Mathematical Modelling and Design of Helical Coil Heat Exchanger for Production of Hot Air for Fluidized Bed Dryer

In global industrialization, efforts have been made to increase the rate of heat transfer in heat exchanger, minimizing the size of heat exchanger to reduce cost as well as increasing the effectiveness. Helical coil heat exchanger (HCHE) has been proven to be effective in improving heat transfer due to its large surface area. In this study, HCHE was designed to provide hot air needed for fluidized bed drying processes. The HCHE design model was fabricated and evaluated to study the efficiency of the hot air output for a laboratory fluidized bed dryer. The mathematical model for estimation of the final (output) temperature of air, Taf, passing through the HCHE was developed and validated experimentally. The drying of bitter kola particulates was carried out with a drying temperature of 50C 3C and a bed height-to-bed diameter ratio (H/D) of 1.5. The time taken to dry bitter kola particulates to 0.4% moisture content was 1 hour 45 minutes. Hence, HCHE is recommended for use in the production of hot for laboratory-scale fluidized bed dryers.

Achieving Cooler Soil as an Effective Heat Sink for Earth-to-Air Heat Exchanger (EAHE) Cooling Technology in Malaysia Tropical Climate

This research is intended to explore the capacity of Malaysia soil in becoming a more effective heat sink for the application of Earth-to-Air Heat Exchanger (EAHE) Cooling Technology in Malaysia. EAHE Cooling Technology consists of buried pipes underground where the ambient air is channeled through from the pipe inlet and produces cooler air at its outlet. Within the buried pipes, heat exchange process occurs between the air and the soil that surrounding the pipe. This building cooling technology has been applied in many countries, mostly in temperate or hot and arid climate where the diurnal temperature is large. However, minimal resources were found on the study of EAHE application to buildings in Malaysia, hence there is room to develop. A parametric study on EAHE cooling application in Malaysia was done through field experiment and concluded that among many parameters affecting the technology performance, the soil temperature which surrounded the pipe was the most influential factor. The study recommended to further reduce the soil temperature to achieve a cooler outlet temperature. In response to that, this research conducted a parametric study of soil temperature under three different soil surface conditions: bare, shaded with timber pallettes and insulated with used tyres at 1.0 m and 1.5 m underground. The data was logged for a month and the result has shown significant reduction in the soil temperature underground below the shaded and insulated soil surface as compared to below bare soil surface condition. The insulated soil surface produced the best result where the soil temperature was reduced up to 26.9°C. The main contribution of this paper is to highlight that the soil surface treatment can be used to reduce solar heat gain within the soil underground and thus improving the performance of EAHE Cooling Technology particularly for the application in Malaysia tropical climate.

Soil Nature Effect Investigation on the Ground-to-Air Heat Exchanger for the Passive Cooling of Rooms

The building sector consumes much energy either for cooling or heating and is associated to greenhouse gas emissions. To meet energy and environmental challenges, the use of ground-to-air heat exchangers for preheating and cooling buildings has recently received considerable attention. They provide substantial energy savings and contribute to the improvement of thermal comfort in buildings. For these systems, the ground temperature plays the main role. The present work aims to investigate numerically the influence of the nature of soil on the thermal behavior of the ground-to-air heat exchanger used for building passive cooling. We have taken into account in this work the influence of the soil nature by considering three types of dry soil: clay soil, sandy-clay soil and sandy soil. The mixed convection equations governing the heat transfers in the earth-to-air heat exchanger have been presented and discretized using the finite difference method with an Alternate Direction Implicit (ADI) scheme. The resulting algebraic equations are then solved using the algorithm of Thomas combined with an iterative Gauss-Seidel procedure. The results show that the flow is dominated by forced convection. The examination of the sensitivity of the model to the type of soil shows that the distributions of contours of streamlines, isotherms, isovalues of moisture are less affected by the variations of the nature of soil through the variation of the diffusivity of the soil. However, it is observed that the temperature values obtained for the clay soil are higher while the sandy soil shows lower temperature values. The values of the ground-to-air heat exchanger efficiency are only slightly influenced by the nature of the soil. Nevertheless, we note a slightly better efficiency for the sandy soil than for the sandy-clayey silt and clayey soils. This result shows that a sandy soil would be more suitable for geothermal system installations.

