Comparison on Thermal Conductivity and Permeability of Granular and Consolidated Activated Carbon for Refrigeration

This paper focuses on the development of three types of activated carbon (AC) adsorbents, i.e. granular AC, consolidated AC with chemical binder, and consolidated AC with expanded natural graphite (ENG). Their thermal conductivity was investigated with the steady-state heat source method and the permeability was tested with nitrogen as the gas source. Results show that the thermal conductivity of granular AC with different sizes al-most maintains a constant at 0.36 W·(m·K)-1, while the value modestly increases to 0.40 W·(m·K)-1 for the con-solidated AC with chemical binder. The consolidated AC with ENG at the density of 600 kg·m-3 shows the best heat transfer performance and their thermal conductivity vary from 2.08 W·(m·K)-1 to 2.61 W·(m·K)-1 according to its fraction of AC. However, the granular AC and consolidated AC with chemical binder show the better permeability performance than consolidated AC with ENG binder whose permeability changes from 6.98×10-13 m2 to 5.16×10-11 m2 and the maximum occurs when the content of AC reaches 71.4% (by mass). According to the different thermal properties, the refrigeration application of three types of adsorbents is analyzed.

Characteristics study on the oscillation onset and damping of a traveling-wave thermoacoustic prime mover

This paper focuses on the temperature and pressure characteristics of a Swift-Backhaus type traveling-wave thermoacoustic prime mover during its onset and damping processes,in order to understand the intrinsic mechanism of thermoacoustic oscillation onset and the feasibility of using low-grade thermal energy based on a low onset temperature. The influences of heat input and filling pressure on hysteretic loop,due to the noncoincidence between onset and damping processes,are measured and analyzed. The condition for the occurrence of hysteresis is also briefly discussed.

Effects of PAA and PBTCA on CaCO_3 Scaling in Pool Boiling System

Formation of mineral scales on heat exchangers is a persistent and expensive problem. In the presentpaper, the calcium carbonate scale inhibition by two inhibitors, polyacrylic acid (PAA) and 2-phosphonobutane-1,2,4-tricarboxylic acid (PBTCA) has been studied in a pool boiling system. It is found that PBTCA has abetter inhibition effect than PAA under the identical conditions. X-ray diffraction(XRD) and Fourier transform-infrared(FTIR) analyses demonstrate that the content of vaterite increases as inhibition effects increase. Themetastable crystal forms of vaterite and aragonite are stabilized kinetically in the presence of inhibitors. Therelationship between the inhibition effect and the fractal dimension has also been investigated. The result showsthat the fractal dimension is higher in the presence of inhibitors. The better the inhibition effect, the higher thefractal dimension. The step morphology was observed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) images. It is shown thatthe step space on the calcium carbonate surface increases in the presence of inhibitors. Moreover, with the increaseof inhibition effect, both the step space and the fractal dimension increase. The step bunching is found on thecalcium carbonate by AFM. The better the inhibition effect of the inhibitor, the slower the step velocity in theunbunched location. As a result, the step space becomes wider in the presence of PBTCA than that in the presenceof PAA.

Experimental adsorption equilibrium study and comparison of zeolite with water and ethanol for cooling systems

Two adsorption refrigeration working pairs of zeolite with water and ethanol were studied and the parameters of Dubinin-Astakhov model were regressed using the experimental data of equilibrium. The coefficient of heterogeneity varied from 1.305 to 1.52 for the zeolite-water pair and from 1.73 to 2.128 for zeolite-ethanol pair. The maximum adsorption capacity varied from 0.315 to 0.34 for zeolite-water and 0.23 to 0.28 for zeolite-ethanol, respectively. The results showed that the zeolite-water pair is suitable for solar energy cooling not only because of the high latent heat of vaporization of water but also because of the better equilibrium performance. On the other hand, zeolite-ethanol gives a high adsorption capacity at high regeneration tem-perature, which means it can be used in heat engine systems like buses and cars.

Design and analysis of dual mixed refrigerant processes for high-ethane content natural gas liquefaction

Recovery and purification of ethane has a significant impact on economic benefit improvement of the high-ethane content natural gas.However,current LNG-NGL integrated processes mainly focus on conventional natural gas,which are not applicable to natural gas with high ethane content.To fill this gap,three dual mixed refrigerant processes are proposed for simulation study of high-ethane content natural gas liquefaction.The proposed processes are optimized by a combination method of sequence optimization and genetic algorithm.Comparatively analysis is conducted to evaluate the three processes from the energetic and exergetic points of view.The results show that the power consumption of Process 3 which compressing natural gas after distillation is the lowest.For safety or other considerations,some common compositions of the mixed refrigerant may need to be removed under certain circumstances.Considering this,case studies of mixed refrigerant involving six composition combinations are carried out to investigate the effects of refrigerant selection on the process performance.

