CFD simulation of single-phase flow in plate heat exchangers

Chevron plate type heat exchangers have widely been studied through experimental analysis; however, less computational work has been reported on these types of heat exchangers due to the complexity of their interior configuration with corrugated plates. This study has applied computational thermal a...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: O'Halloran, Steven, Jokar, Amir
Format: Conference Proceeding
Language:English
Subjects:
Fluid mechanics
Heat exchangers
Mechanical properties
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Chevron plate type heat exchangers have widely been studied through experimental analysis; however, less computational work has been reported on these types of heat exchangers due to the complexity of their interior configuration with corrugated plates. This study has applied computational thermal and fluid dynamics methods to simulate single-phase flow in three brazed plate corrugated heat exchangers. The heat exchangers have plates with different chevron angles. The three heat exchangers simulated are: 60°/60°, 27°/60°, and 27°/27°. For this purpose, a commercially available CFD software package (Fluent) has been utilized and simulations for different temperature and velocity boundary conditions have been performed. In the numerical simulations, the k-ω SST turbulence model has been used. The resulting outlet temperatures have been found as well as the heat transfer rates between the fluids in the heat exchanger. The heat transfer rates obtained from the simulations are reported and compared for the three different chevron angles. The CFD model established in this study can be used for a variety of design conditions and practical applications, such as investigation of nanofluids in complex geometries.
ISSN:0001-2505