Modeling of Additively Manufactured Ceramic Heat Exchangers with Semi-Elliptical Cross-Section Flow Channels

Abstract

An approximate and easily applied analytical model was developed for heat transfer calculations of heat exchangers consisting of multiple rows and columns of heat transfer fluid flow channels with semi-elliptical cross sections. Heat exchangers of this type are being developed by using ceramic material and additive manufacturing for high temperature and pressure-concentrating solar electric power plants. Calculations using the model require only the geometrical dimensions and flow conditions of the heat exchanger. Comparisons of modeling predictions, with both simulation results and experimental data, were conducted to verify the viability of the model. The results showed good agreement where almost all the modeling predictions were within 20% of the simulation results or the experimental data. The proposed modeling approach is more generally applicable to heat transfer analysis of heat exchangers with similar flow channel configurations to those considered in this study.

Acknowledgments

Fruitful discussions with SETO program managers Drs. Vijay Rajagopal and Kamala Raghavan are much appreciated. We thank Dr. I-H. Liu for her help with the numerical simulations and Dr. R. A. Erck for his help on the experimental test facility.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) under the Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) Award Number 34240 at Argonne National Laboratory operated under Contract no. DE-AC02-06CH11357 by the UChicago Argonne, LLC.

Notes on contributors

Wenhua Yu

Wenhua Yu is a principal Mechanical Engineer in the Applied Materials Division of Argonne National Laboratory. He received his Ph.D. from Zhejiang University (China). Prior to joining Argonne National Laboratory in 1998, he was an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Zhejiang University. He has published two scientific books, four technical reports, and more than 100 scientific papers and has been awarded 12 patents. His recent research activities include phase-change heat transfer, two-phase flow in small channels, nanofluid characterization, supercritical fluids, biomedical engineering, solar energy, waste heat recovery, and fluid power testing systems.

David M. France

David M. France is a specialist in heat transfer and multiphase flow in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering of the University of Illinois at Chicago and in the Applied Materials Division of Argonne National Laboratory. He earned the degree of Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. His research spans four decades and includes convective heat transfer to single-phase and two-phase flows consisting of vapor and liquid – both boiling and condensing, suspensions of solids in gases, and suspensions of solids in liquids. The latter includes nanometer particles in liquids – nanofluids. He has authored over 180 technical reports and papers in these areas. He is the recipient of a variety of teaching and research awards including R&D 100 awards for his work in steam condensation in small channels for application to the paper manufacturing industry and for a novel thermal energy storage system.

Wenchao Du

Wenchao (Mark) Du is a Materials Engineer at Argonne National Laboratory. He received his doctoral degree in 2021 from Texas A&M University, master’s degree in 2015 from Tianjin University, and bachelor’s degree in 2012 from Hunan University, all in Industrial Engineering. His expertise is additive manufacturing of advanced ceramic materials, focusing on material development, process optimization, and post-processing. He has published 20 journal articles and 8 conference papers, with many other technical and poster presentations. Recently his research has focused on advanced manufacturing technologies and applications in the area of solar energy.

Dileep Singh

Dileep Singh is an Argonne National Laboratory Distinguished Fellow, Senior Scientist, and Group Leader of Thermal and Structural Materials at Argonne National Laboratory’s Applied Materials Division. He received his Ph.D. degree in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Utah. He has over 25 years of experience in materials and thermal sciences. He has conducted numerous theoretical, simulating, and experimental studies in thermal energy storage and is a lead developer of the thermal energy storage system technology which received the 2019 R&D 100 award. He has published more than 180 papers and holds 28 US and international patents. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Materials and the American Society of Ceramics.