Oscillating flow behavior of a natural circulation loop using minichannels at atmospheric pressure

Natural circulation loops at the macroscale have been widely applied in the passive cooling of nuclear power plant. However, little has been done on the miniaturized natural circulation loop for electronic cooling. The present study is to develop a miniaturized natural circulation loop consisting of an evaporator, a condenser, a riser (vapor line) and a downcomer (liquid line). Heat is dissipated from the heated chip to the evaporator, and transferred to the condenser by the air natural convection. The working fluid is selected as methanol. It is demonstrated that the system can dissipate the heating power up to 80 W with the temperatures of a simulated heated chip less than 73 °C. With the heating power varying from 10 to 80 W, the loop operates from the oscillating liquid flow to the periodic liquid/two-phase alternate flow. The thermal oscillatings of the simulated heating chip are always random. However, the inlet/outlet fluid temperatures and pressures display periodic oscillating behavior. A single full cycle is identified by the parameter traces and the simple flow visualizations by the naked eye to have three stages: liquid flow stage, sensible heat receiving stage, boiling two-phase discharging stage. These have clear switch points. The oscillating time period can be as long as 57 s at the heating power of 30 W, and is sharply decreased with increasing heating power. It is also shown that the mean wall temperatures only slightly increase with the increasing heating power, providing the better performance of the present natural circulation loop using minichannels at atmospheric pressure.     

Countercurrent water-heating system with a heat exchanger in a solar energy collector loop

The counter current heat exchanger theory with periodic inlet temperatures has been applied to analyze the thermal performance of a water heating system. The theoretical results obtained are in agreement with the experimental data reported in the literature.     

有限热源影响下VM循环热泵的热力学分析

对于低温余热,VM循环热泵是一种高效节能的利用途径.文中采用有限时间热力学方法,推导了基于牛顿线性导热定律的内可逆VM循环热泵泵热率的表达式.分析表明:采用VM循环热泵用于地板辐射采暖时,随着有限高温热源的入口温度和有限低温热源进口温度的增加,泵热率将增大;而随着有限高温热源的出口温度和有限低温热源出口温度的增加,泵热率将减小.并且低温有限热源温度的变化对泵热率的影响远大于高温有限热源温度的变化.     

Regeneration characteristics of desiccant rotor with microwave and hot-air heating

Microwave heating, because of its advantages of direct and rapid heating of materials, has the potential to be employed as a novel regeneration method of desiccant rotors in humidity conditioners. We proposed a combined regeneration process, which combines microwave heating and conventional hot-air heating. The system is expected to achieve high heating rate during an initial regeneration period by assisting water desorption using the additional energy of the microwave. In this study, the regeneration characteristics of a desiccant rotor were experimentally investigated under conditions of microwave heating, hot-air heating, and combined heating at various microwave powers and hot-air temperatures. The effectiveness of the combined regeneration was evaluated in terms of the regeneration ratio, the initial regeneration rate, the temperature distribution in the rotor, and finally in terms of the energy consumption. It was demonstrated that combined heating was effective at leveling non-uniform temperature distribution in the rotor. Combined heating achieved higher ratios and initial rates in regeneration compared to just microwave and hot-air heating. This result was obviously attributed to the additional input of microwave energy, resulting that average rotor temperature increased by microwave absorption of rotor. Moreover, it was also effective for enhancement of regeneration to level the temperature distribution in the rotor by combination of two heating methods with different heating mechanisms. Both the initial regeneration rate and the equilibrium regeneration ratio for combined heating were found to increase as the microwave power increased. A linear relationship was observed with respect to microwave power. From the viewpoint of energy consumption, it may be possible to apply combined and microwave heating to humidity control systems that switch between adsorption and regeneration in short cycle times, if the conversion and absorption efficiencies of the microwave are significantly improved.     

