Numerical and experimental studies of flow and heat transfer characteristics in a plate heat exchanger with multi-chevron corrugate furrows

Abstract

Heat transfer and flow resistance characteristics of a novel plate heat exchanger (PHE) with multi-chevron corrugate furrows have been studied experimentally and numerically for Reynolds Numbers (Re) ranging from 1200 to 5000. Numerical results obtained from 5 different turbulent models all show similar trends and good agreement with experimental values. Results indicate that the outlet temperature of the cold fluid, the heat transfer rate and pressure drops of both the cold and hot fluids decrease with an increase of Re. The opposite trends can be found for the outlet temperature of the hot fluid, while the friction factors of both the cold and hot fluids increase with increasing Re. Data obtained using the shear-stress transport k ∼ w (SST) model show the best agreement with experimental data and is recommended for PHE simulation. Hot temperature regions distribute mainly on the left side of the PHE as a result of the PHE flow arrangement, while cold temperature regions distribute on the right side; resulting in a “zigzag” flow pattern. Additionally, it also causes swirl flow to take place; creating an enhancement to heat transfer along with an increase to the pressure drop.

Keywords:

• Heat transfer enhancement
• numerical simulation
• plate heat exchanger (PHE)
• turbulent models

Additional information

Funding

This work is supported by the Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation (No. 2019GSF109051), the Shandong Provincial Postdoctoral Innovation Project (No. 201902002), and Foundation of Shandong University for Young Scholar’s Future Plans.