Simulation and heat exchanger network designs for a novel single-column cryogenic air separation process

To realize the industrialization of the novel single-column air separation process proposed in previous work,steady-state simulation for four different configurations of the single-column process with ternary(nitrogen,oxygen and argon)is developed.Then,exergy analysis of the single-column processes is also carried out and compared with the conventional double-column air separation process at the same capacity.Furthermore,based on the steady-state simulation of single-column processes,the different heat exchanger networks(HENs)for the main heat exchanger and subcooler in each process are designed.To obtain better performance for this novel process,optimization of process configuration and operation is investigated.The optimal condition and configuration for this process is consisted as:feedstock is divided into two streams and the reflux nitrogen is compressed at the approximate temperature of 301 K.In addition,HEN is optimized to minimize the utilities.HENs without utilities are obtained for the four different configurations of single-column process.Furthermore,capital costs of the HEN for different cases are estimated and compared.

Modeling of Air Temperature for Heat Exchange due to Vertical Turbulence and Horizontal Air Flow

In order to calculate the air temperature of the near surface layer in urban environment,the surface layer air was divided into several layers in the vertical direction,and some energy balance equations were developed for each air layer,in which the heat exchange due to vertical turbulence and horizontal air flow was taken into account.Then,the vertical temperature distribution of the surface layer air was obtained through the coupled calculation using the energy balance equations of underlying surfaces and building walls.Moreover,the measured air temperatures in a small area(with a horizontal scale of less than 500 m)and a large area(with a horizontal scale of more than 1 000 m)in Guangzhou in summer were used to validate the proposed model.The calculated results agree well with the measured ones,with a maximum relative error of 4.18%.It is thus concluded that the proposed model is a high-accuracy method to theoretically analyze the urban heat island and the thermal environment.

Localized Theoretical Analysis of Thermal Performance of Individually Finned Heat Pipe Heat Exchanger for Air Conditioning with Freon R404A as Working Fluid

This work contributes to the improvement of energy-saving in air conditioning systems. The objective is to apply the thermal efficiency of heat exchangers for localized determination of the thermal performance of heat exchangers with individually finned heat pipes. The fundamental parameters used for performance analysis were the number of fins per heat pipe, the number of heat pipes, the inlet temperatures, and the flow rates of hot and cold fluids. The heat exchanger under analysis uses Freon 404A as a working fluid in an air conditioning system for cooling in the Evaporator and energy recovery in the Condenser. The theoretical model is localized and applied individually to the Evaporator, Condenser, and heat exchanger regions. The results obtained through the simulation are compared with experimental results that use a global approach for the heat exchanger. The thermal quantities obtained through the theoretical model in the mentioned regions are air velocity, Nusselt number, thermal effectiveness, heat transfer rate, and outlet temperature. The comparisons made with global experimental results are in excellent agreement, demonstrating that the localized theoretical approach developed is consistent and can be used as a comprehensive analysis tool for heat exchangers using heat pipes.

Localized Theoretical Analysis of Thermal Performance of Individually Finned Heat Pipe Heat Exchanger for Air Conditioning with Freon R404A as Working Fluid

This work contributes to the improvement of energy-saving in air conditioning systems. The objective is to apply the thermal efficiency of heat exchangers for localized determination of the thermal performance of heat exchangers with individually finned heat pipes. The fundamental parameters used for performance analysis were the number of fins per heat pipe, the number of heat pipes, the inlet temperatures, and the flow rates of hot and cold fluids. The heat exchanger under analysis uses Freon 404A as a working fluid in an air conditioning system for cooling in the Evaporator and energy recovery in the Condenser. The theoretical model is localized and applied individually to the Evaporator, Condenser, and heat exchanger regions. The results obtained through the simulation are compared with experimental results that use a global approach for the heat exchanger. The thermal quantities obtained through the theoretical model in the mentioned regions are air velocity, Nusselt number, thermal effectiveness, heat transfer rate, and outlet temperature. The comparisons made with global experimental results are in excellent agreement, demonstrating that the localized theoretical approach developed is consistent and can be used as a comprehensive analysis tool for heat exchangers using heat pipes.

