The effect of heat transfer additive and surface roughness of micro-scale hatched tubes on absorption performance

The objectives of this paper are to investigate the effect of heat transfer additive and surface roughness of micro-scale hatched tubes on the absorption performance and to provide a guideline for the absorber design. Two different micro-scale hatched tubes and a bare tube are tested to quantify the effect of the surface roughness on the absorption performance. The roughness of the micro-scale hatched tubes ranges 0.39–6.97 μm. The working fluid is H₂O/LiBr solution with inlet concentration of 55, 58 and 61 wt.% of LiBr. Normal Octanol is used as the heat transfer additive with the concentration of 400 ppm. The absorber heat exchanger consists of 24 horizontal tubes in a column, liquid distributor at the liquid inlet and the liquid reservoir at the bottom of the absorber. The effect of heat transfer additive on the heat transfer rate is found to be more significant in the bare tube than that in the micro-scale hatched tubes. It is found that the absorption performance for the micro-hatched tube with heat transfer additive becomes up to 4.5 times higher than that for the bare tube without heat transfer additive. It is concluded that the heat transfer enhancement by the heat transfer additive is more significant than that by the micro-scale surface treatment.     

The effect of micro-scale surface treatment on heat and mass transfer performance for a falling film H2O/LiBr absorber

The objectives of this paper are to develop a new method of wettability measurement, to study the effect of micro-scale surface treatment on the wettability across horizontal tubes and to apply it for numerical analysis of heat and mass transfer in a H₂O/LiBr falling film absorber. Three types of tubes with roughness are tested in a test rig. Inlet solution temperature (30–50 °C), concentration (55–62 wt.% of LiBr) and mass flow rate (0.74–2.71 kg/min) are considered as key parameters. Reynolds number ranged from 30 to 120 by controlling the inlet mass flow rate. The wettability on the roughened tubes was higher than that for the smooth tubes. The wettability decreased linearly along the vertical location but was proportional to the solution temperature and mass flow rate. The experimental correlations of the wettability for the smooth and the roughened tubes were developed with error bands of ±20 and ±10%, respectively. These are used for the heat and mass transfer analysis of absorbers with micro-scale hatched tubes.     

Experimental verification of H2O/LiBr absorber bundle performance with smooth horizontal tubes

A model for absorption of water vapor into LiBr flowing over horizontal smooth tubes is developed to predict the absorption performance of a tube bundle. The performance of a horizontal smooth tube absorber is calculated and compared with experimental data. The calculation results of absorber performance are found to vary considerably depending on mass diffusivity. The literature value of mass diffusivity, of the order of 10⁻⁹ m² s⁻¹, causes the model to deviate from the experimental results especially for solution side heat transfer coefficient. A parametric study varying mass diffusivity shows that a value of 1.0 × 10⁻¹⁰ m² s⁻¹ gives a better agreement with the experimental results. The effects of absorber capacity, heat transfer coefficient of droplets ejected from the system (slinging) and number of tubes in the bundle on the absorption performance are also discussed.     

A simple model for falling film absorption on vertical tubes in the presence of non-absorbables

Most water–lithium bromide (LiBr) absorption chillers have a purge system to remove non-absorbable gases that cause a reduction in cooling capacity. Generally, the non-absorbables are originated in corrosion/passivation processes inside the machine, but leaks can also be a source of concern. However, since leaks must be corrected immediately to avoid machine deterioration, this study is mostly aimed at the non-absorbables evolved during operation. This paper analyses the effect of inlet non-absorbable air concentration, outlet purge velocity, absorber pressure and cooling water temperature on the falling film absorption process inside a vertical tube absorber, based on a simple transport coefficient model. This model consists of three ordinary differential equations solved with as method for initial-value problem, and a set of auxiliary equations. The study shows that the effect of non-absorbables can be significant, and furthermore provides a quantitative framework to aid in purge design. The nominal working conditions in this study were a solution Reynolds number of 100, an absorber pressure of 1.3 kPa, a cooling water temperature of 35 °C and an inlet solution concentration of 62% LiBr by weight. The results indicate that a minimum vapour velocity is required to sweep the non-absorbables along the absorber towards the purge, thus preventing reduced absorption fluxes. At a cooling water temperature of 35 °C, an inlet air concentration of 20% (by mole) resulted in a 61% reduction in mass absorption flux.     