Optimal centralized integrated energy station site approach based on energy transmission loss analysis

Centralized integrated energy station, which combines electrical power, gas, and heat supplying source together, is emerging with the development of an integrated energy system. In the previous works, the site optimization approaches of energy stations were developed for electrical power and gas sources. In these approaches, the candidate sites only include user nodes. However, with the development of the integrated energy system, the previous approach cannot be applied effectively for the system containing heating networks with high energy transmission loss. The energy transmission loss must be calculated accurately in the optimization approach rather than valued by the simple linear model. This paper aims to propose an optimal site approach of a centralized integrated energy station, in which all possible candidates of energy station sites are considered. The candidates can be any point in the whole energy supplying area. The analysis of energy transmission losses, based on nodal energy flow models, in pipelines and feeders, are incorporated. The simultaneous optimization of the station site and energy distribution networks is conducted. It is found that the energy transmission loss is significant in heating networks; therefore, network optimization should be carried out considering exact energy transmission loss. The optimal station site obtained in the present work has reduced 2.3% of the life cycle cost much more than that obtained from the previous method selecting a site from the user node. A noticeable reduction in life cycle cost, 2.6%, can also be achieved when using the proposed approach for a single energy source station. Moreover, for integrated energy systems, it is found that the adoption of the centralized integrated energy stations is more competitive comparing with the adoption of the single energy source station.     

Investigation of thermal performance of a ground coupled heat pump system with a cylindrical energy storage tank

An analytical and computational model for a solar assisted heat pump heating system with an underground seasonal cylindrical storage tank is developed. The heating system consists of flat plate solar collectors, an underground cylindrical storage tank, a heat pump and a house to be heated during winter season. Analytical solution of transient field problem outside the storage tank is obtained by the application of complex finite Fourier transform and finite integral transform techniques. Three expressions for the heat pump, space heat requirement during the winter season and available solar energy are coupled with the solution of the transient temperature field problem. The analytical solution presented can be utilized to determine the annual variation of water temperature in the cylindrical store, transient earth temperature field surrounding the store and annual periodic performance of the heating system. A computer simulation program is developed to evaluate the annual periodic water and earth temperatures and system performance parameters based on the analytical solution. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Geothermal space heating

The use of geothermal resources for space heating dominates the direct use industry, with approximately 37% of all direct use development. Of this, 75% is provided by district heating systems. In fact, the earliest known commercial use of geothermal energy was in Chaudes-Aigues Cantal, France, where a district heating system was built in the 14th century. Today, geothermal district space heating projects can be found in 12 countries and provide some 44,772 TJ of energy yearly. Although temperatures in excess of 50 °C are generally required, resources as low as 40 °C can be used in certain circumstances, and, if geothermal heat pumps are included, space heating can be a viable alternative to other forms of heating at temperatures well below 10 °C.     

Theoretical analysis of ammonia-water absorption cycles for refrigeration and space conditioning systems

This paper presents an investigation of an ammonia-water absorption cycle for solar refrigeration, airconditioning and heat pump operations at higher heat supply temperatures. The system consists of a solar driven generator, rectifier, condenser, evaporator, absorber and heat exchangers for preheating and subcooling within the system. A steady state thermodynamic cycle analysis based on mass and heat balances along with the state equations for the thermodynamic properties of the ammonia-water mixture has been carried out. A numerical computer simulation of the system with input component temperatures, refrigerant concentration/mass flow rate and effectiveness of the heat exchangers has been made to evaluate the relative heat transfer rates (i.e. coefficients of performance) and the mass flow rates for the cooling/heating modes. It is found that unlike the low generator temperature behaviour the coefficients of performance for both cooling and heating modes are reduced at higher generator temperatures. However, an increase of condenser temperature for each mode of operation improves the performance of the systems at higher generator temperatures. A choice for keeping the absorber temperature equal to/lower than that of the condenser is also predicted at lower/higher generator temperatures, respectively. In general the results are more pronounced for the refrigeration mode than for the heat pump mode and are least effective for the airconditioning mode.     

