Thermal performance investigation in a novel corrugated plate heat exchanger

Abstract

Compact heat exchangers have become an essential necessity for power production and multi other purposes on a daily basis. The corrugated plate heat exchangers (CPHEs) are well-known for their high thermal performance. This study proposes a unique CPHE with a simple modification that can boost its thermal performance significantly. The overall tests have been conducted on four CPHEs for two symmetric chevron angles (β) of 30°/30° and 60°/60° Two CPHEs belong to the newly CPHEs, and the other two belong to the well-known basic CPHE. Data are obtained for steady-state, single-phase (water-water), counter-current arrangements, and for Reynolds number (Re) ranges from 500 to 2500. Sophisticated mesh techniques have been adopted to develop the mesh for the plates and the fluids between the plates. An appropriate grid refinement test has been carried out for the accuracy of the numerical results. The results have been validated with benchmark experimental and numerical data. A realizable k−ε turbulence model with scalable wall treatment found to provide the most consistent and accurate prediction of the thermal performance of CPHE. The numerical results showed that the Nusselt number (Nu) and the effectiveness (ϵ) of the newly developed CPHEs are much higher than that of the basic one, which can be very useful when a heavy heat duty is required. The enhancement for Nu is up to 75% and for ϵ is up to 42%, and generally both exhibit a direct proportional relationship with Re. Based on the numerical result, a new correlation to predict Nu has been developed.