Search results for "Heat exchange"
showing 10 items of 75 documents
Energy performance improvements of a DEC system due to wet heat exchangers
2011
This work concerns an innovative desiccant and evaporative cooling (DEC) system for building air conditioning. The original system is an experimental DEC air handling unit installed at the Solar Laboratory of the University of Palermo and recently modified and updated. With the aim to increase the cooling effect due to water evaporation in the return air flow rate, the sensible heat exchanger was replaced with two cross flow flat plate heat exchangers installed in series, with continuous humidification of the secondary air flow. The new thermodynamic cycle is theoretically described and the realization of the real application is shown. Detailed operational data and energy performance indica…
Experimental results on adsorption beds for air dehumidification
2016
Desiccant rotors are commonly used in large scale solar cooling open cycle applications. As is well known, adsorption heat sensibly reduces the dehumidification capacity of the desiccant material and results in lower system performance. The aim of this work is to describe an innovative solution that permits simultaneous mass and heat transfer. In particular, two components working with silica gel fixed beds were studied and compared. The first component is a simple packed bed containing silica gel grains. The second component is a fin and tube heat exchanger commonly used in several air conditioning applications wherein the spaces between the fins are filled with silica gel grains. In this …
ADVANCED SOLAR ASSISTED DESICCANT AND EVAPORATIVE COOLING SYSTEM EQUIPPED WITH WET HEAT EXCHANGERS
2011
Abstract This work concerns an innovative solar assisted desiccant and evaporative cooling (DEC) system for building air conditioning. In this system, air-to-air packaged wet heat exchangers are used to maximize the exploitation of the evaporative cooling potential associated with the exhaust air stream. The thermodynamic cycle is first theoretically described, and then an example of a real application is shown. The system presented is an experimental DEC system originally installed at the beginning of 2008 at the Solar Laboratory of the University of Palermo and recently modified and updated. These modifications have been implemented with the aim to foster some problems related to the conv…
Second Generation of Freescoo Solar DEC Prototypes for Residential Applications
2015
Freescoo is an innovative all-in-one compact solar Desiccant Evaporative Cooling (DEC) air conditioner concept. Results of the first prototype developed were presented at SHC Conference last year. Now a second generation of freescoo prototypes for applications in residential and small office buildings have been installed in Italy at ENEA Casaccia and at UNIPA. The thermodynamic cycle is based on the use of fixed and cooled adsorption beds and advanced evaporative cooling concepts. The adsorption bed, which is a fin and tube heat exchanger packed with silica gel grains, allows simultaneous dehumidification and cooling of the process air. The indirect evaporative cooling process, operated dow…
Early-stage thermal performance design of thermo-active walls implemented in underground infrastructures
2022
Abstract Energy geostructures (EGs) represent an innovative technology in the sustainable energy agenda and are useful for satisfying the energy needs of the built environment. They are usually involving geostructures such as piles, walls, tunnels, shafts, and sewers. The application of such technology to infrastructure projects may have considerable thermal potential because of the large surfaces that can be thermally activated. This study focuses on thermo-active walls (energy walls, EWs), which are retaining structures used to sustain the sides of excavations. Key features related to their thermal design are examined, and a design methodology is proposed. The heat-exchange modes involvin…
Numerical Modelling of Room Thermal Comfort Conditions
2006
Particular heat transfer coefficients of building elements gives quantitative notion only about heat losses through this building element. Analysis of the overall heat balance and heat losses of complete building and study of particular contribution of building elements in overall balance allows one to figure out the state of the building and find the building elements of bounding construction with most significant heat losses. Project variants of the buildings (or rebuilding in case of renovation), which ensure the desirable economy of energy and proportions of investments can be find varying the proportions of the surface area of building elements (e.g., windows and doors). A lot of facto…
Practical Application of Eddy Currents Generated by Wind
2011
When a conductive material is subjected to time-varying magnetic fluxes, eddy (Foucault) currents are generated in it and magnetic field of opposite polarity as the applied one arises. Due to the internal resistance of the conductive material, the eddy currents will be dissipated into heat (Joule heating). Conventional domestic water heaters utilize gas burners or electric resistance heating elements to heat the water in the tank and substantial part of the energy to use for it is wasted. In this paper the origin of electromagnetic induction heat generated by wind turbine in special heat exchange camera connected to water boiler is discussed and material evaluation performed using mathemati…
Membrane distillation: Solar and waste heat driven demonstration plants for desalination
2013
Abstract The development of small to medium size, autonomous and robust desalination units is needed to establish an independent water supply in remote areas. This is the motivation for research on alternative desalination processes. Membrane distillation (MD) seems to meet the specific requirements very well. This work is focused on experimental studies on full scale demonstration systems, utilizing a parallel multi MD-module setup. Three different plant concepts are introduced, one of them is waste heat driven and two of them are powered by solar thermal collectors. Design parameters and system design are presented. After the analysis of plant operation a comparison among the plants as we…
Development of a Membrane Distillation module for solar energy seawater desalination
2012
Abstract Membrane Distillation (MD) processes are gaining growing interest among novel desalination technologies, in particular for small scale applications also coupled with non-conventional energy sources. In the present work an original laboratory scale planar geometry Membrane Distillation unit was designed, built and tested for future coupling with solar energy. Though conceptually simple, the original geometry was developed in order to allow for multi-stage arrangement, compactness, internal heat recovery and possible integration with a polymeric heat exchanger for final brine heating by means of solar energy or waste heat. The laboratory scale unit was tested in order to investigate …
Application of a new wireless instrument to characterize thermal properties of ground coupled heat exchangers
2010
Abstract In this work, we report the design and laboratory test of a new instrument to measure the temperature of the heat transfer fluid along the borehole exchanger (BHE) by autonomous wireless sensor. The instrument consists of a device, which inserts and extracts miniaturized wireless sensors in the borehole with a mechanical subsystem, composed by a circulating pump and two valves. This device transmits to the sensors the acquisition configuration, and downloads the temperature data measured by the sensor along its way through the borehole heat exchanger. Each sensor is included in a sphere of 25 mm diameter and contains a transceiver, a microcontroller, a temperature sensor and a powe…