Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Working fluid”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 91 records · Page 5
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

A two-phase three-field modeling framework for heat pipe application in nuclear reactors

Heat pipes and two-phase thermosyphons are highly efficient heat transfer devices utilizing continuous evaporation and condensation of working fluid for two-phase heat transport in closed systems. Because of the nearly isothermal and fully passive phase-change heat transfer mechanism, heat pipes and thermosyphons have found many applications in nuclear engineering, space technologies, and other energy systems. High-temperature heat pipes are used in nuclear microreactors to remove fission power from the primary system and are coupled with power conversion systems or process heat applications. Modeling of the two-phase flow phenomena inside a heat pipe is essential to its design and safety analysis. In this study, a comprehensive one-dimensional two-phase three-field flow model has been developed for the analysis of heat pipes in normal operation conditions and transients. The conservation or field equations of mass, momentum, and energy were developed for the liquid film, vapor, and droplet. In addition, constitutive models or correlations were reviewed thoroughly and provided for the closure of the three-field equations. Specific constitutive equations regarding interfacial mass and heat transfer at two interfaces, namely film-gas interface and gas-droplet interface, were reviewed for droplet entrainment and deposition rates as well as film and droplet evaporation rates. Furthermore, mechanistic correlations of annular flow film thickness were recommended for the modeling of the thermosyphons without a wick as a critical constitutive correlation. Furthermore, experimental data needs from new experiments using a prototype working fluid or surrogate fluids for the model validation of high-temperature heat pipes in microreactors were recommended for future research.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Heat Transfer Characteristics of Particle and Air Flow Through Additively Manufactured Lattice Frame Material Based on Octet-Shape Topology

Particle-to-supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO 2 ) heat exchanger is a critical component in next-generation concentrating solar power (CSP) plants. The inherently low heat transfer between falling particles and sCO 2 imposes a challenge toward economic justification of levelized cost of electricity produced through solar energy. Introduction of integrated porous media with the walls bounding particle flow has the potential to enhance the overall particle-to-sCO 2 heat exchanger performance. Here, this paper presents an experimental study on heat transfer characterization of additively manufactured lattice frame material based on Octet-shaped unit cell with particles and air as working fluids. The lattice structures were additively manufactured in stainless steel (SS) 316L and SS420 (with 40% bronze infiltration) via Binder jetting process, where the lattice porosities were varied between 0.75 and 0.9. The mean particle diameters were varied from 266 μm to 966 μm. The effective thermal conductivity and averaged heat transfer coefficient were determined through steady-state experiments. It was found that the presence of lattice enhances the effective thermal conductivity by 2–4 times when compared to packed bed of particles alone. Furthermore, for gravity-assisted particle flow through lattice panel, significantly high convective heat transfer coefficients ranging from 200 W/m2K to 400 W/m2K were obtained for the range of particle diameters tested. The superior thermal transport properties of Octet-shape-based lattice frame for particle flow makes it a very promising candidate for particle-to-sCO 2 heat exchanger for CSP application.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Thermodynamic analysis of a two-stage binary-fluid ejector heat pump water heater

Ejector heat pump water heaters (EHPWHs) could significantly increase the thermal efficiency of domestic water heating and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This study addresses two major technical barriers to using EHPWHs in domestic water heating—low heating cycle coefficient of performance (COP) and low condensation temperatures—using binary fluid pairs as a working fluid in a two-stage ejector system. A comprehensive, geometry-free model of binary-fluid ejectors was built and validated to predict the entrainment ratios of binary-fluid ejectors. A thermodynamic model of a two-stage binary-fluid ejector EHPWH was built to predict the heating cycle COP of EHPWHs. The performance of the EHPWH was theoretically evaluated using HFE7000 and Novec649 as primary fluids and R600 and R1234ze(Z) as secondary fluids. HFE7000/R600 gave the highest heating cycle COP (i.e., 1.356) in producing domestic hot water at 60.0 °C. An optimum evaporation temperature of the primary fluid was identified for the maximum effective entrainment ratio and effective pressure lift ratio of two-stage ejectors. Here, the effective entrainment ratio of the two-stage ejector dominated the heating cycle COP of the EHPWH. Primary fluids with lower latent heats of evaporation and/or secondary fluids with higher latent heats of evaporation yielded higher heating cycle COPs of EHPWHs.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2023