Heat Transfer and Friction Characteristics of Wavy Fin with Hydrophilic Coating under Dehumidifying Conditions

An experimental study on the airside heat transfer and friction characteristics of seven hydrophilic-coated wavy finned tube heat exchangers is performed under dehumidifying conditions. The effects of fin pitch, number of tube rows and inlet air relative humidity on the airside characteristics are investigated. The airside heat transfer and friction characteristics are presented in the form of Colburn factor and friction factor, respectively. The test results indicate that the Colburn factor and friction factor increase with decreasing fin pitch. The Colburn factor of 2 tube row heat exchanger is higher than that of 3 row heat exchanger, while their friction factors are nearly equal. As the inlet relative humidity increases, the Colburn factor increases and the friction factor is almost unchanged. The airside heat transfer and friction correlations are proposed for the hydrophilic-coated wavy fin with mean deviations of 6.5% and 9.1%, respectively. They can be used to design or evaluate hydrophilic-coated wavy fin-and-tube heat exchangers.

Quick and Simple Spectrophotometric Method of Identification of the Thermal State of Meat on the Basis of Composition and Content of Free Nucleotides

At present, there is no method for identifying meat frozen in a thermal state acceptable for production control. The role of free nucleotides in the processes of refrigeration and storage of meat, affecting the structural and mechanical properties of muscle tissue, the formation of taste and its biological value is known. In this article we compared methods for identifying the thermal state of meat based on the determination of the composition and content of free nucleotides by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and spectrophotometry [SF]. High-purity reference substances were used: free nucleotides—ATP, ADP, AMP, IMP and nucleosides-inosine and hypoxanthine. It has been experimentally established that the characteristic peaks of the absorption spectra for extracts of free nucleotides of meat frozen depended from thermal state of meat. The content of ATP is 21.8 times higher in meat frozen in a fresh state, and the amount of IMF is 12.3 times lower than in meat frozen after cooling. The results of studies of meat frozen using the HPLC method and the developed SF method show the adequacy of the data obtained by both methods. SF-method based on the determination of the optical density of the extracts of free nucleotides is recommended to justify the choice of technological process meat defrost modes.

Three-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling of Two-phase Flow in a Structured Packing Column

Characterizing the complex two-phase hydrodynamics in structured packed columns requires a powerful modeling tool.The traditional two-dimensional model exhibits limitations when one attempts to model the detailed two-phase flow inside the columns.The present paper presents a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics(CFD) model to simulate the two-phase flow in a representative unit of the column.The unit consists of an entire corrugation channel and describes well the real liquid flow conditions.The detailed unsteady two-phase 3D CFD calculations on column packed with Flexipak 1Y were implemented within the volume of fluid(VOF) mathematical framework.The CFD model was validated by comparing the calculated thickness of liquid film with the available experimental data.Special attention was given to quantitative analysis of the effects of gravity on the hydrodynamics.Fluctuations in the liquid mass flow rate and the calculated pressure drop loss were found to be qualitatively in agreement with the experimental observations.

VISUAL OBSERBATION OF HCFC141b GAS HYDRATE FORMATION/DECOMPOSITION PROCESS OUTSIDE OF A TUBE

In order to design a kind of heat exchanger suitable to the indirect-touched gas hydrate cool storage vessel, a visual observation of HCFC141b gas hydrate formation/decomposition process was presented through a self-designed small-scale visualization apparatus of gas hydrate cool storage. Based on the shooted photos and recorded temperatures, the formation/decomposition process of HCFC141b are described, some characteristics are concluded, and some suggestions of designing heat exchanger are indicated according to the specific characteristics of HCFC141b gas hydrate formation/decomposition process.

Characteristics of physical blocking on co-occupant's exposure to respiratory droplet residuals

Existed evidences show that airborne transmission of human respiratory droplets may be related with the spread of some infectious disease,such as severe acute respiratory syndrome(SARS) and H1N1 pandemic.Non-pharmaceutical approaches,including ventilation system and personal protection,are believed to have certain positive effects on the reduction of co-occupant's inhalation.This work then aims to numerically study the performances of mouth covering on co-occupant's exposure under mixing ventilation(MV),under-floor air distribution(UFAD) and displacement ventilation(DV) system,using drift-flux model.Desk partition,as one generally employed arrangement in plan office,is also investigated under MV.The dispersion of 1,5 and 10 μm droplet residuals are numerically calculated and CO2 is used to represent tracer gas.The results show that using mouth covering by the infected person can reduce the co-occupant's inhalation greatly by interrupting direct spread of the expelled droplets,and best performance can be achieved under DV since the coughed air is mainly confined in the microenvironment of the infected person.The researches under MV show that the two interventions,mouth covering and desk partition,achieve almost the same inhalation for fine droplets while the inhalation of the co-occupant is lower when using mouth covering for large droplets.

