Annals of the Assembly for International Heat Transfer Conference 13

ISBN 1-56700-225-0 / CD 1-56700-226-9

Year 2006

L. G. Lara
Petrobras S/A - ENGENHARIA/IEABAST/EAB/ENPRO, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 20271-900, Brazil

P. Couto
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro - PEM/COPPE, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941-972, Brazil

D. M. A. Sophya
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro - PEM/COPPE, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941-972, Brazil

Renato M. Cotta
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro

A model for the thermal control of adsorbed natural gas cylindrical reservoirs during a slow discharge process is presented. A heat pipe thermal control device is considered at the centre of the reservoir. A two-dimensional transient analysis of the reservoir and a one-dimensional analysis of the heat pipe are described, and natural gas is modelled as pure methane, whose thermodynamic behaviour is modelled as ideal gas. Equations for energy and mass conservation are presented as well as the adsorption equilibrium relations for the process addressed in this work. The finite difference method was used to obtain a numerical solution for the model. Results obtained with the presented model are compared to theoretical and experimental data available in the literature. Finally, the effects of the thermal control on the temperature gradient, on the gas pressure history inside the reservoir and on the mass of natural gas delivered are discussed. The thermal control effects are investigated by varying the temperature of the heat sink and the discharge mass flow rate.

THP-10 pages DOI: 10.1615/IHTC13.p2.100 Download article

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