Experimental correlation of combined heat and mass transfer for NH3–H2O falling film absorptionCorrélation expérimentale entre le transfert de chaleur et de masse pour de l'absorption au NH3–H2O à film tombant

In this article, experimental analysis was performed for ammonia–water falling film absorption process in a plate heat exchanger with enhanced surfaces such as offset strip fin. This article examined the effects of liquid and vapor flow characteristics, inlet subcooling of the liquid flow and inlet concentration difference on heat and mass transfer performance. The inlet liquid concentration was selected as 5%, 10% and 15% of ammonia by mass while the inlet vapor concentration was varied from 64.7% to 79.7%. It was found that before absorption started, there was a rectification process at the top of the test section by the inlet subcooling effect. Water desorption phenomenon was found near the bottom of the test section. It was found that the lower inlet liquid temperature and the higher inlet vapor temperature, the higher Nusselt and Sherwood numbers are obtained. Nusselt and Sherwood number correlations were developed as functions of falling film Reynolds Re₁, vapor Reynolds number Re_v, inlet subcooling and inlet concentration difference with ±15% and ±20% error bands, respectively.     

Experimental studies on the characteristics of an absorber using LiBr/H2O solution as working fluidEtudes expérimentales sur les caractéristiques d'un absorbeur utilisant comme fluide actif le LiBr/H2O

The absorber is an important component in absorption machines and its characteristics have significant effect on the overall efficiency of absorption machines. This article reports on the results of experimental studies on the characteristics for a falling film absorber which is made up of 24 row horizontal smooth tubes. It shows that while the mass transfer coefficient is increased with the increase of spray density, the heat transfer coefficient is increased only in small spray density range. There is an optimum spray density between 0.005 and 0.055 kg s⁻¹ m⁻¹ spray density at which the heat transfer coefficient is maximum. The heat transfer coefficient (Nusselt number), which is traditionally expressed using Reynolds number and Prandtl number, was modified taking the effect of inlet solution concentration into account. The results can be used to optimize the future design of absorption machines having a falling film absorber and using LiBr/H₂O as working fluid.

Abstract

L'absorbeur est un composant important des systèmes à absorption et ses caractéristiques exercent des effets significatifs sur l'efficacité des machines à absorption. Cet article présent des résultats obtenus dans des études expérimentales sur les caracteristiques d'un absorbeur à film tombant composé d'une rangée de 24 tubes lisses horizontaux. Les auteurs montrent que le coefficient de transfert de masse augmente avec la densité de pulvérisation, le coefficient de transfert de chaleur augmente uniquement dans la gamme des densités de pulvérisation faibles. Il existe une densité de pulvérisation optimale (0,005–0,055 kg s⁻¹ m⁻¹) pour laquelle le coefficient de transfert de chaleur est maximal. Le coefficient de transfert de chaleur (nombre de Nusselt), qui est généralement exprimé en utilisant le nombre de Reynolds et le nombre de Prandtl, a été modifié en tenant compte l'effet de la concentration de la solution à l'entrée. A l'avenir, les résultats peuvent être utilisés pour optimiser la conception des systèmes à absorption à absorbeur à film tombant utilisant le LiBr/H₂O comme fluide actif.     

Visualization of bubble behavior and bubble diameter correlation for NH3–H2O bubble absorption

The objectives of this paper are to visualize the bubble behavior for an ammonia–water absorption process, and to study the effect of key parameters on ammonia–water bubble absorption performance. The orifice diameter, orifice number, liquid concentration and vapor velocity are considered as the key parameters. The departing bubbles tend to be spherical for surface tension dominant flow, and the bubbles tend to be hemispherical for inertial force dominant flow. A transition vapor Reynolds number is observed at a balance condition of internal absorption potential (by the concentration difference) and external absorption potential (by the vapor inlet mass flow rate). As the liquid concentration increases, the transition Reynolds number and the initial bubble diameter increase. The initial bubble diameter increases with an increase of the orifice diameter while it is not significantly affected by the number of orifices. Residence time of bubbles increases with an increase in the initial bubble diameter and the liquid concentration. This study presents a correlation of initial bubble diameter with ±20% error band. The correlation can be used to calculate the interfacial area in the design of ammonia-water bubble absorber.     

