THERMAL SCIENCE

International Scientific Journal

Thermal Science - Online First

online first only

Numerical investigation and analysis on thermal-hydraulic characteristics of dimple plate heat exchanger

ABSTRACT
The dimple plate heat exchanger (DPHE) has garnered attention in air-conditioning and heat pump industry due to its excellent performance. However, it is insufficient for the current research on its thermal-hydraulic performance and internal flow mechanism by varying structural parameters. In this study, numerical simulations are conducted based on flow and heat transfer cells with different dimple depths and pitches. The enhanced wall function k-e turbulence model is employed to analyze the variation of heat transfer and frictional performance with different dimple parameters. And the internal flow mechanisms and entropy generation within the different cells are presented. The results show that the overall heat transfer factor (F) of the dimple structure approximately increases by 97.5% with the depth range of 0.7-1.5mm, while F decreases by 11.3% with the pitch of 2.8-6.0 mm. The heat transfer coefficient is more sensitive to the change in dimple depth compared to pitch. The turbulence zones within the XZ cross-section of the cell emerge and gradually shift toward the wall as the dimple depth increases or the dimple pitch decreases, which is accompanied by higher entropy generation within the cells. The new findings in present study can contribute to DPHE design optimization and promote DPHE to more practical application.
KEYWORDS
PAPER SUBMITTED: 2024-11-24
PAPER REVISED: 2025-01-18
PAPER ACCEPTED: 2025-01-24
PUBLISHED ONLINE: 2025-03-08
DOI REFERENCE: https://doi.org/10.2298/TSCI241124034D
REFERENCES
  1. Zhang, J., et al., A review of heat transfer enhancement techniques in plate heat exchangers, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 101 (2019), pp. 305-328
  2. Zohuri, B., Compact heat exchangers, Springer, Cham, Switzerland, 2017
  3. Focke, W., et al., The effect of the corrugation inclination angle on the thermohydraulic performance of plate heat exchangers, International Journal of Heat Mass Transfer, 28 (1985), 8, pp. 1469-1479
  4. Focke, W., Turbulent convective transfer in plate heat exchangers, International Communications in Heat Mass Transfer, 10 (1983), 3, pp. 201-210
  5. Muley, A., et al., Enhanced heat transfer characteristics of viscous liquid flows in a chevron plate heat exchanger, Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 121 (1999), 4, pp. 1011-1017
  6. Muley, A., Manglik, R.M., Enhanced heat transfer characteristics of single-phase flows in a plate heat exchanger with mixed chevron plates, Journal of Enhanced Heat Transfer, 4 (1997), 3, pp. 187-201
  7. Hessami, M.A., An experimental investigation of the performance of cross-corrugated plate heat exchangers, Journal of Enhanced Heat Transfer, 10 (2003), 4, pp. 379-394
  8. Wang, K., et al., CFD simulation and optimization study on the shell side performances of a plate and shell heat exchanger with double herringbone plates, Thermal Science and Engineering Progress, 43 (2023), p. 101931
  9. Song, J., et al., Experimental study and analysis of a novel multi-media plate heat exchanger, Science China Technological Sciences, 55 (2012), pp. 2157-2162
  10. Wei, W., Li, H., Experimental analysis of fluid flow heat transfer and pressure loss characteristics in dimpled plate heat exchangers, Chinese Journal of Refrigeration technology, 32 (2012), 04, pp. 36-41(in Chinese language)
  11. Zhang, R., et al., Numercial investigation and analysis of fluid flow and heat transfer of single-phase in dimpled plate heat exchanger, Chinese Journal of Refrigeration technology, 34 (2014), 05, pp. 6-12(in Chinese language)
  12. Li, X., et al., Visualization of bubble flow in the channel of a dimple-type embossing plate heat exchanger under different fluid inlet/outlet ports, International Journal of Heat Mass Transfer, 145 (2019), p. 118750
  13. Močnik, U., et al., Numerical and experimental analysis of fluid flow and flow visualization at low Reynolds numbers in a dimple pattern plate heat exchanger, Energy, 288 (2024), p. 129812
  14. Močnik, U., Muhič, S., Experimental and numerical analysis of heat transfer in a dimple pattern heat exchanger channel, Applied Thermal Engineering, 230 (2023), p. 120865
  15. Močnik, U., et al., Numerical Analysis with Experimental Validation of Single-Phase Fluid Flow in a Dimple Pattern Heat Exchanger Channel, Journal of Mechanical Engineering/Strojniški Vestnik, 66 (2020), 9, pp. 544-553
  16. Wei, W., et al., Flow Characteristics and Optimization of Two-phase Flow Distribution over Plate Surface of Brazed-Plate Heat Exchanger, Chinese Journal of Refrigenration, 45 (2024), 1, pp. 46-54(in Chinese language)
  17. Tao, X., et al., Flow boiling in dimpled plate heat exchangers with different geometric parameters: Analysis of asymmetric channels, Applied Thermal Engineering, 257 (2024), p. 124265
  18. Bejan, A., Kestin, J., Entropy generation through heat and fluid flow. John Wiley & Sons. New York, USA, 1983
  19. Johannessen, E., et al., Minimizing the entropy production in heat exchange, International Journal of Heat Mass Transfer, 45 (2002), 13, pp. 2649-2654
  20. Guo, J., et al., Optimization design of shell-and-tube heat exchanger by entropy generation minimization and genetic algorithm, Applied Thermal Engineering, 29 (2009), 14-15, pp. 2954-2960
  21. Zhang, Z., Optimization of the transition surface in asymmetric dimpled plate evaporators, Master thesis, Zhejiang university, Hangzhou, China, 2024
  22. Bejan, A., et al., Thermal design and optimization. John Wiley & Sons. New Jersey, USA, 1995
  23. Zhang, L.Z., Numerical study of periodically fully developed flow and heat transfer in cross-corrugated triangular channels in transitional flow regime, Numerical Heat Transfer, Part A: Applications, 48 (2005), 4, pp. 387-405
  24. Peric, M., Ferguson, S., The advantage of polyhedral meshes, Dynamics, 24 (2005), 45, p. 504
  25. Wei, W.J., et al. Experimental investigations on performance of evaporator and condenser of R410A inside a novel brazed plate heat exchanger, Proceedings, Proceedings of the 24th IIR International Congress of Refrigeration, Yokohama, Japan, 2015