Effect of Flow Rate and Particle Size on Heat Transfer to Dense Granular Flows

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan F. Watkins ◽  
Richard D. Gould
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Particle Size ◽  
Heat Transfer Coefficient ◽  
Transfer Coefficient ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Granular Flows ◽  
Heat Transfer Fluid ◽  
Storage Medium ◽  
Flow Rates ◽  
Dense Granular Flows

The increasing demand for renewable energy sources necessitates the development of more efficient technologies. Concentrated solar power (CSP) towers exhibit promising qualities, as temperatures greater than 1000°C are possible. The heat transfer fluid implemented to capture the sun’s energy significantly impacts the overall performance of a CSP system. Current fluids, such as molten nitrate salts and steam, have limitations; molten salts are limited by their small operational temperature range while steam requires high pressures and is unable to act as an effective storage medium. As a result, a new heat transfer fluid composed of ceramic particles is being investigated, as ceramic particles demonstrate no practical limit on operation temperature and have the ability to act as a storage medium. This study sought to further investigate the use of dense granular flows as a new heat transfer fluid. Previous work validated the use of such flows as a heat transfer fluid; the present work examined the effect of flow rate, as well as the particle size and type on the heat transfer to the particle fluid. Three different types of particles were tested, along with two different diameter particles. Of the three materials tested, the particle type did not appear to effect the heat transfer. Particle diameter, however, did effect the heat transfer, as a smaller diameter particle yielded slightly higher heat transfer to the fluid. Flow rates ranging from 30 to 200 kg/m2-s were tested. Initially, the heat transfer to the flow, characterized by the convective heat transfer coefficient, decreased with increasing flow rate. However, at approximately 80 kg/m2-s, the heat transfer coefficient began to increase with increasing flow rate. These results indicate that a dense granular flow consisting of small diameter particles and traveling at very slow or fast flow rates yields the best wall to “fluid” heat transfer.

Experimental Characterization of Heat Transfer to Vertical Dense Granular Flows Across Wide Temperature Range

2019 ◽  
Vol 141 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan F. Watkins ◽  
Richard D. Gould
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Transfer Coefficient ◽  
Transfer Coefficient ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Convective Heat Transfer Coefficient ◽  
Granular Flows ◽  
Effect Of Temperature ◽  
Cylindrical Tubes ◽  
Operating Temperatures ◽  
Dense Granular Flows

Particle-based heat transfer fluids for concentrated solar power (CSP) tower applications offer a unique advantage over traditional fluids, as they have the potential to reach very high operating temperatures. Gravity-driven dense granular flows through cylindrical tubes demonstrate potential for CSP applications and are the focus of the present study. The heat transfer capabilities of such a flow system were experimentally studied using a bench-scale apparatus. The effect of the flow rate and other system parameters on the heat transfer to the flow was studied at low operating temperatures (<200 °C), using the convective heat transfer coefficient and Nusselt number to quantify the behavior. For flows ranging from 0.015 to 0.09 m/s, the flow rate appeared to have negligible effect on the heat transfer. The effect of temperature on the flow's heat transfer capabilities was also studied, examining the flows at temperatures up to 1000 °C. As expected, the heat transfer coefficient increased with the increasing temperature due to enhanced thermal properties. Radiation did not appear to be a key contributor for the small particle diameters tested (approximately 300 μm in diameter) but may play a bigger role for larger particle diameters. The experimental results from all trials corroborate the observations of other researchers; namely, that particulate flows demonstrate inferior heat transfer as compared with a continuum flow due to an increased thermal resistance adjacent to the tube wall resulting from the discrete nature of the flow.

