THE EFFECT OF SEAL WIDTH ON REGENERATOR EFFECTIVENESS

The effect of axial conduction on regenerator effectiveness has been s tudied in the past under the assumption of zero seal width. The effect of axial conduction coupled with finite seal width is presented in th is paper. A method for calculating effectiveness assuming axial conduc tion and finite seal width is presented. Results of sample calculation s are presented to give the designer a feel for the dependence of seal -width effects on system-parameter values. It is shown that for typica l regenerator designs, reductions in effectiveness due to axial conduc tion coupled with finite seal width can be twice as great as those due to axial conduction under the assumption of zero seal width. Also, it is shown that the required regenerator size to achieve a given effect iveness can increase dramatically when finite seal width is considered in design procedures. It is concluded that consideration of axial con duction should include finite seal width.