scholarly journals Experimental Study of the Slit Spacing and Bed Height on the Thermal Performance of Slit-Glazed Solar Air Heater

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyyed Mahdi Taheri Mousavi ◽  
Fuat Egelioglu

The thermal performances of three slit-glazed solar air heaters (SGSAHs) were investigated experimentally. Three SGSAHs with different bed heights (7 cm, 5 cm, and 3 cm) were fabricated with multiple glass panes used for glazing. The length, width, and thickness of each pane were 154 cm, 6 cm, and 0.4 cm, respectively. Ambient air was continuously withdrawn through the gaps between the glass panes by fans. The experiments were conducted for four different gap distances between the glass panes (0.5 mm, 1 mm, 2 mm, and 3 mm) and the air mass flow rate was varied between 0.014 kg/s and 0.057 kg/s. The effects of air mass flux on the outlet temperature and thermal efficiency were studied. For the SGSAH with bed height of 7 cm and glass pane gap distance of 0.5 mm, the highest efficiency was obtained as 82% at a mass flow rate of 0.057 kg/s and the air temperature difference between the inlet and the outlet (∆T) was maximum (27°C) when the mass flow rate was least. The results demonstrate that for lower mass flow rates and larger gaps, the performance of SGSAH with a bed height of 3 cm was better compared to that of others. However, for higher mass flow rates, the SGSAH with 7 cm bed height performed better.

Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (24) ◽  
pp. 7291
Author(s):  
Ádám Nyerges ◽  
Máté Zöldy

Modern Diesel engines have complex exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) systems. Due to the high temperatures, it is a typical issue to measure EGR mass flow rates in these complex control systems. Therefore, it is expedient to estimate it. Several sensed values can help the estimation: the fresh air mass flow rate, the fuel consumption, pressures, temperatures and mass fractions in the air path system. In most of the articles, the EGR mass flow rate estimation is done by the pressures. However, gas composition based models usually would be better for control aims. In this paper, nine EGR estimation methods will be presented: an important outcome is to present the required sensor architectures and estimation challenges. The comparison will be made by measurement results both in stationary operation points and transient cycles. The estimated EGR mass flow rates will be evaluated by verification conditions. The results will prove that the intake and exhaust side oxygen sensors can give verifiable signals for EGR mass flow rate estimation. In contrast, the applied fresh air mass flow rate and the nitrogen-oxide signals are not accurate enough to provide verifiable EGR mass flow rates in every operating condition. The effects of sensor inaccuracies will also be considered.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 1105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo Carcasci ◽  
Lapo Cheli ◽  
Pietro Lubello ◽  
Lorenzo Winchler

This paper presents an off-design analysis of a gas turbine Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) combined cycle. Combustion turbine performances are significantly affected by fluctuations in ambient conditions, leading to relevant variations in the exhaust gases’ mass flow rate and temperature. The effects of the variation of ambient air temperature have been considered in the simulation of the topper cycle and of the condenser in the bottomer one. Analyses have been performed for different working fluids (toluene, benzene and cyclopentane) and control systems have been introduced on critical parameters, such as oil temperature and air mass flow rate at the condenser fan. Results have highlighted similar power outputs for cycles based on benzene and toluene, while differences as high as 34% have been found for cyclopentane. The power output trend with ambient temperature has been found to be influenced by slope discontinuities in gas turbine exhaust mass flow rate and temperature and by the upper limit imposed on the air mass flow rate at the condenser as well, suggesting the importance of a correct sizing of the component in the design phase. Overall, benzene-based cycle power output has been found to vary between 4518 kW and 3346 kW in the ambient air temperature range considered.


Author(s):  
M. K. Mittal ◽  
R. Kumar ◽  
A. Gupta

The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of coiling on the flow characteristics of R-407C in an adiabatic spiral capillary tube. The characteristic coiling parameter for a spiral capillary tube is the coil pitch; hence, the effect of the coil pitch on the mass flow rate of R-407C was studied on several capillary tube test sections. It was observed that the coiling of the capillary tube significantly reduced the mass flow rate of R-407C in the adiabatic spiral capillary tube. In order to quantify the effect of coiling, the experiments were also conducted for straight a capillary tube, and it was observed that the coiling of the capillary tube reduced the mass flow rate in the spiral tube in the range of 9–18% as compared with that in the straight capillary tube. A generalized nondimensional correlation for the prediction of the mass flow rates of various refrigerants was developed for the straight capillary tube on the basis of the experimental data of R-407C of the present study, and the data of R-134a, R-22, and R-410A measured by other researchers. Additionally, a refrigerant-specific correlation for the spiral capillary was also proposed on the basis of the experimental data of R-407C of the present study.


