Effect of flow direction on the conjugate heat transfer performance of LNG ambient air vaporizer with U-bend
Ambient air vaporizers (AAVs) with multiple U-shaped finned tubes are preferred for liquefied natural gas (LNG) vaporization due to their low energy consumption and eco-friendly nature. The flow direction significantly impacts vaporization efficiency and must be clarified for optimal design. This st...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-05-01
|
| Series: | Case Studies in Thermal Engineering |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214157X25002357 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849700426285318144 |
|---|---|
| author | Shanshan Liu Wenling Jiao Ping Zhang Qi Li |
| author_facet | Shanshan Liu Wenling Jiao Ping Zhang Qi Li |
| author_sort | Shanshan Liu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Ambient air vaporizers (AAVs) with multiple U-shaped finned tubes are preferred for liquefied natural gas (LNG) vaporization due to their low energy consumption and eco-friendly nature. The flow direction significantly impacts vaporization efficiency and must be clarified for optimal design. This study develops a conjugate heat transfer model of an AAV tube module with a U-bend (ATMU), considering internal LNG flow boiling and two-way fluid-solid coupling with ambient air. Experiments using liquid nitrogen (LN2) were conducted to provide boundary conditions and validate the numerical model. The relative error between measured and simulated wall temperatures was within ±5 % when relative humidity was below 30 %. Results indicate that wall temperature does not increase monotonically along the flow direction due to interference between adjacent tubes and the U-bend. Numerical analysis shows that the natural convective heat transfer coefficient on the air side is 20 % higher for top inflow than for bottom inflow in the first half of the tube, resulting in superior heat transfer performance for AAVs with an initial top inflow of LNG. The optimal AAV installation aligns the overall LNG flow direction perpendicular to the annual prevailing wind at gas terminals, maximizing vaporization efficiency. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c5b9c9a56f1642c4aa7d42b72b929c7c |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2214-157X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Case Studies in Thermal Engineering |
| spelling | doaj-art-c5b9c9a56f1642c4aa7d42b72b929c7c2025-08-20T03:18:16ZengElsevierCase Studies in Thermal Engineering2214-157X2025-05-016910597510.1016/j.csite.2025.105975Effect of flow direction on the conjugate heat transfer performance of LNG ambient air vaporizer with U-bendShanshan Liu0Wenling Jiao1Ping Zhang2Qi Li3Institute of Building Intelligence, Jiangsu Vocational Institute of Architectural Technology, Xuzhou, 221116, China; Corresponding author.School of Architecture and Design, Harbin Institute of Technology, Key Laboratory of Cold Region Urban and Rural Human Settlement Environment Science and Technology, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Harbin, 150090, ChinaLinyi Yage security technology Co., Ltd, ChinaGas Technology Research Institute of PetroChina Kunlun Gas Co., Ltd, ChinaAmbient air vaporizers (AAVs) with multiple U-shaped finned tubes are preferred for liquefied natural gas (LNG) vaporization due to their low energy consumption and eco-friendly nature. The flow direction significantly impacts vaporization efficiency and must be clarified for optimal design. This study develops a conjugate heat transfer model of an AAV tube module with a U-bend (ATMU), considering internal LNG flow boiling and two-way fluid-solid coupling with ambient air. Experiments using liquid nitrogen (LN2) were conducted to provide boundary conditions and validate the numerical model. The relative error between measured and simulated wall temperatures was within ±5 % when relative humidity was below 30 %. Results indicate that wall temperature does not increase monotonically along the flow direction due to interference between adjacent tubes and the U-bend. Numerical analysis shows that the natural convective heat transfer coefficient on the air side is 20 % higher for top inflow than for bottom inflow in the first half of the tube, resulting in superior heat transfer performance for AAVs with an initial top inflow of LNG. The optimal AAV installation aligns the overall LNG flow direction perpendicular to the annual prevailing wind at gas terminals, maximizing vaporization efficiency.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214157X25002357Ambient air vaporizerConjugate heat transferFlow directionFlow boilingFluid-solid coupling |
| spellingShingle | Shanshan Liu Wenling Jiao Ping Zhang Qi Li Effect of flow direction on the conjugate heat transfer performance of LNG ambient air vaporizer with U-bend Case Studies in Thermal Engineering Ambient air vaporizer Conjugate heat transfer Flow direction Flow boiling Fluid-solid coupling |
| title | Effect of flow direction on the conjugate heat transfer performance of LNG ambient air vaporizer with U-bend |
| title_full | Effect of flow direction on the conjugate heat transfer performance of LNG ambient air vaporizer with U-bend |
| title_fullStr | Effect of flow direction on the conjugate heat transfer performance of LNG ambient air vaporizer with U-bend |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effect of flow direction on the conjugate heat transfer performance of LNG ambient air vaporizer with U-bend |
| title_short | Effect of flow direction on the conjugate heat transfer performance of LNG ambient air vaporizer with U-bend |
| title_sort | effect of flow direction on the conjugate heat transfer performance of lng ambient air vaporizer with u bend |
| topic | Ambient air vaporizer Conjugate heat transfer Flow direction Flow boiling Fluid-solid coupling |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214157X25002357 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT shanshanliu effectofflowdirectionontheconjugateheattransferperformanceoflngambientairvaporizerwithubend AT wenlingjiao effectofflowdirectionontheconjugateheattransferperformanceoflngambientairvaporizerwithubend AT pingzhang effectofflowdirectionontheconjugateheattransferperformanceoflngambientairvaporizerwithubend AT qili effectofflowdirectionontheconjugateheattransferperformanceoflngambientairvaporizerwithubend |