Bubble counter based on photoelectric technique for leakage detection of cryogenic valves

In order to overcome the inconvenience of manual bubble counting, a bubble counter based on photoelectric technique aiming for automatically detecting and measuring minute gas leakage of cryogenic valves is proposed. Experiments have been conducted on a self-built apparatus, testing the performance with different gas inlet strategies (bottom gas-inlet strategy and side gas-inlet strategy) and the influence of gas pipe length (0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 m) and leakage rate (around 10, 20, 30, 40 bubbles/min) on first bubble time and bubble rate. A buffer of 110 cm3 is inserted between leakage source and gas pipe to simulate the down- stream cavum adjacent to the valve clack. Based on analyzing the experimental data, experiential parameters have also been summarized to guide leakage detection and measurement for engineering applications. A practical system has already been suc- cessfully applied in a cryogenic testing apparatus for cryogenic valves.

Entropy Analyses of Droplet Combustion in Convective Environment with Small Reynolds Number

This paper analyzes the entropy generation rate of simple pure droplet combustion in a tempera-ture-elevated air convective environment based on the solutions of flow, and heat and mass transfer between the two phases. The flow-field calculations are carried out by solving the respective conservation equations for each phase, accounting for the droplet deformation with the axisymmetric model. The effects of the temperature, velocity and oxygen fraction of the free stream air on the total entropy generation rate in the process of the droplet combustion are investigated. Special attention is given to analyze the quantitative effects of droplet deformation. The results re-veal that the entropy generation rate due to chemical reaction occupies a large fraction of the total entropy generated, as a result of the large areas covered by the flame. Although, the magnitude of the entropy generation rate per volume due to heat transfer and combined mass and heat transfer has a magnitude of one order greater than that due to chemical reaction, they cover a very limited area, leading to a small fraction of the total entropy generated. The en-tropy generation rate due to mass transfer is negligible. High temperature and high velocity of the free stream are advantageous to increase the exergy efficiency in the range of small Reynolds number (<1) from the viewpoint of the second-law analysis over the droplet lifetime. The effect of droplet deformation on the total entropy generation is the modest.

Hydrogenation reaction characteristics and properties of its hydrides for magnetic regenerative material HoCu_2

The hydrogenation reaction characteristics and the properties of its hydrides for the magnetic regenerative material HoCu_2(CeCu_2-type) of a cryocooler were investigated. The XRD testing reveals that the hydrides of HoCu_2 were a mixture of Cu, unknown hydride Ⅰ, and unknown hydride Ⅱ. Based on the PCT(pressure-concentration-temperature) curves under different reaction temperatures, the relationships among reaction temperature, equilibrium pressure, and maximum hydrogen absorption capacity were analyzed and discussed. The enthalpy change ΔH and entropy change ΔS as a result of the whole hydrogenation process were also calculated from the PCT curves. The magnetization and volumetric specific heat capacity of the hydride were also measured by SQUID magnetometer and PPMS, respectively.

Investigation on the temperature distribution and strength of flat steel ribbon wound cryogenic high-pressure vessel

By analyzing heat transfer on the wall of flat steel ribbon wound vessel (FSRWV), a numerical model of temperature distribution on the entire wall (including inner core wall, flat steel ribbons, outside cylinder of jacket and insulating layer) was established by the authors. With the model, the temperature distribution and the length change in the vessel walls and flat steel ribbons in low temperature are calculated and analyzed. The results show that the flat steel ribbon wound cryogenic high-pressure vessel is simpler in structure, safer and easier to manufacture than those of conventional ones.

Modeling and Simulation of Skid-mounted LNG Plants Using HYSYS Software

This study presents three kinds of skid-mounted plants, including single mixed refrigerant cycle (MRC), nitrogen expander cycle, and natural gas (NG) Claude cycle. Hysys simulation shows that single MRC is the most efficient cycle among the three. The specific power of single MRC liquefiers is 1485 kJ/kg, 15% higher than that of large liquefaction process. Considering the recovery of stranded-gas, commercial analysis suggests that the initial cost of LNG plants ranging from 1 to 100 m3 /day can be paid back in 2 to 4 years.

