Transient Response of a Serpentine Finned-Tube Cross-Flow Heat Exchanger to a Step Change in Inlet Temperature

1997 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 51-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. ABDALLAH ◽  
S. ROOKE
Author(s):  
Tianyi Gao ◽  
James Geer ◽  
Bahgat Sammakia

Heat exchangers are important facilities that are widely used in heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. For example, heat exchangers are the primary units used in the design of the heat transfer loops of cooling systems for data centers. The performance of a heat exchanger strongly influences the thermal performance of the entire cooling system. The prediction of transient phenomenon of heat exchangers is of increasing interest in many application areas. In this work, a dynamic thermal model for a cross flow heat exchanger is solved numerically in order to predict the transient response under step changes in the fluid mass flow rate and the fluid inlet temperature. Transient responses of both the primary and secondary fluid outlet temperatures are characterized under different scenarios, including fluid mass flow rate change and a combination of changes in the fluid inlet temperature and the mass flow rate. In the ε-NTU (number of transfer units) method, the minimum capacity, denoted by Cmin, is the smaller of Ch and Cc. Due to a mass flow rate change, Cmin may vary from one fluid to another fluid. The numerical procedure and transient response regarding the case of varying Cmin are investigated in detail in this study. A review and comparison of several journal articles related to the similar topic are performed. Several sets of data available in the literatures which are in error are studied and analyzed in detail.


2004 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Delnero ◽  
Dave Dreisigmeyer ◽  
Douglas Hittle ◽  
Peter Young ◽  
Charles Anderson ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Kiran Lankalapalli ◽  
Ahmed ElSawy ◽  
Stephen Idem

A steady state sensible performance analysis of multi-pass cross-flow finned-tube heat exchangers is reported. The investigation considers various flow circuiting, such as counter cross-flow, parallel cross-flow, and cross-flow where the tube-side flow is in parallel. A previously developed matrix approach is used to evaluate the heat exchanger performance in each tube pass. The equations required to model the thermal performance of these configurations are presented, and the thermal performance is compared for each type of flow circuiting. Thereafter a parametric study on cross-flow heat exchanger performance is performed by varying physically significant parameters such as number of transfer units (NTU) and capacity rate ratios, and the graphical results for each type of flow circuiting are presented both for both two-pass and three-pass arrangements. A consistent criterion is proposed for each case, wherein increasing the NTU beyond a certain threshold value does not significantly improve heat exchanger thermal performance.


Author(s):  
Harpreet Kaur Aasi ◽  
Manish Mishra

Abstract A typical three-fluid cross-flow heat exchanger with nonuniform inlet temperature in the central (hot) fluid is considered for the present analysis. Steady and transient state behavior of the heat exchanger is observed for four different temperature nonuniformity models along with step excitation in inlet temperature of the central fluid. Longitudinal heat conduction in the separating walls and the effect of fluid back-mixing along with axial dispersion effect are considered within the fluids with constant thermophysical fluid properties. The solution of governing equations has been obtained using implicit finite difference scheme. Temperature distribution over the separating walls has been depicted providing a clear view of the thermal stresses generated in separating walls. The performance for all the four cross-flow arrangements has been analyzed by comparing that with and without nonuniform conditions. It is found that the nonuniformity in inlet temperature has an adverse effect on the performance of heat exchanger.


Author(s):  
Randall D. Manteufel ◽  
Daniel G. Vecera

Recent experimental work characterized the performance of a unique cross-flow heat exchanger design for application of cooling compressor bleed air using liquid jet fuel before it is consumed in the gas turbine combustor. The proposed design has micro-channels for liquid fuel and cools air flowing in passages created using rows of intermittent fins. The design appears well suited for aircraft applications because it is compact and light-weight. A theoretical model is reported to be in good agreement with experimental measurements using air and water, thus providing a design tool to evaluate variations in the heat exchanger dimensions. This paper presents an evaluation of the heat exchanger performance with consideration of uncertainties in both model parameters and predicted results. The evaluation of the design is proposed to be reproduced by students in a thermal-fluids design class. The heat exchanger performance is reevaluated using the effectiveness–NTU approach and shown to be consistent with the method reported in the original papers. Results show that the effectiveness is low and in the range of 20 to 30% as well as the NTU which ranges from 0.25 to 0.50 when the heat capacity ratio is near unity. The thermal resistance is dominated by the hot gas convective resistance. The uncertainties attributed to fluid properties, physical dimensions, gas pressure, and cold fluid flow rate are less significant when compared to uncertainties associated with hot fluid flow rate, hot fluid inlet temperature, cold fluid inlet temperature, and convective correlation for gas over a finned surface. The model shows which heat transfer mechanisms are most important in the performance of the heat exchanger.


2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 87-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piotr Wais

Fluid flow consideration in fin-tube heat exchanger optimizationThe optimization of finned tube heat exchanger is presented focusing on different fluid velocities and the consideration of aerodynamic configuration of the fin. It is reasonable to expect an influence of fin profile on the fluid streamline direction. In the cross-flow heat exchanger, the air streams are not heated and cooled evenly. The fin and tube geometry affects the flow direction and influences temperature changes. The heat transfer conditions are modified by changing the distribution of fluid mass flow. The fin profile impact also depends on the air velocity value. Three-dimensional models are developed to find heat transfer characteristics between a finned tube and the air for different air velocities and fin shapes. Mass flow weighted average temperatures of air volume flow rate are calculated in the outlet section and compared for different fin/tube shapes in order to optimize heat transfer between the fin material and air during the air flow in the cross flow heat exchanger.


Author(s):  
Tianyi Gao ◽  
Marcelo del Valle ◽  
Alfonso Ortega ◽  
Bahgat G. Sammakia

The cross flow heat exchanger is at the heart of most cooling systems for data centers. Air/Water or air/refrigerant heat exchangers are the principal component in Central Room Air Conditioning (CRAC) units that condition data room air that is delivered through an underfloor plenum. Liquid/air heat exchangers are also increasingly deployed in close-coupled cooling systems such as rear door heat exchangers, in-row coolers, and overhead coolers. In all cases, the performance of liquid/air heat exchangers in both steady state and transient scenarios are of principal concern. Transient scenarios occur either by the accidental failure of the cooling system or by intentional dynamic control of the cooling system. In either scenario, transient boundary conditions involve time-dependent air or liquid inlet temperatures and mass flow rates that may be coupled in any number of potential combinations. Understanding and characterizing the performance of the heat exchanger in these transient scenarios is of paramount importance for designing better thermal solutions and improving the operational efficiency of existing cooling systems. In this paper, the transient performance of water to air cross flow heat exchangers is studied using numerical modeling and experimental measurements. Experimental measurements in 12 in. × 12 in. heat exchanger cores were performed, in which the liquid (water) mass flow rate or inlet temperature are varied in time following controlled functional forms (step jump, ramp). The experimental data were used to validate a transient numerical model developed with traditional assumptions of space averaging of heat transfer coefficients, and volume averaging of thermal capacitances. The complete numerical model was combined with the transient effectiveness methodology in which the traditional heat exchanger effectiveness approach is extended into a transient domain, and is then used to model the heat exchanger transient response. Different transient scenarios were parametrically studied to develop an understanding of the impact of critical variables such as, the fluid inlet temperature variation and the fluid mass flow rate variation, and a more comprehensive understanding of the characteristics of the transient effectiveness. Agreement between the novel transient effectiveness modeling approach and the experimental measurements enable use of the models as verified predictive design tools. Several studies are designed based on the practical problems related to data center thermal environments and the results are analyzed.


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