The Flow And Heat Transfer Analysis Of Ice Slurry In The Pipe Network

Ice slurry technology is one of the latest developments in energy-saving areas. Thereare many advantages by the use of ice slurry as a refrigerant. Ice slurry is solid-liquidtwo-phase solution with a large number of ice crystals in it. As one of the potentialsubstitutes of conventional coolant, ice slurry is characterized by its good fluidity, hugephase change latent heat, and the ability of fast releasing the cold energy. The flow andheat transfer characteristics of ice slurry are the hottest topics.This paper summarizes the research by domestic and foreign scholars in ice slurrygenerator methods, the flow and heat transfer characteristics of ice slurry. The thermophysical properties of ice slurry are concluded. In this paper, based on previous theoreticalstudies, the ice slurry flow mathematical model in the pipe is established using Fluentsoftware. The flow in T-junction pipes is simulated as well. With the actual observed iceslurry flow in a T-junction pipe, the phenomenon of high-speed area and the low-speedareas in T-junction pipes is analyzed. The location and reason of the ice block areindicated. Secondly, the impact of different flow rates, pipe diameters, IPF and ice particlesize on pressure drop of T-junction pipes are simulated. It is concluded that T-junctionwith the angle of90°would cause the greatest pressure drop, and is more prone to bringice accumulation. Besides, flow dividers are commonly used in air-conditioning systems,whose structure will also affect the ice slurry flow and heat transfer. In this paper, the flowdivider used at the end of air conditioning system is optimized. A diversion structure isadded to the body. According to the simulation results, we find the optimal size of thediversion structure. Compared with the existing flow divider, the improved one caneffectively reduce the flow resistance and reduce ice accumulation. After the conclusion ofice slurry heat transfer characteristics in pipes, a mathematical model of the ice slurry flowis established, and the heat transfer characteristics of ice slurry are summed up. An experimental system of fan-coil heat exchanger with ice slurry is built. The systemconsists of an ice slurry generator, a fan-coil systems and a data acquisitionsystem. According to enthalpy potential method, the heat exchange between iceslurry/cold water and air is compared respectively. The results show that the ice slurry heattransfer coefficient is significantly larger than the cold water, with a great potential in heattransfer and a great cooling ability. Besides, the heat capacity changes as the flow rate ofice slurry changes.