Development of a slug flow absorber working with ammonia-water mixture: part I—flow characterization and experimental investigation

This study deals with an experimental investigation for a counter-current slug flow absorber, working with ammonia–water mixture, for significantly low solution flow rate conditions that are required for operating as the GAX (generator absorber heat exchanger) cycle. It is confirmed that the slug flow absorber operates well at the low solution flow rate conditions. From visualization results of the flow pattern, frost flow just after the gas inlet, followed by slug flow with well-shaped Taylor bubble, is observed, while dry patch on the tube wall are not observed. The liquid film at the slug flow region has smooth gas–liquid interface structure without apparent wavy motion. The local heat transfer rate is measured by varying main parameters, namely, ammonia gas flow rate, solution flow rate, ammonia concentration of inlet solution and coolant inlet conditions. The heat transfer rate while absorption is taking place is higher than that after absorption has ended. The absorption length is greatly influenced by varying main parameters, due to flow conditions and thermal conditions.     

Vapor absorption by LiBr aqueous solution in vertical smooth tubes

Heat and mass transfer in a falling film vertical in-tube absorber was studied experimentally with LiBr aqueous solution. The presented results include the effect of solution flow rate, solution subcooling and cooling water temperature on the absorption in a smooth copper tube 16.05 mm I.D. and 400 mm long. The experimental data in the previous report for a 1200-mm-long tube was also re-examined and compared. It was demonstrated by the observation of the flow in the tube that the break down of the liquid film into rivulets leads to deterioration of heat and mass transfer at lower film Reynolds number or in longer tubes. An attempt to evaluate physically acceptable heat and mass transfer coefficients that are defined with estimated temperature and concentration at the vapor–liquid interface was also presented.     

Model for absorption of water vapor into aqueous LiBr flowing over a horizontal smooth tube

A model for absorption of water vapor into aqueous LiBr flowing over a horizontal smooth tube is developed. The flow is divided into three regimes: (1) falling film in contact with the tube, (2) drop formation at the bottom of the tube, and (3) drop fall between the tubes. Governing equations are formulated for each flow regime, and the variations of solution temperature, LiBr mass fraction, mass absorption rate and heat transfer rate are discussed including the effect of inlet subcooling. It is shown that the temperature variation across the film exhibits a nonlinear profile near the top of the tube and this effect leads to the necessity of a two-dimensional formulation in the falling film regime for accurate prediction. As has been observed previously, the mass fraction boundary layer at the vapor/liquid interface is found to be very thin and this explains the low absorption flux. The model predicts that significant absorption takes place in the drop formation regime with a considerable variation of temperature and mass fraction.     

Experimental researches on characteristics of vapor–liquid equilibrium of NH3–H2O–LiBr system

An improved system of NH₃–H₂O–LiBr was proposed for overcoming the drawback of NH₃–H₂O absorption refrigeration system. The LiBr was added to NH₃–H₂O system anticipating a decrease in the content of water in the NH₃–H₂O–LiBr system. An equilibrium cell was used to measure thermal property of the ternary NH₃–H₂O–LiBr mixtures. The pressure–temperature data for their vapor–liquid equilibrium (VLE) data were measured at ten temperature points between 15–85 °C, and pressures up to 2 MPa. The LiBr concentration of the solution was chosen in the range of 5–60% of mass ratio of LiBr in pure water. The VLE for the NH₃–H₂O–LiBr ternary solution was measured statically. The experimental results show that the equilibrium pressures reduced by 30–50%, and the amount of component of water in the gas phase reduced greatly to 2.5% at T=70 °C. The experimental results predicted much better characteristics of the new ternary system than the NH₃–H₂O system for the applications.     

Modelling of the heat exchangers of a small capacity, hot water driven, air-cooled H2O–LiBr absorption cooling machine

General models for the design of the heat exchangers (absorber, generator, condenser and evaporator) of a prototype of an air-cooled absorption chiller of 2 kW for air-conditioning using the pair H₂O–LiBr have been developed. An absorption machine of such characteristics has been constructed to be used as a test facility for validating the results obtained from the mathematical models developed. The discrepancies considering the heat exchanged between numerical results and experimental data are under 15% in most cases for all these components except the condenser, where the discrepancies are higher. The conclusions reported will lead to: (i) future improvements of the mathematical simulation models and (ii) improvements in the experimental infrastructure.     

