scholarly journals Influencing Mechanisms of a Crosswind on the Thermo-Hydraulic Characteristics of a Large-Scale Air-Cooled Heat Exchanger

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1128
Author(s):  
Yanqiang Kong ◽  
Weijia Wang ◽  
Zhitao Zuo ◽  
Lijun Yang ◽  
Xiaoze Du ◽  
...  

For the large scale air-cooled heat exchanger of a natural draft dry cooling system (NDDCS) in power plants, its thermo-flow characteristics are basically dominated by crosswinds. Unfortunately however, the detailed mechanisms of the crosswind effects have yet to be fully uncovered. Therefore, in this research, the local flow and heat transfer performances of the cooling deltas, which are also termed as the fundamental cells of the large-scale air-cooled heat exchanger, are specifically investigated with full consideration for the cell structure and the water-side temperature distribution at various wind speeds. A 3D CFD method with a realizable k-ε turbulence model, heat exchanger model, and porous media model is developed, and the accuracy and credibility of the numerical model are experimentally validated. With the numerical simulation, the overall 3D outlet air temperature of the large-scale air-cooled heat exchanger, and the corresponding local air velocity and temperature fields of the cooling deltas are qualitatively analyzed. Furthermore, the air-mass flow rate and heat rejection are also quantitatively studied at both the global and local views. The results depict that with an increase in the wind speed, the air mass flow rate and heat rejection will increase greatly for the frontal deltas; however, they will drop dramatically for the middle-front deltas. As for the middle- as well as the middle-rear deltas, the thermo-flow performances vary markedly at various wind speeds, which behave in the most deteriorated manner at a wind speed of 12 m/s. The rear deltas show the best thermo-flow performances at a wind speed of 12 m/s, but the worst at 16 m/s. A detailed analysis of the variable fields for each cooling delta may contribute to the performance improvement of the large-scale air-cooled heat exchanger of NDDCS.

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1415 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Wang ◽  
Mikael Boulic ◽  
Robyn Phipps ◽  
Manfred Plagmann ◽  
Chris Cunningham

This study investigates the thermal efficiency of a solar air heater (SAH), when it was mounted on a custom-made support frame, and was operated under different air mass flow rate. This SAH is composed of a transparent polycarbonate cover plate, a felt absorber layer, a perforated aluminium back plate and an aluminium frame. The ambient inlet air of this SAH is heated as it passes through the perforated back plate and over the felt absorber layer. The heated air is blown out through the outlet. Studies of SAHs with a similar design to this SAH were not found in the literature. The experiment was carried out at Massey University, Auckland campus, NZ (36.7° S, 174.7° E). The global horizontal solar irradiance, the ambient temperature and the wind speed were recorded using an on-site weather station. Temperature and velocity of the air at the outlet were measured using a hot wire anemometer. During the experiment, the air mass flow rate was between 0.022 ± 0.001 kg/s and 0.056 ± 0.005 kg/s. Results showed that when the SAH was operated at the airflow between 0.0054 kg/s and 0.0058 kg/s, the inlet air temperature and the wind speed (between 0 and 6.0 m/s) did not impact the temperature difference between the outlet air and the inlet air. The thermal efficiency of the SAH increased from 34 ± 5% at the airflow between 0.021 kg/s and 0.023 kg/s, to 47 ± 6% at the airflow ranging from 0.032 kg/s to 0.038 kg/s, to 71 ± 4% at the airflow of 0.056 ± 0.005 kg/s. The maximum thermal efficiency of 75% was obtained at the airflow of 0.057 kg/s. The effective efficiency of the SAH was 32 ± 5% at the airflow between 0.021 kg/s and 0.023 kg/s, 42 ± 6% at the airflow ranging from 0.032 kg/s to 0.038 kg/s, and 46 ± 11% at the airflow of 0.056 ± 0.005 kg/s.


Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1600 ◽  
Author(s):  
Panagiotis Stamatopoulos ◽  
Panagiotis Drosatos ◽  
Nikos Nikolopoulos ◽  
Dimitrios Rakopoulos

This paper presents a methodology for the development of an empirical equation which can provide the air mass flow rate imposed by single-sided wind-driven ventilation of a room, as a function of external wind speed and direction, using the results from Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations. The proposed methodology is useful for a wide spectrum of applications, in which no access to experimental data or conduction of several CFD runs is possible, deriving a simple expression of natural ventilation rate, which can be further used for energy analysis of complicated building geometries in 0-D models or in object-oriented software codes. The developed computational model simulates a building, which belongs to Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule (RWTH, Aachen University, Aachen, Germany) and its surrounding environment. A tilted window represents the opening that allows the ventilation of the adjacent room with fresh air. The derived data from the CFD simulations for the air mass flow were fitted with a Gaussian function in order to achieve the development of an empirical equation. The numerical simulations have been conducted using the Ansys Fluent v15.0® software package. In this work, the k-w Shear Stress Transport (SST) model was implemented for the simulation of turbulence, while the Boussinesq approximation was used for the simulation of the buoyancy forces. The coefficient of determination R2 of the curve is in the range of 0.84–0.95, depending on the wind speed. This function can provide the mass flow rate through the open window of the investigated building and subsequently the ventilation rate of the adjacent room in air speed range from 2.5 m/s to 16 m/s without the necessity of further numerical simulations.


