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Desiccant coated heat exchangers (DCHEs), utilizing an inner cooling source to remove sorption heat, are promising alternatives for evaporators and condensers (DCEs/DCCs) in vapor compression (VC) heat pumps. A mathematical model is necessary to facilitate the design, analysis and performance prediction of the component and the relevant systems. In this study, a three-dimensional model of DCEs/DCCs is proposed, accounting for the two-phase phenomena, the periodical switchover, the solid-side resistance, the fluid transport in multiple directions and the coupled heat and mass transfer. Study reveals that, high latent load (inlet humidity) reduces the sensible heat handling capacity of the DCEs, while the dehumidification capacity is almost independent of its sensible heat load. DCEs possess a satisfying effect of dehumidification above the dew point, thus it is unnecessary to employ low evaporation temperature. Meanwhile, the adsorption-desorption temperature difference of 30°C seems to be the optimal value for the commonly adopted evaporation temperatures (10°C-20°C). For a specific coating thickness, there is a critical switchover period where the best performance of dehumidification is obtained. Switchover period shorter than the critical time should be avoided, and elongating the switchover cycle helps balance the ability of the system to handle the sensible and latent heat loads at the same time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper assesses the thermo-hydraulic design approach introduced in a previous publication (Hermes, 2012) for condensers and evaporators aimed at minimum entropy generation. An algebraic model which expresses the dimensionless rate of entropy generation as a function of the number of transfer units, the fluid properties, the thermal-hydraulic characteristics, and the operating conditions is derived. Case studies are carried out with different heat exchanger configurations for small-capacity refrigeration applications. The theoretical analysis led to the conclusion that a high effectiveness heat exchanger does not necessarily provide the best thermal-hydraulic design for condenser and evaporator coils, when the rates of entropy generation due to heat transfer and fluid friction are of the same order of magnitude. The analysis also indicated that a high aspect ratio heat exchanger produces a lower amount of entropy than a low aspect ratio one. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents an advanced switched modeling approach for vapor compression cycle (VCC) systems used in Air Conditioning and Refrigeration. Building upon recent work (), a complete dynamic VCC model is presented that is able to describe the severe transient behaviors in heat exchangers (condenser/evaporator), while maintaining the moving-boundary framework, under compressor shut-down and start-up operations. The heat exchanger models retain a constant structure, but accommodate different model representations. Novel switching schemes between different representations and pseudo-state variables are introduced to accommodate the transitions of dynamic states in heat exchangers while keeping track of the vapor and liquid refrigerant zones during the stop–start transients. Two model validation studies on an experimental system show that the complete dynamic model developed in Matlab/Simulink can well predict the system dynamics in shut-down and start-up transients. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This work is a theoretical study that is related to the efficient use of heat pipes designed for cooling of computers. Refrigeration fluid absorbs heat from the heat source (Central Processing Unit - from CPU). The vaporizing fluid in the evaporator moves towards the condenser and condenses the cycle is completed. In this study, the designed cooling system with heat pipes mainly consists of a copper block located at CPU surface, six pieces circular channels inside block, and the heat pipes working are independent from each other. NH3, R-22 and R-134a were chosen as refrigeration fluids. Five different film temperatures were used for each fluid. It was determined that the most efficient cooling of CPU can be obtained with R-22. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A passive solar still with separate condenser has been modeled and its performance evaluated. The system has one basin (basin 1) in the evaporation chamber and two other basins (2 and 3) in the condenser chamber, with a glass cover over the evaporator basin and an opaque condensing cover over basin 3. Basins 1, 2 and 3 yield the first, second and third effects respectively. The top part of the condensing cover is shielded from solar radiation to keep the cover relatively cool. Water vapor from the first effect condenses under the glass cover while the remainder of it flows into the condenser, by purging and diffusion, and condenses under the liner of basin 2. The performance of the system is evaluated and compared with that of a conventional solar still under the same meteorological conditions. Results show that the distillate productivity of the present still is 62% higher than that of the conventional type. Purging is the most significant mode of vapor transfer from the evaporator into the condenser chamber. The first, second and third effects contribute 60, 22 and 18% of the total distillate yield respectively. It is also found that the productivity of the solar still with separate condenser is sensitive to the absorptance of the liner of basin 1, and the mass of water in basins 1 and 2. The mass of water in basin 3 and wind speed have marginal effect on distillate production. Other results are presented and discussed in detail. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In a survey of the literature from the last 20 years, 20% of the numerical models used to analyze the performance of adsorption chillers assumed the evaporator and condenser were ideal, with a fixed evaporation temperature and condenser temperature, and ignored interactions between the adsorption bed and evaporator/condenser. Even when the interaction with the evaporator and condenser was included, the other 80% of studies modeled the adsorption bed based on the LPM (lumped parameter method), which ignores the geometry effect and contact resistance of the bed, and thus reduces the accuracy of the analysis. As a consequence, these earlier numerical studies overestimated the system performance of the adsorption chiller. In this study, we conducted a refined numerical approach which avoids these limitations, producing estimates in close agreement with experimental results. Compared with our approach, the models with ideal treatment of evaporator and condenser overestimated COP (coefficient of performance) and SCP (specific cooling power) by as much as 16.12% and 24.64%, respectively. The models based on LPM overestimated COP and SCP by 22.82% and 11.28%, compared to our approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]