Optimal flow layout and current allocation for improving the thermoelectric refrigeration system based on heat current method

Abstract The utilization of solar energy is attracting rapidly increasing researches due to its many advantages, and an important application is to satisfy the refrigeration demand of residents with the solar-assisted absorption chillers. However, the simple solar-assisted refrigeration system cannot always meet the cooling demand of residents due to the mismatch between solar power and the refrigeration load. Therefore, the thermal energy storage device is introduced into the solar-assisted system to increase the stability of the refrigeration system and reduce the waste of solar energy. In this contribution, a solar-assisted absorption chiller system together with the TES device is presented and optimized to minimize the operation cost of the system. The system is modeled using the newly proposed heat current method and its global constraints are constructed, which largely reduces the number of the constraints comparing to the traditional equation-oriented approach. Optimization results present that the optimized design of the system reduces the total operation cost effectively.

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A standardized modeling strategy for heat current method-based analysis and simulation of thermal systems

Energy ◽

10.1016/j.energy.2020.119403 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 217 ◽

pp. 119403

Author(s):

Tian Zhao ◽

Xi Chen ◽

Ke-Lun He ◽

Qun Chen

Keyword(s):

Current Method ◽

Heat Current ◽

Thermal Systems ◽

Modeling Strategy

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Heat current method for analysis and optimization of heat recovery-based power generation systems

Energy ◽

10.1016/j.energy.2019.116209 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 189 ◽

pp. 116209 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Xi Chen ◽

Qun Chen ◽

Hong Chen ◽

Ying-Gen Xu ◽

Tian Zhao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Power Generation ◽

Heat Recovery ◽

Current Method ◽

Heat Current ◽

Power Generation Systems

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The Integrated Component-System Optimization of a Typical Thermal Management System by Combining Empirical and Heat Current Methods

Energies ◽

10.3390/en13236347 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (23) ◽

pp. 6347

Author(s):

Junhong Hao ◽

Youjun Zhang ◽

Nian Xiong

Keyword(s):

Heat Transfer ◽

Pressure Drop ◽

Thermal Management ◽

Management System ◽

Optimal Allocation ◽

Current Method ◽

Heat Current ◽

Component System ◽

Minimum Pressure ◽

Thermal Management System

Integration of modeling and optimization of a thermal management system simultaneously depends on heat transfer performance of the components and the topological characteristics of the system. This paper introduces a heat current method to construct the overall heat current layout of a typical double-loop thermal management system. We deduce the system heat transfer matrix as the whole system constraint based on the overall heat current layout. Moreover, we consider the influences of structural and operational parameters on the thermal hydraulic performances of each heat exchanger by combining the empirical correlations of the heat transfer and pressure drop. Finally, the minimum pressure drop is obtained by solving these optimal governing equations derived by the Lagrange multiplier method considering the physical constraints and operational conditions. The optimization results show that the minimum pressure drop reduces about 8.1% with the optimal allocation of mass flow rates of each fluid. Moreover, the impact analyses of structural and operating parameters and boundary conditions on the minimum and optimal allocation present that the combined empirical correlation-heat current method is feasible and significant for achieving integrated component-system modeling and optimization.

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