A hybrid lithium‐ion battery model for system‐level analyses

We describe an advanced lithium‐ion battery model for system‐level analyses such as electric vehicle fleet simulation or distributed energy storage applications. The model combines an empirical multi‐parameter model and an artificial neural network with particular emphasis on thermal effects such as battery internal heating. The model is fast and can accurately describe constant current charging and discharging of a battery cell at a variety of ambient temperatures. Comparison to a commonly used linear kilowatt‐hour counter battery model indicates that a linear model overestimates the usable capacity of a battery at low temperatures. We highlight the importance of including internal heating in a battery model at low temperatures, as more capacity is available when internal heating is taken into account. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of unequal finite piston speeds on the optimal performances of endoreversible Carnot refrigeration and heat pump cycles

The performances of endoreversible Carnot refrigeration and heat pump cycles with loss of heat resistance and finite piston speeds are analysed and optimized by using the combination of finite time thermodynamics, finite speed thermodynamics and direct method. The unequal finite piston speed model on four branches is adopted. Expressions of cooling load of endoreversible Carnot refrigeration cycle and of heating load of endoreversible Carnot heat pump cycle are derived with a fixed cycle period and unequal finite piston speeds on the four branches. Numerical examples show that there exist optimal expansion ratios, which lead to maximum cooling load and maximum heating load for the fixed coefficient of performance (COP), respectively. The maximum cooling load, maximum heating load, optimal ratios of finite piston speeds and optimal hot- and cold-side working fluid temperatures versus COP characteristics for the endoreversible Carnot refrigeration and heat pump cycles are obtained. Moreover, the effects of design parameters on the performances of the two cycles are discussed.     

CO2跨临界循环地源热泵的研究

给出了CO2跨临界循环地源热泵的系统流程，并在考虑输气系数和绝热效率的基础上，与R22和R134a等进行了循环性能比较。结果表明，用于需要较高供水温度的空调系统或热水供应系统时，CO2可具有和常规工质相当的性能。同时对于一特定的CO2地源热泵，分析了在热水流量和热水温度变化时的运行特性，并讨论了CO2地源热泵容量调节的方法。     

A concept for an innovative high-temperature heat pump

Concepts for an innovative high-temperature heat pump are described. The preferred concept is a high-temperature analog to the familiar vapor-compression cycle. This concept is innovative in that a solid-state component, beta-alumina solid electrolyte (or BASE), is used to perform the compression function. It promises to be reliable and efficient at the high temperatures required for many applications in the chemical process industries. Economic viability depends on the relative costs of electric power to energize the BASE compressor compared with conventional fuels for direct heating, but the BASE heat pump could be an attractive alternative.     

Limiting performance of vapour compression heat pumps for heating fluids

When a vapour compression heat pump is used to heat a fluid over a range of temperatures the refrigerant cycle may be fundamentally different from a standard Rankine cycle which operates only between isothermal reservoirs. This paper considers two strategies for heating fluids: in one approach the fluid is heated in a single pass condenser; in the other the body of fluid is kept fully mixed at all stages of the heating process. An isothermal source reservoir is assumed and the performance of nine common refrigerants is examined. In the ideal limit the mixed fluid process has a higher COP than the single pass method. But in practice there is likely to be no clear advantage in using a fully mixed sink fluid, especially where the temperature lift is greater than 50°C. The single pass heating process has an advantage under these conditions that lower peak condensing temperatures may generally be achieved than for the mixed fluid heating process.     

Experimental analysis of a transfer function for an air cooled evaporator

A transfer function to model a direct expansion air cooled evaporator, inserted in a vapor compression refrigeration plant, is deduced by means of experimental analysis. For inlet air temperatures onto the evaporator and refrigerant mass flow rate variable in appropriate ranges, the evaporator dynamic behavior is simulated by a linear model with delay. The results of transfer function are compared with experimental data, obtained by applying both step inputs and periodic changes to the refrigerant mass flow rate. The influence of the hunting, typical of a thermostatic expansion valve, is also estimated experimentally and then validated by the transfer function, obtaining a good agreement. These results could be applied to obtain a control algorithm for the refrigerant mass flow rate feeding the evaporator, by varying the speed of the compressor motor.     

