to simulate temperature distribution quickly, since a test run itself is a time consuming process.In this study, visualization experiments were performed using tracer particles and thermo-sensitive liquid crystals. Experiments were also carried out to find the unsteady temperature distribution in a tank when the positively or negatively buoyant jet was injected horizontally in the middle of the tank whose size is limited and has an influence from the opposite wall.If the momentum effect of the buoyant jet is stronger than that of buoyancy, the buoyant jet impinge against the opposite wall of the tank, and a vortex was observed near the opposite wall. Empirical formulas were proposed to predict the height of the vortex “Z_b” under various conditions, such as the momentum and the buoyancy of the buoyant jet, and the Prandtl number of the tank water. Furthermore, the 3D-CFD was carried out to supplement the 3D behavior of the inner tank fluid.A one dimensional model, “uniformly distributed injection model”, for simulating temperature distribution was proposed. The performance of the model was verified by comparing the results with the unsteady temperature distribution obtained experimentally. The model was also compared with the measurements obtained using a commercially available hot water storage system. Both results showed good agreements. Hence adequacy of the model was clarified.     

Numerical study of the spontaneous nucleation of self-rotational moist gas in a converging–diverging nozzle

Spontaneous nucleation is the primary way of droplet formation in the supersonic gas separation technology, and the converging–diverging nozzle is the condensation and separation unit of supersonic gas separation devices. A three-dimensional geometrical model for the generation of self-rotational transonic gas flow is set up, based on which, the spontaneous nucleation of self-rotational transonic moist gas in the converging–diverging nozzle is carried out using an Eulerian multi-fluid model. The simulated results of the main flow and nucleation parameters indicate that the spontaneous nucleation can occur in the diverging part of the nozzle. However, different from the nucleation flow without self-rotation, the distributions of these parameters are unsymmetrical about the nozzle axis due to the irregular flow form caused by the self-rotation of gas flow. The nucleation region is located on the position where gas flows with intense rotation and the self-rotation impacts much on the nucleation process. Stronger rotation delays the onset of spontaneous nucleation and yields lower nucleation rate and narrow nucleation region. In addition, influences of other factors such as inlet total pressure p ₀, inlet total temperature T ₀, the nozzle-expanding ratio ? and the inlet relative humidity ф ₀ on the nucleation of self-rotational moist gas flow in the nozzle are also discussed.     

The concrete columns as a sensible thermal energy storage medium and a heater

This study investigated storage possibility of sensible thermal energy in the concrete columns of multi-storey buildings and the heating performance of the indoors with the stored energy. In the suggested system, the dry air heated in an energy center will be circulated in stainless steel pipes through columns. The sensible thermal energy would firstly be stored by means of forced convection in column medium. Then, the stored thermal energy will transfer by natural convection and radiation from the column surfaces to indoor spaces. The transient thermal calculations are realized for a flat of the 11-storey building in Kayseri city of Turkey. The thermal energy requirement of the flat is nearby 5.3 kW as an average of a winter season. The simplified transient calculations were carried out over a concrete hollow cylindrical column having outer radius of 0.31 m and inner radius of 0.05 m corresponding an averaged column section in the sample flat. The flow temperature was selected between T = 350 and 500 K, which are considerably lower than the temperature of 573 K assumed as a limit for thermal strength of the concrete in the literature. The flow velocity ranges were selected between V = 1.0 and 5.0 m/s. The initial temperature was assumed as 293 K. After the first energy charging process of 23 h, for T = 350 K and V = 1.0 m/s, the total heat flux from the column surfaces into indoors are nearby 5.5 kW. The first charging time required to reach the energy requirement of 5.3 kW is decreased by increasing the flow velocity and temperature. Also for 5.0 m/s–350 K and 5.0 m/s–450 K, this time can decrease to 10 and 4.5 h, respectively. In addition, with 4.0 m/s–360 K or 2.0 m/s–400 K, after the energy charging of 8 h, the energy requirement of 5.3 kW can be provided by the energy discharging of 16 h and the energy charging of 8 h during 7 days. The results are very attractive in terms of the building heating systems of the future.     

热流体力学及其应用

热流体力学是一门涉及传热学、流体力学和热力学的交叉学科,并把重点放在讨论热过程对流体流动的影响。它由5部分组成:①热阻力。在某些情况下热阻力的存在对通道中的流体流量和换热系数有重大影响。借助于热阻力系数的定义和分析表达式,不仅可以预示单相通道流中的压力降,而且能用简便的方法预示气-液两相通道流中的压力降和临界热流。②热绕流。运用“虚质量源”和“热偶极子”的概念,对热绕流现象进行了分析和数值研究。它可在热除尘、粒子样品收集和热设备中流量分配等方面获得广泛的应用。③热驱动。不仅在重力场中,而且在如离心力场、表面张力场和电磁力场中也存在着热驱动流。着重讨论了流体运动的起因及其带来的后果,它包括环境污染、传热强化和同位素分离系数的提高等,④热不稳定性。重点讨论了热不稳定性的物理机理。用各种动力学方法所得到的流动不稳定性的临界准则对材料加工、热减阻、水源热污染等都是十分重要的。⑤热优化。研究了基于熵产生最小(热力学第二定律)为目标函数的流动和传热过程的优化。探讨了在一定条件下热力学第一定律效率和第二定律效率的内在联系。