Study on the dynamic behaviors of ceramic foam packing humidifier in a micro humid air turbine cycle

Abstract

• A dynamic model of the humidifier with ceramic foam packing is established. • The model is validated by experimental data at the steady and dynamic state. • The thermal inertia of packing plays a significant role in the transient process. • The dynamic response characteristics of the outlet parameters are analyzed. Mastering the dynamic characteristics is necessary to establish a new control system for the Humid Air Turbine (HAT) cycle. In this research, a one-dimensional dynamic model of the humidifier with ceramic foam packing is established and validated at the steady and dynamic state by the experimental data. The thermal inertia of packing plays a significant role in the transient process. The dynamic response characteristics of outlet parameters are analyzed under the assumed disturbance of inlet water temperature and water flow. It is shown that the simulation results are in good agreement with the experimental data with a maximal relative error of 2.63%. The outlet air temperature is more sensitive to the disturbance of inlet water temperature. The response time of outlet water temperature is about twice longer than that of outlet air temperature under the step disturbance of inlet water flow or temperature. When the inlet water temperature increases, the response time of outlet parameters can be reduced by decreasing its flow. The dynamic characteristics of the humidifier provided in this paper can provide a reference for the development of the control system of the HAT cycle.