Skip to content
LIBRARY
Components.Partial.HEXCrossflow.md

Components.Partial.HEXCrossflow

Moist-air cross-flow heat exchanger element with condensation.

A single air stream crossing a finned-tube bank, used inside TubeFinHEX. port_a is the upstream air port and port_b the downstream air port; m_flow > 0 means air enters port_a. The wall couples through heatPorts (one per control volume). Currently restricted to N = 1 (single control volume) — set N = 1 when instantiating. The medium must be a moist-air medium (water vapor + dry air).

This component extends from PartialHEXCrossflow

Usage

HVACComponents.Components.Partial.HEXCrossflow(htc_nominal, CF_MassTransfer, CF_HeatTransfer, htc=missing, p_in_start, p_out_start, p_loss_start, m_air_flow_start, T_in_start, T_out_start, Xi_in_start, Xi_out_start, Q_start, eta_fin_start, h_in_start, h_out_start, mcond_flow_start, d_mean_start, Q_water_start, cp_mean_start, medium_data, A, d0, delta, S_t, S_l, At_tube, Af_tube, kfin, Ka, k_mair, Qdot_lat_start, Qdot_sens_start, xsat_w_start, eta_start, psat_w_start, psat_w_1K_start, xsat_w_1K_start, der_xsat_w_dT_start, mtc_start, dgradient_start, heff_start, rho_constant)

Parameters:

NameDescriptionUnitsDefault value
NNumber of air-side control volumes1
N_Plus_1Number of cell faces (= N + 1)N + 1
htc_nominalNominal air-side heat-transfer coefficient [W/(m^2.K)]
CF_MassTransferCorrection factor on the Lewis-analogy mass-transfer coefficient [-]
CF_HeatTransferCorrection factor on the air-side heat-transfer coefficient [-]
p_in_startInitial air inlet pressure [Pa]Pa
p_out_startInitial air outlet pressure [Pa]Pa
p_loss_startInitial air-side pressure drop [Pa]Pa
m_air_flow_startInitial air mass flow rate [kg/s]kg/s
T_in_startInitial air inlet temperature [K]K
T_out_startInitial air outlet temperature [K]K
Xi_in_startInitial air inlet water-vapor mass fraction [-]
Xi_out_startInitial air outlet water-vapor mass fraction [-]
Q_startInitial air-side heat flow per element [W]W
eta_fin_startInitial fin efficiency [-]
h_in_startInitial air inlet specific enthalpy [J/kg]J/kg
h_out_startInitial air outlet specific enthalpy [J/kg]J/kg
mcond_flow_startInitial condensate mass flow [kg/s]kg/s
d_mean_startInitial mean air density [kg/m^3]
Q_water_startInitial heat flow carried by condensate [W]W
cp_mean_startInitial mean specific heat capacity of moist air [J/(kg.K)]
medium_dataMoist-air medium properties
AAir-side free-flow cross-sectional area [m^2]
d0Tube outer diameter [m]
deltaFin thickness [m]
S_tTransverse tube spacing [m]
S_lLongitudinal tube spacing [m]
At_tubeBare-tube surface area per tube [m^2]
Af_tubeFin surface area per tube [m^2]
kfinFin thermal conductivity [W/(m.K)]
KaAir-side pressure-drop constant [Pa/(kg/s)] used as p_loss = m_flow / A * Ka
k_mairRatio of steam to dry-air molar mass used in the humidity-ratio conversion [-]
Qdot_lat_startInitial latent heat flow [W] (solver guess)
Qdot_sens_startInitial sensible heat flow [W] (solver guess; should track total Q_start for consistency)
xsat_w_startInitial wall-side saturation humidity ratio [-] (solver guess)
eta_startInitial air dynamic viscosity [Pa.s] (solver guess)
psat_w_startInitial wall-side saturation pressure [Pa] (solver guess)
psat_w_1K_startInitial wall-side saturation pressure 1 K below the wall temperature [Pa] (solver guess)
xsat_w_1K_startInitial wall-side saturation humidity ratio 1 K below the wall temperature [-] (solver guess)
der_xsat_w_dT_startInitial derivative of saturation humidity ratio with respect to temperature [1/K] (solver guess)
mtc_startInitial mass-transfer coefficient [kg/(m^2.s)] (solver guess)
dgradient_startInitial humidity-ratio gradient driving condensation [-] (solver guess)
heff_startInitial effective heat-transfer coefficient including fin efficiency [W/(m^2.K)] (solver guess)
rho_constantConstant air density used in the Lewis-analogy mass-transfer calculation [kg/m^3]

Connectors

Variables

NameDescriptionUnits
pAir-side pressure used internally (= medium_inflow.p = port_a.p) [Pa]Pa
TAir temperature at each face [K] (length N+1)K
H_flowEnthalpy flow at each face [W] (length N+1)
mdotDry-and-vapor mass flow at each face [kg/s] (length N+1)kg/s
mXi_flowWater-vapor mass flow at each face [kg/s] (length N+1)
Q_flowSensible-plus-latent heat flow into each cell [W] (length N)W
mcond_flowCondensate mass flow leaving each cell [kg/s] (length N)
p_lossAir-side pressure drop port_a - port_b [Pa]Pa
d_meanMean air density used in mass-transfer scaling [kg/m^3]
Q_waterHeat flow carried out with the condensate [W]W
cp_meanMean specific heat capacity of moist air [J/(kg.K)]
T_inAir inlet temperature [K] (alias for medium_inflow.T at port_a)K
T_outAir outlet temperature [K] (alias for medium_outflow.T at port_b)K
eta_finFin efficiency per cell [-] (length N); extender supplies
Qdot_latLatent heat flow per control volume [W] (length N)
Qdot_sensSensible heat flow per control volume [W] (length N)
xsat_wSaturation humidity ratio at wall temperature [-] (length N)
etaAir dynamic viscosity [Pa.s] (length N)
psat_wSaturation pressure at wall temperature [Pa] (length N)
psat_w_1KSaturation pressure 1 K below wall temperature [Pa] (length N)
xsat_w_1KSaturation humidity ratio 1 K below wall temperature [-] (length N)
der_xsat_w_dTNumerical derivative of saturation humidity ratio with respect to temperature [1/K] (length N)
mtcMass-transfer coefficient [kg/(m^2.s)] (length N)
dgradientHumidity-ratio gradient driving condensation [-] (length N; negative means condensation)
heffEffective heat-transfer coefficient blending sensible and latent contributions [W/(m^2.K)] (length N)