Optimization of Heat and Mass Exchange

A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 September 2019) | Viewed by 51781

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NewRail - Newcastle Centre for Railway Research, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE17RU, UK
Interests: thermal power systems; refrigeration; combined cycles; internal combustion engines; finite time thermodynamics
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Associate Professor in Marine Engineering Design & Technology, Newcastle University, Newcastle Research & Innovation Institute, 80 Jurong East Street 21, #05-04, Singapore, Singapore
Interests: engine combustion process; exhaust emission control; energy management; renewable energy; cryogenic technology
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Guest Editor
School of Mechanical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China
Interests: heat and mass transfer; thermal systems; CHP

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Heat and mass transfer together with fluid dynamics are three related topics that frequently occur simultaneously in many situations; in fact, the occurrence of only one of these phenomena alone is the exception rather than the rule. The basic equations that describe these phenomena are closely related, and the mathematical techniques for understanding them are very similar. It is therefore sensible to consider these topics together as a unitary subject. This is the approach we have adopted for this Special Issue.  

The needs of society are often a driving force for engineering research and scientific advancement. We live in an era in which global warming and atmospheric pollution are of great concern to the extent that they are stimulating research on energy efficiency and means to reduce pollution processes. This is a significant challenge that, if addressed wisely, will have far-reaching effects on sustainable life on our planet. To meet these dual challenges, consideration needs to be given to energy efficiency and pollution reduction through the development of new ideas, processes and practices that can minimise the limitations imposed by the second law of thermodynamics and of optimisation processes that can extract the largest useful return for energy utilisation.               

In this Special Issue on " Optimization of Heat and Mass Exchange”, we welcome review articles and original research papers, fundamental, applied, theoretical, numerical or experimental on heat and mass transport phenomena. Topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Heat exchanger design
  • Two-phase flows
  • Droplet formation
  • Nano-fluids
  • Particle dynamics
  • Turbulent transport
  • Boiling and condensation
  • Bubble dynamics
  • Entropy generation in heat and fluid flow
  • Heat Sinks;
  • Numerical simulation of momentum heat and mass transfer
  • Flow and heat transfer in micro-channels
  • Phase-change materials
  • Practical applications

Prof. Dr. Brian Agnew
Dr. Ivan C. K. Tam
Dr. Xiaojun Shi
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • Heat transfer
  • Mass transfer
  • Nano-fluids
  • Computational Fluid Dynamics
  • Particle dynamics
  • Droplet formation
  • Two phase flows

Published Papers (11 papers)

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Editorial

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3 pages, 149 KiB  
Editorial
Optimization of Heat and Mass Exchange
by Brian Agnew, Ivan CK Tam and Xiaojun Shi
Processes 2020, 8(3), 314; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr8030314 - 09 Mar 2020
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1733
Abstract
The needs of society are often a driving force for engineering research [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimization of Heat and Mass Exchange)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

