Safety of long railway tunnels

Planning and designing railway tunnels with an explicit reference to safety issues is becoming of utmost importance since the combination of high speed, mixed goods–passenger traffic and extreme length of the new tunnels under design or concept evaluation, have sensitively modified the inherent safety of the railway tunnel. Although the probability of occurrence of accidental events may still be considered rather low, the possible consequences of such events in long tunnels can be catastrophic, therefore raising the overall risk to levels that may be no more acceptable. The scope of this paper is to illustrate the state-of-practice related to risk analysis of long railway tunnels. First, ambitious tunnel projects are briefly reviewed. The applicable risk-analysis procedures are then described and discussed. The problem of risk appraisal is addressed and quantitative target safety levels are proposed. Safety systems for risk reduction are outlined.     

Distillation column configurations in ammonia–water absorption refrigeration systems

In ammonia–water absorption refrigeration systems a purification process to reduce the water content in the vapour leaving the generator is required. During this process the water content in the vapour must be reduced to a minimum, otherwise it tends to accumulate in the evaporator and strongly deteriorates the efficiency of the system. The vapour purification can be carried out by partial condensation, by establishing a liquid–vapour counter flow or by combining both methods. In systems with partial condensation, the distillation column can be composed of one or more rectifiers using different cooling mediums, and the rectifying and stripping sections. In complete condensation systems only the rectifying and stripping sections can be used. Therefore different distillation column arrangements should be considered. This paper presents a study of several distillation column configurations for single stage ammonia–water absorption refrigeration systems with partial and complete condensation. In order to evaluate and compare the different configurations, a parameter that indicates the ratio of the ammonia vapour concentration increase in each part of the column to the total ammonia purification has been defined. The analysis has been based on the system COP. Finally the efficiency in each part of the column has been calculated to estimate its design requirements.     

Development and management of a radon assessment strategy suitable for underground railway tunnelling projects

The construction of underground tunnels through radon-bearing rock poses a radiation health risk to tunnelling workers from exposure to radon gas and its radioactive decay products. This paper presents the development and practical application of a radon assessment strategy suitable for the measurement of radon in tunnelling work environments in Hong Kong. The assessment strategy was successfully evaluated on a number of underground railway tunnelling projects over a 3 y period. Radon measurements were undertaken using a combination of portable radon measurement equipment and track etch detectors (TEDs) deployed throughout the tunnels. The radon gas monitoring results were used to confirm that ventilation rates were adequate or identified, at an early stage, when further action to reduce radon levels was required. Exposure dose estimates based on the TED results showed that the exposure of tunnel workers to radon did not exceed 3 mSv per annum for the duration of each project.     

Methodology for thermal design of novel combined refrigeration/power binary fluid systems

Refrigeration cogeneration systems which generate power alongside with cooling improve energy utilization significantly, because such systems offer a more reasonable arrangement of energy and exergy “flows” within the system, which results in lower fuel consumption as compared to the separate generation of power and cooling or heating. This paper proposes several novel systems of that type, based on ammonia–water working fluid. Importantly, general principles for integration of refrigeration and power systems to produce better energy and exergy efficiencies are summarized, based primarily on the reduction of exergy destruction. The proposed plants analyzed here operate in a fully-integrated combined cycle mode with ammonia–water Rankine cycle(s) and an ammonia refrigeration cycle, interconnected by absorption, separation and heat transfer processes. It was found that the cogeneration systems have good performance, with energy and exergy efficiencies of 28% and 55–60%, respectively, for the base-case studied (at maximum heat input temperature of 450 °C). That efficiency is, by itself, excellent for cogeneration cycles using heat sources at these temperatures, with the exergy efficiency comparable to that of nuclear power plants. When using exhaust heat from topping gas turbine power plants, the total plant energy efficiency can rise to the remarkable value of about 57%. The hardware proposed for use is conventional and commercially available; no hardware additional to that needed in conventional power and absorption cycles is needed.     

