scholarly journals Modification in energy and productivity of high temperature variable pressure humidification compression

Author(s):  
Marzieh Abedi ◽  
Younes Ghalavand

Abstract One of the important approaches in the thermal desalination processes is consumed energy reduction. To achieve this aim, three arrangements of humidification-compression (HC) processes are designed. Two single-stage and one double-stage HC processes are designed and their performances are compared based on desalinated water production, gained output ratio (GOR) and power consumption. Attempt is made to reduce the power consumption and improve the system performance. All three processes are simulated to examine the effect of operation parameters on HC performance. To validate these simulations, the theoretical results are compared with an experimental rig with a humidifier column of 1.5 m height. The results indicate that the simulation values conform the experimental data. The effect of minimum approach temperature (ΔTmin) on system performance is investigated for three processes subject to constant operating conditions (feed temperature, water mass flow, air mass flow, and pressure ratio). For this purpose, four values of ΔTmin are considered (7.5, 10, 12.5 and 15 °C) for heat exchanger operations. The results indicate that an increase in ΔTmin in all three cases, increases desalinated water volume and GOR. Also, double-stage HC system, has higher water production rate (66.08 kg/h) and higher GOR (17.19) compared to its counterparts.

Author(s):  
Scott S. Wujek ◽  
Predrag S. Hrnjak ◽  
Christopher J. Seeton

Refrigeration and air-conditioning (AC) systems employ refrigerant as the working fluid; however, a portion of oil is discharged from the compressor as part of the compression process and also circulates through the system. This small amount of parasitic fluid causes heat transfer and pressure drop correlations that were developed for pure refrigerant flow to fail and needs to be determined for proper design of heat exchange equipment and connection piping. It is desired to be able to measure the small concentrations of oil circulating as a component of the working fluid online in real time. The oil in circulation as a fraction of the total fluid flow rate is termed the oil circulation rate or oil circulation ratio (OCR). The goal of this study was to determine which combination of fluid property measurements could be used to accurately and precisely quantify OCR. Oil, which is needed to lubricate the compressor, is carried with the refrigerant throughout the system. Oil affects fluid properties such as enthalpy, thermal conductivity, and viscosity and can impact the ability to accurately measure heat exchanger and system performance. Fluid property and flow maps have been developed for various refrigerant-oil mixtures; in combination with these maps the ability to accurately measure OCR online may prove to be a powerful tool in quickly measuring, analyzing, and improving system performance. Without this ability to accurately measure the oil circulation rate over the range of operating conditions, it is impossible to create accurate thermodynamic balances based entirely on the properties of the refrigerant portion of the working fluid. The refrigerant-lubricant mixture selected for this study is a commonly used mixture for automotive AC systems: R134a with ND-8 oil. In a typical air conditioner, utilizing R134a with ND-8, a single phase exists only in subcooled portions of the condenser and the liquid line. Therefore, the experiments were conducted at typical automotive AC conditions between 20 °C and 45 °C, pressures ranging from the saturation pressure up to 1900 kPa, and an OCR between 0% and 12%, and a fixed mass flux of nominally 300 kg/m2s. For a single phase fluid comprised of two components, it is necessary to measure three independent fluid properties to completely describe its state. Since the temperature and pressure are easily obtainable, additional readily available properties to determine the liquid composition were selected: density, ultra-violet light absorptivity, and refractive index. The accuracy and precision of calculating the OCR with these measurements are compared analytically and experimentally. The experimental apparatus was located within an environmental chamber which was capable of controlling the temperature over the range of test conditions. The working fluid was circulated using an oil free gear pump and the pressure of the mixture was controlled via a hydraulic cylinder which was attached to a variable pressure source. Precise quantities of oil were incorporated into the working fluid with a high pressure liquid chromatography pump. A length of clear nylon tubing permitted flow visualization.


