Ehsan Mohseni Languri

Applications of nanofluids in condensing and evaporating systems

Nanofluids can be utilized as efficient heat transfer fluids in many thermal energy systems to improve the system’s thermal efficiency. This survey reviews and summarizes the experimental and numerical studies performed to determine the effect of nanofluids on the performance of condensing and evaporating systems. Advantages and disadvantages of nanofluid implementation in condensing and evaporating systems are evaluated and summarized. Moreover, some suggestions and recommendations are presented for future studies. This review shows that the nanoparticle deposition and nanoparticle suspension are two important factors affecting the thermal system’s efficiency. These factors should be considered when using different nanofluids in condensing and evaporating systems.

Dynamics of liquid rise in a vertical capillary tube

The governing equation for capillary rise in a vertical tube is derived using energy balance. The derived governing equation includes kinetic, gravity, and viscous effects. Through normalizing different terms in the governing equation, a form of nonlinear ordinary differential equation (ODE) with a positive dimensionless parameter was obtained. The ODE equation was solved numerically and the numerical results were compared with some published experimental data. The derived governing equation was found to be quite accurate for predicting the liquid rise and oscillation in a capillary tube. The effect of a dimensionless parameter on the behavior of the liquid rise was explored numerically. A simple critical condition, which leads to the oscillation of the liquid column in the capillary tube, was found in the form of a dimensionless parameter in the governing equation.

Enhanced double-pass solar air heater with and without porous medium

An energy and exergy study has been done on a double-pass flat-plate solar air collector with and without porous medium embedded inside the lower channel of the collector. Energy conservation equations are used to derive the energy-governing equations for all components of the collector. A second law analysis (the second law of thermodynamics) was carried out to optimize the mass flow rate, which leads to optimization of the energy efficiency. Theoretical results for energy and exergy efficiencies are plotted for the cases of with and without embedded porous medium. Results of this research show that the porous medium embedded inside the lower channel leads to an increase in the thermal efficiency of the collector of more than 30% compared with the case without porous medium, hence showing the importance of employing porous medium in thermal solar collectors. On the other hand, the pressure drop in the air caused by friction with porous medium is not negligible and is also studied here, using the second law analysis.

Heat Transfer in Porous Media

Heat transfer phenomena play a vital role in many problems which deals with transport of flow through a porous medium. One of the main applications of study the heat transport equations exist in the manufacturing process of polymer composites [1] such as liquid composite molding. In such technologies, the composites are created by impregnation of a preform with resin injected into the mold’s inlet. Some thermoset resins may undergo the cross-linking polymerization, called curing reaction, during and after the mold-filling stage. Thus, the heat transfer and exothermal polymerization reaction of resin may not be neglected in the mold-filling modeling of LCM. This shows the importance of heat transfer equations in the non-isothermal flow in porous media. Generally, the energy balance equations can be derived using two different approaches: (1) two-phase or thermal non-equilibrium model [2-6] and (2) local thermal equilibrium model [7-18]. There are two different energy balance equations for two phases (such as resin and fiber in liquid composite molding process) separately in the two-phase model, and the heat transfer between these two equations occur via the heat transfer coefficient. In the thermal equilibrium model, we assume that the phases (such as resin and fiber) reach local thermodynamic equilibrium. Therefore, only one energy equation is needed as the thermal governing equation, [3,5]. Firstly, we consider the heat transfer governing equation for the simple situation of isotropic porous media. Assume that radioactive effects, viscous dissipation, and the work done by pressure are negligible. We do further simplification by assuming the thermal local equilibrium that s f T T T = = where s T and f T are the solid and fluid phase temperature, respectively. A further assumption is that there is a parallel conduction heat transfer taking place in solid and fluid phases. Taking the average over an REV of the porous medium, we have the following for solid and fluid phases,

Numerical Simulation of Thermal Performance of a High Aspect Ratio Thermal Energy Storage Device

Heat transfer analysis of a high aspect ratio thermal energy storage (TES) device was carried out numerically. The three dimensional numerical study was performed to understand the heat transfer enhancement which results from internal natural convection in a high aspect ratio vertical unit. Octadecane was used as phase change material (PCM) inside TES system, which consisted of six corrugated panels filled with PCM. Each panel had a total of 6 tall cavities filled with PCM, which were exposed to external flow in a concentric TES system. Unlike traditional concentric-type TES devices where heat transfer by conduction is the dominant heat transport mechanism, the high aspect ratio TES configuration used in the study helped promote density-gradient based internal convection mechanism. The numerical model was solved based on the finite volume method, which captured the whole transient heat transfer process effectively. The time-dependent temperature profiles of the PCM inside a single TES panel are compared with the experimental results for two cases. Numerical and experimental results of the two cases showed a reasonable agreement. Furthermore, convection cells were formed and sustained when the PCM melted within the space between the solid core and the walls. The promising results of this numerical study illustrate the importance of internal natural convection on the speed of the PCM melting (charging) process.Copyright

An Experimental Study of Heat Transfer Characteristics of Microencapsulated Phase Change Material Slurry in a Coil Heat Exchanger