孔庄煤矿集中降温方案的选择与优化

从孔庄煤矿井筒布置和矿井生产条件出发,先后总结、分析了片冰降温系统、热-电-乙二醇降温系统、井下低温水排热的井下集中降温系统(HEMS)和真空制冰降温系统。从集中降温方案效果、投资、降温系统运行稳定性、井筒输冷管路安装、矿井制冷水质、井下制冷排热等方面综合考虑,适合孔庄煤矿特点的集中降温途径只能是真空制冰降温方案,为矿井三期改扩建工程按期投产、验收创造了条件。同时,该降温工程的实施必将填补我国在矿井集中降温领域的一项技术空白,并在制冰技术、输冰管道、输冰工艺、压风冷却、井下融冰工艺、制冰节能技术上取得突破,进而推动我国煤矿降温制冷工艺的创新和发展。     

Regional report Europe: “heat pumps — status and trends”

By 1997 about 90 million heat pumps have been installed worldwide, only less than 5% are located in Europe, historically the cradle of this “thermodynamic heating and cooling process”. The majority of the approximately 4 million installed heat pumps are imported reversible air-to-air systems in southern Europe and only 30% represent the typical European-made heating only electric driven compression systems for space and water heating in buildings in central and northern Europe. The first and second oil crises has been the main cause for a first European heat pump “boom” at the end of the seventies. Consequently the following drop in energy prices negatively influenced the market in some countries. The new renaissance in Europe in the middle of the nineties was initiated by the understanding of sustainable development for a more efficient energy use and the related protection of the environment.     

Freezing of a water droplet due to evaporation—heat transfer dominating the evaporation–freezing phenomena and the effect of boiling on freezing characteristics

One of the authors has proposed a novel transport/storage system for the waste cold from the gasification process of liquefied natural gas (LNG), which consists of an evaporator, a cold trap, and a pipeline. In order to estimate the performance of this system, one should know the pressure in the evaporator, in which evaporation–freezing of a PCM occurs, and in the cold trap, as well as the pressure drop of the pipeline due to the flow of low pressure vapor of the PCM. In this paper, the cooling/freezing phenomena of a water droplet due to evaporation in an evacuated chamber was experimentally examined, and the heat transfer dominating the evaporation-freezing phenomena was investigated in order to estimate the pressure in the evaporator. From the results, it was shown that the water droplet in the evacuated cell is effectively cooled by the evaporation of water itself, and is frozen within a few seconds through a remarkable supercooling state, and that the cooling rate of the water droplets were dominated by heat transfer within the droplet under the abrupt evacuation condition. The later result means that, in order to obtain an ice particle by evaporation–freezing, the surroundings of the water droplet should be evacuated at the pressure as low as the saturate pressure of water at the maximum supercooling temperature of the droplet.     

Heat transfer characteristics of cooked meats using different cooling methodsCaractéristiques du transfert de chaleur de viandes cuites réfrigérées par des méthodes différentes

Cooling rate and heat transfer characteristics of cooked meats using four different cooling systems of vacuum cooling, air blast cooling, water immersion cooling and slow air cooling were investigated. The experimental results show that only the vacuum cooling can achieve the requirement of cooling the cooked meats from about 74 to 10°C within 2.5 h. The vacuum cooling shows different heat transfer characteristics during the cooling process, as compared with other cooling methods. Vacuum cooling rate is controlled by the evaporation rate of water from the cooked meats, while the cooling rates of the other three cooling methods are governed by the thermal conductivity of the cooked meats. Therefore, it is impossible for air blast, water immersion and slow air cooling to obtain high cooling rates since these three methods are different only in the convective heat transfer from the surface of the cooked meat to the cooling medium.     

Seasonal performance of a central air conditioner in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. A computer simulation study

Seasonal performance of four standard, residential-sized, central air conditioners in a typical hot and humid climate of Gulf environment was measured. A computer model was developed to stimulate the residential building cooling loads and the resulting seasonal energy consumption. For an average 100 m² residence located in Dhahran, equipped with a 17.6 kW air conditioner, simulations show a consumption of ≈22200 kWh of electricity for space cooling over 2600 operation hours, this being within 13% of the measured value. The seasonal performance of three lower capacity (10.5, 12.3 and 14.0 kW) air conditioners for the same duty was also predicted. With the 14.0 kW capacity unit the electricity consumption is reduced by ≈ kWh and can satisfy the load for 96.6% of the time. The smallest (10.5kW) of the four systems can supply the house cooling load for only ≈78% of the time with a seasonal energy consumption of 17 350 kWh.     