Closed Loop Geothermal Working Group: GeoCLUSTER App, Subsurface Simulation Results, and Publications

To better understand the heat production, electricity generation performance, and economic viability of closed-loop geothermal systems in hot-dry rock, the Closed-Loop Geothermal Working Group -- a consortium of several national labs and academic institutions has tabulated time-dependent numerical solutions and levelized cost results of two popular closed-loop heat exchanger designs (u-tube and co-axial). The heat exchanger designs were evaluated for two working fluids (water and supercritical CO2) while varying seven continuous independent parameters of interest (mass flow rate, vertical depth, horizontal extent, borehole diameter, formation gradient, formation conductivity, and injection temperature). The corresponding numerical solutions (approximately 1.2 million per heat exchanger design) are stored as multi-dimensional HDF5 datasets and can be queried at off-grid points using multi-dimensional linear interpolation. A Python script was developed to query this database and estimate time-dependent electricity generation using an organic Rankine cycle (for water) or direct turbine expansion cycle (for CO2) and perform a cost assessment. This document aims to give an overview of the HDF5 database file and highlights how to read, visualize, and query quantities of interest (e.g., levelized cost of electricity, levelized cost of heat) using the accompanying Python scripts. Details regarding the capital, operation, and maintenance and levelized cost calculation using the techno-economic analysis script are provided. This data submission will contain results from the Closed Loop Geothermal Working Group study that are within the public domain, including publications, simulation results, databases, and computer codes. GeoCLUSTER is a Python-based web application created using Dash, an open-source framework built on top of Flask that streamlines the building of data dashboards. GeoCLUSTER provides users with a collection of interactive methods for streamlining the exploration and visualization of an HDF5 dataset. The GeoCluster app and database are contained in the compressed file geocluster_vx.zip, where the "x" refers to the version number. For example, geocluster_v1.zip is Version 1 of the app. This zip file also contains installation instructions. **To use the GeoCLUSTER app in the cloud, click the link to "GeoCLUSTER on AWS" in the Resources section below. To use the GeoCLUSTER app locally, download the geocluster_vx.zip to your computer and uncompress this file. When uncompressed this file comprises two directories and the geocluster_installation.pdf file. The geo-data app contains the HDF5 database in condensed format, and the GeoCLUSTER directory contains the GeoCLUSTER app in the subdirectory dash_app, as app.py. The geocluster_installation.pdf file provides instructions on installing Python, the needed Python modules, and then executing the app.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Influence of the Soret effect on binary-species boundary layers at high pressure

Direct numerical simulations of binary-species temporal boundary layers at high pressure are performed. The main objective is to investigate the influence of the Soret effect on flow physics of binary-species boundary layers where the fluid has a uniform composition. The working fluid is a mixture of 25 % methane and 75 % nitrogen in mass fraction. Although the fluid composition is uniform at the initial condition, the mass fraction of methane increases near the wall when the wall temperature is hotter than the free stream temperature, whereas it decreases when the wall temperature is colder. The non-uniform mass fraction indicates that the uphill diffusion occurs near the wall. Investigation of fluctuations of the mass fraction reveals that the mass fraction fluctuates in the whole boundary layer, indicating that the uphill diffusion occurs even far from the wall. Examination of the species-mass diffusion balance for mean flow fields clarified that the Soret effect flux becomes large near the wall, and the large flux causes the non-uniform profile of the mass fraction near the wall.

Binary Diffusion Coefficient↗
DOE OSTI2025

A Novel Framework for Performance Evaluation and Design Optimization of PCM Embedded Heat Exchangers for the Built Environment

