Optimization of Finned-Tube Heat Exchanger in a Gravity-Assisted Separated Heat Pipe

Finned-tube heat exchanger(FTHE)is often used as an evaporator in commercial products of separated heat pipe(SHP).The working conditions of FTHE in gravity-assisted SHP are significantly different from those working in refrigerators and air conditioners.Although FTHE is widely used in commercial products of SHP,previous research on its characteristics is very limited.In this paper,a mathematical model for a SHP with FTHE as the evaporator and plate heat exchanger as the condenser is established and verified with experiments.Parametric analyses are carried out to investigate the influences of evaporator design parameters:air inlet velocity,number of tube rows,tube diameter,and fin pitch.With the increasing of air velocity,number of tube rows and tube diameter,and the decreasing of fin pitch,the heat transfer rate increases,while the energy efficiency ratio(EER)decreases monotonically.Using the total cost of the ten-year life cycle as the performance index,the structure parameters of the evaporator with a given heat transfer rate are optimized by the method of orthogonal experimental design.It is found that the total cost can differ as large as nearly ten times between groups.Among the three factors investigated,the number of tube rows has a significant impact on the total cost of the evaporator.With more tube rows,the total cost will be less.The impacts of fin pitch and tube diameter are insignificant.These results are of practical importance for the engineering design of FTHE in gravity-assisted SHP.

HYSYS Automation and Its Application on Evaluation of Plate Heat Exchanger

When simulating or designing plate heat exchangers for multicomponent mixtures, most designers are often perplexed with the question on how to choose or estimate the physical property param- eters and hope to have a reliable database that could be adopted. The commercial codes HYSYS supply the physical property package on over 1500 pure substances and over 16 000 binary coefficients for them. This work has briefly presented an efficient communication interface based on the Microsoft Component Object Model （COM） between inner plate heat exchanger simulation codes and the HYSYS package. The application of a custom-made HYSYS-COM interface has shown high efficiency, such as significant reduction of time needed for evaluating each process stream＇s properties. This automation method can be conveniently extended to further optimization study for any specific operation device such as heat transfers, columns, and other facilities.

Experimental and Numerical Investigations on Plate-Type Heat Exchanger Performance

Low-grade Thermal Energy Conversion (LTEC) is a potential source of renewable energy. One of its forms is the Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) in which the temperature difference between the warm surface water and the cold deep water of the ocean is utilized in driving a heat engine cycle. Unlike the conventional thermal power generation systems, the temperature difference between the heat source and heat sink in OTEC system is relatively small. Therefore, efficient heat exchangers should be used since heat exchangers play a major role in the overall system performance and economics. Due to their efficiency even in operating at small temperature difference, plate heat exchangers are strong candidates in OTEC systems. In this study, performance of a herringbone plate-type heat exchanger is experimentally investigated. Moreover, numerical simulation results obtained by using Fluent CFD software are compared with the experimental results and found in good agreement.

Surface treatment to improve corrosion resistance of Al plate heat exchangers

The correlations between thermal and physical properties were studied through thermal conductivity measurements, hardness tests, salt spray tests (AASS) among the surface treatment samples named K20, K40 with thickness of 20, 40 μm respectively and raw sample named K00. In thermal conductivity measurements, there are little differences among the samples as K00, K20 and K40, they exhibit 153.39, 150.69 and 149.76 W/(m·K), respectively. According to hardness tests, K00, K20 and K40 exhibit 87.9, 259.7 and 344.8 in Vickers values. In the result of salt spray tests to examine the effects on corrosion resistance, K00, K20 and K40 exhibit the grade of 3?5, 2.0?9.8 and 10, respectively. The mutual relation of the above results was analyzed. It is found that the surface treatments do not affect the thermal conductivity of aluminum and result in the improvement of physical properties. As a result of the technology, the surface improvement of aluminum alloy specimen is achieved without thermal degradation. It validates the ability of the aluminum plate heat exchangers with surface treatment to enhance the corrosion resistance. Present work is performed as the first fundamental threshold in the process of aluminum plate heat exchangers development to check out its possibility, therefore the next step-experimental and numerical study of practical aluminum plate heat exchangers will be made.

