Experimental analysis of local air temperature and thermal performance of a serpentine copper pipe

Abstract

Central air-conditioners are used to control environmental conditions inside plant factory. However, if the plant factory is large, there is a high demand for air-conditioner system. The main objective of this study was to control the local air temperature around a serpentine copper pipe, as well as to examine the temperature difference between the surrounding and local air temperatures. It is generally known that controlling air temperature for cooling or heating consumes a large amount of energy. Thus, practical techniques to reduce energy consumption while also providing the desired air temperature in a local area are very important. The local air temperature and thermal performance around a serpentine copper pipe were experimentally investigated. A serpentine copper pipe was designed and constructed as a small-scale experiment, and a mixture of water with ethylene glycol was circulated as the working fluid, with a varied temperature of -5.0 °C to 6.2 °C applied for cooling in the present study. Collected data such as room air temperature, flow rate of working fluid, and supply and return fluid temperatures were used to calculate heat flux. In addition, local air temperature distributions around the serpentine copper pipe were measured by thermocouple. The results demonstrated that a serpentine copper pipe can reduce local indoor temperature. Upon decreasing the supply water temperature, local air temperatures decreased compared with room air temperature. However, increasing the volume flow rate did not affect the change in local air distribution. It was observed that supply water temperature had a greater influence on local air temperature and heat flux than the flow rate of working fluid. In summary, a serpentine copper pipe is helpful for controlling local air temperature and reducing energy consumption compared to traditional air conditioning.