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Heat and Mass Transfer Process Development for Sustainable Thermal Engineering

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2023) | Viewed by 7819

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Dariusz Butrymowicz

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Guest Editor

Department of Thermal Engineering, Bialystok University of Technology, PL-13-351 Bialystok, Poland
Interests: heat transfer; two-phase flows; refrigeration and air-conditioning engineering; heat pumps; power engineering; ejector and injector modelling and applications
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Huiming Zou

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Guest Editor

Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Interests: thermal system; compressor; refrigeration and air-conditioning; heat pumps
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

One of the key challenges for modern power engineering, refrigeration, and chemical and processing technologies is the use of advanced solutions for heat and mass transfer processes. The general motivation is to obtain the cleanest and most effective energy conversion in thermal and mass transfer processes. It is related to a number of aspects related both to the recognition of physical aspects, as well as in the field of design, application and manufacturing of heat and mass exchangers. The continuous development of power engineering, refrigeration, and chemical and processing technologies aimed at the use of new generations of fully environmentally safe working fluids, and ever higher requirements in terms of energy conversion efficiency require new approaches to heat and mass transfer processes. These issues are devoted to the proposed special issue of the journal, which will in particular cover the following areas:

advances in heat and mass transfer enhancement by means of passive and active approaches;
advances in combined heat and mass transfer in sustainable energy conversion technologies, including sorption systems;
advances in modelling of chemical reactors;
heat and mass transfer for new generation of environmentally safe working fluids in thermal engineering;
thermodynamic and thermokinetic properties of environmentally safe heat transfer fluids;
advances in microchannel heat exchangers modelling, design, applications, and manufacturing;
investigations of physical aspects and reduction of thermal degradation processes of heat transfer equipment including aspects of fouling, frosting, and inert gases effects;
development of accurate modelling of heat and mass transfer equipment;
development of gas and liquids cleaning technologies, including scrubbing and sorption devices;
innovative approaches for development of heat and mass transfer equipment and its applications;
environmental assessment of heat and mass transfer processing.

Prof. Dr. Dariusz Butrymowicz
Prof. Dr. Huiming Zou
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

heat and mass transfer process
heat and mass exchangers
chemical reactors
scrubbers
heat and mass transfer enhancement
heat transfer fluids
working fluids properties
thermal degradation
environmental assessment
thermodynamic and thermokinetic properties
microchannel heat exchangers
gas and liquid cleaning technologies

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 5348 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investigations of Performance of Mini-Channel Condensers and Evaporators for Propane

by Dariusz Butrymowicz, Kamil Śmierciew, Jerzy Gagan, Adam Dudar, Michał Łukaszuk, Huiming Zou and Adam Łapiński

Sustainability 2022, 14(21), 14249; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142114249 - 01 Nov 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1448

Abstract

This paper provides the results of experimental investigations of the exemplary mini-channel heat exchanger in its application as a condenser and an evaporator in a compressor refrigeration system with propane as a working fluid. The aim of the investigations was to identify the mean heat transfer coefficient of the refrigerant side for the entire operating range of the tested heat exchanger. The experiments covered a mass velocity range from 50 to 160 kg/(m² × s). The experiments covered a range of liquid subcooling in the condenser from 3 to 15 K and a range of vapour superheating at the outlet of the evaporator from 3 up to 15 K. The experiments on the condenser were conducted at the saturation temperature of 34 °C, and in the case of the evaporator, at the saturation temperature of 8 °C. The average heat transfer coefficients as well as pressure drops in the case of the operation of the tested heat exchanger as an evaporator and condenser were calculated. The heat transfer coefficient was calculated by means of the separated thermal resistance method with the application of the Wilson plot technique. The experiments confirmed the increase in the heat transfer coefficient with the increase in the refrigerant mass flow rate for the tested mini-channel heat exchanger. A dimensionless correlation was proposed for the pressure drop based on the modified Müller-Steinhagen correlation in the case of the operation of the mini-channel heat exchanger as a condenser and as an evaporator. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heat and Mass Transfer Process Development for Sustainable Thermal Engineering)