17 pages, 1459 KiB  
Article
Heat Exchanger Network Synthesis Integrated with Compression–Absorption Cascade Refrigeration System
by Xiaojing Sun, Linlin Liu, Yu Zhuang, Lei Zhang and Jian Du
Processes 2020, 8(2), 210; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr8020210 - 09 Feb 2020
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2869
Abstract
Compression–absorption cascade refrigeration system (CACRS) is the extension of absorption refrigeration system, which can be utilized to recover excess heat of heat exchanger networks (HENs) and compensate refrigeration demand. In this work, a stage-wise superstructure is presented to integrate the generation and evaporation [...] Read more.
Compression–absorption cascade refrigeration system (CACRS) is the extension of absorption refrigeration system, which can be utilized to recover excess heat of heat exchanger networks (HENs) and compensate refrigeration demand. In this work, a stage-wise superstructure is presented to integrate the generation and evaporation processes of CACRS within HEN, where the generator is driven by hot process streams, and the evaporation processes provide cooling energy to HEN. Considering that the operating condition of CACRS has significant effect on the coefficient of performance (COP) of CACRS and so do the structure of HEN, CACRS and HEN are considered as a whole system in this study, where the operating condition and performance of CACRS and the structure of HEN are optimized simultaneously. The quantitative relationship between COP and operating variables of CACRS is determined by process simulation and data fitting. To accomplish the optimal design purpose, a mixed integer non-linear programming (MINLP) model is formulated according to the proposed superstructure, with the objective of minimizing total annual cost (TAC). At last, two case studies are presented to demonstrate that desired HEN can be achieved by applying the proposed method, and the results show that the integrated HEN-CACRS system is capable to utilize energy reasonably and reduce the total annualized cost by 38.6% and 37.9% respectively since it could recover waste heat from hot process stream to produce the cooling energy required by the system. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimization of Heat and Mass Exchange)
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19 pages, 4872 KiB  
Article
Estimation of Ice Cream Mixture Viscosity during Batch Crystallization in a Scraped Surface Heat Exchanger
by Alejandro De la Cruz Martínez, Rosa E. Delgado Portales, Jaime D. Pérez Martínez, José E. González Ramírez, Alan D. Villalobos Lara, Anahí J. Borras Enríquez and Mario Moscosa Santillán
Processes 2020, 8(2), 167; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr8020167 - 03 Feb 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 14197
Abstract
Ice cream viscosity is one of the properties that most changes during crystallization in scraped surface heat exchangers (SSHE), and its online measurement is not easy. Its estimation is necessary through variables that are easy to measure. The temperature and power of the [...] Read more.
Ice cream viscosity is one of the properties that most changes during crystallization in scraped surface heat exchangers (SSHE), and its online measurement is not easy. Its estimation is necessary through variables that are easy to measure. The temperature and power of the stirring motor of the SSHE turn out to be this type of variable and are closely related to the viscosity. Therefore, a mathematical model based on these variables proved to be feasible. The development of this mathematical relationship involved the rheological study of the ice cream base, as well as the application of a method for its in situ melting in the rheometer as a function of the temperature, and the application of a mathematical model correlating the SSHE stirring power and the ice cream viscosity. The result was a coupled model based on both the temperature and stirring power of the SSHE, which allowed for online viscosity estimation with errors below 10% for crystallized systems with a 30% ice fraction at the exit of the SSHE. The model obtained is a first step in the search for control strategies for crystallization in SSHE. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimization of Heat and Mass Exchange)
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16 pages, 29853 KiB  
Article
Assessment of the Dynamics Flow Field of Port Plate Pair of an Axial Piston Pump
by Lingxiao Quan, Haihai Gao, Changhong Guo and Shichao Che
Processes 2020, 8(1), 86; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr8010086 - 08 Jan 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 6550
Abstract
This paper aims at studying the dynamic fluid evolution process of port plate pair of an axial piston pump. First of all, The Renormalization Group k-ε model (RNG k-ε model) is implemented to simulate the dynamic flow distribution and [...] Read more.
