Improving Vortex Generators to Enhance the Performance of Air-Cooled Condensers in a Geothermal Power Plant

This report summarizes work at the Idaho National Laboratory to develop strategies to enhance air-side heat transfer in geothermal air-cooled condensers such that it should not significantly increase pressure drop and parasitic fan pumping power. The work was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization) of Japan, Yokohama National University, and the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India. A combined experimental and numerical investigation was performed to investigate heat transfer enhancement techniques that may be applicable to largescale air-cooled condensers such as those used in geothermal power applications. A transient heat transfer visualization and measurement technique was employed in order to obtain detailed distributions of local heat transfer coefficients on model fin surfaces. Pressure drop measurements were obtained for a variety of tube and winglet configurations using a single-channel flow apparatus that included four tube rows in a staggered array. Heat transfer and pressure drop measurements were also acquired in a separate multiple-tube row apparatus in the Single Blow Test Facility. In addition, a numerical modeling technique was developed to predict local and average heat transfer for these low-Reynolds number flows, with and without winglets. Representative experimental and numerical results were obtained that reveal quantitative details of local finsurface heat transfer in the vicinity of a circular tube with a single delta winglet pair downstream of the cylinder. Heat transfer and pressure-drop results were obtained for flow Reynolds numbers based on channel height and mean flow velocity ranging from 700 to 6500. The winglets were of triangular (delta) shape with a 1:2 or 1:3 height/length aspect ratio and a height equal to 90% of the channel height. Overall mean fin-surface heat transfer results indicate a significant level of heat transfer enhancement (in terms of Colburn j-factor) associated with deployment of the winglets with circular as well as oval tubes. In general, toe-in (common flow up) type winglets appear to have better performance than the toe-out (common flow down) type winglets. Comparisons of heat transfer and pressure drop results for the elliptical tube versus a circular tube with and without winglets are provided. During the course of their independent research, all of the researchers have established that about 10 to 30% enhancement in Colburn j-factor is expected. However, actual increase in heat transfer rate from a heat exchanger employing finned tubes with winglets may be smaller, perhaps on the order of 2 to 5%. It is also concluded that for any specific application, more full-size experimentation is needed to optimize the winglet design for a specific heat exchanger application. If in place of a circular tube, an oval tube can be economically used in a bundle, it is expected that the pressure drop across the tube bundle with the application of vortex generators (winglets) will be similar to that in a conventional circular tube bundle. It is hoped that the results of this research will demonstrate the benefits of applying vortex generators (winglets) on the fins to improve the heat transfer from the air-side of the tube bundle

Oxygen Handling and Cooling Options in High Temperature Electrolysis Plants

Idaho National Laboratory is working on a project to generate hydrogen by high temperature electrolysis (HTE). In such an HTE system, safety precautions need to be taken to handle high temperature oxygen at ~830°C. This report is aimed at addressing oxygen handling in a HTE plant.. Though oxygen itself is not flammable, most engineering material, including many gases and liquids, will burn in the presence of oxygen under some favorable physicochemical conditions. At present, an absolute set of rules does not exist that can cover all aspects of oxygen system design, material selection, and operating practices to avoid subtle hazards related to oxygen. Because most materials, including metals, will burn in an oxygen-enriched environment, hazards are always present when using oxygen. Most materials will ignite in an oxygen-enriched environment at a temperature lower than that in air, and once ignited, combustion rates are greater in the oxygen-enriched environment. Even many metals, if ignited, burn violently in an oxygen-enriched environment. However, these hazards do not preclude the operations and systems involving oxygen. Oxygen can be safely handled and used if all the materials in a system are not flammable in the end-use environment or if ignition sources are identified and controlled. In fact, the incidence of oxygen system fires is reported to be low with a probability of about one in a million. This report is a practical guideline and tutorial for the safe operation and handling of gaseous oxygen in high temperature electrolysis system. The intent is to provide safe, practical guidance that permits the accomplishment of experimental operations at INL, while being restrictive enough to prevent personnel endangerment and to provide reasonable facility protection. Adequate guidelines are provided to govern various aspects of oxygen handling associated with high temperature electrolysis system to generate hydrogen. The intent here is to present acceptable oxygen standards and practices for minimum safety requirements. A summary of operational hazards, along with oxygen safety and emergency procedures, are provided

Engineering Database of Liquid Salt Thermophysical

The purpose of this report is to provide a revie

The Concept and Analytical Investigation of CO2 and Steam Co-Electrolysis for Resource Utilization in Space Exploration

CO2 acquisition and utilization technologies will have a vital role in designing sustainable and affordable life support and in situ fuel production architectures for human and robotic exploration of Moon and Mars. For long-term human exploration to be practical, reliable technologies have to be implemented to capture the metabolic CO2 from the cabin air and chemically reduce it to recover oxygen. Technologies that enable the in situ capture and conversion of atmospheric CO2 to fuel are essential for a viable human mission to Mars. This paper describes the concept and mathematical analysis of a closed-loop life support system based on combined electrolysis of CO2 and steam (co-electrolysis). Products of the coelectrolysis process include oxygen and syngas (CO and H2) that are suitable for life support and synthetic fuel production, respectively. The model was developed based on the performance of a co-electrolysis system developed at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Individual and combined process models of the co-electrolysis and Sabatier, Bosch, Boudouard, and hydrogenation reactions are discussed and their performance analyses in terms of oxygen production and CO2 utilization are presented

