Dear researchers,
I think when the recuperator and the regenerator are mentioned together, they are defined correctly as a multi-path simultaneous flow and uni-path flow HXs respectively.
My confusion comes when some literature referes to a recuperator as a regenerator. Is it normal to use the terms interchangeably (when they are not mentioned in the same context) ?
Secondly, I have also seen that other literature relates regenrative refrigiration systems to reciprocating cooling (example: stirling cycle) and recuperative to non-reciprocating cooling (example: reverse Brayton cycle). Is this also normal ?
Thanks!
In a regenerator heat from the primary medium is first stored in a thermal mass and later (next cycle) regenerated from that mass by the secondary medium. The thermal mass can be the wall material of the flow ducts or a porous medium, through which alternating the primary and the secondary flow is led.
In a recuperator both media are separated by a wall through which heat is transferred directly. Further split systems are used in which an intermediate medium carries heat from the primary medium in a first heat exchanger to the secondary medium in a second heat exchanger. The regenerator has a serious disadvantage as the heat has to diffuse in and out of the intermediate storage material, hereby loosing exergy as the heat front in the flow direction is flattened and not all heat can be regenerated. Further the intermediate storage material (mostly the wall of the flow ducts) needs to be a good heat conductor for the storage function, which causes high heat conduction in the flow direction, inducing a considerable loss of effectiveness (
Regenerators and recuperators are heat exchange systems that recover heat by cycling through heat sinks (regenerators) or through a high temperature metallic heat exchanger (recuperators).
The heat recovered by a regenerator or recuperator is most commonly used to preheat combustion air to a furnace. Regenerators and recuperators may also be attachments to thermal oxidizers that preheat the exhaust air from industrial processes prior to treatment for HAP and VOC contaminants.
Regenerators are more durable and forgiving than recuperators, and may be the only choice when exhaust temperatures exceed the limits of metals, such as found in glass melting furnace applications. The heat sink materials may be brickwork or more sophisticated ceramic products. Recuperator designs often need to address temperature limitations, corrosion issues, pressure drop limitations, and heat recovery levels
Thank you Mr. Abdelaziz for your answer.
I was not asking about the definition of each heat exchanger.
I am asking about the usage of the terms in papers/articles.
Thank you again for you time
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