Thermo-Hydraulic Behavior of Microchannel Heat Exchanger System

This article presents an experimental study of thermo-hydrodynamic phenomena in a microchannel heat exchanger system. The aim of this investigation is to develop correlations between flow/thermal characteristics in the manifolds and the heat transfer performance of the microchannel. A rectangular microchannel fabricated by a laser-machining technique with channel width and hydraulic diameter of 87 μm and 0.17 mm, respectively, and a trapezoidal-shaped manifold are used in this study. The heat sink is subjected to iso-flux heating condition with liquid convective cooling through the channels. The temporal and spatial evolutions of temperature as well as total pressure drop across the system are monitored using appropriate sensors. Data obtained from this study were used to establish relationships between parameters such as longitudinal wall conduction factor, residence and switching time, and thermal spreading resistance with Reynolds number. Result shows that there exist an optimum Reynolds number and conditions for the microchannel heat exchanger system to result in maximum heat transfer performance. The condition in which the inlet manifold temperature surpasses the exit fluid temperature results in lower junction temperature. It further shows that for a high Reynolds number, the longitudinal wall conduction parameter is greater than unity and that the fluid has sufficient dwelling time to absorb heat from the wall of the manifold, leading to high thermal performance.     

Thermal Performance Evaluation of Heat Exchanger Tubes Equipped with Coupling Twisted Tapes

The present work has been conducted to investigate the effect of coupling twisted tapes on heat transfer enhancement in a heat exchanger. The effects of (1) twisted tape orientation (co-coupling twisted tapes or counter-coupling twisted tapes), (2) width ratio, and (3) twist ratio were also examined. Results of coupling twisted tapes were also compared to those of a typical twisted tape. Experimental results showed that the use of counter-coupling twisted tapes resulted in higher heat transfer, friction loss, and thermal performance factor than that of co-coupling twisted tapes and typical twisted tapes. Thermal performance factor increased as twist ratio and Reynolds number decreased while width ratio increased.     

An Experimental Investigation of Forced Convection Heat Transfer from a Coiled Heat Exchanger Embedded in a Packed Bed

Forced convection heat transfer from a helically coiled heat exchanger embedded in a packed bed of spherical glass particles was investigated experimentally. With dry air at ambient pressure and temperature as a flowing fluid, the effect of particle size, helically coiled heat exchanger diameter, and position was studied for a wide range of Reynolds numbers. It was found that the particle diameter, the helically coiled heat exchanger diameter and position, and the air velocity are of great influence on the convective heat transfer between the helically coiled heat exchanger and air. Results indicated that the heat transfer coefficient increased with increasing the air velocity, increasing helically coiled heat exchanger diameter, and decreasing the particle size. The highest heat transfer coefficients were obtained with the packed-bed particle size of 16 mm and heat exchanger coil diameter of 9.525 mm (1/4 inch) at a Reynolds number range of 1,536 to 4,134 for all used coil positions in the conducted tests. A dimensionless correlation was proposed for Nusselt number as a function of Reynolds number, particle size, coil size, and coil position.     

格芯夹层结构散热性能的数值计算评估

为评估格芯夹层结构的传热性能以及代替传统的板式肋片结构应用于汽车散热系统中的可能性,文章对几种典型的格芯夹层结构（如kagome lattice,tetrahedral lattice和pyramidal lattice）和板式肋片（corrugated plate）结构实施了一系列的三维数值计算评估.通过对比相同Reynolds数下的传热系数和相同泵功率下的局部Nusselt数来评估各组结构的传热性能.结果显示,相同Reynolds数条件下,各组格芯夹层结构的传热系数较板式肋片结构均有提高,同时摩擦阻力也大幅度增大.在相同泵功率条件下,由于板式肋片结构所受形阻基本可以忽略,因此在较低泵功率范围内（< 1 500 W）,板式肋片的局部Nusselt数最大.随着泵功率的增长,当泵功率提高到3 000 W,tetrahedral的Nusselt数与板式肋片持平并进一步增大,显示出了格芯夹层结构的应用潜力.高传热性能而低摩擦阻力的格芯夹层结构完全有潜力代替传统的板式肋片结构应用于新型高效紧凑的散热系统中.      