Application of an Artificial Neural Network Method for the Prediction of the Tube-Side Fouling Resistance in a Shell-And-Tube Heat Exchanger

The accumulation of undesirable deposits on the heat exchange surface represents a critical issue in industrial heat exchangers.Taking experimental measurements of the fouling is relatively difficult and,often,this method does not lead to precise results.To overcome these problems,in the present study,a new approach based on an Artificial Neural Network(ANN)is used to predict the fouling resistance as a function of specific measurable variables in the phosphoric acid concentration process.These include:the phosphoric acid inlet and outlet temperatures,the steam temperature,the phosphoric acid density,the phosphoric acid volume flow rate circulating in the loop.Some statistical accuracy indices are employed simultaneously to justify the interrelation between these independent variables and the fouling resistance and to select the best training algorithm allowing the determination of the optimal number of hidden neurons.In particular,the BFGS quasi-Newton back-propagation approach is found to be the most performing of the considered training algorithms.Furthermore,the best topology ANN for the shell and tube heat exchanger is obtained with a network consisting of one hidden layer with 13 neurons using a tangent sigmoid transfer function for the hidden and output layers.This model predicts the experimental values of the fouling resistance with AARD%=0.065,MSE=2.168×10^(−11),RMSE=4.656×10^(−6)and r^(2)=0.994.

Influence of input acoustic power on regenerator's performance

Performance of a pulse tube cooler significantly depends on the efficient operation of its regenerator. Influence of input acoustic power on regenerator's performance is simulated and analyzed with simple harmonic analysis method. Given regenera-tor's dimensions and pressure ratio,there is an optimal input acoustic power for achieving a highest coefficient of performance,due to a compromise between relative time-averaged total energy flux in regenerator and relative acoustic power at regenerator's cold end. Additionally,optimal dimensions of regenerator are also estimated and presented for different input acoustic powers. The computed optimal diameter obviously increases with increase of input acoustic power,while the optimal length decreases slightly,and as a result,a larger input acoustic power requires a smaller aspect ratio (length over diameter).

Impact of load impedance on the performance of a thermoacoustic system employing acoustic pressure amplifier

An acoustic pressure amplifier (APA) is capable of improving the match between a thermoacoustic engine and a load by elevating pressure ratio and acoustic power output. A standing-wave thermoacoustic engine driving a resistance- and-compliance (RC) load through an APA was simulated with linear thermoacoustics to study the impact of load impedance on the performance of the thermoacoustic system. Based on the simulation results, analysis focuses on the distribution of pressure amplitude and velocity amplitude in APA with an RC load of diverse acoustic resistances and compliance impedances. Variation of operating parameters, including pressure ratio, acoustic power, hot end temperature of stack, etc., versus impedance of the RC load is presented and analyzed according to the abovementioned distribution. A verifying experiment has been performed, which indicates that the simulation can roughly predict the system operation in the fundamental-frequency mode.

Computational fluid dynamic simulation of an inter-phasing pulse tube cooler

An inter-phasing pulse tube cooler (IPPTC) consists of two pulse tube units, which are connected to each other at hot ends of the pulse tubes through a needle valve. This paper presents the computational fluid dynamic (CFD) results of an IPPTC using a 2D axis-symmetrical model. General results such as the phase difference between pressure and velocity at cold end and hot end, the temperature profiles along the wall, the available lowest temperature as well as its oscillations and the coefficient of performance (COP) for IPPTC are presented. The formation of DC flow and its effects on the performance of the cooler are investigated and analyzed in detail. Turbulence, which is partially responsible for the poor overall performance of a single orifice pulse tube cooler (OPTC), is found to be much reduced in IPPTC and its performance is improved significantly compared with the single OPTC.

Temperature rise of He Ⅱ forced flow and its negative Joule-Thomson effect

The temperature rise of He Ⅱ transfer system due to the negative Joule-Thomson(JT)effect is one of the major problems in the He Ⅱ forced flow system design.Negative Joule-Thomson effect of the He Ⅱ forced flow was analyzed and calculated in this paper.The temperature rise due to the heat leak along the transfer pipeline was calculated by the simplified equation and was modified by considering the negative Joule-Thomson effect.The modified results were compared with the temperature rise obtained by non-linear differential equations with consideration of the pressure gradient.The results show that the pressure gradient has strong effect on the temperature distribution.The modified results are in good agreement with the values calculated by the complicated equation,which verifies the effectiveness of the simplified equation in calculating the temperature rise when the negative JT effect of He Ⅱ is known.