Heat transfer coefficients for forced-air cooling and freezing of selected foods

To maximize the efficiency of cooling and freezing operations for foods, it is necessary to optimally design the refrigeration equipment to fit the specific requirements of the particular cooling or freezing application. The design of food refrigeration equipment requires estimation of the cooling and freezing times of foods, as well as the corresponding refrigeration loads. The accuracy of these estimates, in turn, depends upon accurate estimates of the surface heat transfer coefficient for the cooling or freezing operation. This project reviewed heat transfer data for the cooling and/or freezing of foods. A total of 777 cooling curves for 295 food items were obtained from an industrial survey and a unique iterative algorithm, utilizing the concept of ‘equivalent heat transfer dimensionality’, was developed to obtain heat transfer coefficients from these cooling curves. Nine Nusselt–Reynolds–Prandtl correlations were developed from a selection of the 777 heat transfer coefficients resulting from this algorithm, as well as 144 heat transfer coefficients for 13 food items, collected from the literature. The data and correlations resulting from this project will be used by designers of cooling and freezing systems for foods. This information will make possible a more accurate determination of cooling and freezing times and corresponding refrigeration loads. Such information is important in the design and operation of cooling and freezing facilities and will be of immediate usefulness to engineers involved in the design and operation of such systems.     

A Remotely Controlled Onboard Measurement System for Optimization of Energy Consumption of Electrical Trains

Reduction in energy consumption in electrical railway traction systems has become a vital need. The effort spent in providing better quality services implies increasing speed and, therefore, an increase in energy consumption. Various techniques are usually adopted to improve train performances. They span from modifying the vehicle structure to improving the motor. In this paper, a different way to reduce power absorption is presented, which is based on an appropriate interpretation of the traction diagram, along with the absorption curves. Measurement data are available by means of an onboard monitoring system that measures all the electromechanical quantities of the train course and sends them through a network connection to a remote control station. The evaluation of measurement uncertainty, the procedure to obtain the optimized protocol for train operation, and the experimental data obtained when the optimized protocol is applied are also presented.      

Design and operating characteristics of evaporative cooling systems

Evaporative cooling systems are commonly used in countries where the climate is hot and dry, as found in most zones of India and Australia. The potential energy savings envisaged by replacing conventional refrigerated systems by evaporative systems is ≈75%. Indirect systems can achieve comfort conditions similar to refrigerated systems in climatic zones where the wet bulb temperature is usually <25°C. The comfort afforded by indirect evaporative systems is superior to that achieved by direct evaporative systems. An 8.5 ton indirect-direct evaporative cooling system has been fabricated and tested and its performance compared with a computer prediction. The system's scope for use in India and Australia is analysed.     

Experiments on fast nucleation and growth of HCFC141b gas hydrate in static water columns

A major technical issue in the realization of refrigerants gas hydrates energy storage systems is to develop a practical means for rapid hydrate formation. In this paper, the nucleation and growth processes of HCFC141b (CH₃CCl₂F, HCFC141b) gas hydrate in a column of water added with 0.038 wt% sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate-6 and with a metal rod which was placed in the center of the column has been studied. The water solution column, in a cylindrical glass container, was placed in a thermostatic bath ranged 274.15–280.15 K and under atmospheric pressure. The experimental results show that, comparing to that of pure water and HCFC141b system, the properly placed metal rods combined with proper amount of sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate-6 considerably promotes the hydrate formation speed and reduces the nucleation time. The growth rate of HCFC141b hydrate is significantly effected by the surrounding bath temperature and the formation can be finished in 8 h with a short nucleation time when the bath temperature ranged 274.15–279.15 K and the iron rod penetrating the interface between the water solution and liquid HCFC141b. The experimental results suggest a new way for fast formation of gas hydrates.     

A novel experimental investigation of a solar cooling system in Madrid

This paper reports novel experimental results derived through field testing of a part load solar energized cooling system for typical Spanish houses in Madrid during the summer period of 2003. Solar hot water was delivered by means of a 49.9 m² array of flat-plate collectors to drive a single-effect (LiBr/H₂O) absorption chiller of 35 kW nominal cooling capacity. Thermal energy was stored in a 2 m³ stratified hot water storage tank during hours of bright sunshine. Chilled water produced at the evaporator was supplied to a row of fan coil units and the heat of condensation and absorption was rejected by means of a forced draft cooling tower. Instantaneous, daily and period energy flows and energy balance in the installation is presented. System and absorption machine temperature profiles are given for a clear, hot and dry day's operation. Daily and period system efficiencies are given. Peak insolation of 969 W m⁻² (at 12:30 solar time on 08/08/03) produced 5.13 kW of cooling at a solar to cooling conversion efficiency of 11%. Maximum cooling capacity was 7.5 kW. Cooling was provided for 8.67 h and the chiller required a threshold insolation of 711 W m⁻² for start-up and 373 W m⁻² for shut-down. A minimum hot water inlet temperature to the generator of 65 °C was required to commence cold generation, whereas at 81 °C, 6.4 kW of cooling (18.3% of nominal capacity) was produced. The absorption refrigeration machine operated within the generation and absorption temperature ranges of 57–67 and 32–36 °C, respectively. The measured maximum instantaneous, daily average and period average COP were 0.60 (at maximum capacity), 0.42 and 0.34, respectively. Energy flows in the system are represented on a novel area diagram. The results clearly demonstrate that the technology works best in dry and hot climatic conditions where large daily variations in relative humidity and dry bulb temperature prevail. This case study provides benchmark data for the assessment of other similar prototypes and for the validation of mathematical models.     

