Performance evaluation of a printed circuit heat exchanger with a novel two-way corrugated channel

Abstract

A numerical and experimental study is conducted to improve the hydrothermal performance of a printed circuit heat exchanger (PCHE) using innovative channels. Sinusoidal two-way corrugated channels are proposed to modify the PCHE design. The numerical simulation was performed under a laminar flow condition using water as a cooling fluid for both cold and hot sides with a Reynolds number range (300–1900). The performance of modified PCHEs, with different wave amplitudes for plates and channels, was evaluated according to the traditional PCHE. Two PCHEs were manufactured and tested experimentally to validate the simulation model. The results demonstrated that the use of two-way corrugated channels is an effective technique for enhancing the Nusselt number, performance evaluation factor, and effectiveness of the PCHE. In addition, the outcomes revealed that the heat transfer improvement of the modified PCHE increases with increasing amplitudes in both directions. The improvement in the Nusselt number and friction factor of the modified PCHE showed an enhancement of 78% and 150% respectively. At the same time, the overall evaluation factor increased by about 1.5 times more than traditional PCHE, while the effectiveness increased to approximately 27%.