Evaluation on the heat transfer performance of a vertical ground U-shaped tube heat exchanger buried in soil–polyacrylamide

Ground source heat pump (GSHP) systems have been applied widely because of their environmental-friendly, energy-saving, and sustainable nature. In this work, heat transfer performance of a single vertical small-scale U-shaped tube ground heat exchanger under hot climatic condition is addressed considering the influences of inlet water temperature, Reynolds number, and backfill materials (raw soil; soil–polyacrylamide (PAM) blend (0.27% blending ratio for PAM). The backfill materials had an important effect on the heat transfer of the ground heat exchanger. At an inlet water temperature of 45°C and Reynolds numbers of 3104 and 4656, the temperature drops of water in the tube in the soil–PAM blend increased by about 0.3 and 0.4°C compared to that in the raw soil. Within Reynolds number from 3104 to 6208, the average surface heat transfer coefficients of the water in the tube in the soil–PAM blend and raw soil at an inlet water temperature of 45°C were 411 and 231 W m^?2K^?1, respectively. The results suggest that adding the PAM into soil can be an effective manner for enhancing the heat transfer of the ground heat exchanger. The dimensionless surface heat transfer correlation of the water in the U-tube heat exchanger in the soil–PAM blend was obtained. The model could better fit the experimental data within ±10% deviation.     

Combined effects of holes and winglets on chevron plate-fins to enhance the performance of a plate-fin heat exchanger working with nanofluid

ABSTRACT

The current work reports an experimental study on hydrothermal improvement in a chevron plate-fin heat exchanger combined with holes and winglets. The experiments are performed for water flow through a test square duct fitted with enhanced chevron plate-fins for the Reynolds number from 4000 to 10000. Characteristics of the enhanced chevron plate-fins include three waviness aspect ratios and four different arrangements of holes and winglets at a constant diameter of holes and width/height of winglets. An overall performance factor is applied to obtain the optimal geometry. Then, only the optimal geometries are applied to find out the effect of Al₂O₃/water nanofluid flow on the performance of a plate-fin heat exchanger. In comparison to simple chevron plate-fins, the enhanced ones would increase the Nusselt number by a factor between 1.05% and 1.6%. In addition, simultaneous application of the optimal enhanced chevron plate-fins and the nanofluid could increase the Nusselt number. The best working conditions of this system are detected for the nanofluid at a weight fraction of 0.3%.     

油基钻屑螺纹推进式换热器流动传热特性

对油基钻屑在螺纹推进式换热器内的流动换热过程进行了数值模拟,研究了螺杆转速、油基钻屑雷诺数Re和螺纹截面形状对流动换热的影响。结果表明:随着螺杆转速增加,传热系数、油基钻屑出口温度均增大;同时发现,当雷诺数Re<250时,壳侧Nusselt数随雷诺数Re增大而迅速增大,此后雷诺数对Nusselt数影响较小;Nusselt数随曲率比d_i/D增大而增大。为方便工程设计,利用数值结果给出了油基钻屑的流动换热关系式。     

热管换热器用于LED冷却系统的实验研究

研发了一系列将发光二极管(LED)散热与热管传热相结合的用于大功率LED冷却的热管散热器,并对其传热性能进行了实验研究。结果表明,该系列热管散热器具有良好的散热能力,能将节点温度控制在70℃以下,满足了大功率LED对结点温度的控制要求;实验结果还表明,翅片结构不同,换热器散热能力明显不同,所研发系列异形翅片热管换热器的散热能力明显高于目前常用的普通矩形翅片热管换热器,其中以外翻形翅片热管换热器散热能力最好;还研究了热管换热器工作倾角对其散热能力的影响,并给出了热管排布数量、翅片材质及结构对换热器散热性能、换热装置体积、成本及质量的影响。     

基于梯度翅片换热器的热电发电系统性能研究

本文建立了热电发电系统(TEG)多物理场数值模型,并充分考虑换热器流体影响,综合研究了具有不同热侧换热器翅片结构的TEG系统性能。在雷诺数为1000~10000范围内,分析了流体沿程温度分布特征、泵功及热电发电模块的能量转换特性.所研究的三种翅片结构包括:全流道等高度直翅片(Fin-1)、下游强化梯度翅片(Fin-2)以及上游强化梯度翅片(Fin-3).研究表明,通道长高比及热电材料覆盖率一定,热电发电功率及转换效率随流量呈二次曲线变化关系,存在最匹配流量使得系统发电性能最佳。等高度直翅片对流量的变化敏感,随流量增大,则压损增大,导致系统净输出功率及发电效率无收益.而梯度翅片可以在更大范围内产生正收益;下游强化梯度翅片具有最佳的流体沿程温度均匀性,但沿程局部热阻却最大.综合考虑沿程局部热阻分布及泵功消耗,上游强化梯度翅片TEG系统净转换效率最高,因此局部热阻分布及泵功综合因素应为TEG内的换热器合理设计的关键。     

