DESCRIPTION A bench top unit designed to introduce students to the characteristics of a recycle loop and the typical responses under steady state and unsteady state conditions. The apparatus consists of a through pipe conveying water from a cold water supply to a suitable drain with a loop of pipework connected between the supply and drain connections. This recycle loop incorporates a circulating pump and a heater to raise the temperature of the water in the loop. The heater can be switched on or off to generate step changes when investigating the transient responses of the recycle loop. A pair of self-sealing fittings enables a short length of pipe or a reservoir to be connected in series with the recyle loop to change the volume of the loop and demonstrate the effect of residence time. The arrangement also permits different lengths of flexible tubing to be connected in series with the loop if it is required to create further changes in residencetime. Water temperatures at the inlet, outlet and within the recycle loop are measured using K-type thermocouples. Water flow rates at the corresponding locations are measured using miniature turbine type flow sensors. Flow sensors are included at the outlet as well as the inlet to show that these two flow rates are always equal (a simple principle that is often confusing when water is flowing through the recycle loop). All power supplies, signal conditioning circuitry etc. are contained inside the moulded ABS support and integral console with appropriate current protection devices and an RCD for operator protection. Readings from the sensors are displayed on a digital meter with selector switch and all corresponding signals are routed to an I/O port for connection to a PC using an optional interface device included with educational software package. EXPERIMENTAL CONTENT Demonstrate the effect of recycle on the total mass flow rate of a system Vary the flow through a recycle loop, while observing the inlet and outlet flow rates of the whole system Investigate the steady state heat balance equation applied to a recycle loop Vary the flow rate through a recycle loop, whilst heating the recycle fluid and observing the temperatures of the inlet, outlet and recycle loop flow Investigate the unsteady heat balance applied to a recycle loop Investigate the steady flow energy equation applied to a recycle loop Calculate the heat transfer rate at a range of recycle rates, using the steady flow energy equation Investigate the effect of parameter changes on response rates Vary parameters such as heater power and recycle loop volume and investigate any subsequent change in system response
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