Author(s):  
H. E. Hill ◽  
W. F. Ng ◽  
P. P. Vlachos ◽  
S. A. Guillot ◽  
D. Car

Circulation control inlet guide vanes (IGVs) may provide significant benefits over current IGVs that employ mechanical means for flow turning. This paper presents the results of a two-dimensional computational study on a circulation control IGV that takes advantage of the Coanda effect for flow vectoring. The IGV in this study is an uncambered airfoil that alters circulation around itself by means of a Coanda jet that exhausts along the IGV’s trailing edge surface. The IGV is designed for an axial inlet flow at a Mach number of 0.54 and an exit flow angle of 11 degrees. These conditions were selected to match the operating conditions of the 90% span section of the IGV of the TESCOM compressor rig at the Compressor Aero Research Laboratory (CARL) located at Wright-Patterson AFB, the hardware that is being used as the baseline in this study. The goal of the optimization was to determine the optimal jet height, trailing edge radius, and supply pressure that would meet the design criteria while minimizing the mass flow rate and pressure losses. The optimal geometry that was able to meet the design requirements had a jet height of h/Cn = 0.0057 and a trailing edge Radius R/Cn = 0.16. This geometry needed a jet to inflow total pressure ratio of 1.8 to meet the exit turning angle requirement. At this supply pressure ratio the mass flow rate required by the flow control system was 0.71 percent of the total mass flow rate through the engine. The optimal circulation control IGV had slightly lower pressure losses when compared with a reference cambered IGV.


1998 ◽  
Vol 120 (3) ◽  
pp. 477-486 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. W. Thompson ◽  
P. I. King ◽  
D. C. Rabe

The effects of stepped-tip gaps and clearance levels on the performance of a transonic axial-flow compressor rotor were experimentally determined. A two-stage compressor with no inlet guide vanes was tested in a modern transonic compressor research facility. The first-stage rotor was unswept and was tested for an optimum tip clearance with variations in stepped gaps machined into the casing near the aft tip region of the rotor. Nine causing geometries were investigated consisting of three step profiles at each of three clearance levels. For small and intermediate clearances, stepped tip gaps were found to improve pressure ratio, efficiency, and flow range for most operating conditions. At 100 percent design rotor speed, stepped tip gaps produced a doubling of mass flow range with as much as a 2.0 percent increase in mass flow and a 1.5 percent improvement in efficiency. This study provides guidelines for engineers to improve compressor performance for an existing design by applying an optimum casing profile.


Author(s):  
Donald W. Thompson ◽  
Paul I. King ◽  
Douglas C. Rabe

The effects of stepped tip gaps and clearance levels on the performance of a transonic axial-flow compressor rotor were experimentally determined. A two-stage compressor with no inlet guide vanes was tested in a modern transonic compressor research facility. The first-stage rotor was unswept and was tested for an optimum tip clearance with variations in stepped gaps machined into the casing near the aft tip region of the rotor. Nine casing geometries were investigated consisting of three step profiles at each of three clearance levels. For small and intermediate clearances, stepped tip gaps were found to improve pressure ratio, efficiency, and flow range for most operating conditions. At 100% design rotor speed, stepped tip gaps produced a doubling of mass flow range with as much as a 2.0% increase in mass flow and a 1.5% improvement in efficiency. This study provides guidelines for engineers to improve compressor performance for an existing design by applying an optimum casing profile.


Author(s):  
Ali Merchant ◽  
Jack L. Kerrebrock ◽  
John J. Adamczyk ◽  
Edward Braunsheidel

The experimental investigation of an aspirated fan stage designed to achieve a pressure ratio of 3.4:1 at 1500 feet/sec is presented in this paper. The low-energy viscous flow is aspirated from diffusion-limiting locations on the blades and flowpath surfaces of the stage, enabling a very high pressure ratio to be achieved in a single stage. The fan stage performance was mapped at various operating speeds from choke to stall in a compressor facility at fully simulated engine conditions. The experimentally determined stage performance, in terms of pressure ratio and corresponding inlet mass flow rate, was found to be in good agreement with the 3D viscous computational prediction, and in turn close to the design intent. Stage pressure ratios exceeding 3:1 were achieved at design speed, with an aspiration flow fraction of 3.5% of the stage inlet mass flow. The experimental performance of the stage at various operating conditions, including detailed flowfield measurements, are presented and discussed in the context of the computational analyses. The sensitivity of the stage performance and operability to reduced aspiration flow rates at design and off-design conditions are also discussed.