Author(s):  
Khaled Yousef ◽  
Ahmed Hegazy ◽  
Abraham Engeda

Abstract This paper presents a Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) simulation for dry air/water-liquid and two-phase flow mixing in a vertical inverted U-tube using the mixture multiphase and turbulence models. This study is to investigate the flow behaviors and underlying some physical mechanisms encountered in dry air/water-liquid flow in the inverted U-tube. Water flows through the inverted U-tube while the dry air is entrained using the side-tube installed after the water flow downward. The inverted U-tube is tested at water mass flow rates of 2,4,6 and 8 kg/s, air mass flow rates, 0.000614–0.02292 kg/s, with dry air volume fractions 0.2–0.9. The obtained results are compared with the experimental data for model validation and the present CFD model is able to give an acceptable agreement. Also, the results show that, at water mass flow rate of 2 kg/s, there are vortices and turbulent intensity disturbances are noticed at the inverted U-tube higher part, which refers to an air entrainment occurrence from the side-tube. Theses disturbances starts to be stabilized at air mass flow rate around 0.00736 kg/s and air volume fraction, αa = 0.75. This means, if the air mass flow rate increases above this limit, the air entrainment may be blocked. On the other side, at water mass flow rate of 4 kg/s, there are little noticed disturbances until air mass flow rate of 0.00368 kg/s and αa = 0.43 and thereafter stabilized. After this point for water mass flow rate of 4 kg/s, increasing air mass flow rate may block the water flow and the whole inverted U-tube system possible stop flowing. Therefore, this study is able to estimate the required operational conditions and mass ratios for stable air entrainment process. Beyond these operational conditions, air entrainment may be blocked and the whole system discontinues its normal induced gravitational flow. In addition, this study proves that the inverted U-tube is able to generate a vacuum pressure up to 53.382 kPa based on the present geometrical configuration. This generated low-pressure by the inverted U-tube can be used for engineering applications which are working under vacuum and need continuous evacuating form the dry air and non-condensable gases. Furthermore, these findings motivate the utilizing of inverted U-tube for the air evacuation purposes for less power consuming in power plants.


2007 ◽  
Vol 129 (4) ◽  
pp. 705-711 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Belforte ◽  
T. Raparelli ◽  
V. Viktorov ◽  
A. Trivella

In porous resistances, Darcy’s law provides a good approximation of mass flow rate when the differences between upstream and downstream pressures are sufficiently small. In this range, the mass flow rates are proportional to the porous resistance’s permeability. For gas bearings, the pressure difference is normally higher, and it is known experimentally that the mass flow rates are lower than would result from Darcy’s law. Forchheimer’s law adds an inertial term to Darcy’s law and, when an appropriate coefficient is selected for this term, provides a good approximation of flow rates for the same applications even with the highest pressure differences. This paper presents an experimental and theoretical investigation of porous resistances used in gas bearing and thrust pad supply systems. The porous resistances considered in the investigation were made by sintering bronze powders with different grain sizes to produce cylindrical inserts that can be installed in bearing supply devices. The paper describes the test setup and experimental results obtained for: (i) mass flow rate through single porous resistances at different upstream and downstream pressures and (ii) mass flow rate and pressure distribution on a pneumatic pad featuring the same porous resistances. The theoretical permeability of the chosen porous resistances was calculated, and the results from setup (i) were then used to obtain experimental permeability and to determine the inertial coefficients. The results, which are expressed as a function of the Reynolds number, confirmed the validity of using Forchheimer’s law. The mass flow rates from setup (ii) were compared to those from setup (i) at the same pressure differentials across the resistance.


Author(s):  
Vahid Madadi ◽  
Touraj Tavakoli ◽  
Amir Rahimi

AbstractThe energy and exergy performance of a parabolic dish collector is investigated experimentally and theoretically. The effect of receiver type, inlet temperature and mass flow rate of heat transfer fluid (HTF), receiver temperature, receiver aspect ratio and solar radiation are investigated. To evaluate the effect of the receiver aperture area on the system performance, three aperture diameters are considered. It is deduced that the fully opened receivers have the greatest exergy and thermal efficiency. The cylindrical receiver has greater energy and exergy efficiency than the conical one due to less exergy destruction. It is found that the highest exergy destruction is due to heat transfer between the sun and the receivers and counts for 35 % to 60 % of the total wasted exergy. For three selected receiver aperture diameters, the exergy efficiency is minimum for a specified HTF mass flow rate. High solar radiation allows the system to work at higher HTF inlet temperatures. To use this system in applications that need high temperatures, in cylindrical and conical receivers, the HTF mass flow rates lower than 0.05 and 0.09 kg/s are suggested, respectively. For applications that need higher amounts of energy content, higher HTF mass flow rates than the above mentioned values are recommended.


