Major applications of heat pipe and its advances coupled with sorption system: a review

Heat pipe utilizes continuous phase change process within a small temperature drop to achieve high thermal conductivity. For decades, heat pipes coupled with novel emerging technologies and methods (using nanofluids and self-rewetting fluids) have been highly appreciated, along with which a number of advances have taken place. In addition to some typical applications of thermal control and heat recovery, the heat pipe technology combined with the sorption technology could efficiently improve the heat and mass transfer performance of sorption systems for heating, cooling and cogeneration. However, almost all existing studies on this combination or integration have not concentrated on the principle of the sorption technology with acting as the heat pipe technology for continuous heat transfer. This paper presents an overview of the emerging working fluids, the major applications of heat pipe, and the advances in heat pipe type sorption system. Besides, the ongoing and perspectives of the solid sorption heat pipe are presented, expecting to serve as useful guides for further investigations and new research potentials.     

利用热管强化吸附床内的传热传质

为了强化吸附式制冷吸附床内的传热传质，设计了利用高效传热元件热管作为内翅片的吸附床。在能量守恒关系和吸附平衡方程的基础上建立了吸附床的数学模型，并对此模型用数值方法进行了求解。求解结果表明利用热管元件可以显著的改善吸附床内的传热传质过程，缩短了吸附式制冷的循环时间，提高了系统的效率，该数学模型为吸附床的设计参数的选择和优化等提供了依据。     

The Numerical Comparison of Heat Transfer in a Coated and Fixed Bed of an Adsorption Chiller

Ecological adsorption technology is becoming a focus of attention by industry due to the utilization of low grade thermal energy sources for cooling production. It can be a promising part of sustainable development concept of the global economy. Therefore, research aiming at improving their performance i.e. Coefficient of Performance (COP) by optimizing the construction of sorption beds with a built in heat exchanger system is crucial. The heat transfer characteristics between the bed of porous media (sorbent) and surface of the heat exchanger system determine the heating power of an adsorption chiller. The HP increase can be obtained by heat transfer intensification due to the increase in the thermal conductivity of the sorbent layer in the vicinity of the heat exchanger’s surface. The novel modification of the sorbent layer structure is proposed in the paper in order to improve the heat transfer processes in the heat exchanger boundary layer. The analysis of desorption process conditions in the parametric model of a coated and fixed adsorption bed design is presented in the paper. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) with conjugate heat transfer analysis is used to determine the crucial input parameters (temperature distribution in the sorbent bed) for further analytical calculations. The commercial code Ansys Fluent was used to perform numerical simulations. The developed computational model consisted of three subdomains representing heating water, heat exchanger material (copper) and sorbent (silica gel). The comparison of a novel coated design and a conventional fixed bed is discussed in the paper. The numerical analysis is based on experimental thermal conductivity measurements of the sorbent layer in different configurations, which were performed using Laser Flash Method.     

Heat and mass transfer during adsorption of ammonia in a cylindrical adsorbent bed: thermal performance study of a combined parabolic solar collector, water heat pipe and adsorber generator assembly

In this paper we present the study of adsorption refrigerator which use an activated carbon-pair ammonia. The ability of activated carbons to adsorb large mass of ammonia makes them ideal for use in adsorption refrigeration and pump systems. These systems have not reasonable efficiency. In order to make these systems economically viable, their size must be reduced. This implies a need for a rapid heating and cooling the adsorbent/refrigerant pair. However, the main problems to be overcome is related to the poor heat transfer in the adsorbent bed. So, it is necessary to study and understand the heat and mass transfer within the bed and to improve it. A detailed model of heat and mass transfer into the generator has been developed. For a given heat flux, temperature and adsorbed mass have been computed in every point at each step time along the adsorbed bed (generator). Experimental installation simulating an adsorption machine working within a temperature ranging from 20 to 250 °C and pressure ranging from 0 to 2.5 × 10⁶ Pa, allows for identification of the generator's equivalent thermal conductivity and internal heat transfer coefficient. These two parameters are then used to simulate thermal performance of a design whose features include the insertion of stainless steel water heat pipe (HP's) condensers into the generator. The HP's evaporator heat input is of solar origin using a compound parabolic collector (CPC). Nominal Solar coefficient of performance, COPs =14.37% obtained through both Adimensional Exergy Loss (AEL), and COP study, shows the competitiveness of the proposed design.     

