Ancestors

Written by Michael de Podesta on 2024-12-12 at 22:16

https://protonsforbreakfast.wordpress.com

When the air temperature is just above zero, heat pumps need to periodically de-ice their heat exchangers. In this article I take a look at the effect of de-icing during a recent cold-snap.

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Written by Workshopshed on 2024-12-13 at 13:46

@Protons4B am reminded of when I was working at Dowty Propellors on a DeIcing timer. They let the ice build up a little so that it would crack off when hit by a sudden burst of heat.

Got me thinking about alternative approaches such as drying the intake or applying a slippy coating to the exchangers. The shape of the exchanges likely also impacts this. Could the ice be vibrated off using ultrasonic transducers? Would a cyclonic filter on the intake be effective (like used on dust extraction)

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Written by Michael de Podesta on 2024-12-16 at 20:26

@Workshopshed Good Evening. I had not thought of alternative ways of de-icing.

I don't think pre-drying would work - it would use a lot of energy.

Ultrasound might work for a small heat exchanger, but these heat exchangers are mechanically complex and large - around 1 square meter, is coupling the power uniformly through the heat exchanger would be difficult.

I'll see if your suggestion stimulates a new idea!

M

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Toot

Written by Workshopshed on 2024-12-16 at 22:31

@Protons4B was thinking you could suck air past a simpler cold device to intentionally generate ice which could be physically separated then the air passing onwards would have less moisture content?

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Descendants

Written by Michael de Podesta on 2024-12-17 at 00:05

@Workshopshed The problem is how do you make that initial filter colder than ambient?

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Written by Workshopshed on 2024-12-17 at 00:30

@Protons4B does it need to be? Perhaps there are other was to encourage ice to form on your filter rather than on the exchangers?

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