Numerical simulation of heat transfer and flow of cooling air in triangular wavy fin channels

Numerical computation models of air cooling heat transfer and flow behaviors in triangular wavy fin channels(TWFC) were established with structural parameters of fins considered.The air side properties of heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop are displayed with variable structural parameters of fins and inlet velocities of cooling air.Within the range of simulation,TWFC has the best comprehensive performance when inlet velocity vin=4-10 m/s.Compared with those of straight fins,the simulation results reveal that the triangular wavy fin channels are of higher heat transfer performances especially with the fin structural parameters of fin-height Fh=9.0 mm,fin-pitch Fp=2.5-3.0 mm,fin-wavelength λ=14.0-17.5 mm and fin-wave-amplitude A=1.0-1.2 mm.The correlations of both heat transfer factor and friction factor are presented,and the deviations from the experimental measurements are within 20%.

Energy Efficient Air Conditioning System Using Geothermal Cooling-Solar Heating in Gujarat, India

It is well known that one unit of electrical energy saved is equal to more than two units produced. One way of economizing the power is utilization of energy efficient systems at all locations. In the present study, the air conditioning system is analysed and an innovative way is suggested. We use natural low temperature of shallow sub surface (1 - 3 m) of the earth—geothermal cooling system. It is known that majority of the households and the apartment complexes in India have two tanks for water storage. One is the underground water sump and the other is the overhead water tank. In our study, we use these two water storage systems for space cooling during summer and also for heating during winter. The main aim of our paper is air-conditioning of the space in an economic way to save electricity. It is based on a simple idea of transferring the low temperature from underground water sump to the room in the house using water as a mode of transport. Since India is a tropical country located at low latitude, most of the year, the air temperature is high and demands space cooling. However, for a couple of months during severe winter months (Dec.-Jan.) at Ahmedabad, heating of the space is required. For heating the space, we suggest to use the well-known solar water heater. Effective use of heat exchanger is shown through computation, modelling schemes and lab experiment. We recommend geothermal cooling for 10 months in a year and solar hot water system during 2 months of winter. It is observed that the ambient air temperature of 35°C - 40°C in the room can be brought down to 26°C without much consumption of electricity. In a similar manner, the room temperature at night (13°C) during winter in Ahmedabad can be increased to 27°C through circulation of water from solar water heater in the heat exchanger.

REGRESSION OF HEAT AND MOISTURE EXCHANGE DIAGRAM OF SWISS LUWA AIR WASHER

The thesis has changed the heat and moisture exchange curves of Swiss Luwa air washer into double efficiency formulas which are widely used in our country with a computer, and also worked out the regression formula of heat transfer efficiency(X). This has created favourable condition for us to use computer in our calculation of Luwa air washer.

Near ground air temperature calculation model based on heat transfer of vertical turbulent and horizontal air flow

In order to calculate the air temperature of the near surface layer in urban environment,the surface layer air was divided into several sections in the vertical direction,and some energy balance equations were developed for each air layer,in which the heat exchange due to vertical turbulence and horizontal air flow was taken into account.Then,the vertical temperature distribution of the surface layer air was obtained through the coupled calculation using the energy balance equations of underlying surfaces and building walls.Moreover,the measured air temperatures in a small area(with a horizontal scale of less than 500 m) and a large area(with a horizontal scale of more than 1 000 m) in Guangzhou in summer were used to validate the proposed model.The calculated results accord well with the measured ones,with a maximum relative error of 4.18%.It is thus concluded that the proposed model is a high-accuracy method to theoretically analyze the urban heat island and the thermal environment.