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16 pages, 3268 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Experimental Investigations of Flow Boiling Heat Transfer under Near-Critical Pressure for Selected Working Fluids

by Dariusz Butrymowicz, Kamil Śmierciew, Jarosław Karwacki, Aleksandra Borsukiewicz and Jerzy Gagan

Sustainability 2022, 14(21), 14029; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142114029 - 28 Oct 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 992

Abstract

This paper deals with experimental investigations of flow boiling in tubular ducts of selected refrigerants—R134a, R507A, and R600a—under near-critical pressures. Near-critical boiling is characterised by low specific enthalpy of evaporation. The positive effect of this feature is the fact that only a small amount of heat consumed by Organic Rankine Cycles is at a constant temperature. This allows a lower terminal temperature of the heating fluid and more effective utilisation of heat sources, especially of low-grade heat sources. The experimental investigations covered a heat flux density of 0.4 to 10 kW/m² and a mass velocity of 60 to 200 kg/(m²·s). The results of the experimental data were compared to the modified heat transfer correlation of Gungor and Winterton, which provices the best fit for the obtained experimental data. The maximum heat transfer coefficient occurred at the two-phase quality—approximately 0.4 for all the tested fluids under high pressure conditions—which may be thought of as a characteristic feature of the boiling process under near-critical conditions. A modified Gungor–Winterton correlation improves prediction accuracy, especially under the lowest (up to 3 kW/m²) and highest (over 7 kW/m²) heat flux densities for all the tested fluids. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heat and Mass Transfer Process Development for Sustainable Thermal Engineering)

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15 pages, 5586 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Image-Analysis-Based Approach for Identification of Air Cooler Heat Transfer Degradation during Frosting Process

by Paweł Jakończuk, Kamil Śmierciew, Jerzy Gagan and Dariusz Butrymowicz

Sustainability 2022, 14(21), 13731; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142113731 - 23 Oct 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1036

Abstract

Fin-and-tube heat exchangers have been extensively used in many fields, especially in heat, ventilation, air-conditioning, and refrigeration systems. In the case of the operation of a fin-and-tube heat exchanger as an air cooler, frost formation is an important effect that should be taken into account. The frost accumulation process is undesirable since it deteriorates heat transfer due to the insulation of the frost layer as well as causing excessive pressure loss. The analysis of the effect of the frosting process on a fin-and-tube air cooler performance is presented in this paper. Based on long-term experimental investigations applied to the air cooler in a cold storage chamber, the general degradation of the heat exchanger performance is discussed. The influence of frost on the cooling capacity, by-pass factor, and thermal resistance is analysed. The temperature distribution of the air passing through the air cooler before and after the defrosting process is presented and discussed. A method for the assessment of the amount of frost formed at the air cooler surface, based on visualisation of the air cooler during operation and synchronised with the thermal measurements, is developed. The results show that the frosting process causes deterioration of the cooling capacity by up to 40% in the analysed case. Correlation is demonstrated between frost formation and heat transfer degradation in the air cooler. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heat and Mass Transfer Process Development for Sustainable Thermal Engineering)

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23 pages, 5310 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Experimental Assessment of the Efficiency of Two-Phase Ejector Components for Isobutane

by Kamil Śmierciew, Adam Dudar, Dariusz Butrymowicz, Jerzy Gagan, Paweł Jakończuk and Huiming Zou

Sustainability 2022, 14(20), 13356; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142013356 - 17 Oct 2022

