Pre-Cooling Concrete System in Massive Concrete Production: Energy Analysis and Refrigerant Replacement

Malik I Alamayreh,Ali Alahmer,Mai Bani Younes,Subhi M Bazlamit

doi:10.3390/en15031129

Abstract

Several techniques for cooling mass concrete structures were developed in order to increase structural integrity and reduce the influence of cement hydration, which sometimes causes cracking in concrete structures, negatively affecting their durability. This research focuses on cooling system design, initial investment, and the influence of different refrigerants on cooling system performance aims in producing higher quality massive concrete. Cooling aggregates in massive concrete structures such as desert dams can be performed by employing cooled air from an air conditioning duct system or chilled water. The experimental study illustrates the relationship between the coefficient of performance COP, the evaporator temperature, cooling capacity, and refrigerant mass flow rate as a function of the evaporator temperature, cooling capacity, and refrigerant mass flow rate. The findings of the experiments were utilized to verify a numerical model developed utilizing engineering equation solver (EES) software. The performance of the vapor compression of the cooling systems was compared using alternative refrigerants, including R22, R32, and R410a at different operating conditions. This study revealed that R22 refrigerant has a higher coefficient of performance than R32 and R410A, while R32 has the highest cooling capacity among other refrigerants.

Highlights

IntroductionThermal control plans are required for mass concrete constructions such as desert dams or bridge members in order to regulate the flow of heat generated by exothermic hydration processes in the concrete
The goal of this study is to examine the performance of a vapor compression system with several alternative refrigerants, such as R22, R32, and
The coefficient of performance (COP) for R22 is 6.51% and 17.65% better in comparison to R32 and R410a, respectively

Summary

Introduction

Thermal control plans are required for mass concrete constructions such as desert dams or bridge members in order to regulate the flow of heat generated by exothermic hydration processes in the concrete. When water is added to cement, a chemical process called hydration occurs, resulting in high temperatures and stresses in the core of massive concrete members. It is generally known that concrete has limited tensile strength and thermal conductivity, resulting in large stresses as a consequence of the high-temperature differential between the layers of massive concrete, and structural fractures as a result of the surface’s expansion and contraction at various rates [1]. If the temperature of the cement paste core rises beyond 57.2 ◦ C, it loses strength, produces larger void pores, and increases permeability [4]. Cooling the concrete components or utilizing additional materials that emit less heat can help to limit the substantial increase in temperature [5,6]

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Results

Conclusion