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Constructal design of distributed cooling on the landscape
Author(s) -
Xia Liang,
Lorente Sylvie,
Bejan Adrian
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
international journal of energy research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.808
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1099-114X
pISSN - 0363-907X
DOI - 10.1002/er.1743
Subject(s) - constructal law , laminar flow , tree network , tree (set theory) , refrigeration , cooling capacity , water cooling , power (physics) , simulation , computer science , engineering , mechanical engineering , mechanics , heat transfer , thermodynamics , physics , mathematics , mathematical analysis , set (abstract data type) , programming language
Here we constructal design to determine the area size (or number of users N ) to be allocated to a central refrigeration plant, and to configure the distribution network for the distributed cooling system. The main objective is to maximize the net cooling capacity delivered to every user, and to minimize the pumping power required for transporting the chilled water. Two types of distribution networks are investigated: radial and tree‐shaped networks. First, when ducts with a single diameter are used, the net cooling capacity delivered to every user is almost the same, while the pumping power requirement for the tree network is greater than that for the radial network. Multi‐diameter tree networks are investigated next. The pumping power requirement for multi‐diameter tree‐shaped network is less than for radial network when N is greater than 19 if the flow is laminar, and when N is greater than 80 if the flow is turbulent. The global performance of the area‐based cooling system can be improved by increasing the freedom to morph the configuration. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.