Viewed by 1024

Abstract

Two-phase ejectors as well as single phase ejectors can be applied in many branches of industry: refrigeration and heat pump systems, chemical engineering, food processing, and others. Due to the complicated nature of the process of momentum transfer in two-phase ejectors, their design procedure based on the accurate theoretical prediction of the ejector performance is still an open issue. The paper provides its own experimental results of the velocity coefficients of the components of the two-phase ejector, i.e., the motive nozzle, suction chamber, mixing chamber, and diffuser. The results were obtained in the case of isobutane as the working fluid. It was demonstrated that the velocity coefficients may not be treated as constant quantities. Therefore, our own proposed dimensionless relationships describe the velocity coefficients of the components of the ejector that may be applied in the design procedure of the ejector. The two physical parameters, the wet vapour quality and the volumetric entrainment ratio, were selected as the key parameters. In addition, the aspects of the prediction of the critical mass flow rate of the motive nozzles was considered on the basis of the Henry–Fauske model. It was demonstrated that the model accurately predicts the two-phase critical flow under the conditions of a higher range of wet vapour quality. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heat and Mass Transfer Process Development for Sustainable Thermal Engineering)

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26 pages, 4236 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of Efficiency of Heat Transportation in Indirect Propane Refrigeration System Equipped with Carbon Dioxide Circulation Loop

by Mateusz Pawłowski, Jerzy Gagan and Dariusz Butrymowicz

Sustainability 2022, 14(16), 10422; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141610422 - 22 Aug 2022

Viewed by 1195

Abstract

Recent research on indirect cooling systems using natural refrigerants has become increasingly common. One such solution is the gravity-induced circulation loop. The paper provides model considerations of the configuration of an indirect propane refrigeration system equipped with a circulation loop using carbon dioxide as a heat transfer fluid. Close attention has been paid to the analytical modelling of the carbon dioxide circulation loop operation. The model was formulated to determine the optimum height of the liquid downcomer based on the determination of flow resistance and heat transfer rate in evaporation and condensation processes. A validation of the proposed analytical model against the available literature on two-phase flow structure predictions and thermal performance predictions was performed. The effect of the change in the refrigeration capacity of the system on the coefficient of performance COP of the entire indirect system was analysed for the first time. The analysis was performed for three different carbon dioxide evaporation temperatures for the system’s refrigeration capacity, ranging from 0.5 to 10 kW. It has been proven that the system efficiency increases by up to 23% with an increase in the refrigeration capacity of the system. An increase in evaporation temperature in the circulation loop from −20 °C to 0 °C improves the COP of the entire indirect refrigeration system by approximately 50%. The above findings indicate that indirect cooling systems using naturally circulated CO₂ as a heat transfer fluid should be designed for operation at maximum refrigeration capacity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heat and Mass Transfer Process Development for Sustainable Thermal Engineering)

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19 pages, 4776 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimization of Corrugated Sheet Packing Structure Based on Analysis of Falling Film Flow Characteristics

by Junhua Liao, Peng Xue, Ling Jin, Mengjing Zhao, Nan Zhang and Junjie Liu

Sustainability 2022, 14(10), 5861; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14105861 - 12 May 2022

Viewed by 1511

Abstract

The falling film flow characteristics of a liquid on the surface of corrugated sheet packing are crucial for its mass transfer performance in various industrial applications. In this study, a falling film flow experiment with laser-induced fluorescence technology was conducted to validate the flow characteristics of a falling film simulated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The influences of Reynolds number (Re) and the packing structure on flow characteristics were analyzed with quantitative film thickness and wetted area obtained through three-dimensional simulation. The results show that the CFD model can accurately predict the liquid falling–film flow behavior and calculate the characteristic parameters. For sinusoidal corrugated sheets, when Re reaches 500, the groove flow changes into a rivulet flow along the adjacent ripples and the wetted area is at its largest, about 0.022 m². However, relative to the geometric area of the corrugated sheet, the wetted area can only reach 20% of the surface area, and the overall wetting performance is still poor. Triangular and trapezoidal corrugated sheets were further proposed and proved to improve the wetting area compared with the sinusoidal sheet, with maximum increases of 23% and 9%, respectively. On this basis, extensive research was carried out on the corrugation angle. The results show that a triangular corrugated sheet with a 75° corrugated angle was more conducive to the flow of the liquid film, and the wetted area was 38.8% of the surface area. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heat and Mass Transfer Process Development for Sustainable Thermal Engineering)

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