A CFD Simulation on How the Different Sizes of Silica Gel Will Affect the Adsorption Performance of Silica Gel

Abstract

The application of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in the area of porous media and adsorption cooling system is becoming more practical due to the significant improvement in computer power. The results from previous studies have shown that CFD can be useful tool for predicting the water vapour flow pattern, temperature, heat transfer, flow velocity, and adsorption rate. This paper investigates the effect of silica gel granular size on the water adsorption rate using computational fluid dynamics.

CFD Simulation and Experimental Analyses of a Copper Wire Woven Heat Exchanger Design to Improve Heat Transfer and Reduce the Size of Adsorption Beds

“…Heating and cooling water tanks are used to provide the adsorption bed, condenser and evaporator with water at the desired temperatures. During the desorption stage of the cycle, the adsorption bed is heated to the temperature (80 °C) while the condenser is kept at 25 °C [1,[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. During the adsorption stage of the cycle, the adsorption bed is cooled down to 25 °C and the evaporator to 15 °C [14,10].…”

“…The formula for the heat transfer coefficient using log mean temperature difference is given by [6,[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17].…”

“…The heat transfer for adsorption and desorption of water vapour processes are measured from the returning steady state temperatures of the AD cycle [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18].…”

“…The measuring signals of all built-in sensors are scanned through multiple data acquisition system channels by a data logger and then transmitted to a computer [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18].…”

“…Throughout the adsorption process, water vapour is adsorbed by the porous adsorbent material silica gel. Throughout this operation, valve 6 connected to the evaporator is opened, and valve 7 connected to the condenser is kept closed [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. At the same time, the adsorbent bed is cooled and maintained at a temperature of 25˝C.…”