Research on the enhanced heat transfer performance of SCO2 caused by vortex generators with different geometric dimensions in novel airfoil channels

Abstract

The performance of printed circuit heat exchangers (PCHEs) has a significant impact on the heat transfer efficiency and compactness of the supercritical carbon dioxide (SCO2) Brayton cycle system suitable for the fourth-generation nuclear energy system. Compared to PCHEs with other types of channels, the airfoil fin PCHEs have superior flow heat transfer performance. The installation of vortex generators (VGs) in the heat transfer channels can enhance heat transfer efficiently, but the application of them to PCHEs is very limited. In order to improve the performance of PCHE with airfoil fin channels, a novel channel structure combining airfoil fin channels with rectangular VGs is proposed, and the effect of geometric parameters of VGs on the thermal-hydraulic performance of the channels is also investigated. The results show that the VG improves the synergistic effect of velocity field and temperature gradient field, leading to the increase of turbulent kinetic energy and decrease of heat transfer entropy production in the channel, which finally promotes the enhancement of heat transfer. The comprehensive performance of the airfoil fin channel with VGs is 5.95%–19.47% higher than that of the conventional airfoil fin channel. The increase in the height and length of the VGs improves the heat transfer performance of the channel, and the increase in the width of the VGs weakens the heat transfer performance of the channel, and both increase the flow resistance of the channel. By comparing the comprehensive performance, it is found that the VGs have the best height of 0.2 mm, the best length of 0.8 mm and the best width of 0.04 mm. In addition, according to the noise performance statistics (NPS), the height of the VG contributes more to the Nu and Fanning friction coefficients of the airfoil fin channels.