Continuous ice formation in a tube by using water–oil emulsion for dynamic-type ice-making cold thermal energy storage

A dynamic-type of ice-making cold thermal energy storage system using water–oil emusion with silane-coupler agent was investigated. In order to establish a suitable method by which slurry ice can be formed continuously in a tube without ice adhesion to the cooling wall, the effects of the tube materials of the heat exchanger, heat exchanger types and phase change materials on ice formation process were investigated. Experiments of ice formation were operated under various cooling conditions of flow rate of the mixture and temperature of cooling brine. It was found that using a fluoroplastics tube prevented ice from adhering to the tube under a wide range of the cooling conditions. By making thickness of the tube thinner and increasing heat transfer coefficient on the outside of the tube, performance of heat exchanger as an ice-making equipment was improved. The range of the suitable cooling conditions by using the water–oil emulsion as a phase change material was wider than that by using ethylene glycol aqueous solution.     

基于PLC和变频器的水源热泵节能控制系统

水源热泵作为一种用地下恒温水源代替冷却塔的高效节能空调,在实际应用中,还应充分考虑主机、冷水泵和冷却水泵等消耗能量设备的节能问题。本文重点阐述了水源热泵系统中冷水和冷却水系统的变频节能原理、闭环节能控制方案和对控制系统的设计。     

Continuous ice slurry formation using a functional fluid for ice storage

A functional fluid composed of an oil–water mixture with an additive is transformed into an ice slurry by cooling while stirring. This paper describes a new continuous ice slurry formation method. Experiments were carried out by varying conditions such as the supply time of functional fluid, the stirrer torque, brine temperature and degree of supercooling. As a result, the characteristics of the ice formation and recovery processes were clarified. It was found that the ice particles gradually became uniform in size and spherical, and grew to 3.5 mm in diameter during about 10 h. The factors influencing the size of formed ice particles were discussed because the larger ice particles were expected to melt more rapidly. The ice particle size was found to increase with decreasing degree of supercooling and cooling rate, and with increasing stirrer wing diameter.     

Applying grey forecasting to predicting the operating energy performance of air cooled water chillers

Grey forecasting has found applications in finance, social science, economics, etc. However, its applications in air conditioning and refrigeration have not been reported. This paper reports on a study where grey forecasting method is applied to predicting the operating energy performance for an air cooled water chiller (ACWC) units, so as to demonstrate this forecasting approach can be applied to building Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) installations. In this paper, a brief introduction of the background and fundamentals of grey forecasting is firstly presented. This is followed by reporting the application of grey forecasting to an ACWC unit installed in Northern China for predicting its operating energy performance using the variation ratio of coefficient of performance (ΔCOP). The predicted values of ΔCOP agreed well with the measured ΔCOP, demonstrating that grey forecasting may be used for predicting the operating energy performance of an ACWC unit with a high accuracy. Finally, the potential use of grey forecasting in fault detection and diagnostics (FDD) or energy management systems (EMSs) for air conditioning and refrigeration systems is assessed, and the comparison with the prediction method based on artificial neural network (ANN) discussed.     

Application of thermal battery in the ice storage air-conditioning system as a subcooler

This article experimentally investigates the thermal performance of a thermal battery used in the ice storage air-conditioning system as a subcooler. The thermal battery utilizes the superior heat transfer characteristics of two-phase closed thermosyphon and eliminates the drawbacks found in convectional energy storage systems. Experimental investigations are first conducted to study the thermal behavior of thermal battery under different charge temperatures (−5 °C to −9 °C) in which water is used as the energy storage material. This study also examines the thermal performance of the subcooled ice storage air conditioner under different cooling loads. Experimental data of temperature variation of water, ice fraction, refrigerant mass flow rate and coefficient of performance (COP) are obtained. The results show that supercooling phenomenon appears in the water and it can be ended when the charge temperature is lower than −6 °C. The system gives 28% more cooling capacity and 8% higher COP by the contribution of the thermal battery used as a subcooler.