This research sheds light on the performance evaluation and design optimization of PCM-HXs for the built environment, addressing several barriers to practical issues to PCM-HX commercialization such as modeling aspects (i.e., modeling expertise and computational / time investment, etc.), manufacturing aspects (i.e., at-scale manufacturing, cost assessments, etc.) and experimental performance assessment (i.e., reliable experimental data, assessment of multiple PCM-working fluid combinations, etc.). We present a novel, comprehensive, and experimentally-validated design optimization framework for PCM-HXs capable of simulating any PCM-HX geometry with reasonable accuracy and significant computational time savings when compared to traditional CFD-based design practices. The framework was validated for a wide range of PCM-HX configurations, including a design optimization for a domestic hot water heater application where TES partially replaces electrical heating input. The resulting PCM-HXs were found to deliver 34-68% of the total daily hot water supply with only 5-10% package volume increase from the water heater, thus within U.S. DOE targets for TES systems. To identify the most promising HXs for PCM applications, first-order geometry and cost analyses were conducted based on off-the-shelf HX products. As part of this work, 9 PCM-HX prototypes were manufactured using additive and conventional manufacturing methods. Detailed economy-of-scale assessments were conducted for the most promising PCM-HXs and were found to have a good outlook for the next 5-10 years. The PCM-HX design optimization framework was validated through comprehensive in-house experimental testing using newly-developed PCM-to-fluid test facilities. In total,10 total in-house component-level experiments were conducted using these prototypes, including 9 with water and 1 with refrigerant (R410A) as the working fluid. It was found that the framework can successfully predict experimental thermal-hydraulic performance within ±10-20% the first time without manual design changes, eliminating the need for time-consuming and expensive prototyping efforts as part of the design process. As part of this work, a publicly-available PCM web tool was released which includes a PCM property database (531 PCMs) and PCM-HX modeling tool to assist the design community on common PCM-HX use-cases, e.g., single/multiple flow path(s) fluid-to-PCM and air-to-fluid-to-PCM configurations (https://ceeeweb.umd.edu/pcmapp/). This work will accelerate the design and time to market for next generation PCM-HXs.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2025

A Review of the Research and Development of Brayton Cycle Technology in Nuclear Power Applications with a Focus on Compressor Technology

This study reviews the integration of Brayton Cycle (BC) systems in nuclear power generation, emphasizing their potential to enhance thermal efficiency and operational flexibility over traditional Rankine Cycle (RC) systems. Key working fluids, such as helium (He), supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO 2 ), nitrogen (N 2 ), and air, are evaluated for their performance, efficiency, and compatibility with nuclear systems. He is recognized for its high thermal conductivity and inertness at elevated temperatures, while sCO 2 demonstrates advantages in compactness and efficiency in midrange temperatures. This article also highlights the importance of compressor designs in optimizing BC performance and reviews, available compressor technologies. Axial and centrifugal compressor designs enable efficient gas compression while managing the thermal and mechanical stresses associated with high-pressure operations in nuclear systems. Combined with variable geometry components and advanced materials, these technologies address the challenges posed by varying load conditions. Despite the promising features of BC systems, several challenges persist, including high leakage rates and material degradation under extreme conditions, which necessitate robust sealing technologies and thorough testing. The insights gained from operational experiences at facilities, such as the Oberhausen II plant and the High-Temperature He Test Facility (HHV), underscore the complexities involved in designing high-temperature gas turbines for nuclear applications. This review concludes that as the nuclear industry evolves, BC systems hold significant promise for contributing to a sustainable energy future, particularly in the context of small modular reactors (SMRs) and microreactors. Further exploration of combined cycle configurations that combine BCs with RCs may enhance overall efficiency and flexibility in power generation.

22 - GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Ultra-High Operation Temperature SiC-matrix Solar Thermal Air Receiver (HOTSSTAR) enabled by additive manufacturing: Test Facility & Performance Evaluations

Solar Heat for Industrial Processes (SHIP) cavity receivers are capable of generating electricity or industrial process heat by absorbing thermal energy from solar radiation, focused on a small area. The concentration of solar radiation on the small area of the receiver enables the achievement of high temperatures (ranging from 400°C to 1,100°C) of a working fluid, thus making the SHIP technology thermodynamically comparable with conventional power plants. A volumetric receiver consists of a porous structure-generally made of silicon carbide or metal, which absorbs solar radiation and converts it into heat energy. Heat energy from the porous materials is then transferred to the fluid following through them. A volumetric receiver acts as a convective heat exchanger, transferring heat to the fluid through convection. Open-loop volumetric receivers work with air at atmospheric pressure and are suitable for single-cycle or multi-cycle energy plants. A Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) approach was used to develop a test bed at Sandia national Laboratories (SNL) capable of demonstrating an open-loop volumetric air receiver developed by General Electric Aerospace (GE Aerospace). This paper presents the development of the various MBSE methods, test bed, and testing operations for the GE air receiver, which was experimentally demonstrated to achieve 1,350°C for over 3 hours of operation and an approximate 70% receiver efficiency. By being able to achieve such high temperatures >1,000°C, this work provides the potential to support many SHIP industrial use cases.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Rapid Mineral Precipitation During Shear Fracturing of Carbonate-Rich Shales

