Correlation For Heat Transfer Coefficient Research Articles

Hybrid nanocomposites impact on heat transfer efficiency and pressure drop in turbulent flow systems: application of numerical and machine learning insights

This research explores the feasibility of using a nanocomposite from multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) for thermal engineering applications. The hybrid nanocomposites were suspended in water at various volumetric concentrations. Their heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics were analyzed using computational fluid dynamics and artificial neural network models. The study examined flow regimes with Reynolds numbers between 5000 and 17,000, inlet fluid temperatures ranging from 293.15 to 333.15 K, and concentrations from 0.01 to 0.2% by volume. The numerical results were validated against empirical correlations for heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop, showing an acceptable average error. The findings revealed that the heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop increased significantly with higher inlet temperatures and concentrations, achieving approximately 45.22% and 452.90%, respectively. These results suggested that MWCNTs-GNPs nanocomposites hold promise for enhancing the performance of thermal systems, offering a potential pathway for developing and optimizing advanced thermal engineering solutions.

Experimental and numerical investigations on jet impingement heat transfer with different nozzles and enhanced surfaces

Hot air anti-icing systems are essential in aviation engines, preventing ice formation on inlet components during high-altitude flights. A critical factor in enhancing these systems' effectiveness is the application of jet impingement technology. In order to further enhance the performance of jet impingement heat transfer in this application scenario, the research assesses the impact of nozzle type and surface protrusion type on the anti-icing system's performance by integrating experimental and numerical approaches. Findings reveal that circular nozzles outperform swirl and satellite nozzles in heat transfer efficiency in the application of aviation anti-icing system with high jet Reynolds number. The average Nusselt number, indicative of heat transfer rate, can be increased by up to 10.54 % with protrusions. For surface protrusions, sequentially-arranged cylinder protrusions are more effective at Reynolds numbers between 8000 and 48000. Cross-arranged circular truncated cone protrusions do better at higher Reynolds numbers, from 48000 to 80000 which is the range relevant to the hot air anti-icing system. Comparing concave and flat plates with the same type of protrusions, the former shows superior heat transfer performance. The study also establishes correlations for convective heat transfer coefficients and attenuation coefficients on the concave plate with sequentially-arranged cylinder protrusions. By applying the cross-arranged circular truncated cone protrusions, which proved to be the best in our experiments, to the engine nacelle's anti-icing section, the numerical results indicate a 6.21 % increase in anti-icing thermal efficiency and an 8.31 % decrease in air bleed capacity, all under the same heat transfer conditions. The use of protrusion structures in the anti-icing system of an engine nacelle boosts thermal efficiency, lowers air bleed capacity, and reduces the fuel penalty, thereby optimizing overall performance.

Reduced-Order Modeling of Indirect Fluidized-Bed Particle Receivers with Axial Dispersion

Oxide particles present a heat transfer and thermal energy storage (TES) media for next-generation concentrating solar power (CSP) plants where the high-temperature particle TES can provide dispatchable solar power [1]. Transferring heat to flowing particles can be a challenge and bubbling fluidization is a promising method for increased heat transfer between the oxide particles and confining walls. Using experimentally calibrated correlations for particle-wall heat transfer coefficients [2], this study explores in a quasi-1D model of a narrow-channel counterflow fluidized bed how the high heat transfer coefficients from bubbling fluidization enable cavity-based indirect particle receivers. Particle-wall heat transfer coefficients exceeding 800 W m-2 K-1 support angled solar fluxes > 200 kW m-2 from high normal fluxes > 1200 kW m-2 with wall temperatures < 900 oC. Parametric studies identify how gas flows, solar fluxes, and receiver heights impact receiver solar efficiency for a CSP plant. These modeling studies provide a basis for the development of an indirect narrow-channel fluidized particle receiver that has the potential to operate at normal solar fluxes over 1000 kW m-2 and solar efficiencies above 85%.

