Study of Heat Recovery Equipment for Building Applications
Nowadays, heat exchangers find widespread use across various applications in different fields, particularly in the field of heat recovery. This paper provides a detailed explanation of a plate heat exchanger counter-flow model developed in Simulink/Matlab. Water was employed in simulations for both...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Buildings |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/13/12/3125 |
| _version_ | 1797381714043994112 |
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| author | Lelia Letitia Popescu Razvan Stefan Popescu Tiberiu Catalina |
| author_facet | Lelia Letitia Popescu Razvan Stefan Popescu Tiberiu Catalina |
| author_sort | Lelia Letitia Popescu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Nowadays, heat exchangers find widespread use across various applications in different fields, particularly in the field of heat recovery. This paper provides a detailed explanation of a plate heat exchanger counter-flow model developed in Simulink/Matlab. Water was employed in simulations for both circuits, although the thermal properties of other fluids can be investigated by modifying them. The “Tanks in series” method was used for simulation purposes. The developed model enables users to explore the impact of various parameters on heat exchanger functionality, such as altering the number of plates, the material or thickness of the plates, and the nature of thermal agents (gaseous or liquid). These models play a crucial role not only in simulating and sizing heat exchangers but also in achieving parametric optimization. Parameter variations can be employed to examine the operation of existing equipment under conditions different from their design specifications. The Simulink/Matlab proposed model, featuring a variable number of finite volumes to ensure high accuracy, was compared to the classical design method for plate heat exchangers. The results revealed good accuracy, with relative errors for heat transfer rate remaining below 2.6%. This research also considered the study of the number of finite volumes necessary for achieving accurate results. For the 40 finite volumes model, the relative error for heat transfer rate is less than 10%. Dividing the mesh into 50 finite volumes along the fluid flow direction resulted in relative errors ranging from 1.6% to 1.7%, indicating that a finer mesh was not necessary. To validate the conceived model, experimental data from the literature were compared. The relative errors for heat transfer rate between the Matlab/Simulink model’s results and experimental data ranged from 1.58% to 11.92%, demonstrating a strong agreement between the conceived model and the experimental values. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:55:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1c5e084147444c50b38e62c682dd3d74 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-5309 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:55:25Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Buildings |
| spelling | doaj.art-1c5e084147444c50b38e62c682dd3d742023-12-22T13:58:33ZengMDPI AGBuildings2075-53092023-12-011312312510.3390/buildings13123125Study of Heat Recovery Equipment for Building ApplicationsLelia Letitia Popescu0Razvan Stefan Popescu1Tiberiu Catalina2Buildings’ Services Faculty, Technical University of Civil Engineering of Bucharest, 020396 Bucharest, RomaniaBuildings’ Services Faculty, Technical University of Civil Engineering of Bucharest, 020396 Bucharest, RomaniaBuildings’ Services Faculty, Technical University of Civil Engineering of Bucharest, 020396 Bucharest, RomaniaNowadays, heat exchangers find widespread use across various applications in different fields, particularly in the field of heat recovery. This paper provides a detailed explanation of a plate heat exchanger counter-flow model developed in Simulink/Matlab. Water was employed in simulations for both circuits, although the thermal properties of other fluids can be investigated by modifying them. The “Tanks in series” method was used for simulation purposes. The developed model enables users to explore the impact of various parameters on heat exchanger functionality, such as altering the number of plates, the material or thickness of the plates, and the nature of thermal agents (gaseous or liquid). These models play a crucial role not only in simulating and sizing heat exchangers but also in achieving parametric optimization. Parameter variations can be employed to examine the operation of existing equipment under conditions different from their design specifications. The Simulink/Matlab proposed model, featuring a variable number of finite volumes to ensure high accuracy, was compared to the classical design method for plate heat exchangers. The results revealed good accuracy, with relative errors for heat transfer rate remaining below 2.6%. This research also considered the study of the number of finite volumes necessary for achieving accurate results. For the 40 finite volumes model, the relative error for heat transfer rate is less than 10%. Dividing the mesh into 50 finite volumes along the fluid flow direction resulted in relative errors ranging from 1.6% to 1.7%, indicating that a finer mesh was not necessary. To validate the conceived model, experimental data from the literature were compared. The relative errors for heat transfer rate between the Matlab/Simulink model’s results and experimental data ranged from 1.58% to 11.92%, demonstrating a strong agreement between the conceived model and the experimental values.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/13/12/3125heat transferplate heat exchanger“tank in tank” methodfinite volumesdynamical simulationMatlab/Simulink |
| spellingShingle | Lelia Letitia Popescu Razvan Stefan Popescu Tiberiu Catalina Study of Heat Recovery Equipment for Building Applications Buildings heat transfer plate heat exchanger “tank in tank” method finite volumes dynamical simulation Matlab/Simulink |
| title | Study of Heat Recovery Equipment for Building Applications |
| title_full | Study of Heat Recovery Equipment for Building Applications |
| title_fullStr | Study of Heat Recovery Equipment for Building Applications |
| title_full_unstemmed | Study of Heat Recovery Equipment for Building Applications |
| title_short | Study of Heat Recovery Equipment for Building Applications |
| title_sort | study of heat recovery equipment for building applications |
| topic | heat transfer plate heat exchanger “tank in tank” method finite volumes dynamical simulation Matlab/Simulink |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/13/12/3125 |
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