Abstract
A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model has been developed to simulate the flow and heat transfer near a lower radial inlet diffuser in a cylindrical stratified chilled water storage tank during charging. The model was used to perform parametric simulations of inlet diffuser performance in full-scale tanks during thermocline formation, from which first-order correlation relating thermal performance to tank and diffuser design parameters were derived Part I describes the development of the CFD model and its validation. Part 2 reports the results of the parametric study. The two-dimensional, transient model was implemented in a commercial finite element code. The model has been validated with field-measured data from two full-scale tanks. Laminar analysis predicted field-measured temperature profiles well, even under ostensibly transitional conditions, provided that variations in inlet temperature during the field tests were accurately modeled These results suggest that turbulence has a secondary effect on the development of thermoclines within the range of parameters considered and that laminar models may be useful for modeling performance of full-scale tanks over a wide range of inlet parameters. The fully developed temperature profile was found to be insensitive to the velocity distribution assumed at the inlet.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 22-40 |
| Number of pages | 19 |
| Journal | ASHRAE Transactions |
| Volume | 107 PART 2 |
| State | Published - 2001 |
| Event | 2001 ASHRAE Annual Meeting - Cincinnati, OH, United States Duration: Jun 24 2001 → Jun 27 2001 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Building and Construction
- Mechanical Engineering