A METHODOLOGY TO COMPARE REFRIGERANTS BASED ON THEIR THERMOPHYSICAL PROPERTIES

To compare different refrigerants in a fair way has been always a matter of discusión. There are some properties like Isoentropic COP, volumetric capacities, pressure ratio that can be compared easily and supply some relevant information. However, how they are translated into real systems is not so direct. For instance, isentropic COP is obtained under the assumption that all the refrigerants are able to work in the same condensing and evaporating temperatures, but these variables depend on the temperature lift of the secondary fluid and in real systems, they will not be the same. The size of the heat exchangers and, hence, the cost depend on heat transfer coefficients and pressure drop, and extrapolating this data in a straightforward way is not easy; even the required refrigerant charge is not easy to determine. In this work, the authors propose a methodology to compare different refrigerants based on the external operating conditions, the approach compares the system performance not only in terms of efficiency parameters but also in term of operation map, size and cost of the system and refrigerant charge. To do that, a basic modelling approach has been developed based on quite extended correlations for heat transfer coefficient, pressure drop and void fraction in the heat exchangers. The developed methodology does not pretend to be an exact design guide but a guide that researchers and students can use to estimate qualitatively the differences among refrigerants

Characterisation of a plate heat exchanger working as condenser. Comparative analysis

This paper presents a method to evaluate the heating capacity of a plate heat exchanger working as condenser. As in previous works with phe evaporators and single phase heat exchangers, the proposed methodology relays on a discretisation of the heat exchanger in cells, in such a way that the outlet temperature is assumed and the heat transferred is calculated by integrating along the heat exchanger by means of a 1D approach which allows us to determine the outlet variables iteratively based on a heat transfer area calculation.The input variables of the model are pressure, enthalpy, and flow rate of both fluids at the inlet of the heat exchanger .The study presents the method, pays attention the heat transfer coefficient correlations utilised, and is used to comparatively determine the heat transferred by the refrigerant to the secondary fluid. Experimental results are used for validation and to analyse the goodness of the different correlations tested. Some conclusions are finally drawn.

Flow boiling pressure drop and heat transfer at high mass fluxes for R514a in a single microchannel

This paper presents pioneer experimental data about flow boiling heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop for R514a, which is a new environmentally friendly HFO refrigerant substitute for the HCFC R123. Data was collected in a single 1.1 mm internal diameter microchannel with high mass velocity conditions, ranging from 1500 to 7000 kg/m2s, allowing measurements of very high heat transfer coefficients, above 50 kW/m2K. In addition, saturation temperatures up to 92 °C were tested, which has an important application in evaporators of organic Rankine cycles. Comparisons were made between the experimental results of R514a and R123. R514a showed a general trend of a higher heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop (up to 20% higher) relative to R123. Frictional pressure drop literature correlations could predict the R514a data with a mean absolute error below 20% and heat transfer coefficient correlations with mean absolute error below 25%.

Condensation characteristics of flows in newly developed three-dimensional enhanced heat transfer tubes

Condensation heat transfer characteristics were studied experimentally in order to evaluate the heat transfer performance of horizontal copper heat transfer tubes (smooth and enhanced). Using R410A and R32 as refrigerants, condensation heat transfer experiments were carried out for a saturation temperature of 45 °C; inlet vapor quality of the tube was 0.8 and outlet quality was 0.2; refrigerant mass flow rate range was in the range from 68 to 371 kg/(m2·s). Single-phase heat balance verification found that the heat loss is less than 6 %, with the deviation between single-phase experimental results and various correlations being less than 15 %. The condensation heat transfer coefficient increases with an increase in mass flow; as the mass flow rate increases, the turbulence of the liquid flow increases and the liquid film becomes thinner; thermal resistance is reduced and the heat transfer coefficient (HTC) increases. Experimental results determined that the performance factor ratio (enhanced tube/smooth tube) of the three-dimensional surfaces investigated here are greater than 1. Tubeside heat transfer enhancement factor (EF) of the HB/D tube is the highest (max 1.76); its performance is closely related to increasing fluid turbulence and improving drainage. Performance factor (PF) of the HB/D tube (max 1.38) is the highest for most of the flowrates. All this indicates excellent thermal performance. Flow model-based analysis was performed in order to develop a correlation for the condensation heat transfer coefficient and the pressure drop for the enhanced surface tubes. Both prediction models accurately predicted all data points within a limited margin of error.