The heat and mass transfer performance of facile synthesized silica gel/carbon-fiber based consolidated composite adsorbents developed by freeze-drying method

A series of experimental investigations had been performed to analyze the heat and mass transfer performance for two novel types of silica-based consolidated composite adsorbents developed by the freeze-drying method. The first type of adsorbent is silica gel consolidated with carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) (SC), while the other is silica gel consolidated with CMC and carbon fiber powder (SCC). Results indicate that the thermal conductivity of consolidated composite adsorbents increases with the mass proportion of carbon fiber powder, while it decreases with the increasing moisture content in the preparation process of the adsorbents. When the mass ratio of silica gel, CMC, and carbon fiber powder is 4:1:4, the highest thermal conductivity of consolidated composite adsorbent obtained from experiments reaches 1.66 W m^?1 K^?1, which is 13.4 times greater than that of pure silica gel. Furthermore, the results of macroporous properties analysis of typical samples including SC20 and SCC20 (where the 20 means that the undried samples have a water content of 20% by mass during the preparation process) show that heat transfer additives effectively improve the macroporous porosity and permeability of the consolidated composite adsorbents. The study on adsorption dynamic performance indicates that the freeze-drying method helps to improve the adsorption performance including adsorption rate and equilibrium water uptake. The experimental results also show that the mass transfer coefficient K of the two typical samples are approximately stable at 5 × 10^?3 s^?1 when the adsorption temperature is ranged between 30 and 40°C, which are almost twice the corresponding values of the samples developed by heating–drying method. Therefore, the proposed approach which is the consolidation with heat transfer additives combined with freeze-drying method is effective for simultaneously enhancing the heat and mass transfer performance of the silica gel adsorbents.     

A zeolite-coated bed for air conditioning adsorption systems: parametric study of heat and mass transfer by dynamic simulation

In this paper the heat and mass transfer properties of a new zeolite-coated adsorbent bed to be employed in sorption air conditioning systems are investigated by a modelling approach. It consists of a dynamic model which allows to calculate the exchanged energies, the cycle time and, thus, the specific power of the bed. The analysis of the model results, has shown that the proposed configuration (in which the heat transfer enhancement is mainly related to the good adhesion between metal and adsorbent) is very interesting if compared with the traditional beds. Furthermore, to determine the conditions which allow to obtain the most effective heat and mass transfer in the new adsorbent bed, an optimisation study has been carried out.     

吸附制冷系统吸附床传热过程的数值模拟

为缩短吸附制冷周期,采用两床交替吸附/解吸结构,并采用管内走传热介质,管外填充吸附剂的吸附式制冷系统。建立了相应的数学模型。用数值方法对模型进行了求解,着重对吸附床温度场分布进行了数值模拟,并对吸附床内压力,某些点温度以及吸附量随时间的动态变化进行了模拟,得出的结果与实际情况吻合较好,说明此吸附制冷系统有较好的传热效果,为吸附床的优化设计提供了参考依据。     

Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Enhancement of Heat and Mass Transfer in Adsorbent Beds

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Designs of metal hydride reactors

As metal hydride beds have extremely poor heat transfer characteristics, the configurations of hydride reactors will have a marked effect on the performance and cost effectiveness of these metal-hydrogen systems. Therefore, it is of great significance to develop these reactors into the most suitable configurations for optimum heat transfer performance. The results of comparative studies of one-dimensional reactors and two-dimensional reactors can be used as guides to design reactors optimally and to augment heat and mass transfer processes in metal hydride beds. The comparative study of the three elementary reactors reveals the fact that the 011 reactor has an excellent heat and mass transfer performance and reactors with similar configurations may be recommended to be used in practical metal-hydrogen systems.     

Study on a re-heat two-stage adsorption chiller – The influence of thermal capacitance ratio,overall thermal conductance ratio and adsorbent mass on system performance

Silica gel/water based adsorption cycles have a distinct advantage in their ability to be driven by heat of near-ambient temperature so that waste heat below 100 °C can be recovered. One interesting feature of refrigeration cycles driven by waste heat is that they do not use primary energy as driving source. From this context, some researchers investigated the performance of multi-stage adsorption refrigeration cycles those can be operated by heat source of temperature 60 °C or lower which are usually purged to the environment, with a heat sink of temperature at 30 °C. However, the performances of multi-stage systems are low. To improve system performance, an analytic investigation on a re-heat two-stage chiller is performed to clarify the effect of thermal capacitance ratio of the adsorbent and inert material of sorption element, overall thermal conductance ratio of sorption element and evaporator along with silica gel mass on the chiller performance. Results show that cycle performance is strongly influenced by the sorption elements overall thermal conductance values due to their severe sensible heating and cooling requirements resulting from batched cycle operation. The effect of thermal capacitance ratio (C_s/C_m) becomes significant with relatively higher mass of silica gel. It is also found that the chiller performance increases significantly in the range of silica gel mass from 4 to 20 kg.     