Author(s):  
Luca Cirillo ◽  
Oronzio Manca ◽  
Lorenzo Marinelli ◽  
Sergio Nardini

In this paper an experimental investigation on forced convection in a compact heat exchanger made up with an aluminum foam plate of 212.5mm × 212.5mm with a thickness of 40 mm and a single array with five circular tubes is presented. The foam has a porosity of 0.93 with 20 pores per inch and the tubes in aluminum have internal and external diameters equal to 9.5 mm and 12.5 mm. The test rig consists of an open air channel and a closed water cycle and the aluminum foam plate is placed inside the channel. The performances of the compact heat exchanger are evaluated for assigned hot water mass flow rate and different hot water inlet temperatures and air mass flow rate. Results are given in terms of heat transfer rates and pressure drops as a function of air velocity and Reynolds numbers. The evaluation of dimensionless, thermal resistance, Colburn factor and Nusselt number is performed for different air mass flow rates and hot water inlet temperatures. The performance evaluation criteria is considered in terms of ratio between the heat transfer rate inside the heat exchanger and the pumping power of the air fan.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah R. Doran ◽  
Theo Renaud ◽  
Gioia Falcone ◽  
Lehua Pan ◽  
Patrick G. Verdin

AbstractAlternative (unconventional) deep geothermal designs are needed to provide a secure and efficient geothermal energy supply. An in-depth sensitivity analysis was investigated considering a deep borehole closed-loop heat exchanger (DBHE) to overcome the current limitations of deep EGS. A T2Well/EOS1 model previously calibrated on an experimental DBHE in Hawaii was adapted to the current NWG 55-29 well at the Newberry volcano site in Central Oregon. A sensitivity analysis was carried out, including parameters such as the working fluid mass flow rate, the casing and cement thermal properties, and the wellbore radii dimensions. The results conclude the highest energy flow rate to be 1.5 MW, after an annulus radii increase and an imposed mass flow rate of 5 kg/s. At 3 kg/s, the DBHE yielded an energy flow rate a factor of 3.5 lower than the NWG 55-29 conventional design. Despite this loss, the sensitivity analysis allows an assessment of the key thermodynamics within the wellbore and provides a valuable insight into how heat is lost/gained throughout the system. This analysis was performed under the assumption of subcritical conditions, and could aid the development of unconventional designs within future EGS work like the Newberry Deep Drilling Project (NDDP). Requirements for further software development are briefly discussed, which would facilitate the modelling of unconventional geothermal wells in supercritical systems to support EGS projects that could extend to deeper depths.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 267
Author(s):  
Han-Tang Lin ◽  
Yunn-Horng Guu ◽  
Wei-Hsuan Hsu

Global warming, climate change, and ever-increasing energy demand are among the pressing challenges currently facing humanity. Particularly, indoor air conditioning, a major source of energy consumption, requires immediate improvement to prevent energy crises. In this study, various airfoil profiles were applied to create a window-type convection device that entrains air to improve convection between indoor and outdoor airflows and adjust the indoor temperature. How the geometric structure of the convection device affects its air entrainment performance was investigated on the basis of various airfoil profiles and outlet slit sizes of the airflow multiplier. The airfoil profiles were designed according to the 4-digit series developed by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. The results revealed that airfoil thickness, airfoil camber, and air outlet slit size affected the mass flow rate of the convection device. Overall, the mass flow rate at the outlet of the convection device was more than 10 times greater than at the inlet, demonstrating the potential of the device to improve air convection. To validate these simulated results, the wind-deflector plate was processed using the NACA4424 airfoil with a 1.2 mm slit, and various operating voltages were applied to the convection device to measure the resulting wind speeds and calculate the corresponding mass flow rates. The experimental and simulated results were similar, with a mean error of <7%, indicating that the airfoil-shaped wind-deflector plate substantially improved air entrainment of the convection device to the goal of reduced energy consumption and carbon emissions.


2003 ◽  
Vol 125 (1) ◽  
pp. 104-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chang-Yuan Liu ◽  
Ying-Huei Hung

Both experimental and theoretical investigations on the heat transfer and flow friction characteristics of compact cold plates have been performed. From the results, the local and average temperature rises on the cold plate surface increase with increasing chip heat flux or decreasing air mass flow rate. Besides, the effect of chip heat flux on the thermal resistance of cold plate is insignificant; while the thermal resistance of cold plate decreases with increasing air mass flow rate. Three empirical correlations of thermal resistance in terms of air mass flow rate with a power of −0.228 are presented. As for average Nusselt number, the effect of chip heat flux on the average Nusselt number is insignificant; while the average Nusselt number of the cold plate increases with increasing Reynolds number. An empirical relationship between Nu¯cp and Re can be correlated. In the flow frictional aspect, the overall pressure drop of the cold plate increases with increasing air mass flow rate; while it is insignificantly affected by chip heat flux. An empirical correlation of the overall pressure drop in terms of air mass flow rate with a power of 1.265 is presented. Finally, both heat transfer performance factor “j” and pumping power factor “f” decrease with increasing Reynolds number in a power of 0.805; while they are independent of chip heat flux. The Colburn analogy can be adequately employed in the study.