Experimental correlation of falling film condensation on enhanced tubes with HFC134a; low-fin and Turbo-C tubes

The objectives of this paper are to develop experimental correlations of heat transfer for enhanced tubes used in a falling film condenser, and to provide a guideline for optimum design of the falling film condenser with a high condensing temperature of 59.8 °C. Tests are performed for four different enhanced tubes; a low-fin and three Turbo-C tubes. The working fluid is HFC134a, and the system pressure is 16.0 bar. The results show that the heat transfer enhancement of low-fin tube, Turbo-C (1), Turbo-C (2) and Turbo-C (3) ranges 2.8–3.4 times, 3.5–3.8 times, 3.8–4.0 times and 3.6–3.9 times, respectively, compared with the theoretical Nusselt correlation. It was found that the condensation heat transfer coefficient decreased with increasing the falling film Reynolds number and the wall subcooling temperature. It was also found that the enhanced tubes became more effective in the high wall subcooling temperature region than in the low wall subcooling temperature region. This study developed an experimental correlation of the falling film condensation with an error band of ±5%.     

Alternate heat and mass transfer absorption performances on staggered tube bundle with M–W corrugated mesh guider inserts

A new alternate absorption scheme of both horizontal tubular cooling absorption and mesh layer adiabatic absorption was investigated with longitudinal corrugated M–W mesh guiders inserted to the gaps of the staggered horizontal tube bundle, leading solution film flows from the lower edge of each tube to the upper edges of its lower position neighbouring tubes at both sides. The mirror symmetric M–W mesh guiders facilitate uniform distribution and dual-side exposing solution film to the vapour for adiabatic mass transfer. The VOF CFD models were established for vapour absorption with aqueous LiBr solution falling film on the alternate absorber and bare tube one. The distributions of liquid film, temperature and concentration of the solution and local heat transfer coefficient on the tube surfaces were demonstrated for both absorbers. The simulation results demonstrated that the average heat and mass transfer coefficients with the alternating absorber are respectively 33.4% and 55.4% higher than those of the bare tube one.     

Review of advanced absorption cycles: performance improvement and temperature lift enhancement

The objective of this study is to propose and evaluate advanced absorption cycles for the coefficient of performance (COP) improvement and temperature lift enhancement applications. The characteristics of each cycle are assessed from the viewpoints of the ideal cycle COP and its applications. The advanced cycles for the COP improvement are categorized according to their heat recovery method: condensation heat recovery, absorption heat recovery, and condensation/absorption heat recovery. In H₂O–LiBr systems, the number of effects and the number of stages can be improved by adding a third or a fourth component to the solution pairs. The performance of NH₃–H₂O systems can be improved by internal heat recovery due to their thermal characteristics such as temperature gliding. NH₃–H₂O cycles can be combined with adsorption cycles and power generation cycles for waste heat utilization, performance improvement, panel heating and low temperature applications. The H₂O–LiBr cycle is better from the high COP viewpoints for the evaporation temperature over 0°C while the NH₃–H₂O cycle is better from the viewpoint of low temperature applications. This study suggests that the cycle performance would be significantly improved by combining the advanced H₂O–LiBr and NH₃–H₂O cycles.     

Experimental study of turbulent single-phase flow and heat transfer inside a micro-finned tube

Single-phase heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of a commercially available internally micro-finned tube with a nominal outside diameter of 7.94 mm were studied. Experiments were conducted in a double pipe heat exchanger with water as the cooling as well as the heating fluid for six sets of runs. The pressure drop data were collected under isothermal conditions. Data were taken for turbulent flow with 3300 ≤ Re ≤ 22,500 and 2.9 ≤ Pr ≤ 4.7. The heat transfer data were correlated by a Dittus–Boelter type correlation, while the pressure drop data were correlated by a Blasius type correlation. The correlation predicted values for both the Nusselt number and the friction factors were compared with other studies. It was found that the Nusselt numbers obtained from the present correlation fall in the middle region between the Copetti et al. and the Gnielinski smooth tube correlation predicted Nusselt number values. For pressure drop results, the present correlation predicted friction factors values were nearly double that of the Blasius smooth tube correlation predicted friction factors. It was also found that the rough tube Gnielinski and Haaland correlations can be used as a good approximation to predict the finned tube Nusselt number and ffriction factor, respectively, in the tested Reynolds number range.     

