Description

One of the disadvantages of frozen gasoline fuel is that the temperature drops during cold seasons or in cold places. When the gasoline temperature drops, sediments and adhesives are removed first. Then heavy hydrocarbon molecules begin to freeze and mummify as temperatures continue to decrease. To prevent the freezing of gasoline, it is necessary to raise the gasoline temperature in the fuel storage tanks. One way to increase the gasoline temperature in the fuel tank is to use pipes carrying the hot fluid flow. The use of helical tubes in situations where space constraints are due to greater heat transfer in a given space is particularly interesting. We designed the 3-D geometry of the model using Design Modeler software. The model consists of two main parts: a fuel tank and a spiral inner tube for hot water flow. We have used ANSYS Meshing software and unstructured mesh for the present model. The total number of cells is equal to 511,821.

Methodology

The present issue concerns the simulation of a gasoline fuel tank carrying a single-way reciprocating spiral tube passing through the tank. This inner tube carries a flow of water at a temperature higher than the temperature of the gasoline to increase the fuel temperature by creating heat transfer between the diesel and the water, thus preventing freezing inside the tank. Therefore, the present model uses a solidification and melting module for the simulation of the phase change material (PCM). The simulation is transient.

Conclusion

The maximum melting occurs near the helical pipes. So the liquid mass fraction will be increased as the heating process continues. This study is carried out in a limited time, and the results are obtained at the end of the simulation.