NUMERICAL STUDY ON FLOW DISTRIBUTION IN PLATE-FIN HEAT EXCHANGERS

Objective To investigate the flow distribution in plate fin heat exchangers and optimize the design of header configuration for plate fin heat exchangers. Methods A mathematical model of header was proposed. The effects of the header configuration on the flow distribution in plate fin heat exchangers were investigated by CFD. The second header configuration with a two stage distributing structure was brought forward to improve the performance of flow distribution. Results It is found that the flow maldistribution is very serious in the direction of header length for the conventional header used in industry. The numerical predictions indicate that the improved header configurations can effectively improve the performance of flow distribution in plate fin heat exchangers. Conclusion The numerical simulation confirms that CFD should be a suitable tool for predicting the flow distribution. The method has a wide variety of applications in the design of plate fin heat exchangers.

Simulation and Optimization of the Fluid Solidification Process in Brazed Plate Heat Exchangers

When a brazed plate heat exchanger is used as an evaporator,the working mass in the channel may undergo soli-dification,thereby hindering the refrigeration cycle.In this study the liquid solidification process and its optimi-zation in a brazed plate heat exchanger are investigated numerically for different inlet velocities;moreover,different levels of corrugation are considered.The results indicate that solidificationfirst occurs around the con-tacts,followed by the area behind the contacts.It is also shown that deadflow zones exist in the sharp areas and such areas are prone to liquid solidification.After optimization,the solidification area attains its smallest value when a corrugation spacingλ=4.2 mm is considered.

Experimental Analysis of Performance of Heat Exchanger with Plate Fins and Parallel Flow of Working Fluids

Heat exchangers are devices in which heat is transferred from one fluid to another fluid as a result of temperature difference. Heat exchanger presented in the current paper in which inside the tubes flows water, but outside the tubes flows air aims to enable cooling of circulating water, which serves to cool the engine of a machine. Such exchangers find application in the automotive industry as well as heating and cooling equipment and HVAC systems etc. The surface of the heat exchanger by the air side always tends to be much larger using surface fins in order to facilitate equalization of thermal resistance for both sides of the heat exchanger, because the rate of transmission of heat from the water side is much greater. Furthermore, the paper will present analytical and experimental studies involved for determination of performance of plate-fin heat exchanger for various flows of working fluids in order to get the highest values of performances i.e.: overall heat transfer coefficient U, efficiency of heat exchanger ε, maximal and real heat transferred, pressure drop, air velocity and Reynolds number from the air side of heat exchanger etc. The present scientific paper is based on the fact that from the experimental model made for laboratory conditions, conclusions are derived that can be used during installation of such heat exchanger on certain machines in order to predict their performance.

Heat Transfer Modelling of Plate Heat Exchanger in Solar Heating System

Plate heat exchanger can obtain higher thermal performance because of its advantages in high heat transfer coefficient, small scale, and can realize pure counter current flow. It has been widely applied in HVAC industry. In this paper, the numerical research of plate heat exchanger in solar heating system has been proposed. Aimed at the type of herringbone corrugated plate which has better thermal performance and been widely used, the three dimensional model is established by Gambit software. Using FLUENT software for numerical calculation, by studying the effect of corrugated inclination angle, corrugated depth, corrugated spacing and inlet velocity of heat exchanger on internal temperature, pressure, velocity distributions of domains, the relationship between the above parameters and the Nusselt Number and the pressure drop was obtained by simulation data. Heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop correlations used to measure the overall performance of the heat exchanger. The result shows that the optimal structure parameters is corrugated angle 60°, corrugated depth 4 mm and corrugated spacing 16 mm.

Laminar Heat Transfer Modeling and Investigation of Thermal Dispersion in a Flat Plate Heat Exchanger： Estimating Heat Transfer Coefficient, Heat Flux and Nusselt Number

PHEs （plate heat exchangers） are among the most common thermal equipments in diverse industries particularly in oil and gas companies. This wide usage is obviously due to significant benefits of these heat exchangers over other types. In this article, a behavioral analysis of heat transfer in fiat plates of these heat exchangers in laminar flow situation through CFD （computational fluid dynamics） simulation using FLUENT 6.3.26 software is done. The study reveals results graphically based on fluid＇s behavior in co-current and counter current flows and discusses thermal indexes consisting of heat transfer coefficient, Nusslet and total heat flux in both conditions. Eventually, a comparison via the graphical results is presented between the two types of flow directions.