Evaluation of Nusselt number and effectiveness for a vertical shell-coiled tube heat exchanger with air bubble injection into shell side

Air bubble injection was employed to increase the heat transfer rate (Nusselt number) of a vertical shell and coiled tube heat exchanger in this article. Hot and cold water flowed into the coil side and shell side of heat exchanger, respectively, and air bubbles were injected inside the shell side of heat exchanger via a memorable method. Bubbles' vertical movement due to buoyancy forcing through the heat exchanger can enhance the heat transfer rate by mixing the thermal boundary layer, increasing the turbulence level of the fluid flow and increasing the shell-side fluid Reynolds number.     

Experiments on New Arrangements of Convex and Concave Corrugated Tubes through a Double-pipe Heat Exchanger

The main scope of this article paper is to experimentally clarify the effects of outer-tube and inner-tube corrugations on thermal and frictional characteristics in a horizontal double-pipe heat exchanger. Nusselt number, friction factor, and thermal performance factor are evaluated for new various arrangements of convex and concave corrugated tubes. Smooth tubes were corrugated by means of a special machine. Findings indicate that the arrangement type of corrugated tubes has a significant effect on the mentioned parameters. The best performance was obtained for a heat exchanger made of a concave corrugated outer tube and a convex corrugated inner tube.     

Performance of shell-and-dimpled-tube heat exchangers for waste heat recovery

This paper presents an experimental study of waste heat recovery shell-and-tube heat exchangers. The exchanger heat duty, overall heat transfer coefficient, effectiveness and tubeside friction factor are investigated as functions of the tube surface geometry (plain or dimpled), the flow type (counter or parallel), the tube Reynolds number and the shellside heat capacity rate. Water and the exhaust gases of a Diesel engine are passed inside the tube and the shell, respectively.The heat transfer characteristics increase with an increase in tube Reynolds number and the shellside heat capacity rate, for all the flow types and the surface geometries examined. The counter-flow, shell-and-dimpled-tube heat exchanger, compared with that exchanger having a plain tube, increases the heat duty and the overall heat transfer coefficient by 80%, and the heat exchanger -effectiveness increases by 35%. For the parallel-flow, shell-and-dimpled-tube heat exchanger, the heat duty, the overall heat transfer coefficient and the effectiveness increase by 30, 55, and 25%, respectively. At the same time the dimpled tube increases the tubeside friction factor by 600% over that of the plain tube. The rate of waste heat recovered from the exhaust gases of the Diesel engine by the counter-flow, shell-and-dimpled-tube heat exchanger is equal to 10% of the maximum brake power of the engine running at 1500 rpm, and the tube Reynolds number equal to 8875.     

盘状螺旋管换热器的实验研究

介绍了一种适用于小流量大温升的新型盘状螺旋管换热器,具有结构简单、质轻,体积小的特点;利用相关的实验研究,获得其换热性能和流动阻力特性。实验结果表明,其在小流量下仍具有较高的传热系数,适合于做热泵热水器的水冷换热器。     

Numerical study of heat transfer enhancement of counter nanofluids flow in rectangular microchannel heat exchanger

This paper reports a numerical analysis of the performance of a counter-flow rectangular shaped microchannel heat exchanger (MCHE) using nanofluids as the working fluids. Finite volume method was used to solve the three-dimensional steady, laminar developing flow and conjugate heat transfer in aluminum MCHE. The nanofluids used were Ag, Al₂O₃, CuO, SiO₂, and TiO₂ and the performance was compared with water. The thermal, flow fields and performance of the MCHE were analyzed using different nanofluids, different Reynolds numbers and different nanoparticle concentrations. Temperature profile, heat transfer coefficient, pressure profile, and wall shear stress were obtained from the simulations and the performance was discussed in terms of heat transfer rate, pumping power, effectiveness, and performance index. Results indicated enhanced performance with the usage of nanofluids, and slight penalty in pressure drop. The increase in Reynolds number caused an increase in the heat transfer rate and a decrease in the overall bulk temperature of the cold fluid. The increase in nanoparticle concentration also yielded better performance at the expense of increased pressure drop.     