Target subsurface reservoirs for emerging low-carbon energy technologies and geologic carbon sequestration typically have low permeability and thus rely heavily on fluid transport through natural and induced fracture networks. Sustainable development of these systems requires deeper understanding of how geochemically mediated deformation impacts fracture microstructure and permeability evolution, particularly with respect to geochemical reactions between pore fluids and the host rock. Here, a series of triaxial direct shear experiments was designed to evaluate how fractures generated at subsurface conditions respond to penetration of reactive fluids with a focus on the role of mineral precipitation. Calcite-rich shale cores were directly sheared under 3.5 MPa confining pressure using BaCl 2 -rich solutions as a working fluid. Experiments were conducted within an X-ray computed tomography (xCT) scanner to capture 4-D evolution of fracture geometry and precipitate growth. Three shear tests evidenced nonuniform precipitation of barium carbonates (BaCO 3 ) along through-going fractures, where the extent of precipitation increased with increasing calcite content. Precipitates were strongly localized within fracture networks due to mineral, geochemical, and structural heterogeneities and generally concentrated in smaller apertures where rock:water ratios were highest. The combination of elevated fluid saturation and reactive surface area created in freshly activated fractures drove near-immediate mineral precipitation that led to an 80% permeability reduction and significant flow obstruction in the most reactive core. While most previous studies have focused on mixing-induced precipitation, this work demonstrates that fluid–rock interactions can trigger precipitation-induced permeability alterations that can initiate or mitigate risks associated with subsurface energy systems.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Pumped Thermal Electricity Storage with Supercritical CO2 Cycles and Solar Heat Input

Pumped Thermal Electricity Storage (PTES) is an energy storage device that uses grid electricity to drive a heat pump that generates hot and cold storage reservoirs. This thermal potential is later used to power a heat engine and return electricity to the grid. In this article, a PTES variant that uses supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) as the working fluid is introduced. sCO2-PTES cycles have higher work ratios and power densities than the systems based on ideal gases that have been investigated to date. Furthermore, sCO2- PTES cycles may achieve higher round-trip efficiencies for a given hot storage temperature (up to 78% at 560°C). The sensitivity of PTES cycles to loss factors such as isentropic efficiencies and temperature differences between the power cycle and storage fluid is investigated. A second concept whereby an sCO2- PTES cycle is integrated with concentrating solar power (CSP) is introduced. This concept ‘time-shifts’ the recompression of an sCO2 recompression cycle to a period of lower electricity prices and stores the heat. When solar heat is dispatched, the recompressor may be avoided as the required heat is obtained from storage, thereby leading to increased heat engine efficiencies. The net work output of this integrated system is 10-18% greater than the conventional recompression cycle. Combining PTES with a CSP power cycle is therefore shown to improve the dispatch of solar heat as well as providing electricity storage services.

41 EE - Solar Energy Technologies Office (EE-4S)↗
DOE OSTI2020

Summary Report of the Reactive CO 2 Capture: Process Integration for the New Carbon Economy Workshop

