scholarly journals Experimental and Numerical Study on Energy Piles with Phase Change Materials

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (18) ◽  
pp. 4699 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. M. Mousa ◽  
A. M. Bayomy ◽  
M. Z. Saghir
Keyword(s):  
Phase Change ◽  
Heat Pump ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Phase Change Materials ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Coefficient Of Performance ◽  
Working Fluid ◽  
Numerical Predictions ◽  
Energy Piles ◽  
Discharging Capacity

Phase change materials (PCM) utilization in energy storage systems represents a point of interest and attraction for the researchers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. PCM have been used widely on the interior or exterior walls of the building application to optimize the energy consumption during heating and cooling periods. Meanwhile, ground source heat pump (GSHP) gained its popularity because of the high coefficient of performance (COP) and low running cost of the system. However, GSHP system requires a stand-by heat pump during peak loads. This study will present a new concept of energy piles that used PCM in the form of enclosed tube containers. A lab-scaled foundation pile was developed to examine the performance of the present energy pile, where three layers of insulation replaced the underground soil to focus on the effect of PCM. The investigation was conducted experimentally and numerically on two identical piles with and without PCM. Moreover, a flow rate parametric study was conducted to study the effect of the working fluid flow rate on the amount of energy stored and released at each model. Finally, a comprehensive Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) model was developed and compared with the experimental results. There was a good agreement between the experimental measurements and the numerical predictions. The results revealed that the presence of PCM inside the piles increased not only the charging and discharging capacity but also the storage efficiency of the piles. It was found that PCM enhances the thermal response of the concrete during cooling and heating processes. Although increasing the flow rate increased charging and discharging capacity, the percentage of energy stored/released was insignificant compared to the flow rate increasing percentage.

Experimental Investigation on Flow Characteristic of Stepped Capillary Tube for Heat Pump Type Air Conditioner with R410A

2014 ◽  
Vol 960-961 ◽  
pp. 643-647
Author(s):  
Yan Sheng Xu
Keyword(s):  
Mass Flow Rate ◽  
Heat Pump ◽  
Mass Flow ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Capillary Tube ◽  
Coefficient Of Performance ◽  
Tube Length ◽  
Air Conditioner ◽  
Capillary Tubes ◽  
Tube Assembly

A stepped capillary tube consisting of two serially connected capillary tubes with different diameters is invented to replace the conventional expansion device. The mass flow rate of refrigerant R410A in stepped capillary tubes with different size were tested. The model of stepped capillary tube is proposed, and its numerical algorithm for tube length and mass flow rate is developed. The experimental results show that the performance comparing between stepped capillary tube system and capillary tube assembly system, the cooling capacity is reduced by 0.3%, the energy efficiency ratio (EER) is equal to each other, the heating capacity is increased by 0.3%, the coefficient of performance (COP) is decreased by 0.3%. That is to say, the performance index of the two kinds of throttle mechanism is almost identical. It indicates that the stepped capillary tube can replace the capillary tube assembly in the R410A heat pump type air conditioner absolutely. The model is validated with experimental data, and the results show that the model can be used for sizing and rating stepped capillary tube.

Numerical Characterization of Hot Gas Ingestion Through Turbine Rim Seals

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riccardo Da Soghe ◽  
Cosimo Bianchini ◽  
Carl M. Sangan ◽  
James A. Scobie ◽  
Gary D. Lock
Keyword(s):  
Flow Rate ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Radial Clearance ◽  
Buffering Effect ◽  
Hot Gas ◽  
Numerical Predictions ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Thermal Buffering

This paper deals with a numerical study aimed at the characterization of hot gas ingestion through turbine rim seals. The numerical campaign focused on an experimental facility which models ingress through the rim seal into the upstream wheel-space of an axial-turbine stage. Single-clearance arrangements were considered in the form of axial- and radial-seal gap configurations. With the radial-seal clearance configuration, CFD steady-state solutions were able to predict the system sealing effectiveness over a wide range of coolant mass flow rates reasonably well. The greater insight of flow field provided by the computations illustrates the thermal buffering effect when ingress occurs: for a given sealing flow rate, the effectiveness on the rotor was significantly higher than that on the stator due to the axial flow of hot gases from stator to rotor caused by pumping effects. The predicted effectiveness on the rotor was compared with a theoretical model for the thermal buffering effect showing good agreement. When the axial-seal clearance arrangement is considered, the agreement between CFD and experiments worsens; the variation of sealing effectiveness with coolant flow rate calculated by means of the simulations display a distinct kink. It was found that the “kink phenomenon” can be ascribed to an over-estimation of the egress spoiling effects due to turbulence modelling limitations. Despite some weaknesses in the numerical predictions, the paper shows that CFD can be used to characterize the sealing performance of axial- and radial-clearance turbine rim seals.