Wind-tunnel experiments on cross-ventilative cooling in a generic isolated building with one heated wall: Impact of opening size

This paper presents wind-tunnel experiments of cross-ventilative cooling in a generic isolated building with an interior heated side wall. Two different sizes of openings are considered: large and small openings. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) is used to determine velocities in the vertical centerplane. Air temperatures in the vertical centerplane are measured using negative temperature coefficient (NTC) sensors. Surface temperatures on the heated wall are measured using an infrared camera. Surface heat fluxes are obtained using heat flux sensors. In both cases the indoor airflow is dominated by the jet through the openings, with higher velocities in the building with large openings. The air temperatures measured with small openings are up to 7.5 % larger than those with large openings. The surface heat fluxes are up to 20 % higher in the building with large openings. The interior convective heat transfer coefficients vary considerably across the heated wall for both opening sizes and can be very different (up to 5 times higher) from those obtained by existing internal convective heat transfer coefficient correlations. The measurement results give insight into the complexity of ventilative cooling and can be used to validate computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of cross-ventilative cooling.

Frosting characteristics of microchannel heat exchangers: Parametric studies and correlation development

Recently, microchannel heat exchangers (MCHX) have been widely used in heat pump systems due to their high surface-to-volume ratio and high efficiency of heat transfer. However, when the MCHX operates in frosting conditions, its performance is adversely affected. To study the frost formation and distribution characteristics of MCHX, a comprehensive parametric study was performed for the MCHX with a larger fin pitch. The effects of fin geometries and environmental parameters on the frosting characteristics of MCHX were studied. Fin height (Fh) can effectively inhibit frost formation, which is due to the increase of surface temperature with the increase of Fh. When Fh increased from 6.0 mm to 11.8 mm, the frost time increased by 30.5 %. However, the increase in Fh also brings the penalty of reduced heat transfer rate. The effect of fin depth (Fd) on frost formation performance is small because the frost is mainly deposited in the front part, resulting in the rear fin cannot work efficiently. Fin pitch (Fp) is the most significant structural parameter affecting frosting performance. When Fp increases from 1.6 mm to 4 mm, the frosting time increases by 4 times and frost mass increased by 2.2 times. This is because with the increase of Fp, the frost blocking in the front part can be effectively delayed, and the distribution uniformity of the frost layer is improved. Lower surface temperature and higher humidity ratio significantly promote frost formation and reduce the uniformity of frost distribution. When the inlet temperature is reduced from −5 °C to −8 °C, the frosting time is shortened by 2.15 times, and the frost mass is reduced by 55.7 %. When the relative humidity increases from 76 % to 92 %, the frosting time is shortened by 2.15 times, and the frost mass is reduced by 42.5 %. The air velocity has a minor impact on the growth rate of frost in the front part. However, as the air velocity increases, the uniformity of frost distribution is significantly improved. When the air velocity increased from 1.1 m s−1 to 2.2 m s−1, the mass of accumulated frost increased by 29.5 %. Furthermore, frost thickness and air-side heat transfer coefficient correlations were developed by testing 12 samples. The developed heat transfer coefficient correlation can accurately capture the changing trend of the j-factor. This study provides a fundamental understanding of the frosting characteristics of MCHX and can effectively guide the louvered fin optimization.

An Evaluation of Correlations for Predicting the Heat Transfer Coefficient during the Condensation of Saturated and Superheated Vapors Inside Channels

Condensation heat transfer is involved in many industrial applications. Therefore, it is important to know the relative accuracy of the available methods for predicting heat transfer. Condensation can occur with saturated as well as superheated vapors. Predictive methods for both conditions were evaluated using a wide range of data. Twelve well-known correlations for the condensation of saturated vapor, including the most recent ones, were compared with data for 51 pure fluids and mixtures from 132 sources in horizontal and vertical channels of many shapes. Channel hydraulic diameters were 0.08–49 mm, the mass flux was 1.1–1400 kg/m2s, and the reduced pressure range was 0.0006–0.949. The fluids included water, CO2, ammonia, hydrocarbons, halocarbon refrigerants, various chemicals, and heat transfer fluids. The best predictive technique was identified. The three most commonly used models for heat transfer during the condensation of superheated vapors were studied. They were first compared with test data using measured saturated condensation and forced convection heat transfer coefficients to select the best model. The selected model was then compared with test data using various correlations for heat transfer coefficients needed in the model. The best correlations to use in the model were identified. The results of this research are presented, as are recommendations for use in design.