This paper aims at studying the dynamic fluid evolution process of port plate pair of an axial piston pump. First of all, The Renormalization Group k-ε model (RNG k-ε model) is implemented to simulate the dynamic flow distribution and forecast the evolution of the internal vortex structure inside the valve plate chamber with different speeds of pistons and velocities of inlet fluid by using computational fluid dynamics software. Then, an equivalent amplification test model of a piston-valve plate is built up based on Reynolds similarity theory; the flow state of the piston-valve plate flow field is observed applied the particle image velocimetry (PIV) measuring technique. The resulting uniformity of numerical simulation and PIV measurement verifies that the RNG k-ε model can achieve high-precision prediction for the vortex structure inside the valve plate chamber. Through analysis of velocity contours and streamlines of the flow field, it can be found that vortices with different scales, strengths and positions will occur during the process of fluid distribution, and the scale and strength of the vortex inside the valve plate chamber will be reduced with the increase of the piston’s moving speed, so the energy loss is also reduced and the efficiency is improved. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimization of Heat and Mass Exchange)
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15 pages, 4792 KiB  
Article
Phase Change and Heat Transfer Characteristics of a Corrugated Plate Heat Exchanger
by Huashan Su, Chaoqun Hu, Zhenjun Gao, Tao Hu, Gang Wang and Wan Yu
Processes 2020, 8(1), 26; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr8010026 - 24 Dec 2019
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4341
Abstract
In order to reveal the evolution law of heat transfer during phase change in a corrugated plate flow passage of a plate heat exchanger, a two-dimensional two-channel model was established to simulate the process of heat transfer during phase change in an unsteady [...] Read more.
In order to reveal the evolution law of heat transfer during phase change in a corrugated plate flow passage of a plate heat exchanger, a two-dimensional two-channel model was established to simulate the process of heat transfer during phase change in an unsteady flow passage. The results show that when the time was <3/5T, the average Nusselt number and average heat flux of the heat exchange wall surface decreased with time, the average temperature of the cold fluid outlet increased, the average temperature of the hot fluid outlet decreased, and the volume fraction of the gas phase was no higher than 0.2. When the time was >3/5T, the average Nusselt number and the average heat flux of the heat exchange wall, as well as the outlet average temperature of the cold and hot fluid, reached stability, while the volume fraction of the gas phase increased rapidly. During the whole heat transfer process, the change in Nusselt number and heat flux along the heat transfer wall surface was basically the same, and its value fluctuated along the wall surface, displaying extrema at the exit, entrance, and corrugated corner. The temperature of the heat exchange wall fluctuated and increased along the Y-axis, and began stabilizing after a time >3/5T. As time went on, the temperature gradient of the hot and cold fluid outlet and the temperature difference between the two sides of the heat exchange wall decreased, whereas the relative parameters of the heat flow inlet section of the corrugated passage reached stability before those of the cold flow inlet section. The whole simulation process fully reflects the heat transfer mechanism during phase change in a corrugated plate flow passage of a plate heat exchanger. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimization of Heat and Mass Exchange)
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15 pages, 9552 KiB  
Article
Effect of Orientation and Aspect Ratio of an Internal Flat Plate on Natural Convection in a Circular Enclosure
by Anjie Wang, Cunlie Ying, Yingdong Wang, Lijun Yang, Yunjian Ying, Lulu Zhai and Wei Zhang
Processes 2019, 7(12), 905; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr7120905 - 02 Dec 2019
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2809
Abstract
This work presents a numerical investigation on natural convection in a circular enclosure with an internal flat plate at Ra = 106. The cross-section area of the plate was fixed at three values, H·W/D2 = 0.01, 0.04, and [...] Read more.
This work presents a numerical investigation on natural convection in a circular enclosure with an internal flat plate at Ra = 106. The cross-section area of the plate was fixed at three values, H·W/D2 = 0.01, 0.04, and 0.09, in which H and W are the height and width of the plate and D is the diameter of the enclosure while the aspect ratio changes, which makes the plate vertically placed (H > W) or horizontally placed (H < W). The objective of this work was to explore the effects of the orientation and aspect ratio of the plate on the characteristics of natural convection in various aspects. The numerical results reveal that the overall heat transfer rate is higher for the vertically placed plate and increases with the cross-section area, while the width of the plate has almost no effect for the horizontally placed plate, especially for the plate with a relatively large cross-section area. Depending on the orientation and aspect ratio, there can be one primary vortex, one primary and one secondary vortex, or one secondary and two separated vortices to each side of the plate, and the thermal plume structure may appear at the sharp top corners of the plate. Consequently, local heat transfer on the surfaces of the enclosure and plate is affected. Synergy analysis reveals that the enhancement of heat transfer from the fluid circulation is the most significant at the center of the vortices and at the boundary between them. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimization of Heat and Mass Exchange)
