2 Replies Latest reply on Nov 30, 2016 8:05 PM by Ian Kasai

[QUESTION] Is it necessary to use exact the same model in simulating our actual prototype that does have piping connections(e.g. valves, pumps etc)?

Ian Kasai Nov 30, 2016 1:11 AM

I was just wondering if it is a must to use the same exact model as the actual prototype that we have to get an accurate result?
Because in my case, I didn't consider the pumps, the valves, as well as how long the pipes that lie between the solar collector and the heat exchanger. Will it affect the results in flow simulation? Or is it okay to assume that there is no friction loss in pipes and etc.?

Model for flow simulation: (Heat exchanger: left , Solar collector: Right)
Assuming the sunlight is purely projected at the solar collector

ACTUAL PROTOTYPE (solar collector titled at 45 degrees)

You can clearly see that there are valves, temp gauges as well as pump and ELBOWS, however we didn't consider that in our solidworks model. We also didn't consider how long the pipings are in our solidworks model for simulation.

Re: [QUESTION] Is it necessary to use exact the same model in simulating our actual prototype that does have piping connections(e.g. valves, pumps etc)?

Amit Katz Nov 30, 2016 4:43 PM (in response to Ian Kasai)

This is the essential question of engineering: how much can I simplify my model and still get an accurate answer? The truth is that nobody can say for sure. The question is, what are you trying to learn with the software? You could probably get a pretty good idea of the loss of pressure in your system without any simulation, relying only on loss coefficients in a 1-D network analysis.
Are you trying to simulate the heat transfer to the pipe? In that case you could probably get away with modeling just the collector, assuming your set up your radiation correctly.
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- Re: [QUESTION] Is it necessary to use exact the same model in simulating our actual prototype that does have piping connections(e.g. valves, pumps etc)?
  
  Ian Kasai Nov 30, 2016 8:05 PM (in response to Amit Katz)
  
  Yes im trying to simulate the heat transfer to the pipe. There is water flowing inside the pipes and it serves as a heating medium.
  
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