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 1225-1235
Author(s):  
Ajay K. Gupta ◽  
Manoj Kumar ◽  
Ranjit K. Sahoo ◽  
Sunil K. Sarangi

Plate-fin heat exchangers provide a broad range of applications in many cryogenic industries for liquefaction and separation of gasses because of their excellent technical advantages such as high effectiveness, compact size, etc. Correlations are available for the design of a plate-fin heat exchanger, but experimental investigations are few at cryogenic temperature. In the present study, a cryogenic heat exchanger test setup has been designed and fabricated to investigate the performance of plate-fin heat exchanger at cryogenic temperature. Major parameters (Colburn factor, Friction factor, etc.) that affect the performance of plate-fin heat exchangers are provided concisely. The effect of mass flow rate and inlet temperature on the effectiveness and pressure drop of the heat exchanger are investigated. It is observed that with an increase in mass flow rate effectiveness and pressure drop increases. The present setup emphasis the systematic procedure to perform the experiment based on cryogenic operating conditions and represent its uncertainties level.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamisu A Dandajeh ◽  
Talib O Ahmadu

This paper presents an experimental investigation on the influence of engine speed on the combustion characteristics of a Gardener compression ignition engine fueled with rapeseed methyl esther (RME). The engine has a maximum power of 14.4 kW and maximum speed of 1500 rpm. The experiment was carried out at speeds of 750 and 1250 rpm under loads of 4, 8, 12, 16 and 18 kg. Variations of cylinder pressure with crank angle degrees and cylinder volume have been examined. It was found that RME demonstrated short ignition delay primarily due to its high cetane number and leaner fuel properties (equivalence ratio (φ) = 0.22 at 4kg). An increase in thermal efficiency but decrease in volumetric efficiency was recorded due to increased brake loads. Variations in fuel mass flow rate, air mass flow rate, exhaust gas temperatures and equivalence ratio with respect to brake mean effective pressure at engine speeds of 750 and 1250 rpm were also demonstrated in this paper. Higher engine speed of 1250 rpm resulted in higher fuel and air mass flow rates, exhaust temperature, brake power and equivalent ratio but lower volumetric efficiency. Keywords— combustion characteristics, engine performance, engine speed, rapeseed methyl Esther


In this investigation of multi heat pipe induced in heat exchanger shows the developments in heat transfer is to improve the efficiency of heat exchangers. Water is used as a heat transfer fluid and acetone is used as a working fluid. Rotameter is set to measure the flow rate of cold water and hot water. To maintain the parameter as experimental setup. Then set the mass flow rate of hot water as 40 LPH, 60LPH, 80 LPH, 100LPH, 120 LPH and mass flow rate of cold water as 20 LPH, 30 LPH, 40 LPH, 50 LPH, and 60 LPH. Then 40 C, 45 ºC, 50 ºC, 55 C, 60 ºC are the temperatures of hot water at inlet are maintained. To find some various physical parameters of Qc , hc , Re ,, Pr , Rth. The maximum effectiveness of the investigation obtained from condition of Thi 60 C, Tci 32 C and 100 LPH mhi, 60 LPH mci the maximum effectiveness attained as 57.25. Then the mhi as 100 LPH, mci as 60 LPH and Thi at 40 C as 37.6%. It shows the effectiveness get increased about 34.3 to the maximum conditions.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 1105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo Carcasci ◽  
Lapo Cheli ◽  
Pietro Lubello ◽  
Lorenzo Winchler

This paper presents an off-design analysis of a gas turbine Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) combined cycle. Combustion turbine performances are significantly affected by fluctuations in ambient conditions, leading to relevant variations in the exhaust gases’ mass flow rate and temperature. The effects of the variation of ambient air temperature have been considered in the simulation of the topper cycle and of the condenser in the bottomer one. Analyses have been performed for different working fluids (toluene, benzene and cyclopentane) and control systems have been introduced on critical parameters, such as oil temperature and air mass flow rate at the condenser fan. Results have highlighted similar power outputs for cycles based on benzene and toluene, while differences as high as 34% have been found for cyclopentane. The power output trend with ambient temperature has been found to be influenced by slope discontinuities in gas turbine exhaust mass flow rate and temperature and by the upper limit imposed on the air mass flow rate at the condenser as well, suggesting the importance of a correct sizing of the component in the design phase. Overall, benzene-based cycle power output has been found to vary between 4518 kW and 3346 kW in the ambient air temperature range considered.


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