Computational and Experimental Investigation of the Vertical Flash Tank Separator Part 1: Effect of Parameters on Separation Efficiency
Article
Article Title | Computational and Experimental Investigation of the Vertical Flash Tank Separator Part 1: Effect of Parameters on Separation Efficiency |
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ERA Journal ID | 212866 |
Article Category | Article |
Authors | Mahmood, Raid Ahmed (Author), Buttsworth, David (Author) and Malpress, Ray (Author) |
Journal Title | International Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration |
Journal Citation | 27 (1), pp. 1950005-1 |
Article Number | 1950005 |
Number of Pages | 11 |
Year | 2019 |
Publisher | World Scientific Publishing |
Place of Publication | Singapore |
ISSN | 2010-1325 |
2010-1333 | |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1142/S2010132519500056 |
Web Address (URL) | https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S2010132519500056 |
Abstract | The flash tank separator is one of the most important components that can be used to improve the performance of a refrigeration cycle by separating the liquid from the gas–liquid two-phase flow and providing the evaporator with only liquid refrigerant. This technique increases the effective area and enhances the heat transfer coefficient in the evaporator. To optimize the size of the vertical flash tank separator for obtaining high separation efficiency, the effect of the size of the vertical flash tank separator needs to be considered. This paper investigates the effect of the size on the liquid separation efficiency of the vertical flash tank separator. This paper also assesses the usefulness of Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) in flash tank design, and this is achieved through experiments and simulations on a range of relevant configurations using water as the working fluid. The results revealed that the size has a significant effect on the liquid separation efficiency, as the highest value was achieved by the largest size (VFT-V5). The CFD simulations give a good agreement with the experiments; all the simulations underestimated the liquid separation efficiency by approximately 0.02 over the range of conditions tested. |
Keywords | Two-phase flow; CFD simulation; liquid separation efficiency; vertical flash tank; separator design |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 401799. Mechanical engineering not elsewhere classified |
401706. Numerical modelling and mechanical characterisation | |
Public Notes | Files associated with this item cannot be displayed due to copyright restrictions. |
Byline Affiliations | School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering |
Institution of Origin | University of Southern Queensland |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q5x80/computational-and-experimental-investigation-of-the-vertical-flash-tank-separator-part-1-effect-of-parameters-on-separation-efficiency
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