Numerical study of ice slurry flow and heat transfer in successive U-bends as part of tubular heat exchangers

Abstract

Using ice slurry can assist the energy saving in cooling systems. Ice slurries are used as secondary refrigerant in large cooling systems. They are mixtures of tiny ice particles in water and an antifreezing agent. The cooling can be stored in ice particles during off-peak conditions and released during peak condition. The stored cooling in ice slurry must be delivered to the desired system through a heat exchanger. Successive U-bend pipes commonly exist in tubular heat exchangers. However, this configuration has not been investigated yet for ice slurries. The present study aims to investigate the heat transfer of these mixtures in successive in-plane U-bends as part of heat exchangers. Mass transfer between ice slurry and fluid is the main important part of this problem which is considered in the present study. For the simulation of ice slurry, the Eulerian two-fluid numerical method is used along with the consideration of mass transfer between two phases and the kinetic theory of granular flow for ice particles viscosity. Nusselt number and pressure drops are mainly studied for different geometric configurations. The length between two bends are changed from 50 to 400 mm and the radius of curvatures of the bends are changed from 50 to 100 mm. The results of the study indicated that the average Nusselt number increases with the radius of curvature and distance between two U-bend pipes. Two successive U-bends neutralize each other's centrifigual effects, then ice particles have chances to rearrange and reduce the wall temperature in each bend. This effect is more prominent in higher distances between two bends and higher radii of curvature. At low radius of curvatures, the variation of distance between two bends has stronger effect on heat transfer of the system; in such a way that by doubling the distance between two bends, the Nusselt number increases 4.1% and 1.5% respectively for radius of curvatures 50 mm and 100 mm. Also it was shown that by increasing the radius of curvature and distance between two U-bend pipes the skin friction coefficient increases. It can be seen that by increasing the ratio of the distance between two bends to the radius, the performance evaluation criterion (PEC) increases.