The benefit of dividing an indirect thermal storage into two compartments: Discharge experiments

Experiments are presented to demonstrate the benefits of dividing an indirect thermal storage into two compartments. The transient discharge experiments were conducted in an undivided and equally divided 126 l rectangular storage vessel, which has a height to depth aspect ratio of 9.3:1 and is inclined at 30° to the horizontal. A 240-tube copper heat exchanger with a total surface area of 2.38 m² was immersed in the storage fluid. For the divided storage, the heat exchanger flow path was in series through the two compartments. Water flow rate through the heat exchanger was varied from 0.05 to 0.15 kg/s to demonstrate the effect of varying the number of transfer units (NTU) from 2.2 to 7 on the relative performance of undivided and divided storage vessels. Reported measurements include transient storage temperature distribution, heat exchanger outlet temperature, delivered energy, and exergy of the divided and undivided storage. The divided storage provides higher energy delivery rates and higher heat exchanger outlet temperatures during most of the discharge. The magnitude of these benefits depends on NTU and the extent of discharge. For a flow rate of 0.05 kg/s, corresponding to a nominal NTU of 7, the divided storage delivers a maximum of 11% more energy than the undivided storage when 100 l of hot water or 55% of the stored energy has been delivered. For a flow rate of 0.15 kg/s, corresponding to a nominal NTU of 2.5, the divided storage delivers a maximum of 5% more energy at the same level of discharge. Data agree with first and second law analyses of a storage system comprised of two tanks in series.     

Experimental investigation on thermal performance of thermosyphon flat-plate solar water heater with a mantle heat exchanger

The thermal performance of thermosyphon flat-plate solar water heater with a mantle heat exchanger was investigated to show its applicability in China. The effect on the performance of the collector of using a heat exchanger between the collector and the tank was analyzed. A “heat exchanger penalty factor” for the system was determined and energy balance equation in the system was presented. Outdoor tests of thermal performance of the thermosyphon flat-plate solar water heater with a mantle heat exchanger were taken in Kunming, China. Experimental results show that mean daily efficiency of the thermosyphon flat plate solar water heater with a mantle heat exchanger with 10 mm gap can reach up to 50%, which is lower than that of a thermosyphon flat-plate solar water heater without heat exchanger, but higher than that of a all-glass evacuated tubular solar water heater.     

Analytical study of a ground collector integrated with heat exchanger

This paper presents an analytical study of an underground water heater integrated with a heat exchanger. For quantitative assessment of the analytical results, numerical calculations have been made for a typical cold day, namely 21 December 1985 and the yearly data of 1984. The effects of heat exchanger length, water tank depth, etc. on the performance of the proposed system have been studied in detail. The tresults of the proposed system show that the system can be used to supply hot water in the winter months and cold water in the summer months, when the tank is placed at a depth of 0.30 m in the ground. This system will be very useful in areas where drinking water becomes hot in the summer.     

Transient analysis of closed loop solar water heating system

This paper presents a simplified transient analysis of a forced-circulation solar water heating system with a heat exchanger in the collector loop. Besides two modes of hot water withdrawal viz constant flow and constant collection temperature; the paper also studies the effectiveness of the flow through the heat exchanger and its length. The system performance has been further studied by considering different timings of starting hot water withdrawal. Calculations have been made for a typical cold day (26 January 1980) in New Delhi.     

Study on overall heat transfer coefficient for a rotating cavity type heat exchanger

In this study, overall heat transfer coefficient for a rotating cavity type heat exchanger has been investigated. The heat exchanger mainly consisted of a rotating cylindrical cavity with axially throughflow. The cylindrical cavity was rotated in a stationary housing. An axial throughflow of cold water was supplied in the cavity through a pipe rotating with cavity. The cold water left the cavity via an identical pipe. Hot water flowed between rotating cylindrical cavity and stationary housing Experiments were conducted to obtain the effects of cold water flow rate, hot water flow rate, and rotational speed on overall heat transfer coefficient.     

