Numerical and Experimental Characterization of the Transient Effectiveness of a Water to Air Heat Exchanger for Data Center Cooling Systems

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tianyi Gao ◽  
Marcelo del Valle ◽  
Alfonso Ortega ◽  
Bahgat G. Sammakia
Keyword(s):  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Mass Flow ◽  
Data Center ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Cooling System ◽  
Cross Flow ◽  
Inlet Temperature ◽  
Experimental Measurements ◽  
Cooling Systems ◽  
Flow Heat

The cross flow heat exchanger is at the heart of most cooling systems for data centers. Air/Water or air/refrigerant heat exchangers are the principal component in Central Room Air Conditioning (CRAC) units that condition data room air that is delivered through an underfloor plenum. Liquid/air heat exchangers are also increasingly deployed in close-coupled cooling systems such as rear door heat exchangers, in-row coolers, and overhead coolers. In all cases, the performance of liquid/air heat exchangers in both steady state and transient scenarios are of principal concern. Transient scenarios occur either by the accidental failure of the cooling system or by intentional dynamic control of the cooling system. In either scenario, transient boundary conditions involve time-dependent air or liquid inlet temperatures and mass flow rates that may be coupled in any number of potential combinations. Understanding and characterizing the performance of the heat exchanger in these transient scenarios is of paramount importance for designing better thermal solutions and improving the operational efficiency of existing cooling systems. In this paper, the transient performance of water to air cross flow heat exchangers is studied using numerical modeling and experimental measurements. Experimental measurements in 12 in. × 12 in. heat exchanger cores were performed, in which the liquid (water) mass flow rate or inlet temperature are varied in time following controlled functional forms (step jump, ramp). The experimental data were used to validate a transient numerical model developed with traditional assumptions of space averaging of heat transfer coefficients, and volume averaging of thermal capacitances. The complete numerical model was combined with the transient effectiveness methodology in which the traditional heat exchanger effectiveness approach is extended into a transient domain, and is then used to model the heat exchanger transient response. Different transient scenarios were parametrically studied to develop an understanding of the impact of critical variables such as, the fluid inlet temperature variation and the fluid mass flow rate variation, and a more comprehensive understanding of the characteristics of the transient effectiveness. Agreement between the novel transient effectiveness modeling approach and the experimental measurements enable use of the models as verified predictive design tools. Several studies are designed based on the practical problems related to data center thermal environments and the results are analyzed.

Review and Analysis of Cross Flow Heat Exchanger Transient Modeling for Flow Rate and Temperature Variations

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tianyi Gao ◽  
James Geer ◽  
Bahgat Sammakia
Keyword(s):  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Mass Flow Rate ◽  
Transient Response ◽  
Mass Flow ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Cross Flow ◽  
Inlet Temperature ◽  
Flow Rate Change ◽  
Flow Heat

Heat exchangers are important facilities that are widely used in heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. For example, heat exchangers are the primary units used in the design of the heat transfer loops of cooling systems for data centers. The performance of a heat exchanger strongly influences the thermal performance of the entire cooling system. The prediction of transient phenomenon of heat exchangers is of increasing interest in many application areas. In this work, a dynamic thermal model for a cross flow heat exchanger is solved numerically in order to predict the transient response under step changes in the fluid mass flow rate and the fluid inlet temperature. Transient responses of both the primary and secondary fluid outlet temperatures are characterized under different scenarios, including fluid mass flow rate change and a combination of changes in the fluid inlet temperature and the mass flow rate. In the ε-NTU (number of transfer units) method, the minimum capacity, denoted by Cmin, is the smaller of Ch and Cc. Due to a mass flow rate change, Cmin may vary from one fluid to another fluid. The numerical procedure and transient response regarding the case of varying Cmin are investigated in detail in this study. A review and comparison of several journal articles related to the similar topic are performed. Several sets of data available in the literatures which are in error are studied and analyzed in detail.