A multiphase heat transfer model for spreading wall film coupled with solid wall temperature field

A simplified model for wall film impingement, spreading and evaporation is proposed in this work. The performance of the model was compared with experimental data. For the experimental data, a 2.8 mm diameter diesel drop at 423 K was impinged on a stainless steel wall. The solid surface and embedded temperature was recorded with time. The variation of film spread fraction, which is the ratio of the film spread diameter to the original drop diameter was also recorded with time. The present model deals with solid, liquid and gas phase physics of the wall film. An analytical expression developed previously for the heat flux from the ambient gas into the liquid gas interface, is used to represent the temperature distribution within the film. The correlation for heat transfer coefficient at the solid–liquid interface was developed and the solid temperature distribution is solved using the semi-infinite solid assumption in the 1-D coordinate system. A simplified film spread model was developed as a function of the maximum film spread fraction, which can be derived from energy conservation principles. A vapor sharing algorithm was also developed for film spreading into the neighboring computational cells. The model results were able to capture the initial rise in solid surface temperature during the initial spread of the film. However, the overall steady state temperature was slightly overpredicted. The solid embedded temperature matched well with experimental results. Variation of temperature within the film and the ambient gas temperature of the cell containing the film with time, obtained from the model was also shown.

Experimental heat transfer results and flow visualization of horizontal Near-Saturated liquid nitrogen flow boiling in uniformly heated circular tube under Earth gravity

This study investigates 1-ge horizontal flow boiling of liquid nitrogen with a near-saturated inlet along a circular tube of dimensions 8.5-mm inner diameter and 680-mm heated length. Experiments are conducted using a payload developed for eventual parabolic flight experiments. The operating parameters varied are mass velocity of 406.76–1572.77 kg/m2s, inlet quality of −0.05 to −0.01, and inlet pressure of 336.29–493.07 kPa. High speed video recordings are presented to explain two-phase flow structure and regime transitions which are visualized through a transparent tube in a visualization section situated downstream of the heated tube. Recognized flow patterns are bubbly, plug, slug, stratified annular, and annular. Heat transfer results are presented and discussed in terms of flow boiling curve trends, streamwise wall temperature profiles, streamwise heat transfer coefficient (HTC) profiles, and average HTCs. Previous HTC correlations are evaluated against the measured HTC data, of which two are identified for superior accuracy in predicting cryogen data. Finally, this study confirms the reliability and readiness of the payload for subsequent parabolic flight experiments intended for acquisition of microgravity data.

Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Effect of Inclination on sCO2 Heat Transfer in a Circular Pipe

Abstract Supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) can be utilized as a working fluid in various thermal systems including large-scale power cycles; portable power production units, centralized coolant systems, and standalone cooling devices. However, the lack of accurate prediction tools such as heat transfer coefficient correlations and insufficient research studies about the mechanisms controlling heat transfer processes are hindering its practical realization for key energy and cooling systems. The overall objective of this study is to extend fundamental knowledge about heat transfer and fluid dynamic processes in conduits pertinent to sCO2 with an emphasis on flow direction and inclination effects. This paper presents the study on effects of gravity, buoyancy on sCO2 flow at temperatures near and away from the pseudo-critical temperature. The experimental setup consists of a high temperature and pressure sCO2 heat transfer loop and flow testing facility. Recently, researched sCO2 heat exchangers can have tubes oriented at different angles such as 45 deg or 90 deg to horizontal. For optimized design of efficient and cost-effective turbomachinery components utilizing sCO2 as the heat transfer fluid, an understanding of convective heat transfer inside a tube/pipe is equally as important as external heat transfer. This paper presents an experimental and numerical study on sCO2 heat transfer at various inclinations with angles ranging from 0 deg (horizontal) to 90 deg (vertical) along with upward and downward flow direction with different inlet temperatures. Thermocouple-based temperature measurement is utilized at multiple locations within the test section axially and circumferentially to study the temperature distributions on the tube surface. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations have been performed using ANSYS Fluent to complement experimental data. The CFD and experiment have been analyzed against the well-known Gnielinski Nusselt number correlation.

Innovative twist design for solar water heaters: Experimental findings and implications

More effective use of solar energy in hot water systems is made possible by optimising heat transfer and flow resistance. In light of this, Research has been conducted to enhance convective heat transfer while analysing flow friction characteristics for best performance, resulting in the design of novel inserts known as customised twists, which increase the efficiency of the solar hot water system. A conventional, plain tube heater is used as a baseline for the study on thermal characteristics, heat transportation and flow friction attributes. A thorough analysis and comparison of the thermal behaviour of the system with customised twist inserts that have been modified using rods and spacers of different lengths is performed. As a result of the induced disturbance in the fluid particle flow pattern throughout the length of risers, a significant improvement in the coefficient of convective heat transfer is observed. The study validated the correlations for the convective heat transfer coefficient and the resistance coefficient against previous research findings. The findings indicated that the thermal efficiency of the full-length twist-inserted system is almost three times greater than that of a plain collector while doubling its pressure drop. The findings of this research could be useful in designing low-cost, compact solar water heaters.