Optimal design of the first stage of the platefin heat exchanger for the EAST cryogenic system

The size of the heat exchanger is an important factor determining the dimensions of the cold box in helium cryogenic systems. In this paper, a counter-flow multi-stream plate-fin heat exchanger is optimized by means of a spatial interpolation method coupled with a hybrid genetic algorithm.Compared with empirical correlations, this spatial interpolation algorithm based on a kriging model can be adopted to more precisely predict the Colburn heat transfer factors and Fanning friction factors of offset-strip fins. Moreover, strict computational fluid dynamics simulations can be carried out to predict the heat transfer and friction performance in the absence of reliable experimental data. Within the constraints of heat exchange requirements, maximum allowable pressure drop, existing manufacturing techniques and structural strength, a mathematical model of an optimized design with discrete and continuous variables based on a hybrid genetic algorithm is established in order to minimize the volume. The results show that for the first-stage heat exchanger in the EAST refrigerator, the structural size could be decreased from the original2.200？×？0.600？×？0.627（m^3） to the optimized 1.854？×？0.420？×？0.340（m3）, with a large reduction in volume. The current work demonstrates that the proposed method could be a useful tool to achieve optimization in an actual engineering project during the practical design process.

Performance Evaluation Methods for Multi-stream Plate-Fin Heat Exchanger

Mathematical model of cross type multi-stream plate-fin heat exchanger is established.Meanwhile,mean square error of accumulative heat load is normalized by dimensionless,and the equations of temperature-difference uniformity factor are improved.Evaluation factors above and performance of heat exchanger are compared and analyzed by taking aircraft three-stream condenser as an example.The results demonstrate that the mean square error of accumulative heat load is common result of total heat load and excess heat load between passages.So it can be influenced by passage arrangement,flow inlet parameters as well as flow patterns.Dimensionless parameter of mean square error of accumulative heat load can reflect the influence of passage arrangement to heat exchange performance and will not change dramatically with the variation of flow inlet parameters and flow patterns.Temperature-difference uniformity factor is influenced by passage arrangement and flow patterns.It remains basically unchanged under a certain range of flow inlet parameters.

Development of high-aspect-ratio microchannel heat exchanger based on multi-tool milling process

A high-aspect-ratio microchannel heat exchanger based on multi-tool milling process was developed. Several slotting cutters were stacked together for simultaneously machining several high-aspect-ratio microchannels with manifold structures. On the basis of multi-tool milling process, the structural design of the manifold side height, microchannel length, width, number, and interval were analyzed. The heat transfer performances of high-aspect-ratio microchannel heat exchangers with two different manifolds were investigated by experiments, and the influencing factors were analyzed. The results indicate that the magnitude of heat transfer area per unit volume dominates the heat transfer performances of plate-type micro heat exchanger, while the velocity distribution between microchannels has little effects on the heat transfer performances.

Experimental investigation of enhanced heat transfer for fined circular tube heat exchanger with rectangular fins

Presents a set of data for flow and heat transfer of finned-tube bundle under the condition of high air flow velocity. Air flow and heat transfer over a 4 × 4 （ columns × rows） finned-tube heat exchanger with rectangular fins was investigated experimentally in a wind tunnel with constant wall temperatures condition. The air flow velocity based on the minimum flow cross-section area over flow channel ranged from 13.8 to 50. 2 m/s, the heal transfer rate ranged from 21.8 to47. 1 kW, and the air temperatures increase ranged from 10. 9 to 19. 8 ℃. The present results were compared with results calculated from correlations proposed by CSPE. For air flow velocity less than 25 m/s, these two results of heat transfer agreed well with each other, whereas for larger velocity, our test data disagreed with the CSPE correlations. For the friction factor, present data are much higher than the predicted results in the whole range. Finally, correlations for friction factors and heat transfer coefficients are DrODosed based on the experimental results.

Mathe matical model and calculation for heat transfer during condensation on surfaces of corrugated plates

A mathematical model was established for condensation on surfaces of verticalcorrugated plates based on the mechanism of heat transfer enhancement to thin down the liquid filmdue to surface tension effect between corrugated plate surfaces and liquid films. The relative heattransfer coefficients of condensation on corrugation plates were calculated in contrast withequivalent vertical plane ones. The heat transfer enhancement effects for the main geometricparameters such as pitch, height, corrugation angle, tilt angle, and fillet radii of corrugationswere analyzed to guide the optimization of corrugation structure for application. A two-scalecorrugation is suggested, which can compromise both the enhanced heat transfer effect and adequatecross section area for flows, and it makes the heat transfer coefficient 1 to 2 times more than thatof an equivalent plane one.