Transient Response of a Cross Flow Heat Exchanger Subjected to Temperature and Flow Perturbations

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karthik Silaipillayarputhur ◽  
Stephen A. Idem
Keyword(s):  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Mass Flow Rate ◽  
Mass Flow ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Cross Flow ◽  
Transient Performance ◽  
Numerical Predictions ◽  
Minimum Capacity ◽  
Flow Heat

The transient performance of a multi-pass cross flow heat exchanger subjected to temperature and mass flow rate perturbations, where the heat exchanger flow circuiting is neither parallel flow nor counter flow, is considered in this work. A detailed numerical study was performed for representative single-pass, two-pass, and three-pass heat exchangers. Numerical predictions were obtained for cases where the minimum capacity rate fluid was subjected to a step change in inlet temperature in absence of mass flow rate perturbations. Likewise, numerical predictions were obtained for the heat exchangers operating initially at steady state, where a step mass flow rate change of the minimum capacity rate fluid was imposed in the absence of any fluid temperature perturbations. The transient performance of this particular heat exchanger configuration subjected to these temperature and flow disturbances has not been discussed previously in the available literature. In the present study the energy balance equations for the hot and cold fluids and the heat exchanger wall were solved using an implicit central finite difference method. A parametric study was conducted by varying the dimensionless quantities that govern the transient response of the heat exchanger over a typical range of values. Because of the storage of energy in the heat exchanger wall, and finite propagation times associated with the inlet perturbations, the outlet temperatures of both fluids do not respond instantaneously. The results are compared with previously published transient performance predictions of multi-pass counter flow and parallel flow heat exchangers.

Modeling of Recuperative Heat Exchanger in a Joule-Thomson Cooler

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim Choon Ng ◽  
Jinbao Wang ◽  
Hong Xue
Keyword(s):  
Heat Conduction ◽  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Cooling System ◽  
Experimental Measurements ◽  
Temperature Dependent ◽  
Counter Flow ◽  
Flow Heat ◽  
Temperature Dependent Properties ◽  
Recuperative Heat Exchanger

Abstract To develop effective heat exchangers for miniature and micro Joule-Thomson (J-T) cooling system, the performance of a recuperative heat exchanger is analyzed and evaluated. The evaluation is based on a theoretical model of the Hampson-type counter-flow heat exchanger. The effect of the pressure and temperature-dependent properties and longitudinal heat conduction are considered. The results of the numerical simulation are validated with the corresponding experimental measurements. The performance of the heat exchanger on effectiveness, flow and various heat conduction losses as well as liquefied yield fraction are analyzed and discussed. The simulation model provides a useful tool for miniature J-T cooler design.

Heat and Mass Transfer to Air in a Cross Flow Heat Exchanger with Surface Deluge Cooling

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (01) ◽  
pp. 1650002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Diani ◽  
Luisa Rossetto ◽  
Roberto Dall’Olio ◽  
Daniele De Zen ◽  
Filippo Masetto
Keyword(s):  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Heat Flow ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Data Center ◽  
Heat Dissipation ◽  
Cross Flow ◽  
Critical Conditions ◽  
Heat Flow Rate ◽  
External Temperature ◽  
Flow Heat

Cross flow heat exchangers, when applied to cool data center rooms, use external air (process air) to cool the air stream coming from the data center room (primary air). However, an air–air heat exchanger is not enough to cope with extreme high heat loads in critical conditions (high external temperature). Therefore, water can be sprayed in the process air to increase the heat dissipation capability (wet mode). Water evaporates, and the heat flow rate is transferred to the process air as sensible and latent heat. This paper proposes an analytical approach to predict the behavior of a cross flow heat exchanger in wet mode. The theoretical results are then compared to experimental tests carried out on a real machine in wet mode conditions. Comparisons are given in terms of calculated versus experimental heat flow rate and evaporated water mass flow rate, showing a good match between theoretical and experimental values.

scholarly journals Analytical and Experimental Investigation of a Plate Fin Heat Exchanger at Cryogenics Temperature

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 1225-1235
Author(s):  
Ajay K. Gupta ◽  
Manoj Kumar ◽  
Ranjit K. Sahoo ◽  
Sunil K. Sarangi
Keyword(s):  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Mass Flow Rate ◽  
Mass Flow ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Cryogenic Temperature ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Inlet Temperature ◽  
Compact Size

Plate-fin heat exchangers provide a broad range of applications in many cryogenic industries for liquefaction and separation of gasses because of their excellent technical advantages such as high effectiveness, compact size, etc. Correlations are available for the design of a plate-fin heat exchanger, but experimental investigations are few at cryogenic temperature. In the present study, a cryogenic heat exchanger test setup has been designed and fabricated to investigate the performance of plate-fin heat exchanger at cryogenic temperature. Major parameters (Colburn factor, Friction factor, etc.) that affect the performance of plate-fin heat exchangers are provided concisely. The effect of mass flow rate and inlet temperature on the effectiveness and pressure drop of the heat exchanger are investigated. It is observed that with an increase in mass flow rate effectiveness and pressure drop increases. The present setup emphasis the systematic procedure to perform the experiment based on cryogenic operating conditions and represent its uncertainties level.