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14 pages, 879 KiB  
Article
Thermo-Diffusion and Multi-Slip Effect on an Axisymmetric Casson Flow over a Unsteady Radially Stretching Sheet in the Presence of Chemical Reaction
by Faraz Faraz, Syed Muhammad Imran, Bagh Ali and Sajjad Haider
Processes 2019, 7(11), 851; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr7110851 - 14 Nov 2019
Cited by 35 | Viewed by 2559
Abstract
The objective of this article is to investigate the impacts of thermo-diffusion effect on unsteady axisymmetric Casson flow over a time-dependent radially stretching sheet with a multi-slip parameter and the force of chemical reaction. We employed an established similarity transformation to this non-linear [...] Read more.
The objective of this article is to investigate the impacts of thermo-diffusion effect on unsteady axisymmetric Casson flow over a time-dependent radially stretching sheet with a multi-slip parameter and the force of chemical reaction. We employed an established similarity transformation to this non-linear partial differential system to convert it into a system of ordinary differential equations. The numerical results are attained for this system by using KELLER-BOX implicit finite difference scheme. It has great reliability and accuracy even a very short time period for computational simulation. The impacts of influential flow parameters on fluid flow are sketched through graphs and the numerical results are thoroughly argued. The temperature, velocity and wall concentration control parameters are analyzed. (i) It is witnessed that chemical reaction is not favorable to enhance the velocity profile. (ii) Multi-slip parameters vary inversely with velocity profile. (iii) The fluid concentration in its boundary layer decreases with the increase of heavier species, the parameter of the reaction rate and the exponent of power law for fluids having Prandtl number = 10.0, 15.0, 20.0 and 25.0. Moreover, the skin-friction-coefficient factor and Nusselt-number are compared with the published work. A strong numerical solution agreement is being observed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimization of Heat and Mass Exchange)
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18 pages, 5532 KiB  
Article
Experimental Study on Forced Convection Heat Transfer from Plate-Fin Heat Sinks with Partial Heating
by Jae Jun Lee, Hyun Jung Kim and Dong-Kwon Kim
Processes 2019, 7(10), 772; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr7100772 - 21 Oct 2019
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 6406
Abstract
In this study, plate-fin heat sinks with partial heating under forced convection were experimentally investigated. The base temperature profiles of the plate-fin heat sinks were measured for various heating lengths, heating positions, flow rates, and channel widths. From the experimental data, the effects [...] Read more.
In this study, plate-fin heat sinks with partial heating under forced convection were experimentally investigated. The base temperature profiles of the plate-fin heat sinks were measured for various heating lengths, heating positions, flow rates, and channel widths. From the experimental data, the effects of heating length, heating position, and flow rate on the base temperature profile and the thermal performance were investigated. Finally, the characteristics of the optimal heating position were investigated. As a result, it was shown that the optimal heating position was on the upstream side in the case of the heat sinks under laminar developing flow, as opposed to the heat sinks under turbulent flow. It was also shown that the optimal heating position could change significantly due to heat losses through the front and back of the heat sink, while the effects of the heat loss through the sides of the heat sink on the optimal heating position were negligible. In addition, it was shown that the one-dimensional numerical model with empirical coefficients could predict the important trends in the measured temperature profiles, thermal resistances, and optimal heating lengths. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimization of Heat and Mass Exchange)
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16 pages, 1175 KiB  
Article
Heat Flux Estimation at Pool Boiling Processes with Computational Intelligence Methods
by Erdem Alic, Mehmet Das and Onder Kaska
Processes 2019, 7(5), 293; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr7050293 - 17 May 2019
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 3778
Abstract
It is difficult to manually process and analyze large amounts of data. Therefore, to solve a given problem, it is easier to reach the solution by studying the data obtained from the environment of the problem with computational intelligence methods. In this study, [...] Read more.