Heat Transfer to Vertical Dense Granular Flows at High Operating Temperatures

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan F. Watkins ◽  
Richard D. Gould
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Transfer Coefficient ◽  
Transfer Coefficient ◽  
Granular Flows ◽  
Concentrated Solar Power ◽  
Ceramic Particles ◽  
Dense Flows ◽  
Operating Temperatures ◽  
The Heat Transfer Coefficient ◽  
Dense Granular Flows

Ceramic particles as a heat transfer fluid for concentrated solar power towers offers a variety of advantages over traditional heat transfer fluids. Ceramic particles permit the use of very high operating temperatures, being limited only by the working temperatures of the receiver components, as well as demonstrate the potential to be used for thermal energy storage. A variety of system configurations utilizing ceramic particles are currently being studied, including upward circulating beds of particles, falling particle curtains, and flows of particles over an array of absorber tubes. The present work investigates the use of gravity-driven dense granular flows through cylindrical tubes, which demonstrate solid packing fractions of approximately 60%. Previous work demonstrated encouraging results for the use of dense flows for heat transfer applications and examined the effect of various parameters on the overall heat transfer for low temperatures. The present work examined the heat transfer to dense flows at high operating temperatures more characteristic of concentrated solar power tower applications. For a given flow rate, the heat transfer coefficient was examined as a function of the mean flow temperature by steadily increasing the input heat flux over a series of trials. The heat transfer coefficient increased almost linearly with temperature below approximately 600°C. Above 600°C, the heat transfer coefficient increased at a faster rate, suggesting an increased radiation heat transfer contribution.

Setting Up a Useful Gas Cooler Equation and its Performance Tests

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis Bainier ◽  
Rémy Belgodère ◽  
Vincent Routhieau ◽  
Tony Pillay
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Transfer Coefficient ◽  
Transfer Coefficient ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Gas Flow ◽  
Field Tests ◽  
Heat Transfer Fluid ◽  
Numerical Application ◽  
Fouling Factor ◽  
The Heat Transfer Coefficient

The purpose of this paper is to determine an equation enabling the calculation of the temperature at the exit of a gas cooler, knowing the input temperature, the flow rate, the pressure, the gas composition, the temperature of the heat transfer fluid as well as the heat transfer coefficient of the gas cooler and its transfer surface with the constrain to be easily applied and to give acceptable results. This research has been initiated by compressor engineers and experts in charge of checking the compressor installations. This paper consists of 3 parts. • Determining the equation: This section sets out the equations of continuity, momentum and energy applied to a gas particle flowing within a pipe, by using some assumptions. The most important assumption allows us to consider the gas particle as a very thin disk with the same diameter as the “equivalent tube” of the gas cooler and of which the normal is parallel to the axis of the tube. This gas particle therefore has two faces perpendicular to the gas flow. At the end of the demonstration, the gas cooler could be described in a equation where the inputs are the temperature of the gas entering the gas cooler, the outside temperature of the system considered to be that of the heat transfer fluid of the gas cooler, the total transfer surface of the gas cooler, the average molar heat capacity at constant pressure of the gas, the molar mass of the gas, the mass flow rate, the heat transfer coefficient of the gas cooler; and at the end, a fouling factor is introduced to achieve the purpose of this paper. • Numerical application: In this section, the global heat transfer coefficient of a gas cooler is determined. Knowing this value, The error between temperature T2 established by the provider of the equipment at the exit of the gas cooler and temperature T2calc calculated according to the proposed formula in this paper is determined. The error margin is systematically less than ±0.5 °C. • Field tests: Field tests using this method showed: - the tested gas cooler does not meet the specified requirements, - the accuracy of the method applied in field tests is 98%, - the method is very easy to apply on site and gives acceptable results.