A generalized correlation for the characteristics of adiabatic capillary tubes

The capillary tube is often served as an expansion device in small refrigeration and air-conditioning systems. In this paper, a generalized correlation for predicting the refrigerant mass flow rate through the adiabatic capillary tube is developed with approximate analytic solutions based on the extensive data for R12, R22, R134a, R290, R600a, R410A, R407C, and R404A, in which a homogeneous equilibrium model for two-phase flow is employed, and there is a subcooled liquid or saturated two-phase mixture at the inlet of the capillary tubes. The collected database about capillary tubes covers the inner diameter from 0.5 mm to 2 mm, the tube length from 0.5 m to 5 m, the condensing temperature from 20 °C to 60 °C, the subcooling from 0 °C to 20 °C, and the quality from 0 to 0.3 at the inlet. Assessments for the correlation are made with some experimental data for R12, R22, R134a, R290, R407C, R410A, and R404A obtained from the open literature and some existing correlations based on the experimental database also. The present correlation yields an average deviation of −0.83% and a standard deviation of 9.02% from the database.     

The compression/absorption heat pump cycle—conceptual design improvements and comparisons with the compression cycle

Performance improvement of an industrial single-stage compression/absorption heat pump (CAHP) using an ammonia/water mixture as the working fluid has been studied theoretically. By allowing a higher absorber pressure (40 bar) than the highest design pressure of today's screw compressors (25 bar), higher COPs could be obtained. Longer falling-film tubes in the vertical shell-and-tube absorber and desorber also increased the COP. These two modifications together increased the COP of the CAHP by 10%. The improved design has a lower optimal absorber glide (temperature difference due to composition change in absorber) and reduced solution heat exchanger sizes. The study was performed with a constant total area. Furthermore, the CAHP performance was studied for five heating cases. Its performance was compared to that of a two-stage compression heat pump (CHP) using isobutane as working fluid, on the basis of approximately equal investment cost. It could be concluded that only heating cases where both the sink and the source temperature changes are high (>20 K) give superior performance for the CAHP.     

Extended temperature–entropy (T–s) diagrams for aqueous lithium bromide absorption refrigeration cycles

Temperature–entropy (T–s) diagrams have the unique capability of being able to quantify processes in terms of both the first and second laws of thermodynamics. Although use of generalised T–s diagrams has been made to indicate or represent generalised absorption cycles, with the exception for NH₃/water systems, these diagrams have not been specifically tailored to scale to quantify LiBr/water systems. The main barrier for this is that the diagram needs to represent the necessary properties of both the refrigerant (water) and of the solution (LiBr/water). This paper describes the use of the T–s diagram of water extended with additional curves to represent real and ideal LiBr/water absorption cycles. An explanation is provided on several methods available, including details of the thermodynamic justification of the method that was used, to construct the extended diagrams. Finally, the extended T–s diagram is provided with the representation of a real single-effect LiBr/water absorption refrigeration cycle. This should prove to be a valuable tool for design and research engineers to study and optimise LiBr/water chillers.     

A minichannel aluminium tube heat exchanger – Part I: Evaluation of single-phase heat transfer coefficients by the Wilson plot method

A prototype liquid-to-refrigerant heat exchanger was developed with the aim of minimizing the refrigerant charge in small systems. To allow correct calculation of the refrigerant side heat transfer, the heat exchanger was first tested for liquid-to-liquid (water-to-water) operation in order to determine the single-phase heat transfer performance. These single-phase tests are reported in this paper. The heat exchanger was made from extruded multiport aluminium tubes and was designed similar to a shell-and-tube heat exchanger. The heat transfer areas of the shell-side and tube-side were approximately 0.82 m² and 0.78 m², respectively. There were six rectangular-shaped parallel channels in a tube. The hydraulic diameter of the tube-side was 1.42 mm and of the shell-side 3.62 mm. Tests were conducted with varying water flow rates, temperature levels and heat fluxes on both the tube and shell sides at Reynolds numbers of approximately 170–6000 on the tube-side and 1000–5000 on the shell-side, respectively. The Wilson plot method was employed to investigate the heat transfer on both the shell and tube sides. In the Reynolds number range of 2300–6000, it was found that the Nusselt numbers agreed with those predicted by the Gnielinski correlation within ±5% accuracy. In the Reynolds number range of 170–1200 the Nusselt numbers gradually increased from 2.1 to 3.7. None of the previously reported correlations for laminar flow predicted the Nusselt numbers well in this range. The shell-side Nusselt numbers were found to be considerably higher than those predicted by correlations from the literature.