Thermal performance of ground as an inexpensive solar collector and storage system

This paper presents an analysis of the performance of an inexpensive integrated solar collector and storage system. The flow of fluid and heat capacity of the storage material in the container is considered simultaneously and an evaluation is made for the resulting outlet fluid temperature for various flow rates and materials by solving the Fourier heat conduction equation with appropriate boundary conditions in different regions. This evaluation, combined with energy balance considerations, yields an expression for the transient rate at which heat can be retrieved—by keeping flow rate constant. Numerical calculations, corresponding to a typical winter day in Delhi have been carried out. The heat retrieval efficiencies are of the order of 50-25%. A phase difference of about 12–18 h is obtained between the maxima of solair temperature and outlet water temperature. The efficiency of the system increases with flow rate and decreases with depth of plane of heat retrieval. Concrete is found to be the best inexpensive sensible heat storage material out of those materials considered.     

Performance prediction of a solar water heater with intermittent output

A solar water heater constructed from readily available materials in the countryside has earlier been discussed in the continuous flow mode. Water flows in the tubes at a constant rate throughout the day. In any realistic situation, however, the rate of flow will be a function of time depending on the requirements of the user. In this paper a theoretical method is developed which is used to predict the outlet water temperature of the time dependent flows. The effect of various design parameters like the position of the water pipes, choice of sensible heat storage material etc. are discussed taking different functions of rate of flow. The inexpensive water heater can provide hot water for a small household even in the late evening hours provided no heat is withdrawn from the system during the day time.     

NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF THE THERMAL CONTROL OF HEAT EXCHANGERS

The temperature control of outlet air by changing the water flow rate in a single-pass waterto-air cross-flow heat exchanger is investigated. The conservation laws are applied to finite control volumes and an implicit formulation is used for transient numerical solutions. Conjugate forced convection heat transfer from the tube is solved to calculate the temperatures of the air and water coming out of the heat exchanger. In the simulations the outlet air temperature is controlled by changing the water flow rate entering the heat exchanger using a proportional-integral (PI) controller. The range of controllability of the heat exchanger was studied first. Then disturbances in the form of step changes in the inlet air temperature, the air flow rate, and the set point temperature were separately introduced. The effects of the limiting-condition constraints and different control parameters on controlling the outlet air temperature are presented. The results show that the control behavior can be simulated numerically and that this control methodology is effective within limits.     

Heating and cooling of a building by double hollow concrete slab

This paper presents the thermal performance, in the heating and cooling of a building, of a double hollow concrete slab, one of whose faces is exposed to solar radiation and ambient air while the other is in contact with room air at constant temperature. A blackwened network of pipes is laid on the top surface and glazed sutiably. the flow rate of water / air through pipes is kept constant. It is seen that there is a time difference of 10-12 h between the maximum/ minimum of the thermal flux extering the room and the solair temperature for any flow rate. the heat flux inside the room is reduced appreciably for higher infiltration when there is no water flow to heat the building. the effect of a water film on the performance of the wall/roof has also been discussed and found to be more effective for the reduction of the heat flux coming into the building.     

Solar and geothermal heating and cooling of the European Centre for Public Law building in Greece

The European Centre for Public Law in Legraina near Athens in Greece is heated and cooled by a combined solar and geothermal system. The main components of the system are a saline groundwater supplying well, water storage tank for 6 h autonomy, inverter for regulating geothermal flow, heat exchanger, two electrical water source heat pumps placed in cascade, fan coils, air handling units, as well as solar air collectors for air preheating in winter. In addition, hot water is supplied to the building hostel by solar water heaters. Monitoring of the energy system during heating showed excellent energy efficiency and performance.     

