Simulation and Performance Analysis of a Novel LNG Air Vaporizer Coupled with Solar Wall

Abstract

This paper presents a novel L N G air vaporizer that evaporates L N G using hot air generated by a solar wall. The simulation results and an overview of the thermal performance assessment are presented in this work. The simulations were made by use of the CFD software FLUENT to investigate the variation of both air temperature and air velocity in the solar wall. The calculations were also performed for a type YGK-350D AAV to predict the thermal performance of the new air vaporizer under different meteorological conditions and various structure parameters. Compared with a conventional AAV, the heat transfer performance of the novel air vaporizer is increased by 1.82 and 3.03 times on a typical day in summer and winter, respectively.