Wall temperature and system mass effects in a reciprocating gas spring
File(s)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Type
Conference Paper
Abstract
Reciprocating-piston devices can be used as high-efficiency compressors or expanders in small-scale Rankine cycle engines for power generation or in energy storage systems. The thermodynamic performance of piston-cylinder devices is adversely affected by the unsteady heat transfer between the compressed/expanded gas and the surrounding cylinder walls. Gas springs are an excellent model for the study of these losses because they exhibit the same complex heat transfer due to periodic pressure oscillations while avoiding the complexities of gas intake or exhaust. In this paper, results from CFD simulations of gas springs are compared to experimental data obtained in a piston-cylinder crankshaft-driven gas spring that experiences mass leakage. The temperature of the walls of the gas spring and the system mass are not known precisely in the experiments and are important parameters that determine the operation and performance of the system. The aim of this paper is to use complementary experimental and computational data in order to study the effects of these two parameters. Initial (mass) and boundary (wall temperature) conditions of the CFD are varied to match experimental measurements. It is found that the mass of the system has little influence on the temperature while an increase leads to a higher mean cyclic pressure without affecting the pressure ratio. In other words, the mass in a perfectly sealed gas spring only influences the operational pressure but not the performance of the system.
Date Issued
2020-05-01
Date Acceptance
2016-04-28
Citation
ECOS 2016 - Proceedings of the 29th International Conference on Efficiency, Cost, Optimisation, Simulation and Environmental Impact of Energy Systems, 2020, pp.1538-1549
Publisher
University of Ljubljana
Start Page
1538
End Page
1549
Journal / Book Title
ECOS 2016 - Proceedings of the 29th International Conference on Efficiency, Cost, Optimisation, Simulation and Environmental Impact of Energy Systems
Copyright Statement
© 2016 University of Ljubljana.
Sponsor
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC)
Grant Number
EP/J006041/1
Source
29th International Conference on Efficiency, Cost, Optimisation, Simulation and Environmental Impact of Energy Systems
Publication Status
Published
Start Date
2016-06-19
Finish Date
2016-06-23
Coverage Spatial
Portoroz, Slovenia