Decarbonization of our global economy is required to limit planetary warming to +1.5⁰C above pre-industrial levels, an ambitious goal set into motion by the Paris agreement. Given the scale and urgency, the solution demands international, cross-sector advancements spanning policy, social responsibility, and technology, with emphasis on step changes over incremental changes. To that end, technological revolutions that disrupt the status quo need to be envisioned and enacted. One potential technological revolution is the production of fuels, chemicals, and materials from carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) as the starting feedstock, leveraging renewable energy as the driving force. Over the past decades, significant research, development, and deployment has occurred on technologies for capturing CO 2 from point sources or the air and utilizing this CO 2 as a working fluid or as a chemical reactant; however, most of this work has been siloed in these two categories. Recently, an emerging field has started to explore the direct integration of CO 2 capture and conversion technologies as a means to reduce overall energy demand (i.e., avoid energy penalty of CO 2 desorption/regeneration of capture media) and capital expense through process intensification. This strategy represents an opportunity to leapfrog forward this technological revolution. However, the field is in its infancy and the technologies are at an early stage of development, thus it is critically important to define and assess the value proposition of this strategy relative to alternatives (e.g., separated capture and conversion technologies, fuels and chemicals derived from renewable feedstocks like biomass, and industrial electrification) to chart a path forward. To identify next steps, we organized a workshop titled “Reactive CO 2 Capture: Process Integration for the New Carbon Economy” which was held in Golden, Colorado, February 18–19, 2020. The focus of this workshop was to discuss approaches for merging CO 2 capture and CO 2 conversion/utilization systems into what we denoted as an integrated "reactive capture" strategy. By our definition, reactive capture of CO 2 is the coupled process of capturing CO 2 from a mixed gas stream and converting it into a valuable product without going through a purified CO 2 intermediate (see full definition in the Introduction section). This report seeks to summarize feedback from the approximately 125 participants and subject matter experts in attendance from academia, industry, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and DOE national laboratories. The workshop agenda is included in Appendix A and the full list of attendees can be found in Appendix B. To elucidate a path forward, we first asked the attendees to define what success would look like for reactive capture in the short term (0–5 years), midterm (5–10 years), and long term (10+ years) and then asked them to answer four questions related to how we could achieve that success: (1) What are the key barriers and challenges to success? (2) What are needed activities to overcome barriers and challenges? (3) What opportunities will arise from these activities? (4) What is a target outcome and what metrics need to be met?

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2023

Heat transfer model for moving packed-bed particle-to-sCO 2 heat exchangers integrated with metal foams

Particle-to-supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO 2 ) heat exchangers (HXs) play a vital role in coupling heat transfer fluid (HTF) from high-temperature thermal receivers to power cycle working fluids (WF). Heat transfer enhancement is essential for adopting particle-based moving packed-bed heat exchangers (MPBHXs) in next-generation thermal energy storage (TES) systems, as MPBHXs usually exhibit low particle bed-to-wall heat transfer coefficients. High-porosity metal foams have shown their effectiveness in heat transfer enhancement. Here, this work presents a continuum heat transfer model to demonstrate the heat transfer enhancement in MPBHXs when the particle bed channel is filled with high porosity metal foams compared to open channel MPBHXs. The presence of metal foams increases the effective thermal conductivity in the particle channel and enhances the interstitial heat transfer coefficient between the moving particle bed and the stationary metal foams. The present model considers coupled two-dimensional (2D) heat transfer in the particle channel with metal foams and 1D heat transfer in the sCO 2 channel and the dividing wall. The temperature profiles for the particle bed, metal foam, dividing wall, and sCO 2 stream, as well as the local heat flux profiles between those, are studied in detail for various foam porosities, from which the particle bed-to-wall heat transfer coefficient, overall heat transfer coefficient, and total heat transfer rate for the MPBHX are determined. The effects of major MPBHX design and operating parameters on the particle bed-to-wall heat transfer coefficient and overall heat exchange capacity are thoroughly examined; thus, the MPBHX performance improvement with metal foams is quantified for each case. The present heat transfer model can provide valuable insights into the metal-foam MPBHX design and optimization, scale-up, and operating parameters selection.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Computational Fluid Dynamics and Heat Transfer Modeling of a Dimpled Heat Exchanger

Multiphysics and analytical calculations were conducted for a heat exchanger with passive, natural circulation flow. A glycol/water working fluid convects the heat to a dimpled heat exchanger shell, which subsequently transfers the heat to the soil, which acts as the ultimate heat sink. Because the system is fully-passive, it is not subject to the expenses, maintenance, and mechanical breakdowns associated with moving parts. Density, heat capacity, and thermal conductivity material properties were measured for various soil samples, and subsequently included as input for the soil heat conduction model. The soil model was coupled to a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) heat exchanger model that included the dynamic Smagorinsky large eddy simulation and k- omega turbulence models. The analysis showed that the fluid dynamics and heat transfer models worked properly, albeit at a slow pace. Nevertheless, the coupled CFD/heat conduction simulation ran long enough to determine a key parameter—the amount of heat conducted from the heat exchanger to the ground. This unique performance value, along with experimental data, was used as input for stand-alone, fast-running CFD models, as well as boundaries to obtain solutions to partial differential equations for soil heat conduction.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2020

