Dhruv C. Hoysall

Experimental assessment of a compact branched tray generator for ammonia–water desorption

An experimental investigation of heat and mass transfer in a miniaturized ammonia–water desorber utilizing microscale geometries is presented. The desorber, sized for a 3.5-kW space-conditioning system, is of a branched tray design consisting of an array of alternating plates with integral microscale features enclosed between cover plates. The desorber is hydronically coupled to a heat transfer fluid that is heated by the combustion of natural gas. An adiabatic analyzer and solution cooled rectifier are integrated into the same envelope as the desorber. The component is tested as part of a single-pressure system on a breadboard test facility and is studied over a range of heat transfer fluid inlet temperatures, flow rates, and concentrated solution flow rates. Desorber performance is experimentally investigated over a wide range of test conditions to improve the understanding of performance at design and off-design conditions and the potential for flow instabilities.

Visualization of Two-Phase Flow in Serpentine Heat Exchanger Passages With Microscale Pin Fins

Multiphase flow phenomena in single micro- and minichannels have been widely studied. Microchannel heat exchangers offer the potential for high heat transfer coefficients; however, implementation challenges must be addressed to realize this potential. Maldistribution of phases among the microchannels in the array and the changing phase velocities associated phase change present design challenges. Flow maldistribution and oscillatory instabilities can severely affect heat and mass transfer rates as well as pressure drops. In components such as condensers, evaporators, absorbers and desorbers, changing phase velocities can change prevailing flow regimes from favorable to unfavorable. Geometries with serpentine passages containing pin fins can be configured to maintain favorable flow regimes throughout the length of the component for diabatic phase-change heat and mass transfer applications. Due to the possibility of continuous redistribution of the flow across the pin fins along the flow direction, maldistribution can also be reduced. These features enable the potential of high heat transfer coefficients in microscale passages to be fully realized, thereby reducing the required transfer area, and achieving considerable compactness. The characteristics of two-phase flow through a serpentine passage with micro-pin fin arrays with diameters 350 μm and height 406 μm are investigated here. An air-water mixture is used to represent two-phase flow through the serpentine test section, and a variety of flow features are visually investigated using high-speed photography. Improved flow distribution is observed in the serpentine geometry. Distinct flow regimes, different from those observed in microchannels are also established. These observations are used to obtain void fraction and interfacial area along the length of the serpentine passages and compared with the corresponding values for straight microchannels. Models for the two-phase frictional pressure drops across this geometry are also developed.Copyright

Visualization of Two-Phase Flow Through Microchannel Heat Exchangers

Multiphase flow phenomena in single micro- and minichannels have been widely studied. Characteristics of two-phase flow through a large array of microchannels are investigated here. An air-water mixture is used to represent the two phases flowing through a microchannel array representative of those employed in practical applications. Flow distribution of the air and water flow across 52 parallel microchannels of 0.3 mm hydraulic diameter is visually investigated using high speed photography. Two microchannel configurations are studied and compared, with mixing features incorporated into the second configuration. Slug and annular flow regimes are observed in the channels. Void fractions and interfacial areas are calculated for each channel from these observations. The flow distribution is tracked at various lengths along the microchannel array sheets. Statistical distributions of void fraction and interfacial area along the microchannel array are measured. The design with mixing features yields improved flow distribution. Void fraction and interfacial area change along the length of the second configuration, indicating a change in fluid distribution among the channels. The void fraction and interfacial area results are used to predict the performance of different microchannel array configurations for heat and mass transfer applications. Results from this study can help inform the design of compact thermal-fluid energy systems.Copyright