Effect of non-condensable gas on the behaviours of a controllable loop thermosyphon under active control

Cao, Jingyu; Pei, Gang; Bottarelli, Michele; Chen, Chuxiong; Jiao, Dongsheng; Li, Jing

doi:10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2018.09.132

Effect of non-condensable gas on the behaviours of a controllable loop thermosyphon under active control

Cao, Jingyu; Pei, Gang; Bottarelli, Michele; Chen, Chuxiong; Jiao, Dongsheng; Li, Jing

Authors

Jingyu Cao

Gang Pei

Michele Bottarelli

Chuxiong Chen

Dongsheng Jiao

Dr Jing Li Jing.Li@hull.ac.uk
Senior Research Fellow

Abstract

Controllable loop thermosyphon (CLT) can be used as a significant temperature management component in solar- and electric-powered cool-storage refrigerators. However, the behaviours of CLT with non-condensable gas (NCG) under active control require further investigation. In this study, air is mixed in working fluid R134a as NCG to evaluate the steady-state and start-stop performances of CLT for selected control modes. CLT with 0–0.62% NCG is tested. The larger the amount of NCG is, the lower the heat transfer rate is. When the mass ratio of NCG reaches 0.62%, the steady-state heat transfer rate varies from 245.0 W to the minimum 118.6 W for different heat sink temperatures. This finding means that CLT loses efficacy due to the excess NCG. In addition, the start-up performances of the two modes decrease as the mass ratio of NCG increases to 0.31% and become entirely unacceptable when NCG reaches 0.47%. By contrast, the stopping time of CLT remains less than 100 s in various conditions. Results indicate that the mass ratio of NCG should be less than 0.47%, and CLT with NCG is suggested to be controlled by the valve in the vapour line.

Citation

Cao, J., Pei, G., Bottarelli, M., Chen, C., Jiao, D., & Li, J. (2019). Effect of non-condensable gas on the behaviours of a controllable loop thermosyphon under active control. Applied thermal engineering, 146, 288-294. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2018.09.132

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Sep 28, 2018
Online Publication Date	Sep 29, 2018
Publication Date	Jan 5, 2019
Deposit Date	Mar 24, 2022
Journal	Applied Thermal Engineering
Print ISSN	1359-4311
Publisher	Elsevier
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	146
Pages	288-294
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2018.09.132
Keywords	Loop thermosyphon; Refrigerator; Non-condensable gas; Start-stop
Public URL	https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/3602505