无机高效传热技术在原油处理设备中的应用

无机传热元件具有启动迅速、导热系数高及均温性好等优良的传热特性。本文首次将无机传热元件应用于油气田高效加热炉,使设计热效率达到92％,钢耗量由平均13t／MW下降到6-8t／MW,设备造价降低15％,并首次将无机高效传热元件应用于原油处理设备,较好地解决了传统设备由于采用火筒直接加热油井产物所导致的结焦、爆管问题,提高了设备的使用寿命和安全可靠性,并使热负荷减少50％以上,燃气量减少50％以上。利用该技术开发出的两种无机传热高效原油处理设备,对油田地面工程建设及生产运行中的节能降耗具有参考意义。     

Theoretical and experimental investigation of a constant-pressure adsorption process

This paper presents a theoretical and experimental analysis of a constant pressure adsorption process. The governing heat and mass transfer equations derived from local thermodynamic equilibrium and energy balance are solved numerically. The model is validated by comparison with experimental results. It is then used to analyze the effect of some operating and design parameters on a constant-pressure sorption process. The adsorbent thickness and heat transfer coefficient between the adsorbent and the heating/cooling fluid have the strongest influence on sorption kinetics and on the cooling capacity of adsorption systems.     

Isothermal composite adsorbent. Part I: Thermal characterisation

Adsorption and desorption are respectively exo and endothermic phenomena leading to significant temperature changes in adsorption columns. Enhanced efficiency of a sorption process could be obtained under isothermal conditions, either for gas storage, purification or separation applications. The heat transfer within the adsorbent beds can be managed in situ, using thermal energy storage material: a phase change materials (PCM) for example. The thermal behaviour of a mixture of activated carbon and PCM during CO₂ adsorption has been studied. The thermal characteristics of the involved materials have been determined and experiments carried out to highlight the positive effect of the PCM to reduce the CO₂ adsorption heat effects on an activated carbon bed. Calorimetry was the technique used for all the thermal characterisations. It appears that the heat effects induced by CO₂ adsorption are reduced by the presence of the PCM together with the adsorbent. The endothermic effect of fusion balances the heat effect of adsorption and significantly reduces the temperature changes.     

Effects of inlet conditions on film evaporation along an inclined plate

The evaporation of falling water liquid film in air flow is used in different solar energy applications as drying, distillation and desalination, and desiccant systems. The good understanding of the hydrodynamics and heat exchange in falling liquid film and gas flow, with interfacial heat and mass transfer, can be applied in improving solar systems performance. The solar system performance is dependent on the operating conditions, system conception and related to several physical parameters, where the effects of some of these parameters are not completely clarified. In the present numerical study, we examine the effects of inlet conditions on the evaporation processes along the gas–liquid interface. The liquid film streams over an inclined plate subjected to different thermal conditions. Liquid and gas flows are approached by two coupled laminar boundary-layers. The numerical solution is obtained by utilizing an implicit finite-difference box method. In this analysis an air–water system is considered and the coupled effects of inclination, inlet liquid mass flow rate and gas velocity are examined. The results show that, for imposed heat flux or uniform wall temperature, the effect of inclination is highly dependent on the liquid mass flow rate and gas velocity. An increase in the liquid mass flow rate causes an enhancement of the effect of inclination on the heat and mass transfer. The inclination affects the heat and mass transfer, especially at lower gas velocities. In the range of inclination angles of 0–10°, an increase in the inclination improves the evaporation by increasing the vapor mass flow rate. The maximum effect of inclination is nearly achieved at an inclination angle of 10°.     