Dense Granular Flows as a New Heat Transfer Fluid for Concentrated Solar Power

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan F. Watkins ◽  
Richard D. Gould
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Transfer Coefficient ◽  
Transfer Coefficient ◽  
Solar Power ◽  
Granular Flows ◽  
Heat Transfer Fluid ◽  
Concentrated Solar Power ◽  
Transfer Coefficients ◽  
Ceramic Particles ◽  
The Heat Transfer Coefficient

The increasing interest in concentrated solar power as a new form of renewable energy necessitates an improvement in overall system efficiency. Current heat transfer fluids employed to capture the concentrated heat demonstrate limited working temperature ranges. This study sought to investigate the use of dense granular flows as a possible new heat transfer fluid, as ceramic particles present virtually no restriction on working temperature. A bench-scale system simulating a single tube of a concentrated solar power central receiver was constructed and used to evaluate the heat transfer properties of the flow at low temperatures. Ceramic particles, 270μm in diameter, were gravity-fed through a vertical tube, resulting in granular flows with particle packing fractions of approximately 60%. Radial temperature profiles were measured and used to calculate the mean temperature of the fluid at different axial tube locations. The heat transfer coefficient was then calculated based on the input heat flux and measured wall and mean temperatures. The effect of the mass flow rate on the heat transfer coefficient was examined by using different orifices at the tube exit. As expected, the heat transfer coefficient increased with increasing flow rate. Heat transfer coefficients ranging from 330 to 380 W/m2-K were obtained for bulk temperatures ranging from 40 to 70°C. Previous works demonstrated comparable heat transfer coefficients at higher bulk temperatures. Thus, our preliminary heat transfer coefficient results demonstrate the potential of dense flows of ceramic particles for obtaining beneficial heat transfer properties at extremely high operating temperatures.

scholarly journals Numerical Investigation on the Influence of Surface Flow Direction on the Heat Transfer Characteristics in a Granite Single Fracture

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 751
Author(s):  
Xuefeng Gao ◽  
Yanjun Zhang ◽  
Zhongjun Hu ◽  
Yibin Huang
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Transfer Coefficient ◽  
Transfer Coefficient ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Flow Direction ◽  
Heat Extraction ◽  
Geothermal System ◽  
Heat Transfer Characteristics ◽  
Transfer Characteristics ◽  
Heat Transfer Capacity

As fluid passes through the fracture of an enhanced geothermal system, the flow direction exhibits distinct angular relationships with the geometric profile of the rough fracture. This will inevitably affect the heat transfer characteristics in the fracture. Therefore, we established a hydro-thermal coupling model to study the influence of the fluid flow direction on the heat transfer characteristics of granite single fractures and the accuracy of the numerical model was verified by experiments. Results demonstrate a strong correlation between the distribution of the local heat transfer coefficient and the fracture morphology. A change in the flow direction is likely to alter the transfer coefficient value and does not affect the distribution characteristics along the flow path. Increasing injection flow rate has an enhanced effect. Although the heat transfer capacity in the fractured increases with the flow rate, a sharp decline in the heat extraction rate and the total heat transfer coefficient is also observed. Furthermore, the model with the smooth fracture surface in the flow direction exhibits a higher heat transfer capacity compared to that of the fracture model with varying roughness. This is attributed to the presence of fluid deflection and dominant channels.

scholarly journals Effect of nanofluid properties and mass-flow rate on heat transfer of parabolic-trough concentrating solar system

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.K. Islam ◽  
Md. Hasanuzzaman ◽  
N.A. Rahim ◽  
A. Nahar
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Transfer Coefficient ◽  
Laminar Flow ◽  
Turbulent Flow ◽  
Transfer Coefficient ◽  
Mass Flow Rate ◽  
Mass Flow ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Parabolic Trough ◽  
Concentrated Solar Energy