Minimum Irreversibility Criteria for Heat Exchanger Configurations

1999 ◽  
Vol 121 (4) ◽  
pp. 241-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. E. M. Saboya ◽  
C. E. S. M. da Costa
Keyword(s):  
Heat Capacity ◽  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Cross Flow ◽  
Second Law Of Thermodynamics ◽  
The Other ◽  
Maximum Heat ◽  
Transfer Rates ◽  
Mass Flow Rates ◽  
Flow Heat

From the second law of thermodynamics, the concepts of irreversibility, entropy generation, and availability are applied to counterflow, parallel-flow, and cross-flow heat exchangers. In the case of the Cross-flow configuration, there are four types of heat exchangers: I) both fluids unmixed, 2) both fluids mixed, 3) fluid of maximum heat capacity rate mixed and the other unmixed, 4) fluid of minimum heat capacity rate mixed and the other unmixed. In the analysis, the heat exchangers are assumed to have a negligible pressure drop irreversibility. The Counterflow heat exchanger is compared with the other five heat exchanger types and the comparison will indicate which one has the minimum irreversibility rate. In this comparison, only the exit temperatures and the heat transfer rates of the heat exchangers are different. The other conditions (inlet temperatures, mass flow rates, number of transfer units) and the working fluids are the same in the heat exchangers.

Transient Response of Cross Flow Heat Exchangers Subjected to Simultaneous Temperature and Flow Perturbations

2015 ◽  
Vol 799-800 ◽  
pp. 665-670
Author(s):  
Karthik Silaipillayarputhur
Keyword(s):  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Convection Heat Transfer ◽  
Cross Flow ◽  
Balance Equations ◽  
Transfer Resistance ◽  
Mass Flow Rates ◽  
Flow Heat ◽  
Transient Thermal ◽  
Central Finite Difference

This paper compares the transient thermal performance between counter and parallel cross flow heat exchangers subjected to time varying inlet mass flow rates and inlet temperatures that hasn’t been previously discussed in the available literature. Specifically the transient performance of 2 pass and 3 pass cross flow heat exchangers is discussed in this paper. In the present study the energy balance equations for the hot and cold fluids and the heat exchanger wall were solved using an implicit central finite difference method. Representative values of NTU were considered, and the NTU’s of the heat exchanger were assumed to be uniformly distributed among the heat exchanger passes. Other physically significant parameters such as the capacity rate ratio and the convection heat transfer resistance ratio were systematically varied. A detailed summary based on the observations has been presented.

Performance Analysis of Multi-Pass Cross-Flow Heat Exchangers

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiran Lankalapalli ◽  
Ahmed ElSawy ◽  
Stephen Idem
Keyword(s):  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Performance Analysis ◽  
Thermal Performance ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Cross Flow ◽  
Threshold Value ◽  
Finned Tube ◽  
Flow Heat ◽  
Rate Ratios ◽  
Side Flow

A steady state sensible performance analysis of multi-pass cross-flow finned-tube heat exchangers is reported. The investigation considers various flow circuiting, such as counter cross-flow, parallel cross-flow, and cross-flow where the tube-side flow is in parallel. A previously developed matrix approach is used to evaluate the heat exchanger performance in each tube pass. The equations required to model the thermal performance of these configurations are presented, and the thermal performance is compared for each type of flow circuiting. Thereafter a parametric study on cross-flow heat exchanger performance is performed by varying physically significant parameters such as number of transfer units (NTU) and capacity rate ratios, and the graphical results for each type of flow circuiting are presented both for both two-pass and three-pass arrangements. A consistent criterion is proposed for each case, wherein increasing the NTU beyond a certain threshold value does not significantly improve heat exchanger thermal performance.

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