Effects of Heat Pipe Failures in Microreactors

Microreactors provide new opportunities for nuclear reactor applications given their long-lived fuel source, compact size, portability, reliability as it relates to safety and their self-regulating nature. To take advantage of these opportunities there are technological challenges that need to be overcome. One advancing technology often used in conjunction with microreactor designs are heat pipes, which are used for heat removal from the reactor core to the power conversion system. Heat pipes are a substitute for the traditional system in which the same fluid used as coolant in the reactor is then used as the working fluid in the power conversion system. This document describes how heat pipes operate, what happens when a heat pipe fails, and what codes can be used to simulate the results. Our analyses show that a single/double heat pipe failure results in a temperature increase of 15-50°C respectively in surrounding heat pipes. Heat pipe microreactors could be easily designed such that this increase is within the maximum parameters allowable for safety and does not result in cascading heat pipe failure. Thus, such failures do not lead to severe degradation of the reactor.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Numerical Simulations of Cryogenic Hydrogen Cooling in Vortex Tubes with Smooth Transitions

Improving efficiency of hydrogen cooling in cryogenic conditions is important for the wider applications of hydrogen energy systems. The approach investigated in this study is based on a Ranque-Hilsch vortex tube (RHVT) that generates temperature separation in a working fluid. The simplicity of RHVT is also a valuable characteristic for cryogenic systems. In the present work, novel shapes of RHVT are computationally investigated with the goal to raise efficiency of the cooling process. Specifically, a smooth transition is arranged between a vortex chamber, where compressed gas is injected, and the main tube with two exit ports at the tube ends. Flow simulations have been carried out using STAR-CCM+ software with the real-gas Redlich-Kwong model for hydrogen at temperatures near 70 K. It is determined that a vortex tube with a smooth transition of moderate size manifests about 7% improvement of the cooling efficiency when compared vortex tubes that use traditional vortex chambers with stepped transitions and a no-chamber setup with direct gas injection.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2020

Axial load management system

An axial load management system for a turbomachine including a rotating drivetrain, a thrust bearing assembly, a sensor, and a valve supply line. The rotating drivetrain includes a compressor section and an expander section fluidly coupled together by a closed flowpath. The thrust bearing assembly includes a thrust runner, a thrust bearing housing, and a gas thrust bearing extending between the thrust runner and the thrust bearing housing. Further, the gas thrust bearing supports the rotating drivetrain. The sensor is attached to at least one of the thrust bearing housing or the gas thrust bearing. The valve supply line is fluidly coupled to the closed flowpath. A valve positioned within the valve supply line selectively allows a working fluid to flow between the closed flowpath and a thrust chamber defined by a rotating surface and a fixed surface to modify an axial load on the rotating drivetrain.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Sorption heat pump and control method

A method operates an absorption heat pump system, specifically the flow of hydronic cooling fluid through the condenser during system start-ups, or when the cooling fluid temperature is low. To minimize the time for an absorption heat pump to reach full cooling or heating capacity, it is desirable for the high side pressure to increase as fast as possible, and the low side pressure to decrease as fast as possible. Since the high side pressure is a function of the temperature of the refrigerant exiting the condenser, if the condenser cooling fluid temperature is low, the corresponding high side pressure will be low, which may not permit adequate working fluid flow rates from the high pressure side of the system to the low pressure side.

Garrabrant, Michael A.↗
DOE OSTI2026

SCP (Secondary Coolant Props) [SWR-26-025]

SCP (Secondary Coolant Props) contains fluid property routines for secondary coolants. It is based on the correlations developed by Åke Melinder, 2010 "Properties of Secondary Working Fluids for Indirect Systems" 2nd ed., International Institute of Refrigeration. This is intended to be a lightweight library that can be easily imported into any other Python tool, with no bulky dependencies.

Mitchell, Matt [National Laboratory of the Rockies↗