Sustainable power generation, energy security, and global warming are the big challenges to the world today. These issues may be addressed through the increased usage of renewable energy resources and concentrated solar energy can play a vital role in this regard. The performance of a parabolic-trough collector’s receiver is here investigated analytically and experimentally using water based and therminol-VP1based CuO, ZnO, Al2O3, TiO2, Cu, Al, and SiC nanofluids. The receiver size has been optimized by a simulation program written in MATLAB. Thus, numerical results have been validated by experimental outcomes under same conditions using the same nanofluids. Increased volumetric concentrations of nanoparticle is found to enhance heat transfer, with heat transfer coefficient the maximum in W-Cu and VP1-SiC, the minimum in W-TiO2 and VP1-ZnO at 0.8 kg/s flow rate. Changing the mass flow rate also affects heat transfer coefficient. It has been observed that heat transfer coefficient reaches its maximum of 23.30% with SiC-water and 23.51% with VP1-SiC when mass-flow rate is increased in laminar flow. Heat transfer enhancement drops during transitions of flow from laminar to turbulent. The maximum heat transfer enhancements of 9.49% and 10.14% were achieved with Cu-water and VP1-SiC nanofluids during turbulent flow. The heat transfer enhancements of nanofluids seem to remain constant when compared with base fluids during either laminar flow or turbulent flow.

scholarly journals Comparison of heat transfer performance of ZnO-PG, α-Al2O3-PG, and γ-Al2O3-PG nanofluids in car radiator

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 184798041987646 ◽  
Author(s):  
XiaoRong Zhou ◽  
Yi Wang ◽  
Kai Zheng ◽  
Haozhong Huang
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Transfer Coefficient ◽  
Transfer Coefficient ◽  
Propylene Glycol ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Volume Concentration ◽  
Maximum Heat ◽  
Cooling Performance ◽  
Maximum Heat Transfer ◽  
The Heat Transfer Coefficient

In this study, the cooling performance of nanofluids in car radiators was investigated. A car radiator, temperature measuring instrument, and other components were used to set up the experimental device, and the temperature of nanofluids passing through the radiator was measured by this device. Three kinds of nanoparticles, γ-Al2O3, α-Al2O3, and ZnO, were added to propylene glycol to prepared nanofluids, and the effects of nanoparticle size and type, volume concentration, initial temperature, and flow rate were tested. The results indicated that the heat transfer coefficients of all nanofluids first increased and then decreased with an increase in volume concentration. The ZnO-propylene glycol nanofluid reached a maximum heat transfer coefficient at 0.3 vol%, and the coefficient decreased by 25.6% with an increase in volume concentration from 0.3 vol% to 0.5 vol%. Smaller particles provided a better cooling performance, and the 0.1 vol% γ-Al2O3-propylene glycol nanofluid had a 19.9% increase in heat transfer coefficient compared with that of α-Al2O3-propylene glycol. An increase in flow rate resulted in a 10.5% increase in the heat transfer coefficient of the 0.5 vol% α-Al2O3-propylene glycol nanofluid. In addition, the experimental temperature range of 40–60°C improved the heat transfer coefficient of the 0.2 vol% ZnO-propylene glycol nanofluid by 46.4%.

Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer Characteristics of Slug Bubbly Flow in Micro Condensers

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. S. Hu ◽  
Christopher Y. H. Chao
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Flux ◽  
Heat Transfer Coefficient ◽  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Transfer Coefficient ◽  
Flow Pattern ◽  
Mass Flow ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Bubbly Flow ◽  
Mixed Flow

Experiments were carried out to study the condensation flow pattern in silicon micro condenser using water as medium. Five flow patterns were identified under our experimental conditions. Slug-bubbly flow and droplet/liquid slug flow were found to be the two dominant flows in the micro condenser. These two flow patterns subsequently determined the heat transfer and pressure drop properties of the fluid. It was observed that only slug-bubbly flow existed in low steam mass flow and high heat flux conditions. When the steam mass flow rate increased or the heat flux dropped, mixed flow pattern occurred. An empirical correlation was obtained to predict when the transition of the flow pattern from slug-bubbly flow to mixed flow could appear. In the slug-bubbly flow regime, heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop in the micro condensers were studied. It was found that micro condensers with smaller channels could exhibit higher heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop. At constant heat flux, increasing the steam mass flow rate resulted in a higher heat transfer coefficient and also the pressure drop.

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