Author(s):  
Fadi Alnaimat ◽  
James F. Klausner

This study concerns an improvement in the solar diffusion driven desalination process under dynamic operating conditions for decentralized water production. The utilization of a heat exchanger for the solar diffusion driven desalination (DDD) process to recuperate the latent heat of condensation has been examined. It is found that the recuperated latent heat is best used for preheating the air inlet to the evaporator. Improvements in the system performance are achieved by increasing fresh water production by 30% for the solar DDD with a 0.75 effectiveness in the integrated heat exchanger. A theoretical model is implemented for analyzing the integrated desalination system, and a numerical assessment of the system performance for different operating conditions is presented. It is found that the installation of a heat exchanger for heat recovery in the air stream prior to entering the direct contact condenser increases the water production rate and reduces the specific energy consumption. It is concluded that the delayed operating mode for the solar DDD with an integrated heat exchanger is the best operating mode.


Author(s):  
Gong W Qi ◽  
X Hong Zhang

A volute is the only circumferential asymmetric component in a centrifugal compressor, and thus, it should account for the circumferential asymmetry of the flow in a vane diffuser. This study performs a transient numerical analysis to investigate the effect of a volute on the flow in the vane diffuser of a centrifugal compressor under three operating conditions (near-stall, middle, and high mass flow). We compare numerical and experimental performance of the compressor, including polytropic efficiency, total pressure ratio, and unsteady pressure on a diffuser vane. The numerical scheme is proven valid owing to the fact that the numerical and experimental results considerably agree well with each other. Under middle and high mass flow conditions, the time-averaged static pressure recovery and the total pressure loss coefficients for all the diffuser passages indicate that the performance of the passages near and upstream of the volute tongue is affected negatively by the volute, whereas that of the passages downstream of the volute tongue is less affected. Under near-stall condition, the performance of all the passages is disturbed, and the diffuser passage marked as DP 3 demonstrates the worst performance. Investigation on the time-averaged aerodynamic forces, loading, and pressure on the vanes yields results that are consistent with those of the investigation on the performance of the passages. The harmonics with 0.5 fb and fb, which are included in the unsteady loading and pressure on the pressure and suction sides of the vanes, are dominant, where fb is the impeller main and splitter blades passing frequency. Their amplitude values increase as mass flow deviates from the middle mass flow condition. Under middle and high mass flow conditions, the harmonic with 0.5 fb is affected more negatively because of the larger amplitude on the vanes near and upstream of the volute tongue than those downstream, whereas the harmonic with fb is less affected by the volute. Under the near-stall condition, the transient vorticity fields along with the harmonics of 0.5 fb and fb are investigated to evaluate the performance of the diffuser passages. DP 3, which is located at approximately 90° downstream of the volute tongue, suffers the strongest flow deterioration and is inferred to stall first. Further researches for designing more matching diffuser/volute combination will be performed by referring this study.


Author(s):  
Arnold Gad-Briggs ◽  
Pericles Pilidis

The Design Point (DP) performance of a Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) is fairly straightforward to establish for a given mass flow rate, turbomachinery compressor Pressure Ratio (PR) and reactor Core Outlet Temperature (COT). The plant components are optimum for that point but this is no longer the case if the plant’s operating conditions are changed for part-load performance. Data from tests or previous operating experiences are useful in determining typical part load performance of components based on characteristic maps. However, when individual components are linked in a plant, the range of operating points for part load performances are severely reduced. The main objective of this study is to derive Off-Design Points (ODPs) for the Simple Cycle Recuperated (SCR) and Intercooled Cycle Recuperated (ICR) when considering a temperature range of −35 to 50°C and COTs between 750 to 1000°C, using a modelling & performance simulation tool designed specifically for this study, which calculates the best operational equilibrium ODPs that are critical to the economics of the NPP. Results show that the recuperator High-Pressure (HP) side and reactor pressure losses alter the actual operating parameters (mass flow rate and compressor PR). The SCR yielded a drop in plant cycle efficiency of 1% for a 4% pressure loss in comparison to the ICR (5%) for the same amount of recuperator HP losses. Other parameters such as the precooler and recuperator Low-Pressure (LP) losses still retain the same operating inlet PRs and mass flow rates regardless of the magnitude of the losses. In the absence of characteristic maps in the public domain, the ODPs have been used to produce characteristic trend maps for first order ODP calculations. The analyses intend to aid the development of cycles for Generation IV NPPs specifically Gas Cooled Fast Reactors (GFRs) and Very High Temperature Reactors (VHTRs), where helium is the coolant.


