Development and validation of a TRNSYS type to simulate heat pipe heat exchangers in transient applications of waste heat recovery

Heat pipe heat exchangers (HPHEs) are being more frequently used in energy intensive industries as a method of low-grade waste heat recovery. Prior to the installation of a HPHE, the effect of the heat exchanger within the system requires modelling to simulate the overall impact. From this, potential savings and emission reductions can be determined, and the utilisation of the waste heat can be optimised. One such simulation software is TRNSYS. Currently available heat exchanger simulation components in TRNSYS use averaged values such as a constant effectiveness, constant heat transfer coefficient or conductance for the inputs, which are fixed during the entire simulation. These predictions are useful in a steady-state controlled temperature environment such as a heat treatment facility, but not optimal for the majority of energy recovery applications which operate with fluctuating conditions. A transient TRNSYS HPHE component has been developed using the Effectiveness-Number of Transfer Units (ɛ-NTU) method and validated against experimental results. The model predicts outlet temperatures and energy recovery well within an accuracy of 15% and an average of 4.4% error when compared to existing experimental results, which is acceptable for engineering applications. © 2020 The Author(s)