Numerical Study of Channel Structure Effects on Thermal Hydraulic Performance of Printed Circuit Heat Exchanger
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Abstract
Printed circuit heat exchangers (PCHEs) enable high efficiency, high pressure resistance, highly compact geometry, a better heat transfer coefficient, and the ability to withstand a large operating temperature range. The current study aims to analyze their comprehensive performance based on numerical methods, and reliable heat transfer is required to operate at high pressures and high applications. A three-dimensional single-banking PCHE was designed in the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software Fluent. First, the effects of zigzag and straight channels on the PCHE's performance along with the pressure drop and heat transfer characteristics were investigated. The zigzag channel showed a higher comprehensive performance up to 22% than the straight channel. Second, a different zigzag channel diameter range (2 mm – 4 mm) and their effects on the PCHE's performance were analyzed. A small-channel diameter of 2 mm reduced the pressure drop and increased heat transfer. This work was aimed at determining a better flow channel structure to improve thermal-hydraulic performance.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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