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Second law analysis of pillow plate heat exchanger to enhance thermal performance and its simulation studies

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Abstract

A relatively novel concept in plate heat exchangers is Pillow Plate Heat Exchanger (PPHX), which has demonstrated promising potential in heat transfer efficiency. However, the concept leads to a higher pressure drop compared to controversial models, and still, the effects of its geometrical parameters and operational conditions on efficiency are not clarified, comprehensively. In this study, a PPHX is designed and simulated to clarify the major reasons for pressure drop and entropy generation. In this regard, a 3D model of PPHX by considering conjugate heat transfer is developed and numerically investigated by using ANSYS Fluent. The calculations are accomplished for a wide range of Re numbers (\({10}^{3}\) to \(2.1\times {10}^{4}\)) consisting of both laminar and turbulent flow regimes. The results are presented in terms of frictional coefficient, Colburn factor, heat transfer coefficient, entropy generation and second law efficiency for different welding spot diameters. It is observed that while increasing the diameter causes a higher pressure drop, it lowers heat transfer and irreversibility. Up to 12% variation in the efficiency is obtained for considered diameters. Meanwhile, although entropy generation due to temperature variation plays a major role in total entropy, entropy generation due to pressure drop has shown an exponential increment as the Re number increases.

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Abbreviations

\({A}_{w}\) :

Wetted area (m2)

\({c}_{p}\) :

Specific heat (W/kg.K)

\({d}_{h}\) :

Hydraulic diameter (m)

f :

Frictional coefficient

H :

Enthalpy (J/kg)

h :

Heat transfer coefficient (W/m2.K)

IC:

Inner channel

j :

Colburn factor

k :

Kinetic energy

m :

Mass flow rate (kg/s)

Nu :

Nusselt number

0C:

Outer channel

p :

Pressure (Pa)

Pr :

Prandtl number

Re :

Reynolds number

S :

Entropy (J/kg.K)

\(\dot{S}\) ̇:

Entropy generation (W/K)

T :

Temperature (°C)

\({T}_{0}\) :

Environmental temperature (°C)

u :

Velocity vector (m/s)

V :

Volume (m3)

x, y:

Cartesian coordinates

\({\delta }_{D}\) :

Welding spot diameter (m)

\({\delta }_{L}\) :

Longitudinal length (m)

\({\delta }_{T}\) :

Transversal length (m)

\({\delta }_{H}\) :

Inner channel height (m)

\({\delta }_{P}\) :

Outer channel height (m)

\(\mu\) :

Dynamic viscosity (Pa.s)

\(\nu\) :

Kinematic viscosity (m2/s)

\(\rho\) :

Density (m3)

\(\epsilon\) :

Turbulent dissipation

\({\mu }_{t}\) :

Turbulent viscosity

\(\psi\) :

Exergy (J/kg)

\(\eta\) :

Efficiency

\({\tau }_{w}\) :

Wall shear stress

avg :

Average

e :

Exit

i :

In

m :

Mean

P :

Frictional

T :

Thermal

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Funding

The authors would appreciate the financial support provided by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) under the UG-HQP-2020–100600 Award.

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  1. School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada

    Kasra Ghasemi, Syeda Tasnim & Shohel Mahmud

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  1. Kasra Ghasemi
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Correspondence to Kasra Ghasemi.

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Ghasemi, K., Tasnim, S. & Mahmud, S. Second law analysis of pillow plate heat exchanger to enhance thermal performance and its simulation studies. Heat Mass Transfer 59, 55–66 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-022-03245-8

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