It is difficult to manually process and analyze large amounts of data. Therefore, to solve a given problem, it is easier to reach the solution by studying the data obtained from the environment of the problem with computational intelligence methods. In this study, pool boiling heat flux was estimated in the isolated bubble regime using two optimization methods (genetic and artificial bee colony algorithm) and three machine learning algorithms (decision tree, artificial neural network, and support vector machine). Six boiling mechanisms containing eighteen different parameters in the genetic and the artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithms were used to calculate overall heat flux of the isolated bubble regime. Support vector machine regression (SVMReg), alternating model tree (ADTree), and multilayer perceptron (MLP) regression only used the heat transfer equation input parameters without heat transfer equations for prediction of pool boiling heat transfer over a horizontal tube. The performance of computational intelligence methods were determined according to the results of error analysis. Mean absolute error (MAE), root mean square error (RMSE), and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) error were used to calculate the validity of the predictive model in genetic algorithm, ABC algorithm, SVMReg, MLP regression, and alternating model tree. According to the MAPE error analysis, the accuracy values of MLP regression (0.23) and alternating model tree (0.22) methods were the same. The SVMReg method used for pool boiling heat flux estimation performed better than the other methods, with 0.17 validation error rate of MAPE. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimization of Heat and Mass Exchange)
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17 pages, 22599 KiB  
Article
Enhancement Study of Ice Storage Performance in Circular Tank with Finned Tube
by Hua Zhou, Mengting Chen, Xiaotian Han, Peng Cao, Feng Yao and Liangyu Wu
Processes 2019, 7(5), 266; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr7050266 - 07 May 2019
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2655
Abstract
Combined experimental and numerical studies are conducted to study ice storage performance of an ice storage tank with finned tube. Axially arranged fins on the refrigerant tube are applied to enhance the solidification. The evolution of the solid–liquid interface and the variation of [...] Read more.
Combined experimental and numerical studies are conducted to study ice storage performance of an ice storage tank with finned tube. Axially arranged fins on the refrigerant tube are applied to enhance the solidification. The evolution of the solid–liquid interface and the variation of temperature of the typical position is examined. The effect of natural convection is discussed in detail. In addition, the effects of refrigerant temperature and initial water temperature on the ice storage performance are analyzed. The results indicate that the ice storage performance is enhanced by the metal fins remarkably. The defection of poor heat transfer after ice is formed can be solved by applying fins in ice storage devices. Natural convection leads to unnecessary mixing of water with different temperatures, lessening the cooling energy stored and acting as a disadvantage during solidification. Decreasing the refrigerant temperature and initial water temperature is beneficial for ice storage. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimization of Heat and Mass Exchange)
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15 pages, 3063 KiB  
Article
The Effects of Water Friction Loss Calculation on the Thermal Field of the Canned Motor
by Yiping Lu, Azeem Mustafa, Mirza Abdullah Rehan, Samia Razzaq, Shoukat Ali, Mughees Shahid and Ahmad Waleed Adnan
Processes 2019, 7(5), 256; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr7050256 - 03 May 2019
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2826
Abstract
The thermal behavior of a canned motor also depends on the losses and the cooling capability, and these losses cause an increase in the temperature of the stator winding. This paper focuses on the modeling and simulation of the thermal fields of the [...] Read more.
The thermal behavior of a canned motor also depends on the losses and the cooling capability, and these losses cause an increase in the temperature of the stator winding. This paper focuses on the modeling and simulation of the thermal fields of the large canned induction motor by different calculation methods of water friction loss. The values of water friction losses are set as heat sources in the corresponding clearance of water at different positions along the duct and are calculated by the analytical method, loss separation test method, and by assuming the values that may be larger than the experimental results and at zero. Based on Finite volume method (FVM), 3D turbulent flow and heat transfer equations of the canned motor are solve numerically to obtain the temperature distributions of different parts of the motor. The analysis results of water friction loss are compared with the measurements, obtained from the total losses using the loss separation method. The results show that the magnitude of water friction loss within various parts of the motor does not affect the position of peak temperature and the tendency of the temperature distribution of windings. This paper is highly significant for the design of cooling structures of electrical machines. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimization of Heat and Mass Exchange)
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