Heat transfer performance of fresh-air handing device using earth energy

In order to reduce the fresh-air handing energy consumption,a fresh-air handing device using earth energy was presented. The major part is a double pipe soil-air heat exchanger. Its performance was tested in summer and winter. The results show that while the volume of the treated fresh-air is 125 m3/h,in summer,at the outlet of the device,the air temperature is 21.5-24.0 ℃,the air humidity ratio is about 17 g/kg,the greatest temperature drop is about 9 ℃ ,and the largest dehydration quantity is about 6 g/kg. In winter,at the outlet of the device,the air temperature is 15-17 ℃,the air humidity ratio is about 11 g/kg,the largest temperature rise is about 11 ℃,and the largest humidification quantity is about 6 g/kg. Therefore,the application of this new fresh-air handing device can take full advantage of the natural energy,thus effectively reduce the traditional energy consumption for fresh-air handing.

Heating and Cooling Performance of Earth-Tube Heat Exchanger in a Mechanical Ventilated Farrowing House

Earth tempering of stable air has attracted great attention as a sustainable air conditioning method in pig houses. At summer time air cooling of income air strongly reduces heat stress and required ventilation rate. At winter time heating costs can be reduced. The effect of air condition using geothermal energy was investigated in a farrowing house. Underneath the foundation of the farrowing house 88 non perforated ribbed tubes （diameter： 20 cm） were piped in a depth of 1.6-2.0 m. Over a period of 12 month following data were recorded at hourly intervals and analyzed： outside air temperature, as well as air temperature in the air supply duct and in the compartments. Incoming air （supply duct） was heated up to 20 ℃ during winter time and in summer time cooled by up to 15 ℃ compared to the outside air temperature. In contrast to the outside air diurnal variation, temperature fluctuations of the incoming air were reduced by 90%. Due to cooling of the incoming air at summer time the stable inside temperature could be limited to maximal 29 ℃（maximum outside temperature was 35℃）. Earth-tube heat exchangers with non perforated ribbed tubes were very efficient for air conditioning in farrowing houses. They were a cost effective supplement for sustainable cooling and heating of farrowing houses.

一种新型浅层地热交换系统 法国圣戈班Elixair系统在中国的应用实践与思考

随着温室效应的不断积累,全球气候变暖的话题也越来越多地受到各个行业的关注。在建筑行业,法国圣戈班公司基于传统地道风技术进行技术革新,推出了Elixair浅层地热交换系统,倡导清洁的可再生能源利用,提升居住条件的健康和舒适性。该技术在欧洲已经得到了广泛应用,并成功地安装在多个国内的示范项目中,获得了用户的肯定。

Comprehensive approach to predicting the circulation composition of zeotropic refrigerants

The problem of composition shift in zeotropic fluid circulation, which is encountered in modern air conditioning and refrigeration systems, is studied. It reveals that the composition shift phenomena is contributed by fractionation related to four mechanisms. This paper concentrates on the modeling of component fractionation in heat exchangers. Element approach is employed, and the amount of each component holdup is calculated element by element with a proper void fraction model. The circulation concentration is determined from the refrigerant differential holdup in heat exchangers. Simulations are carried out to prove the validity. The results can improve the reliability and efficiency in zeotropic refrigerant applications.

Solid Desiccant Heat Pump Fresh Air Unit using Composite Silica Gel

The introduction of fresh air into the indoor space leads to a significant increase in cooling or heating loads.Solid desiccant heat pump fresh air unit which can handle the latent and sensible load of fresh air efficiently have been proposed recently.To improve the performance of the solid desiccant heat pump fresh air unit in the fresh air handling process,in this paper,the application of composite silica gel in a heat pump fresh air unit was investigated.The comparison between silica gel coating(SGC)and composite silica gel coating(CSGC)shows that the adsorption rate and water uptake capacity of CSGC are more than two times higher than those of SGC.An experimental setup for the solid desiccant heat pump fresh air unit was established.The performance of SGC and CSGC was tested in the setup successively.Results show that under summer conditions,compared with the solid desiccant heat pump fresh air unit using silica gel(SGFU),the average moisture removal and COP of the one using composite silica gel(CSGFU)increased by 15%and 30%,respectively.Under winter conditions,compared with SGFU,the average humidification and COP of CSGFU increased by 42%and 17%.With optimal operation conditions of 3 min switchover time and 40 r/s compressor frequency,the COP of CSGFU under summer conditions can reach 7.6.Results also show that the CSGFU and SGFU have higher COP and dehumidification rate under higher outdoor temperature and humidity ratio.