Theoretical investigation of the performance of a novel loop heat pipe solar water heating system for use in Beijing,China

A novel loop heat pipe (LHP) solar water heating system for typical apartment buildings in Beijing was designed to enable effective collection of solar heat, distance transport, and efficient conversion of solar heat into hot water. Taking consideration of the heat balances occurring in various parts of the loop, such as the solar absorber, heat pipe loop, heat exchanger and storage tank, a computer model was developed to investigate the thermal performance of the system. With the specified system structure, the efficiency of the solar system was found to be a function of its operational characteristics - working temperature of the loop heat pipe, water flow rate across the heat exchanger, and external parameters, including ambient temperature, temperature of water across the exchanger and solar radiation. The relationship between the efficiency of the system and these parameters was established, analysed and discussed in detail. The study suggested that the loop heat pipe should be operated at around 72 °C and the water across the heat exchanger should be maintained at 5.1 l/min. Any variation in system structure, i.e., glazing cover and height difference between the absorber and heat exchanger, would lead to different system performance. The glazing covers could be made using either borosilicate or polycarbonate, but borosilicate is to be preferred as it performs better and achieves higher efficiency at higher temperature operation. The height difference between the absorber and heat exchanger in the design was 1.9 m which is an adequate distance causing no constraint to heat pipe heat transfer. These simulation results were validated with the primary testing results.     

Transient analysis of forced circulation solar water heating system

This paper presents a transient analysis of a solar water heating system with forced circulation. Two modes of hot water retrieval have been taken into account viz direct from the tank and through a heat exchanger placed in the tank. Analysis has been presented both for constant flow and constant collection temperature modes. Effects of heat exchanger length and time of starting hot water retrieval on the system performance have also been studied. Numerical calculations have been made for a typical cold day (26 January, 1980) at Delhi.     

Constant flow solar pond collector/storage system

This paper presents a periodic analysis of the process of heat extraction by the brine layer circulating at constant flow rate through the bottom convective zone of a solar pond. Explicit expressions for the transient rate of heat extraction and the temperature at which heat can be extracted, as a function of time, depths of convective as well as non-convective zones and the flow rate, are derived. Extensive analytical results for the optimum performance of a pond during its year round operation are presented. In a pond with an upper convective zone depth of 0.2 m optimum heat extraction efficiencies of 24 per cent, 29 per cent and 32 per cent corresponding to heat extraction temperatures of 89, 55 and 42°C are predicted for water flow rates of 2 × 10^?4, 5 × 10^?4 and 10^?3 kg/s m², respectively. The load levelling in the extracted heat flux as well as in its temperature improves as the flow rate is lowered and the non-convective zone is over sized. An increase in the total depth of the solar pond improves the load levelling in extraction temperature, but influences the extracted heat flux differently; shifts its maximum to winter months and deteriorates the load levelling. The variability in flow rate required for the maintenance of constant temperature of the heat extraction zone is also investigated. It is found that the required variability is less for higher temperatures of the heat extraction zone and larger depths of the non-convective zone.     

Parametric studies of tube in tube heat exchanger coupled to a panel of collectors

This paper deals with the transient analysis of a one pass, tube in tube heat exchanger coupled to a panel of flat plate collectors under both cocurrent and counter-current modes of flow. Explicit expressions for the temperatures of the cold and hot fluid streams have been developed as a function of the time and space coordinates for both modes of flow. To make a quantitative assessment of the analytical results, numerical calculations have been carried out for a typical winter day, i.e., 13 February 1985 at Delhi. The effects of several parameters, viz. length of the heat exchanger, mass flow rate, radii of heat exchanger tube, etc., have been studied in detail.     

Performance of solar water heaters with narrow mantle heat exchangers

This paper evaluates the performance of narrow-gap vertical mantle heat exchangers with a two-pass arrangement for use in pumped-circulation solar water heaters. Both measured mantle side and tank side heat transfer correlations have been developed and implemented in a TRNSYS model of a complete solar water heater incorporating this type of heat exchanger. Predictions of the annual solar contribution for mantle-tank systems are compared to direct-coupled systems. The direct-coupled systems are found to provide slightly higher annual energy saving than mantle-tank systems for standard domestic hot water demand in Australia. However, the reduction in performance is outweighed by the benefit of freeze protection provided by incorporating a collector loop heat exchanger in the system.     

