The earth-air heat exchanger (EHX) has a promising potential to passively save the energy consumption of traditional air conditioning systems while maintaining a high degree of indoor comfort. The use of EHX systems for air conditioning in commercial and industrial settings offers several environmental benefits and is capable of operating in both standalone and hybrid modes. This study tests the performance and effectiveness of an EHX design in a sandy soil area in Baghdad, Iraq. The area has a climate of the subtropical semi-humid type. Ambient air temperatures and soil temperatures were recorded throughout the months of 2021. During the months of January and June, the temperatures of the inlet and outflow air at varying air velocities were monitored concurrently in 10-min increments at each location. Further numerical and thermodynamical analyses of the measurements were conducted to reveal the influencing performance parameters. The highest temperature rises of air between the input and exit sections were determined as 12.3°C (January) and 17.2°C (June). It is found that the maximum values of effectiveness are 0.80 and 0.81, while coefficients of performance are 1.6 and 1.8 for January and June, respectively. It is also found that the EHX shows good functionality and effectiveness, with potential energy savings for equipment for cooling and heating under different weather conditions.
Conjugate heat transfer has significant implications on heat transfer characteristics, particularly in thick wall applications and small diameter pipes. In this study, a three-dimensional numerical investigation was carried out using commercial CFD software “ANSYS FLUENT” to study the influence of conjugate heat transfer of laminar flow in mini channels at constant heat flux wall conditions. Two parameters were studied and analyzed: the wall thickness and thermal conductivity and their effect on heat transfer characteristics such as temperature profile and Nusselt number. Thermal conductivity of (0.25, 10, 202, and 387) W/m2C and wall thickness of (1, 5, and 50) mm were used for a channel of (1*2) mm cross
... Show MoreTransient three-dimensional natural convection heat transfer due to the influences of heating from one side of an enclosure filled with a saturated porous media, whereas the opposite side is maintained at a constant cold temperature, and the other four sides are adiabatic, were investigated in the present work experimentally. Silica sand was used as a porous media saturated with distilled water filled in a cubic enclosure heated from the side,using six electrical controlled heaters, at constant temperatures of (60, 70, 80, 90, and 100oC). The inverse side cooled at a constant temperature of (24oC) using an aluminum heat exchanger, consisted of 15 channels feeded with constant temperature water. Eighty thermocouples were used to control t
... Show MoreThe heat and mass transfer coefficients of the indirect contact closed circuit cooling tower, ICCCCT, were investigated experimentally. Different experiments were conducted involving the controlling parameters such as air velocity, spray water to air mass flow rate ratio, spray water flow rate, ambient air wet bulb temperature and the provided heat load to investigate their effects on the performance of the ICCCCT. Also the effect of using packing on the performance of the ICCCCT was investigated. It was noticed that these parameters affect the tower performance and the use of packing materials is a good approach to enhance the performance for different operational conditions. Correlations for mass and heat transfer coefficients are pres
... Show MoreThe one-dimensional, cylindrical coordinate, non-linear partial differential equation of transient heat conduction through a hollow cylindrical thermal insulation material of a thermal conductivity temperature dependent property proposed by an available empirical
function is solved analytically using Kirchhoff’s transformation. It is assumed that this insulating material is initially at a uniform temperature. Then, it is suddenly subjected at its inner radius with a step change in temperature. Four thermal insulation materials were selected. An identical analytical solution was achieved when comparing the results of temperature distribution with available analytical solution for the same four case studies that assume a constant the
The one-dimensional, spherical coordinate, non-linear partial differential equation of transient heat conduction through a hollow spherical thermal insulation material of a thermal conductivity temperature dependent property proposed by an available empirical function is solved analytically using Kirchhoff’s transformation. It is assumed that this insulating material is initially at a uniform temperature. Then, it is suddenly subjected at its inner radius with a step change in temperature. Four thermal insulation materials were selected. An identical analytical solution was achieved when comparing the results of temperature distribution with available analytical solution for the same four case studies that assume a constant thermal con
... Show MoreDetermining the aerodynamic characteristics of iced airfoil is an important step in aircraft design. The goal of this work is to study experimentally and numerically an iced airfoil to assess the aerodynamic penalties associated with presence of ice on the airfoil surface. Three iced shapes were tested on NACA 0012 straight wing at zero and non-zero angles of attack, at Reynolds No. equal to (3.36*105). The 2-D steady state continuity and momentum equations have been solved utilizing finite volume method to analyze the turbulent flow over a clean and iced airfoil. The results show that the ice shapes affected the aerodynamic characteristics due to the change in airfoil shape. The experimental results show that the horn iced airfoil
... Show MoreThis work presents the construction of a test apparatus for air-conditioning application that is flexible in changing a scaled down adsorbent bed modules. To improve the heat and mass transfer performance of the adsorbent bed, a finned-tube of the adsorbent bed heat exchanger was used. The results show that the specific cooling power (SCP) and the coefficient of performance (COP) are 163 W/kg and 0.16, respectively, when the cycle time is 40 min, the hot water temperature is 90oC, the cooling water temperature is 30oC and the evaporative water temperature is 11.4oC.
Utilizing phase change materials in thermal energy storage systems is commonly considered as an alternative solution for the effective use of energy. This study presents numerical simulations of the charging process for a multitube latent heat thermal energy storage system. A thermal energy storage model, consisting of five tubes of heat transfer fluids, was investigated using Rubitherm phase change material (RT35) as the. The locations of the tubes were optimized by applying the Taguchi method. The thermal behavior of the unit was evaluated by considering the liquid fraction graphs, streamlines, and isotherm contours. The numerical model was first verified compared with existed experimental data from the literature. The outcomes re
... Show MoreExperimental and numerical studies have been conducted for the effect of injected air bubbles on the heat transfer coefficient through the water flow in a vertical pipe under the influence of uniform heat flux. The investigated parameters were water flow rate of (10, 14 and 18) lit/min, air flow rate of (1.5, 3 and 4) lit/min for subjected heat fluxes of (27264, 36316 and 45398) W/m2. The energy, momentum and continuity equations were solved numerically to describe the motion of flow. Turbulence models k-ε was implemented. The mathematical model is using a CFD code Fluent (Ansys15). The water was used as continuous phase while the air was represented as dispersed. phase. The experimental work includes design, build and instrument a test
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