BASIC CLIMATOLOGICAL FEATURES OF AIR-SEA HEAT EXCHANGES IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA (SCS) REGION AND THEIR RELATIONS WITH THE SCS MONSOONS

By using the NCEP reanalysis data set in 1979-1995, the fluxes of the latent heat, the sensible heat and the net long-wave radiation in the South China Sea (SCS) are expanded by means of EOF in order to discuss the basic climatological features in the SCS. The detailed analysis shows that the air-sea heat exchanges in different SCS regions have different seasonal variations. The middle and the north of the SCS are the high value regions of the air-sea heat exchanges during the winter and the summer monsoon periods, respectively, the seasonal variations of air-sea heat exchanges in the south of the SCS are small. In addition, the proportions of different components in the total air-sea heat exchanges have different seasonal variations in different regions. The results show that the SCS monsoon and the air-sea heat exchanges in the SCS region are the accompaniments of each other, the great difference of the sensible heat flux between the Indochina Peninsula and the SCS before the SCS summer monsoon onset may be one of the triggers of the latter. There maintains a high value center of the sensible heat flux before the 13th dekad, its disappearing time consists with that of the summer monsoon onset. It means that as far as the SCS local conditions are concerned, the northwest of the Indochina Peninsula is probably a sensitive region to the SCS summer monsoon onset and the land may play a leading role in the SCS summer monsoon onset.

A Simplified Model for Analysis of Heat and Mass Transfer in an Indirect Evaporative Cooler

A simplified model for analysis of heat and mass transfer between air stream and flowing down water film in counter-flow plate heat exchanger which serves as an indirect evaporative cooler is theoretically analyzed in this paper. Indirect evaporative cooler is used for sensible cooling of air which then is used for air conditioning purposes. Mathematical model was developed allowing determining heat transfer surface, outlet air temperature and specific humidity of the air being cooled. To make the model simpler some simplifications have been incorporated. The model has high level of correctness and can be used to calculate and design different types of evaporative heat exchangers. Analysis of results of calculations by the help of the developed model prove that the surface of heat exchanger depends on the thickness of water film layer by the regularity of direct proportionality. Moreover, increasing of the water film thickness brings to the decreasing of the efficiency of evaporative type heat exchanger. The model can be used for correct calculation and design of an evaporative cooling air conditioning systems.

Augmenting the Heat Sink for Better Heat Dissipation

Heat sinks were invented to absorb heat from an electronic circuit conduct, and then to dissipate or radiate this heat to the surrounding supposedly, ventilated space, at a rate equal to or faster than that of its buildup. Ventilation was not initially recognized as an essential factor to thermal dispersion. However, as electronic circuit-boards continued to heat up, circuit failure became a problem, forcing the inclusion of miniaturized high speed fans. Later, heat sinks with fins and quiet fans were incorporated in most manufactured circuits. Now heat sinks come in the form of a fan with fans made to function as fins to disperse heat. Heat sinks absorb and radiate excess heat from circuit-boards in order to prolong the circuit’s life span. The higher the thermal conductivity of the material used the more efficient and effective the heat sink is. This paper is an attempt to theoretically design a heat sink with a temperature gradient lower than that of the circuit board’s excess heat.

回热器对CO_(2)驻车空调系统制热性能影响的研究

为了提升驻车空调的制热性能,搭建了一套带回热器的跨临界CO_(2)驻车空调系统,在焓差室中实验研究了有无回热器时气冷器出口温度与排气压力对系统的性能影响。结果表明:在排气压力分别为8.5、9.0、9.5 MPa时,气冷器出口温度从20℃升高至35℃时,制热COP_(h)降低幅度分别为29.7%、19.9%、16.4%;系统使用回热器后最优排气压力下降,下降幅度分别为4.4%、6.1%,对应的最大COP_(h)增加幅度分别为3.2%、3.7%。通过曲面拟合得到了系统使用回热器时提升制热性能的排气压力与气冷器出口温度关联式,该式对回热器在跨临界CO_(2)驻车空调系统制热模式下的实际应用有一定指导意义。