Novel adsorption refrigerators with separate type two phase closed thermosyphon designs

Two adsorption refrigerators with separate type two‐phase closed thermosyphon heating processes are designed to improve the heat transfer performance and to reduce the system's moving parts number and system's size. One adsorption refrigerator uses the design of three‐effect separate type two‐phase closed thermosyphon heating/cooling; the other one uses the design of separated separate type two‐phase closed thermosyphon heating and force convection cooling. The results show that the coefficient of performance (COP) and specific of cooling power (SCP) can be improved because of the pressure difference mass recovery process. The system with the separate type two‐phase closed thermosyphon heating and force convection cooling design is more attractive because fewer moving parts are used and the system's size can be reduced for building. Moreover, the thermal transfer of the adsorption beds is designed as separate type heat pipe, which can avoid the problem of corrosion from heat or sink sources, such as heavy‐duty exhaust gases or seawater. Under the nominal working condition, the evaporating temperature, COP and SCP can reach ?21 °C, 0.26 and 474 W kg^?1. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

对太阳能固体吸附式制冷技术的应用分析

本文介绍了太阳能作为驱动热源的固体吸附式制冷系统的基本组成,依据Polnyi吸附势理论和D-R方程对系统的吸附一解吸过程进行了比较准确的描述,着重对固体吸附式制冷技术的实际应用技术分析。主要必须考虑：在对吸附系统的研究中引入“非平衡吸附”概述进行了动态吸附速度的测定,尽可能地选用带有吸收膜的集热器,以及改善吸附床的传热传质性能等。     

基于平行流铝扁管吸附床传热性能的模拟研究

吸附床是吸附式制冷系统的关键部件。吸附床的换热能力对吸附式制冷系统的各项性能有显著影响。文章针对应用于吸附床的传统换热器和扁管换热器的不足之处,设计出一种新型平行流铝扁管吸附床,并建立了该吸附床的二维传热模型,以温度随时间的变化情况为分析指标,分析翅片的间距、高度、厚度,以及吸附剂体积分数等因素对吸附床传热性能的影响,从而优化调整吸附床的结构,提高其换热性能。分析结果表明:当翅片高度约为70 mm时,吸附床的换热能力达到峰值;当翅片厚度大于1.5 mm时,翅片厚度的增加对吸附床传热性能的影响比较微弱;当吸附剂体积分数由0.25逐渐增大至0.45时,吸附剂的等效传热系数约增加了50%。     

Numerical study on hydrogen and thermal storage performance of a sandwich reaction bed filled with metal hydride and thermochemical material

Hydrogen storage and release process of metal hydride (MH) accompany with large amount of reaction heat. The thermal management is very important to improve the comprehensive performance of hydrogen storage unit. In present paper, thermochemical material (TCM) is used to storage and release the reaction heat, and a new sandwich configuration reaction bed of MH-TCM system was proposed and its superior hydrogen and thermal storage performance were numerically validated. Firstly, the optimum TCM distribution with a volume ratio (TCM in inner layer to total) of 0.4 was derived for the sandwich bed. Then, comparisons between the sandwich reaction bed and the traditional reaction bed were performed. The results show that the sandwich MH-TCM system has faster heat transfer and reaction rate due to its larger heat transfer area and smaller thermal resistance, which results in the hydrogen storage time is shortened by 61.1%. The heat transfer in the reaction beds have significant effects on performance of MH-TCM systems. Increasing the thermal conductivity of the reaction beds can further reduce the hydrogen storage time. Moreover, improving the hydrogen inflation pressure can result in higher equilibrium temperature, which is beneficial for the enhancing heat transfer and hydrogen absorption rates.     

Solar still versus solar evaporator: A comparative study between their thermal behaviors

This paper presents a theoretical comparison between the thermal behavior of a basin type solar still and that from a solar evaporator. The analyses are twofold: (a) comparing the system temperatures and the heat and mass transfer rates in the transient mode; (b) obtaining parametric representations from both systems using their heat and mass transfer equations. Such comparisons had never been done before. It is shown, among other things, that the evaporation in solar stills is much less than that in open evaporation despite the higher water temperatures in the former system. This is also true even when the water temperature of both systems is the same. It is also observed that the distillation and evaporation rates increase with the increasing water temperature and temperature difference. For relatively high water temperatures of each system the evaporative fraction is equivalent to more than 50% of the corresponding total heat transfer rate.     

Water–zeolite adsorption heat pump combined with single effect evaporation desalination process

The single effect evaporation desalination process combined with adsorption heat pump (ADVC) is modeled analyzed as a function of the system design and operating parameters. The analysis gives variations in the thermal performance ratio, the specific heat transfer area, and the specific flow rate of cooling water. The performance evaluation is made as a function of the brine boiling temperature, the difference in the temperature of the compressed vapor and the boiling brine, and the water content in the adsorption bed. Results show that the thermal performance ratio of this configuration is the highest among all single effect evaporation desalination systems. Moreover, the specific flow rate of the cooling water and the specific heat transfer area are similar to those of other single effect configurations. It should be stressed these promising features makes the ADVC system highly attractive to small and remote communities and of special interest in situations where energy cost is high.