2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 1831-1853
Author(s):  
Mohammad Al-Addous ◽  
Mustafa Jaradat ◽  
Mathhar Bdour ◽  
Zakariya Dalala ◽  
Johannes Wellmann

This study analyzes a technological concept for simultaneously generating power and desalinating water in a Middle East and North Africa country. An innovative, low-temperature, multi-effect desalination (LT-MED) process integrated with a concentrating solar power (CSP) plant was assessed and analyzed. A combined power and seawater desalination plant was modeled for the city of Aqaba by the Red Sea in Jordan. Parabolic-trough collectors using indirect steam generation with thermal energy storage connected with power and desalination blocks were designed. The designed plant was modeled and simulated using EBSILON Professional, a discrete energy balance simulation software, under several operating conditions, to analyze the results. An economic feasibility analysis of the combined CSP+LT-MED plant was also conducted. The simulation results showed the broad variability of the cogeneration system in terms of electricity generation and water production. The output power of the CSP plant without water production reached 58.7 MWel in June. The output power accompanied with distilled-water production with a mass flow rate of 170 m3/h was approximately 49.5 MWel. Furthermore, the number of desalination stages had the strongest influence on distillate production but limited the operational flexibility of the power plant due to the temperature gradients within the desalination stages. The distilled-water mass flow reached 498 m3/h for 10 stages. The research showed that the design successfully worked with up to €78.84 million, earned from selling the produced electricity. However, owing to highly subsidized water tariffs in Jordan (80% less than the actual cost), the integration of water desalination into the CSP plant was not economically feasible.


Author(s):  
Tingcheng Wu ◽  
Luis San Andrés

Abstract Though simple and fast, bulk-flow models (BFMs) for gas labyrinth seals (LSs) often predict the mass flow inaccurately. The BFM models rely on classical Neumann’s equation model to characterize the flow through a labyrinth tooth. Presently, a CFD analysis quantifies the effects of tip clearance (Cr) and operating conditions on the prediction of LS mass flow, and then derives an updated kinetic energy carry-over coefficient (μ1i) to improve the accuracy of Neumann’s leakage equation. μ1i is a function of the seal tip clearance (Cr), the tooth pitch, and the total teeth number; but it does not depend on the seal supply or discharge pressures. The analysis selects a fourteen teeth on stator LS (Length/Diameter = L/D = 0.29) with clearance Cr = (1/733)D and operating at nominal supply (Pin) and discharge (Pout) pressures equal to 73 bar and 51 bar, respectively, and at a rotor speed of 12 krpm (surface speed = 138 m/s.). The CFD produces flow fields for LSs with a clearance varying from 80% to 200% of the nominal Cr, a gas supply pressure from 60 bar to 100 bar, and with various discharge pressures giving a pressure ratio (PR = Pout/Pin) ranging from 0.40 to 0.85. The numerous predictions deliver the mass flow as well as the bulk-flow velocities and cavity pressures within the seals. The kinetic energy carry-over coefficient (μ1i) increases with respect to the seal radial clearance (Cr). μ1i shows a parabolic correlation with PR; at first μ1i increases with a rise in PR from a low value; and then a further increase in PR leads to a decrease in μ1i. The coefficient μ1i is only sensitive to the pressure ratio and not to the magnitude of either the supply or discharge pressures. Lastly, for use with Neumann’s leakage model, the CFD predictions produce an updated μ1i, a function of the seal geometry and the PR condition. Integration of the new μ1i correlation into a BFM code improves its accuracy to predict LS mass flow rate, a 19% difference against test data reduces to within 6%. A TOS LS tested by Ertas et al. (2012) serves to further validate the accuracy of the modified leakage model.


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