Conceptual Design of Forced Convection Molten Salt Heat Transfer Testing Loop

This report develops a proposal to design and construct a forced convection test loop. A detailed test plan will then be conducted to obtain data on heat transfer, thermodynamic, and corrosion characteristics of the molten salts and fluid-solid interaction. In particular, this report outlines an experimental research and development test plan. The most important initial requirement for heat transfer test of molten salt systems is the establishment of reference coolant materials to use in the experiments. An earlier report produced within the same project highlighted how thermophysical properties of the materials that directly impact the heat transfer behavior are strongly correlated to the composition and impurities concentration of the melt. It is therefore essential to establish laboratory techniques that can measure the melt composition, and to develop purification methods that would allow the production of large quantities of coolant with the desired purity. A companion report describes the options available to reach such objectives. In particular, that report outlines an experimental research and development test plan that would include following steps: •Molten Salts: The candidate molten salts for investigation will be selected. •Materials of Construction: Materials of construction for the test loop, heat exchangers, and fluid-solid corrosion tests in the test loop will also be selected. •Scaling Analysis: Scaling analysis to design the test loop will be performed. •Test Plan: A comprehensive test plan to include all the tests that are being planned in the short and long term time frame will be developed. •Design the Test Loop: The forced convection test loop will be designed including extensive mechanical design, instrument selection, data acquisition system, safety requirements, and related precautionary measures. •Fabricate the Test Loop. •Perform the Tests. •Uncertainty Analysis: As a part of the data collection, uncertainty analysis will be performed to develop probability of confidence in what is measured in the test loop. Overall, the testing loop will allow development of needed heat transfer related thermophysical parameters for all the salts, validate existing correlations, validate measuring instruments under harsh environment, and have extensive corrosion testing of materials of construction

Engineering Database of Liquid Salt Thermophysical

The purpose of this report is to provide a revie

Engineering Database of Liquid Salt Thermophysical

The purpose of this report is to provide a revie

Conceptual Design of Forced Convection Molten Salt Heat Transfer Testing Loop

This report develops a proposal to design and construct a forced convection test loop. A detailed test plan will then be conducted to obtain data on heat transfer, thermodynamic, and corrosion characteristics of the molten salts and fluid-solid interaction. In particular, this report outlines an experimental research and development test plan. The most important initial requirement for heat transfer test of molten salt systems is the establishment of reference coolant materials to use in the experiments. An earlier report produced within the same project highlighted how thermophysical properties of the materials that directly impact the heat transfer behavior are strongly correlated to the composition and impurities concentration of the melt. It is therefore essential to establish laboratory techniques that can measure the melt composition, and to develop purification methods that would allow the production of large quantities of coolant with the desired purity. A companion report describes the options available to reach such objectives. In particular, that report outlines an experimental research and development test plan that would include following steps: •Molten Salts: The candidate molten salts for investigation will be selected. •Materials of Construction: Materials of construction for the test loop, heat exchangers, and fluid-solid corrosion tests in the test loop will also be selected. •Scaling Analysis: Scaling analysis to design the test loop will be performed. •Test Plan: A comprehensive test plan to include all the tests that are being planned in the short and long term time frame will be developed. •Design the Test Loop: The forced convection test loop will be designed including extensive mechanical design, instrument selection, data acquisition system, safety requirements, and related precautionary measures. •Fabricate the Test Loop. •Perform the Tests. •Uncertainty Analysis: As a part of the data collection, uncertainty analysis will be performed to develop probability of confidence in what is measured in the test loop. Overall, the testing loop will allow development of needed heat transfer related thermophysical parameters for all the salts, validate existing correlations, validate measuring instruments under harsh environment, and have extensive corrosion testing of materials of construction

Modeling Degradation in Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cells

Idaho National Laboratory has an ongoing project to generate hydrogen from steam using solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs). To accomplish this, technical and degradation issues associated with the SOECs will need to be addressed. This report covers various approaches being pursued to model degradation issues in SOECs. An electrochemical model for degradation of SOECs is presented. The model is based on concepts in local thermodynamic equilibrium in systems otherwise in global thermodynamic no equilibrium. It is shown that electronic conduction through the electrolyte, however small, must be taken into account for determining local oxygen chemical potential, , within the electrolyte. The within the electrolyte may lie out of bounds in relation to values at the electrodes in the electrolyzer mode. Under certain conditions, high pressures can develop in the electrolyte just near the oxygen electrode/electrolyte interface, leading to oxygen electrode delamination. These predictions are in accordance with the reported literature on the subject. Development of high pressures may be avoided by introducing some electronic conduction in the electrolyte. By combining equilibrium thermodynamics, no equilibrium (diffusion) modeling, and first-principles, atomic scale calculations were performed to understand the degradation mechanisms and provide practical recommendations on how to inhibit and/or completely mitigate them