Solar-assisted absorption heat pumps feasibility

An absorption system can be used for space cooling as well as for space heating. This dual purpose may be achieved by using the system as heat pump in wintertime. Absorption heat pump heating may be an interesting alternative, particularly for countries where there is a shortage of electric power.When an absorption unit is used as heat pump, its mode of operation is not modified: the internal temperatures of the cycle are only raised. Commercially available LiBr units were tested as heat pumps. COP and heating capacity were considered as a function of cold source temperature for different temperatures of the useful heat. The COP arrived at 1.7, which must be considered a high value for a thermally driven heat pump.Simulations were carried out in order to compare the performance of “conventional” solar, solar assisted heat pump and the combined series system under two different climate conditions. The series system showed performance 25–75 per cent better than “conventional” solar alone.     

锅炉高温受热面蒸汽侧氧化膜在线监测技术研究

建立了高温受热面炉内壁温在线监测模型、氧化膜生长模型、氧化膜应力在线监测计算模型和氧化膜脱落评估模型等.在此基础上,开发了锅炉高温受热面蒸汽侧氧化膜管理系统,并利用该系统对某600MW超临界锅炉高温受热面炉内管壁温度和蒸汽侧氧化膜厚度及应力状态进行实时计算与分析.结果表明:利用该系统可以减小沿烟道宽度方向的热偏差,有效降低偏差屏的炉内温度,减缓管内氧化膜生成速率;通过对温度变化速率、氧化膜应力状态的实时监测,可以积极预防氧化膜的脱落和堆积.     

燃气-蒸汽联合循环电厂燃料加热性能及优化

市场对清洁能源的高效提出更高的要求,最新的F级和H级的燃气-蒸汽联合循环效率已经达到60%以上,燃料加热作为性能优化的措施已经广泛应用于所有F级和H级联合循环电厂。本文总结了燃料加热的典型系统设计,比较了市场上主要的燃料加热系统配置,并推导了燃料加热的热力学过程,最后以9HA机组为例,分析了不同燃料加热温度下的系统设计及其对性能的影响,从而为燃气-蒸汽联合循环电厂设计和技术改进提供参考。     

Economic evaluation and optimization of solar heating systems

A procedure is developed for assessing the economic viability of a solar heating system in terms of the life cycle savings of a solar heating system over a conventional heating system. The life cycle savings is expressed in a generalized formby introducing two economic parameters, P₁ and P₂, which relate all life cycle cost considerations to the first year fuel cost or the initial solar system investment cost. Using the generalized life cycle savings equation, a method is developed for calculating the solar heating system design which maximizes the life cycle savings. A similar method is developed for determining the set of economic conditions at which the optimal solar heating system design is just competitive with the conventional heating system. The results of these optimization methods can be presented in tabular or graphical form. The sensitivity of the economic evaluation and optimization calculations to uncertainties in constituent thermal and economic variables is also investigated.     

不可逆吸收式热泵循环的基本优化关系及性能分析

在恒温热源内可逆四热源吸收式热泵循环的基础上，建立了线性(牛顿)传热定律下考虑泵热空间到环境热源的热漏、工质的内部耗散以及工质与外部热源间的热阻损失的不可逆吸收式热泵循环模型。导出了总换热面积一定的条件下循环的泵热率和泵热系数的基本优化关系、最大泵热率和相应的泵热系数、最大泵热系数和相应的泵热率、以及循环中最佳工质工作温度和最佳换热面积分配关系；并通过数值算例分析了循环参数对循环最优性能的影响规律。     

Energy and exergy analysis of fossil plant and heat pump building heating system at two different dead-state temperatures

In this paper, we deal with the energy and exergy analysis of a fossil plant and ground and air source heat pump building heating system at two different dead-state temperatures. A zone model of a building with natural ventilation is considered and heat is being supplied by condensing boiler. The same zone model is applied for heat pump building heating system. Since energy and exergy demand are key parameters to see which system is efficient at what reference temperature, we did a study on the influence of energy and exergy efficiencies. In this regard, a commercial software package IDA-ICE program is used for calculation of fossil plant heating system, however, there is no inbuilt simulation model for heat pumps in IDA-ICE, different COP (coefficient of performance) curves of the earlier studies of heat pumps are taken into account for the evaluation of the heat pump input and output energy. The outcome of the energy and exergy flow analysis at two different dead-state temperatures revealed that the ground source heat pumps with ambient reference have better performance against all ground reference systems as well as fossil plant (conventional system) and air source heat pumps with ambient reference.