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Numerical study of turbulent recirculating flow in a medium-sized vertical flow air-conditioning unit

Conference ·
OSTI ID:110056
 [1]; ;  [2]
  1. Silsoe Research Institute, Bedfordshire (United Kingdom). Process Engineering Division
  2. City Univ., London (United Kingdom). Thermo-Fluids Engineering Research Centre
In this paper a numerical study of the complex three-dimensional turbulent flow with recirculation through a packaged air-conditioning system is presented. The system is a complete medium-sized vertical-flow unit and comprises a twin-coiled inclined heat exchanger fitted with condensate trays and two centrifugal fans. The mathematical model formulated is based on the three-dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations to calculate the mean flow, together with a two-equation {kappa}-{var_epsilon} model to describe the turbulence. Special modeling techniques are developed to account for the presence of numerous fins and tubes in the flow field due to heat exchanger coils and the Coriolis force due to rotation of the fan impellers. The influence of the internal design on the performance of the unit is demonstrated.
OSTI ID:
110056
Report Number(s):
CONF-940659--; ISBN 0-7918-1369-X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English