Assessment and development of saturated and subcooled heat transfer coefficient correlations for cryogenic flow boiling in tubes

The escalating interest in cryogenic technologies for space-related applications has led to an unprecedented demand for reliable prediction methods for cryogenic two-phase flow and heat transfer. Regrettably, existing heat transfer coefficient (HTC) correlations developed for conventional fluids prove inadequate and provide subpar predictions when applied to cryogenic flow boiling conditions. Therefore, it is imperative to develop a set of new HTC correlations specifically tailored for cryogenic flow boiling. In this study, comprehensive databases are constructed consolidating experimental data from previous studies of the present authors and historical data extracted from open literatures, spanning a wide range of operating conditions, flow orientations, and various cryogenic fluids. Subsequently, based on the constructed databases, an assessment of the predictive accuracy of seminal HTC correlations is conducted, followed by the development of new HTC correlations for cryogenic saturated and subcooled flow boiling. The newly developed correlations demonstrate very good predictive accuracy, with an overall mean absolute error (MAE) of 23.84 % and 21.24 % for LN2 saturated and subcooled HTC, respectively, under terrestrial gravity conditions. When assessed against a microgravity dataset, these correlations exhibit equally good predictive accuracy, yielding MAE values of 16.73 % and 25.99 % for LN2 saturated and subcooled HTC, respectively. Furthermore, the universal applicability of the new HTC correlations is ascertained by assessing the correlations across a multitude of cryogenic fluids, including LN2, LHe, LAr, LCH4, and LH2. Impressively, these correlations display outstanding predictive accuracy, with MAE values of 24.01 % and 21.29 % for saturated and subcooled HTC, respectively, underscoring their superior performance across a wide range of cryogenic fluids, validated against 2,445 saturated cryogenic HTC datapoints and 1,553 subcooled cryogenic HTC datapoints. Overall, the new HTC correlations consistently outperform all prior seminal correlations, yielding good predictive accuracy across a diverse spectrum of operating conditions, irrespective of flow orientation and gravity level, for various cryogenic fluids.

New correlation of the subcooled flow boiling heat transfer coefficient for hybrid micro/nanostructured surfaces with high heat flux incidence

Surfaces manipulated with micro/nanostructures have great potential for imparting high heat removal capacity to heat transfer equipment under high heat flux incidence. However, few correlations of heat transfer coefficients have been developed based on high-heat flux experiments of subcooled flow boiling with nano- and microstructured surfaces, which may limit the further application of this technique in industrial engineering. Aiming at recently developed hybrid micro/nanostructured surfaces for subcooled flow boiling performance enhancement, a series of experiments with different surface structure scale specifications, flow conditions, and heat flux incidence ranges were conducted. In total, 530 experimental data points were obtained with heat fluxes ranging from 3.4 to 13.1 MW/m2, pressures from 0.5 to 1.5 MPa, liquid velocities from 1 to 5 m/s, inlet temperatures from 303.15 to 323.15 K, and structured surfaces with wire apertures of 250, 125, and 58 μm. The 28 existing correlations based on smooth surfaces and structured surfaces failed to predict these experimental data. A new enhancement factor-type correlation model, which included four dimensionless numbers that specialized in the effects of the span dimension and depth dimension of the target hybrid micro/nanostructured surfaces, was developed and shown to have good prediction accuracy and a considerable degree of application adaptability, with a mean absolute deviation of 5.7%.

Heat transfer characteristics of passive containment cooling system with equal height difference under steady-state conditions

In the nuclear energy utilization, the passive containment cooling system (PCCS) holds paramount importance, with its heat transfer performance standing as a critical aspect of nuclear safety. This study simulated the flow and heat transfer behaviors of PCCS with equal height difference by APROS software under a broad range of steady state operating conditions. At first, the flow pattern of natural circulation is categorized by phase state of flow through operational parameters. A criterion model of boundary of phase change is proposed with prediction deviation of less than ±25 %. Furthermore, the influence of various operation parameters such as temperature, non-condensable gas content, and pressure on the heat transfer behaviors of natural circulation was also revealed. A new heat transfer coefficient correlation for both single-phase and two-phase conditions is proposed with prediction deviation of ±15 %. Finally, the thermal stratification phenomenon in the containment vessel with non-condensable gas was investigated, indicating that local heat transfer characteristics in the upper region surpass those in the lower section on account of deposition of the non-condensable gas at bottom of the vessel.