Natural Convection in an Enclosure With Blend of Micro Encapsulated Phase Change Materials

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasmin Khakpour ◽  
Jamal Seyed-Yagoobi
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Thermal Expansion ◽  
Natural Convection ◽  
Phase Change ◽  
Latent Heat ◽  
Phase Change Materials ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Pure Water ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Effective Density

This numerical study investigates the effect of using a blend of micro-encapsulated phase change materials (MEPCMs) on the heat transfer characteristics of a liquid in a rectangular enclosure driven by natural convection. A comparison has been made between the cases of using single component MEPCM slurry and a blend of two-component MEPCM slurry. The natural convection is generated by the temperature difference between two vertical walls of the enclosure maintained at constant temperatures. Each of the two phase change materials store latent heat at a specific range of temperatures. During phase change of the PCM, the effective density of the slurry varies. This results in thermal expansion and hence a buoyancy driven flow. The effects of MEPCM concentration in the slurry and changes in the operating conditions such as the wall temperatures compared to that of pure water have been studied. The MEPCM latent heat and the increased volumetric thermal expansion coefficient during phase change of the MEPCM play a major role in this heat transfer augmentation.

Numerical Characterization of Hot-Gas Ingestion Through Turbine Rim Seals

2016 ◽  
Vol 139 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Riccardo Da Soghe ◽  
Cosimo Bianchini ◽  
Carl M. Sangan ◽  
James A. Scobie ◽  
Gary D. Lock
Keyword(s):  
Flow Rate ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Axial Flow ◽  
Radial Clearance ◽  
Buffering Effect ◽  
Hot Gas ◽  
Numerical Predictions ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Thermal Buffering

This paper deals with a numerical study aimed at the characterization of hot-gas ingestion through turbine rim seals. The numerical campaign focused on an experimental facility which models ingress through the rim seal into the upstream wheel-space of an axial-turbine stage. Single-clearance arrangements were considered in the form of axial- and radial-seal gap configurations. With the radial-seal clearance configuration, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) steady-state solutions were able to predict the system sealing effectiveness over a wide range of coolant mass flow rates reasonably well. The greater insight of flow field provided by the computations illustrates the thermal buffering effect when ingress occurs: For a given sealing flow rate, the effectiveness on the rotor was significantly higher than that on the stator due to the axial flow of hot gases from stator to rotor caused by pumping effects. The predicted effectiveness on the rotor was compared with a theoretical model for the thermal buffering effect showing good agreement. When the axial-seal clearance arrangement is considered, the agreement between CFD and experiments worsens; the variation of sealing effectiveness with coolant flow rate calculated by means of the simulations displays a distinct kink. It was found that the “kink phenomenon” can be ascribed to an overestimation of the egress spoiling effects due to turbulence modeling limitations. Despite some weaknesses in the numerical predictions, the paper shows that CFD can be used to characterize the sealing performance of axial- and radial-clearance turbine rim seals.

Phase Change Process Inside a Small-radii Cylinder Subjected to Cyclic Convective Boundary Conditions: a Numerical Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yousef Kanani ◽  
Avijit Karmakar ◽  
Sumanta Acharya
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Phase Change ◽  
Phase Change Materials ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Convective Boundary Condition ◽  
Freezing Process ◽  
Fourier Number ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Convective Boundary

Abstract We numerically investigate the melting and solidi?cation behavior of phase change materials encapsulated in a small-radii cylinder subjected to a cyclic convective boundary condition (square wave). Initially, we explore the effect of the Stefan and Biot numbers on the non-dimensionalized time required (i.e. reference Fourier number Tref ) for a PCM initially held at Tcold to melt and reach the cross?ow temperature Thot. The increase in either Stefan or Biot number decreases Tref and can be predicted accurately using a correlation developed in this work. The variations of the PCM melt fraction, surface temperature, and heat transfer rate as a function of Fourier number are reported and analyzed for the above process. We further study the effect of the cyclic Fourier number on the periodic melting and freezing process. The melting or freezing front initiates at the outer periphery of the PCM and propagates towards the center. At higher frequencies, multiple two-phase interfaces are generated (propagating inward), and higher overall heat transfer is achieved as the surface temperature oscillates in the vicinity of the melting temperature, which increases the effective temperature difference driving the convective heat transfer.

Experimental and Numerical Study of Transport Phenomena in a Simulated Hydrothermal Crystal Growth System of Fluid-Saturated Porous Layer

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Mishra ◽  
A. Pal ◽  
N. Nemick ◽  
A. K. Saha ◽  
V. Prasad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Temperature Field ◽  
Porous Layer ◽  
Hydrothermal System ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Transport Phenomena ◽  
Composite Layer ◽  
Staggered Grid ◽  
Working Fluid ◽  
Hydrothermal Crystal Growth ◽  
Numerical Predictions

Abstract A simulated, non-pressurized hydrothermal system consisting of a fluid-superposed porous layer is fabricated and used for visualization and measurement of the temperature field using liquid crystal thermography. The system is used for various boundary conditions with pure glycerine as the working fluid and the porous layer is made of 3mm diameter glass beads. Experimental data is recorded using a color CCD camera and flow visualization is obtained through a long exposure video photography. A calibration is performed to relate the temperature with scattered colors at an orthogonal angle to the incoming white light sheet. Quantitative temperature data is obtained through this calibration and compared with the numerical predictions. For numerical studies the system is modeled as a composite layer of fluid and porous charge using the Darcy-Brinkman-Forchheimer flow model. A two-dimensional curvilinear algorithm using finite volume technique with a non-staggered grid is used to simulate the temperature field and transport phenomena for various Rayleigh–Darcy number combinations of varying aspect ratio. The results, for the first time, make an attempt towards understanding the transport process in hydrothermal system through both numerical simulation and experimental validation.

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