Application of porous materials in heat exchangers of heat supply system

Abstract

Heat exchange capacity increase is one of the main concerns in the process of manufacturing modern heat exchange equipment. Constructing heat exchangers with porous metals is an advanced technique of heat exchange increase. A construction of heat exchangers with porous aluminum is described in this paper. The first heat transfer agent (hot water) flows through thin copper tubes installed within the porous aluminum. The second heat transfer agent (freon) flows through the pores of aluminum. Laboratory facility was created to study such a heat exchanger. Series of experiments were carried out. The purpose of the research presented here is to create a mathematical model of heat exchangers with porous metals, to perform analytical calculation of the heat exchangers and to confirm the results with the experimental data. In this case, one can`t use the standard methods of heat exchangers calculation because the pores inner surface area is indeterminate. The developed mathematical model is based on the equation describing the process of cooling the porous plate. A special mathematical technique is used to take into account the effect of tubes with water. The model is approximate but its solution is analytic. It is convenient. One can differentiate it or integrate it, which is very important. Comparison of calculated and experimental data is performed. Divergence of results is within the limits of experimental error. If freon volatilizes inside the heat exchanger, the heat of phase transition has to be taken into account alongside with heat capacity. The structure of the mathematical model makes it possible. The results presented in this paper prove the practicability of using porous materials in heat exchange equipment.