Design analysis of a printed circuit heat exchanger for HTGR using a 3D finite elements model

Abstract

The intermediate heat exchanger (IHX) is a critical component in most of the High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor plant layouts. The printed circuit heat exchanger (PCHE) has been studied as an advantageous candidate for this application last years. The extreme operating conditions of the IHX and the higher structural integrity of the PCHE over other heat exchanger technologies have motivated these studies. In this work, the structural assessment of a zigzag channel PCHE under IHX conditions was carried out by means of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and Finite Element Analysis (FEA). The ASME Boiling and Pressure Vessel Code, Sections III and VIII, were applied to evaluate the safety operation of the PCHE. The temperature field in steady state was obtained using a 3D CFD model. Then it was used as thermal load to calculate thermal stress using a FEA model. The influence of the zigzag angle and the bend radius on the thermal and mechanical stresses was analyzed. Thus, the values studied for the zigzag angle were 0° (straight), 15°, 30 and 45°, while for the bend radius were 0.5 mm, 2 mm, 4 mm and 6 mm. The importance of the 3D temperature field to calculate thermal stress in a zigzag channel was evidenced due to the appearance of local temperature differences in the channel cross-sections. The change in flow direction created areas of higher local temperatures where the flow lines change their directions impacting the channel wall. A significant thermal stress concentration was found in these areas, and this effect intensified with increasing zigzag angle. The bend radius was decisive to reduce the thermal stress concentration when the zigzag angle was higher than 15°.