CFD-Based Comparative Analysis of Hydronic Piping Layouts for Radiant Cooling System

Abstract

The radiant cooling system has been reported as energy energy-efficient and cost-effective alternative to conventional air-conditioning. However, limited research has been conducted to evaluate the impact of different piping configurations on the thermal and cost performance of the RC system. In this work, the influence of three common hydronic piping configurations, serpentine, canopy-to-canopy, and tree-shaped, on the thermal, energy, and cost of RC systems is investigated. In this regard, piping layouts are modelled and simulated for similar operational conditions using Ansys Fluent. The steady-state, two-dimensional turbulence model is used to evaluate temperature distribution, pressure drop, and cooling capacity of the system. The results show that tree-shaped layout shows the best temperature distribution and the highest capacity-to-pumping ratio of 1.61. Conversely, the ratio for serpentine and canopy-to-canopy layouts was significantly lower at 0.055 and 1.43, respectively. The results further show that the pressure drop for serpentine layout was 14% and 97% higher than that for canopy-to-canopy and tree-shaped layouts, respectively. In the case of canopy-to-canopy layout, cooling capacity was slightly higher while the temperature distribution was non-uniform. The analysis show that the cost of piping in the tree-shaped layout is approximately 16% lower. Furthermore, the tree-shaped layout also requires less energy for circulating the water, lowering costs by 14% and 97% relative to canopy-to-canopy and serpentine layouts, respectively. Overall, the tree-shaped layout offers a better performance in terms of temperature uniformity, energy consumption, and cost, making it the most suitable layout choice for RC systems.