SIMULATION AND ANALYSIS OF FLOW PATTERN IN CROSS-CORRUGATED PLATE HEAT EXCHANGERS

Using numerical methodology, the flow fields between two corrugated plates with different values of the corrugation inclination angle β were simulated. The simulation results directly indicate that β affects the flow pattern between corrugated plates, and the results are in good agreement with the experimental results reported by interrelated literature. The results show that the flow pattern between the two plates changes from ＂double cross-flow＂ to ＂zigzag flow＂ with the increase in β. The reason for the effect on the flow pattern between the two corrugated plates was discussed from the view of the variation of momentum in the direction of corrugation with the variation in β.

FLOW RESISTANCE AND HEAT TRANSFER CHARACTERISTICS OF A NEW-TYPE PLATE HEAT EXCHANGER

A new-type corrugation Plate Heat Exchanger （PHE） was designed. Results from both numerical simulations and experiments showed that the flow resistance of the working fluid in this new corrugation PHE, compared with the traditional chevron-type one, was decreased by more than 50%, and corresponding heat transfer performance was decreased by about 25%. The flow field of the working fluid in the corrugation PHE was transformed and hence performance difference in both flow resistance and heat transfer was generated. Such a novel plate, consisting of longitudinal and transverse corrugations, can effectively avoid the problem of flow path blockage, which will help to extend the application of PHEs to the situation with unclean working fluids.

Experimental Study on Heat Transfer and Pressure Drop Characteristics of Four Types of Plate Fin－and－TUbe Heat Exchanger Surfaces

In this paper, air side heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of twelve three-row plate finandtube heat exchanger cores of four types of fin configurations have been experimentally investigated.The heat transfer and friction factor correlations for'the twelve cores are provided in a wide range ofReynolds number. It is found that in the range of Reynolds number tested, the Nusselt number of theslotted fin surface is the largest and that of the plain plate fin is the lowest while the Nusselt numbersof two types of wavy fins are somewhere in between.

Experimental study and analysis of a novel multi-media plate heat exchanger

The experimental study and analysis of a novel multi-media plate heat exchanger were performed in this paper.This novel multi-media plate heat exchanger was self-developed during the process of the investigation and design of the alpha magnetic spectrometer(AMS) thermal system.The plate of this kind of novel plate heat exchanger is formed by discontinuous structure wave consisting of convex sphere and concave sphere,its heat transfer performance is better than that of the BR1 chevron plate heat exchanger,and its resistance characteristics are superior to those of the normally used 60-degree plate heat exchanger.Furthermore,the mechanism analysis of heat transfer enhancement shows that the spherical wave structure can reduce the local field synergy angle,so as to improve the field synergy degree of velocity vector and temperature gradient vector.

Numerical simulation and experimental research on heat transfer and flow resistance characteristics of asymmetric plate heat exchangers

The asymmetric plate heat exchanger(APHE)has the possibility of achieving balanced pressure drops on both hot and cold sides for situations with unbalanced flow,which may in turn enhance the heat transfer.In this paper,the single-phase water flow and heat transfer of an APHE consisted of two types of plates are numerically(400≤Re≤12000)and experimentally(400≤Re≤3400)investigated.The numerical model is verified by the experimental results.Simulations are conducted to study the effects of,an asymmetric index proposed to describe the geometry of APHEs.The correlations of the Nusselt number and friction factor in the APHEs are determined by taking and working fluids into account.It is found that an optimal exists where the pressure drops are balanced and the heat transfer area reaches the minimum.The comparison between heat transfer and flow characteristics of the APHEs and the conventional plate heat exchanger(CPHE)is made under various flow rate ratios of the hot side and the cold side and different allowable pressure drops.The situations under which APHE may perform better are identified based on a comprehensive index.

Time-Temperature Charge Function of a High Dynamic Thermal Heat Storage with Phase Change Material

A thermal heat storage system with an energy content of 40 kWh and a temperature of 58°C will be presented. This storage system is suitable for supporting the use of renewable energies in buildings and for absorbing solar heat, heat from co-generation and heat pumps or electric heat from excess wind and solar power. The storage system is equipped with a plate heat exchanger that is so powerful that even with small temperature differences between the flow temperature and the storage temperature a high load dynamic is achieved. The storage system has a performance of 2.8 kW at 4 K and 10.6 kW at a temperature difference of 10 K. Thus, large performance variations in solar thermal systems or CHP plants can be buffered very well. Further a storage charge function Q(T, t) will be presented to characterize the performance of the storage.