Author(s):  
Muhammad Ali Kamran ◽  
Shahryar Manzoor

A comprehensive experimental study on the effects of different operating parameters on the efficiency of tesla turbine is reported. A bladeless turbine with nine discs and up to four turbine inlets was used, with water as the working fluid. The parameters investigated are the nozzle angle, number of turbine inlets and mass flow rates. Contrary to earlier studies, an effort was made to determine the performance under varying loading conditions, and hence identify the complete performance characteristics. The study revealed that efficiency of the turbine increases at lower nozzle angles and higher number of turbine inlets. It was observed that the nozzle angle becomes a significant parameter when the number of turbine inlets is increased. Efficiencies up to 78% were achieved when the working fluid entered the turbine through two nozzles at an angle of 7°. It was also noted that the turbine is most efficient at the designed mass flow rate, and the efficiency reduces appreciably if lower mass flow rates are fed to the turbine. The results obtained are an important contribution to the available knowledge and can be used as design references for further studies.


Author(s):  
Federico M Berruti ◽  
Lorenzo Ferrante ◽  
Franco Berruti ◽  
Cedric Briens

Among many other potential applications, intermittent solid slug feeders can be used to effectively inject biomass materials into fluidized bed reactors for pyrolysis. In particular, these feeders can be used to convey biomass materials that are highly cohesive to prevent plugging or undesirable reaction in the feeding tube. Although feeders of this design have been shown to work very effectively, they have not been studied in detail or optimized for the pyrolysis process. In addition, the operating conditions required to obtain predictable and consistent mass flow rates and slugs of desirable characteristics need to be established.The purpose of this work was to design, build and demonstrate the operation of a horizontal intermittent solid slug feeder and to test it with sawdust as the feed material. Sawdust is an extremely cohesive and difficult biomass to inject, but one that holds great potential as an important renewable feedstock for pyrolysis.The intermittent feeder designed for this work consisted of a pressurized vertical solids storage silo leading to a pneumatic pinch valve. The pinch valve, controlled by solenoid valves connected to a relay timer, released the feed into a horizontal feeding tube at a ninety degree angle. Within the silo, a rotating mixer prevented the bridging of solids. Intermittent pulses of gas from a control volume were fed into the horizontal feeding tube, as well as, in some cases, a continuous gas flow. The timing of the pulses was controlled by solenoid valves with a relay timer. While the pinch valve is opened, solids fall into the horizontal feeding tube forming a plug, which is then propelled by the pulsating gas into the reactor. The solid mass flow rate was experimentally measured by collecting the solids and continuously measuring the mass using a digital balance.Several variables were tested in order to optimize the performance of the feeder and the consistency of the feeding rate. They included the silo pressure, mixing rate, gas pulse pressure and volume, continuous gas mass flow rate, and the open pinch-valve time interval. The goals of this optimization were (a) to maximize the solid-to-gas ratio of mass flow rates, since the gas mass flux must be minimized to avoid wasting energy, and (b) to define operating conditions required to inject consistent biomass mass flow rates suitable for a laboratory scale pyrolysis reactor, and (c) to propose initial design criteria and a calibration procedure for intermittent solid slug feeders.The results demonstrated that the intermittent solid slug feeder system successfully achieved the desired objectives and showed how to efficiently select its optimum operating conditions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (0) ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saulius Pakalka ◽  
Kęstutis Valančius ◽  
Matas Damonskis

The paper presents an experimental study of the influence of heat transfer fluid (HTF) mass flow rate on phase change materials (PCM) behaviour. The experimental study was performed on a specially designed test bench. Research object – PCM based thermal energy storage unit which consists of a stainless steel tank with dual circuit tube-fin copper heat exchanger. The tank (storage volume) was filled with phase change material RT82. The experiment was carried out using three different mass flow rates of HTF: high – 0.25 kg/s, medium – 0.125 kg/s, low – 0.05 kg/s. The analysis showed that in the case of high and medium mass flow rates the melting/solidification process highly depends on the temperature of inlet HTF. Influence of mass flow rate is higher in the case of low mass flow rate.


2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-56
Author(s):  
Vedran Mrzljak ◽  
Jan Kudláček ◽  
Đerzija Begić-Hajdarević ◽  
Jelena Musulin

In this paper is presented an analysis of gland seals operation and their influence on the performance of low power steam turbine with two cylinders and steam reheating, which can be used in marine applications. Performed analysis presents a comparison of steam turbine main operating parameters when gland seals operation is neglected (as usual in the most of the literature) and when steam mass flow rates leaked through all gland seals are taken into consideration. Steam mass flow rate leakage through all gland seals reduces produced power of the whole turbine and both of its cylinders. Operation of gland seal mounted at the inlet in the first cylinder of any steam turbine (cylinder which operates with the steam of the highest pressure) has the most notable influence on the reduction of the whole turbine produced power. Gland seal mounted at the outlet of the last turbine cylinder (cylinder which operates with the steam of the lowest pressure) did not have any influence on the reduction of steam turbine produced power. In any detail analysis of a steam turbine (especially the complex turbine with multiple cylinders), gland seals operation should be considered due to their notable influence on the turbine performance.


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