Heat Transfer Characteristics in a Double-Pipe Heat Exchanger Equipped with Coiled Circular Wires

An experimental investigation has been carried out to study the enhancement in heat transfer coefficient by inserting coiled wire around the outer surface of the inner tube of the double-pipe heat exchanger. Insulated wires, with a circular cross-section of 2 mm diameter, forming a coil of different pitches (p = 6, 12, and 20 mm), were used as turbulators. The investigation is performed for turbulent water flow in a double-pipe heat exchanger with cold water in the annulus space for both parallel and counter flows. The experiments were performed for Reynolds numbers ranging from 4,000 to 14,000. The experimental results reveal that the use of coiled circular wires leads to a considerable increase in heat transfer coefficients compared with a smooth wall tube for both parallel and counter water flows. The mean Nusselt number increases with Reynolds number and pitch. The convective heat transfer coefficient for a turbulent water flow increases for all coiled wire pitches, with the highest enhancement of about 450% for counter flow and 400% for the parallel flow. New correlations for mean relative Nusselt numbers at different coiled wire pitches are provided.     

微通道-微槽群中间换热器特性实验研究

 对用于固体激光介质冷却的组合式中间换热器的流动与传热特性进行了实验研究。实验研究结果表明：努塞尔数随雷诺数的增加而增加，总热阻随微通道侧蒸馏水流量的增加而减小，总换热量随微通道侧蒸馏水流量的增加而增加，且换热器的传热系数可以达到1.5×104 W/(m²·K)，总热阻小于0.3 K/W，能较好地解决当前固体激光介质冷却系统中间换热器所存在的问题。     

Experimental and numerical analysis of cylindrical turbulators in a double pipe heat exchanger under turbulent flow conditions

In the present work, the use of cylindrical turbulators in a double pipe heat exchanger has been investigated. Cylindrical fin type of turbulators has been placed circumferentially separated by 90° on the outer side of an inner pipe at a regular pitch. Experimental studies were undertaken for different air flow rates in a turbulent regime whose Reynolds number range between 2500 and 10000. Heat transfer characteristics like Nu and friction factor have been experimentally determined. Parametric studies were conducted by changing the pitch and also the orientation of the turbulators. Nu and friction factor were found to increase as the pitch is reduced. A model with alternatively changed orientation outperformed others by exhibiting highest Nu and reduced friction factor.     

Modeling of complex flows and heat transfer

This paper presents the numerical modeling of complex flows and heat transfer. The Finite Analytic method is used to discretize the transport equations. The diagonal Cartesian method is proposed to model fluid flows and heat transfer over complex geometries. A three-dimensional channel flow with conjugate heat transfer is simulated. By the diagonal Cartesian method and 5-point Finite Analytic scheme, a grooved channel flow and flow in a casting bank at different Reynolds numbers are modeled. Simulations by both the diagonal Cartesian method and the traditional saw-tooth Cartesian method indicates the diagonal Cartesian method improves the modeling of flows, due to the more accurate approximation of complex boundaries. Heat transfer in two-dimensional finned compact heat exchanger is also studied. An improved heat exchanger is proposed based on the numerical prediction of heat transfer.     

波纹板式空冷器阻力与传热特性实验研究

在可改变风量和热水流量的实验条件下,对波纹板式空冷器的阻力与传热特性进行实验研究。得到了空气侧的阻力降关联式以及两侧的对流换热系数关联式,其适用于热水雷诺数在2000-8000之间、空气雷诺数在2000-10000之间。在相同工况下,比较了波纹板式、光管式和翅片管式空冷器的性能指标,结果表明:迎面风速在2.45-4.1 m/s之间,波纹板式空冷器传热系数达到100-160 W/m2/℃;约比光管式提高70%,但只有以管束外表面为基准的翅片管式传热系数的六分之一;板式空冷器单位体积换热量约是翅片管式空冷器的1.5倍,是光管式的15倍;板式空冷器单位功耗换热量约是光管式空冷器的5.5倍,而翅片管式空冷器与光管式空冷器则相差不大。     

Study of Automatic Transmission Fluid in a Serpentine Minichannel Heat Exchanger: An Experimental Approach

An experimental investigation was conducted on automatic transmission fluid cooling in a minichannel heat exchanger using a closed-loop integrated thermal wind tunnel test facility. Effects of automatic transmission fluid Reynolds number (Re_L) on heat transfer coefficient and Nusselt number were examined within the Re_L of 3–30 for air-flow Re of 1,450–5,200. Effects of serpentine on heat transfer enhancement and flow characteristics were evaluated through Dean number analysis. The analysis of Eckert number and Brinkman number showed a contribution to the viscous heating even for a low Re_L in the minichannel. The study showed enhanced heat transfer characterizations of the multi-port minichannel heat exchanger.