Experimental study on enhancement condensation heat transfer in tube by foam metal in presence of non-condensable gas

Condensation heat transfer in tube is widely applied in industrial production, and the heat transfer process is often weakened by non-condensable gas (NCG) in actual production. Enhancing condensation heat transfer is beneficial to improve production efficiency, which has always been a hot topic in current research. Foam metal material with large specific surface area and good thermal conductivity is an ideal material to enhance heat transfer. In order to study enhancement heat transfer effect and optimize structure of foam metal, this paper investigated condensation heat transfer in tube strengthened by foam metal in presence of NCG experimentally. Section shape of foam metal is annular, and the pores per inch (PPI) of foam metals is 10, 15, 20 respectively. The effects of PPI value, steam/air mixture mass flow, and NCG mass fraction on heat transfer coefficient (HTC) and flow resistance are studied. The results reveal the following: (1) Compared with smooth tube, the foam metal enhances heat transfer significantly, and HTC increases by 1.5-2.3 times. (2) At same steam/air mixture mass flow, 10PPI foam metal tube has the highest HTC compared to others. (3) With increase of NCG mass fraction and PPI value, pressure drop increases and the HTC decreases. Based on experimental data, pressure drop and HTC correlations are developed. This paper provides an important technical basis for foam metal material application in enhancement heat transfer area.

Heat transfer in flat tube car radiator with CuO-MgO-TiO2 ternary hybrid nanofluid

An investigation of the performance of a car radiator with CuO-MgO-TiO2 aqueous ternary hybrid nanofluid has been presented to elucidate the effect of nanoparticle concentration, flow rate, and frontal air velocity. The volume concentration of nanoparticles ranges from 0.1% to 0.5%. The effect of fluid inlet temperature, the coolant flow rate and the frontal air velocity on a flat tube radiator were investigated. The effectiveness of the radiator increases with increasing volume concentration as well as coolant flow rate. The coolant side heat transfer coefficient of 0.5% hybrid nano-coolant was 46% higher than the base fluid. The overall heat transfer coefficient was 7.65% higher than the base fluid. The friction factor and the pumping power both decrease with increasing fluid inlet temperature. The pumping power required for nano-coolant is 1.71 times the base fluid. A correlation for the overall heat transfer coefficient is also presented.

Design and optimization of molten salt printed circuit steam generators

Among the array of heat exchangers available, printed circuit steam generators emerge as a particularly promising choice for high-temperature applications. This is primarily attributed to their augmented heat transfer surface area, which enables the efficient transfer of thermal energy within the Rankine power conversion cycle, especially in the context of molten salt-based thermal power systems, such as those employed in molten salt reactors and concentrated solar power plants. It is imperative to analytically model the heat transfer characteristics of mini-channel flow boilings for a printed circuit steam generator. To resolve new technical design issues that the single hot fluid flow channel is cooled by multiple cold fluid flow channels, an improved heat exchanger model is proposed to assist the numerical modeling of printed circuit steam generators for molten salt based on the equilibrium thermodynamics quality of water/steam flow. The existing flow boiling heat transfer coefficient correlations of mini-channels are leveraged to optimally design the straight-passage based printed circuit layouts and narrow down their optimal operational parameters. With various selections of subcooled water, saturated water, and superheated steam heat transfer correlations, The best combination of heat transfer correlations is found to assess the axial distributions of cold fluid temperatures and pressure drops. Two multi-objective optimizations are formulated to respectively solve thermal sizing and scaling problems for the optimal designs and operations of printed circuit steam generators. The computational results indicate that the overall heat transfer coefficient for an optimized 50 MW(th) printed circuit steam generator assessed at the transition point is about 3,828 W/(m2 K), which remarkably surpasses the 1,544 W/(m2 K) value of the conventional shell-tube steam generators by a factor of three. This implies that printed circuit steam generators would be a promising replacement of the traditional shell-tube steam generator.