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Numerical Study on Non-Uniform Temperature Distribution and Thermal Performance of Plate Heat Exchanger

Author

Listed:
  • Jeonggyun Ham

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Graduate School of Chosun University, 309 Pilmundaero, Dong-gu, Gwangju 61452, Korea)

  • Gonghee Lee

    (Regulatory Assessment Department, Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Daejeon 34142, Korea)

  • Dong-wook Oh

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Graduate School of Chosun University, 309 Pilmundaero, Dong-gu, Gwangju 61452, Korea)

  • Honghyun Cho

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Graduate School of Chosun University, 309 Pilmundaero, Dong-gu, Gwangju 61452, Korea)

Abstract

In this study, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis was performed to investigate the cause of the thermal stratification in the channel and the temperature non-uniformity of the plate heat exchanger. The flow velocity maldistribution of the channel and the merging parts caused temperature non-uniformity in the channel width direction. The non-uniformity of flow velocity and temperature in the channel is shown in Section 1 > Section 3 > Section 2 from the heat exchanger. The non-uniform temperature distribution in the channel caused channel stratification and non-uniform outlet temperature. Stratification occurred at the channel near the merging due to the flow rate non-uniformity in the channel. In particular, as the mass flow rate increased from 0.03 to 0.12 kg/s and the effectiveness increased from 0.436 to 0.615, the cold-side stratified volume decreased from 4.06 to 3.7 cm 3 , and the temperature difference between the stratified area and the outlet decreased from 1.21 K to 0.61 K. The increase in mass flow and the decrease in temperature difference between the cold and hot sides alleviated the non-uniformity of the outlet temperature due to the increase in effectiveness. Besides, as the inlet temperature difference between the cold and the hot side increases, the temperature non-uniformity at the outlet port is poor due to the increase in the stratified region at the channel, and the distance to obtain a uniform temperature in the outlet pipe increases as the temperature at the hot side increases.

Suggested Citation

  • Jeonggyun Ham & Gonghee Lee & Dong-wook Oh & Honghyun Cho, 2021. "Numerical Study on Non-Uniform Temperature Distribution and Thermal Performance of Plate Heat Exchanger," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-18, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:24:p:8280-:d:698103
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nicolas Dinsing & Nico Schmitz & Christian Schubert & Herbert Pfeifer, 2021. "Development of an Efficient Modelling Approach for Fin-Type Heat-Exchangers in Self-Recuperative Burners," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-19, October.
    2. Myung-Ho Kim & Van Toan Nguyen & Sunghyuk Im & Yohan Jung & Sun-Rock Choi & Byoung-Jae Kim, 2021. "Experimental Validation of Flow Uniformity Improvement by a Perforated Plate in the Heat Exchanger of SFR Steam Generator," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-17, September.
    3. Wan-Ling Hu & Ai-Jun Ma & Yong Guan & Zhi-Jie Cui & Yi-Bo Zhang & Jing Wang, 2021. "Experimental Study of the Air Side Performance of Fin-and-Tube Heat Exchanger with Different Fin Material in Dehumidifying Conditions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-15, October.
    4. Arkadiusz Brenk & Pawel Pluszka & Ziemowit Malecha, 2018. "Numerical Study of Flow Maldistribution in Multi-Plate Heat Exchangers Based on Robust 2D Model," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-17, November.
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