The use of microencapsulated phase change material (MPCM) slurry as an enhanced heat transfer fluid is considered to be very promising for saving energy in thermal energy systems. However, little is known how MPCM may exhibit enhanced heat transfer performance in coil heat exchanger. Coil heat exchangers are extensively used in industrial applications including heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems because of their superior heat transfer performance and compactness. In this study, the heat transfer characteristics of MPCM slurry in a coil heat exchanger have been investigated experimentally. Thermal properties of MPCM slurry were measured using a differential scanning calorimeter. Pressure drop, overall heat transfer coefficient and heat transfer effectiveness in a coil heat exchanger were determined by considering different flow rates. It was found that heat transfer characteristics were positively affected by the phase change process of the phase change material in MPCM, even though MPCM exhibit reduced turbulence and increased pressure drop. The overall heat transfer coefficient for MPCM slurry is in the range of 5,000 to 9,000 W/m2-K over a Dean number range from 1,600 to 4,000 (equivalent Reynolds number range of 6,000 to 15,000). The enhancement in heat transfer performance is about 17% when compared to that for water. In addition, durability tests of MPCM slurry were conducted to evaluate the MPCM’s ability to withstand continuous pumping conditions, which is critically important in the implementation of MPCM slurry in industrial applications.Copyright

Flow of Microencapsulated Phase Change Material Slurry through Planar Spiral Coil

ABSTRACT Forced convection cooling is an effective method in thermal management that relies mainly on dissipating heat by pumping heat transfer fluid (HTF) through the heat source. In this paper, we investigate the thermal properties enhancement of dielectric water as the HTF. To enhance the properties of the HTF, microencapsulated phase change materials (MPCM) will be added to the base fluid. The MPCMs are composed of phase change material (PCM) encapsulated with shell materials. The PCM inside the capsules may undergo a phase change. This leads to a significant heat gain and release. The numerical model is developed to solve for continuity, momentum, and heat transfer equations using the finite volume method. The behavior of the MPCM slurry in curved channels, generates unique patterns due to different viscosity values and the centrifugal forces. Our preliminary numerical data on MPCM slurry through planar spiral coil heat exchangers show the new patterns of velocity and heat transfer curves. The current paper studies the steady condition of laminar flow at different boundary conditions. The velocity and temperature profiles, heat transfer data with different mass fractions of MPCM additives to the base fluid, and their heat removal capabilities are quantified and discussed in detail.

Numerical Simulation of a Microencapsulated Phase Change Material Slurry Flowing in a Helical Coil Heat Exchanger

Heat transfer analysis of microencapsulated phase change material (MCPM) slurry flowing through a helical coil heat exchanger was carried out numerically. MPCM slurry at different mass fractions with known thermal and physical properties was chosen as heat transfer fluid (HTF). MPCM slurries can carry significantly higher thermal load when the PCM undergoes phase change within a specified temperature range. However, little is known as to how MPCM behave in helical coil heat exchangers. Helical coil heat exchangers are being used widely in many industrial applications including air conditioning systems due to their compactness and high thermal effectiveness. Enhancing the heat transfer rate of coil heat exchanger by using MPCM slurry without altering the existing parameters of coil heat exchangers such as shell diameter should lead to energy savings due to reductions in HTF pumping energy demands at identical heat loads. The ultimate goal of this study is to show a significant enhancement in heat transfer when MPCM slurry is pumped through helical coil heat exchangers. Unlike traditional HTF used in helical coil heat exchangers, the proposed MPCM slurry could alter the flow structure and the internal convection by inducing and enhancing the formation of secondary flows, as a result of phase change in the microencapsulated phase change material. Specifically, a three dimensional numerical study was undertaken to understand the effects of the helical coil heat exchanger geometry and the HTF flow characteristics on heat transfer enhancement. Baseline numerical simulations were conducted using water as HTF in order to compare with MPCM slurry numerical results. The numerical model was solved based on the finite volume method. The temperature-dependent properties of MPCM slurry and boundary conditions were considered. The promising results of this numerical study demonstrate the importance of formulated HTF and the geometry of the heat exchanger on the heat transfer enhancement and energy savings.Copyright

Enhanced Evaporation in a Multilayer Porous Media under Heat Localization: A Numerical Study

ABSTRACT Evaporation and steam generation are two of the most vital processes in industry. A new method to advance the efficiency of evaporation involves localizing heat at the water surface where the vapor escapes into the air to minimize energy loss. In this research, we numerically investigate the improvement of a novel evaporation process via solar heat localization in a porous medium. A layer of carbon foam with a combination of interconnected and dead-end pores with a high hydrophilicity surface adjacent to a layer of expanded graphite with known porosity and properties were modeled numerically using a finite volume method. The hydrophilic porous media facilitates the capillary forces for better transportation of the bulk water through the porous media to the top surface of the porous media where the absorbed solar energy is delivered to the water inside the pores for evaporation. Continuity, momentum, heat and mass transfer equations were solved in this modeling effort. The modeling results were validated with the experimental data available in the literature. The findings in this numerical study can shed light on the complex interplay between the fluid dynamics and heat and mass transfer across the porous medium, which are important for efficient evaporation processes.

Feasibility Study of the Use of Ground-Coupled Condensers in Industrial Thermal Management

A closed loop cooling system that uses the earth as a heat sink to dissipate heat for the energy system’s thermal management is described. The proposed cooling approach employs a concentric tube heat exchanger situated above ground to transfer heat from the system (e.g., power plant condenser) to a separate cooling water loop buried at a specified depth below ground. A parametric study was performed to evaluate the efficacy of the thermal management potential of ground-coupled systems in industrial applications. It revealed that such a condenser design is generally capable of dissipating less than 1.5 MW of heat. A mathematical model is developed to size the required piping for different systems.Copyright