Effect of thermal trap on the performance of an underground shallow solar pond water heater

A simple analysis of an underground shallow solar pond water heater has been presented. The effect of a thermal trap at the top of the system has also been incorporated in the analysis. Using the model, the effect of various system parameters, viz. thermal trap thickness, heat capacity of water mass, flow rate and duration of flow rate have been studied in detail. Numerical calculations have been made for a typical winter day at New Delhi (India). It is concluded that the system with thermal trap gives better performance in comparison with a system with a movable insulation system.     

热负荷阶跃变化条件下热回流式换热系统缺陷机理及优化方法研究

针对国内某北方核电厂的设备冷却水系统热回流式换热器,分析了不同热负荷下热回流式换热系统的稳态特性及负荷阶跃变化下热回流式换热系统缺陷机理,提出了热回流式换热器系统优化方法.研究表明:在不同热负荷下热回流式换热器系统切换的关键是与不同热负荷对应的具有特定温度的伴流的形成;热负荷阶跃变化下状态转换瞬态过程中存在系统缺陷,其...     

Experimental study on titanium heat exchanger used in a gas fired water heater for latent heat recovery

In general, latent heat recovery is usually accompanied by the corrosion of the heat exchanger, which is caused by the strongly acidic condensate when the temperature of the flue gas is lowered below the acid dew point. The present study has been conducted to investigate the heat and mass transfer characteristics in a titanium heat exchanger with excellent corrosion resistance used for waste heat recovery with the condensation arranged in a gas fired water heater. In addition, the thermal efficiency of the gas fired water heater was evaluated based on the net calorific value at the maximum rated output during latent heat recovery from the exhaust flue gas. Parametric studies were conducted for the flue gas flow rate, inlet temperature and mass flow rate of the supplied water, respectively. Different arrangements of the tubes of the heat exchanger including in-line and staggered configurations were investigated. The experimental results indicate that the thermal efficiency of the gas fired water heater with a latent heat recovery (LHR) heat exchanger was enhanced by about 10% compared with conventional instantaneous water heaters, i.e., water heaters without heat recovery. In addition, in terms of the Nusselt number and the Sherwood number, the heat and mass transfer performance of the staggered tube bank type were approximately 50% and 10% higher than that on the in-line tube bank type when the Reynolds number of the flue gas was 10³.     

汽车空调暖风系统平行流换热器换热性能研究

平行流换热器以其结构紧凑、换热效率高的特点已广泛应用于汽车空调中.简要介绍了汽车空调暖风系统平行流换热器结构,采用计算流体力学(CFD)数值模拟方法对平行流换热器的换热性能进行了分析,比较了空气侧风速和水流量对其换热量和流动阻力的影响.模拟结果表明:在增加相同百分比的情况下,增加空气侧风速比增加水流量对换热器换热量的影响大16%左右,但增加空气侧风速和水流量对换热器换热能力的影响均有限;随着风速的提高,换热量增加率逐渐减小,而空气侧阻力增加率越来越大;随着水流量增加,水侧压降增大非常明显;但两者增加对空气侧出口温度影响均不明显.     

多功能太阳能空调制热兼制热水模式负荷平衡控制策略的研究

为了解决多功能太阳能空调制热兼制热水工况时空调和热水的能量输入与各自的负荷平衡问题,提出了通过调节热水换热器水体积流量以改变空调传热量和热水传热量的控制策略.以空调负荷作为控制目标,建立了神经网络辨识和模糊控制模型,并进行了仿真研究.结果表明,神经网络预测和模糊控制相结合的方法对热水换热器水体积流量的智能调节能有效地解决负荷平衡问题.