Numerical simulation and experiment to study the effect of one-way fluid interception channel on the cooling efficiency of gas wave tubes

Abstract

This study investigates the enhancement of gas wave refrigerator performance through the introduction of a one-way fluid interception channel. Gas wave refrigerators, which use pressure energy for cooling, are widely used in the natural gas and chemical industries. Traditional gas outlet structures suffer from fluid entering the nozzle during the exhaust stage, causing temperature mixing of cold air and intake gas. This interference with the jet flow of pulsating intake gas reduces cooling efficiency. To address this issue, we analyzed and compared seven outlet structures: straight-type, straight-wide, vortex, interception, interception-wide, interception-optimized, and interception-bigger channels. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations evaluated leakage rate, pressure retention, cooling efficiency, and reflux inlet pressure under various pressure ratios and pulsating intake frequencies. Experimental results validated the simulations, revealing that the commonly used straight-type channel had high leakage and low cooling efficiency. Conversely, the interception-optimized channel demonstrated superior performance, with significantly reduced leakage and enhanced cooling efficiency. The findings indicate that the one-way fluid interception channel effectively prevents reflux, stabilizes jet flow, and improves overall cooling efficiency. This innovation offers substantial benefits for industrial applications in natural gas and chemical processing, highlighting the potential for more efficient and reliable gas wave refrigeration systems.