An Experimental Study on the Influence of Flow Maldistribution on the Pressure Drop Across a Plate Heat Exchanger

2004 ◽  
Vol 126 (4) ◽  
pp. 680-691 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Prabhakara Rao ◽  
Sarit K. Das
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Plate Heat Exchanger ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Plate Heat ◽  
General Flow ◽  
Proper Design ◽  
Flow Maldistribution

A detailed experimental study on flow maldistribution from port to channel of a plate heat exchanger is presented. In general, flow maldistribution brings about an increase in pressure drop across the heat exchanger. This increase is found to depend on flow rate, number of channels and port size. Experiments show that analytical predictions of pressure drop including maldistribution effect are quite accurate for practical purposes. The results indicate that under identical conditions, maldistribution is more severe in Z-type plate heat exchanger compared to U type. Experiments are also carried out under non-isothermal realistic operating conditions, which show increased flow maldistribution at elevated temperature. Finally predictions are made for industrial plate heat exchangers, which show the limitation of adding additional plates beyond a certain limit. An insight to the physical aspects of maldistribution and its possible reduction through proper design strategy is also indicated.

An Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of the Effect of Flow Maldistribution on the Thermal Performance of Plate Heat Exchangers

2005 ◽  
Vol 127 (3) ◽  
pp. 332-343 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Prabhakara Rao ◽  
Bengt Sunden ◽  
Sarit K. Das
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Thermal Performance ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Theoretical Study ◽  
Design Strategy ◽  
Plate Heat Exchanger ◽  
Plate Heat ◽  
General Flow ◽  
Proper Design ◽  
Flow Maldistribution

An experimental and theoretical study of the effect of flow maldistribution from port to channel on the thermal performance of single and multipass plate heat exchangers is presented. In general, flow maldistribution brings about an increase in pressure drop and decrease of the thermal performance in heat exchangers. This deterioration is found to depend on flow rate, number of channels, and port size. Experiments show that analytical predictions of pressure drop and thermal performance in presence of flow maldistribution are quite accurate for practical purposes. The results indicate that under identical conditions, maldistribution is more severe in Z-type plate heat exchanger compared to U type. Multipassing is found to reduce the maldistribution effect significantly. An insight to the physical aspects of maldistribution and its possible reduction through proper design strategy are also presented.

EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON HEAT TRANSFER AND PRESSURE DROP CHARACTERISTICS FOR WELDED EMBOSSING TYPE PLATE HEAT EXCHANGERS

2011 ◽  
Vol 19 (02) ◽  
pp. 113-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
JONG YUN JEONG ◽  
CHUNG WOO JUNG ◽  
SANG-CHUL NAM ◽  
YONG TAE KANG
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Experimental Study ◽  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Plate Heat Exchanger ◽  
Plate Heat ◽  
Temperature Solution ◽  
Fanning Friction Factor

Heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of the welded plate heat exchangers are experimented to apply the high- and low-temperature solution heat exchanger (SHX) of absorption systems. Two different SHXs were made using the seam and tig welding method. In this paper, the welded embossing type plate heat exchangers were tested by controlling mass flow rate and inlet/outlet temperatures. It was found that heat transfer and pressure drop performance increased with increasing Reynolds number. It was also found that the pressure drop from the present W-embossing type plate heat exchanger was much lower than that from the brazed type, as low as 1/7 times. The experimental correlations for Nusselt number and Fanning friction factor were developed with the error bands of ± 20% and ± 25%, respectively. These results provide a guideline to apply the welded plate heat exchanger for the solution heat exchanger of absorption systems.

scholarly journals Selected studies of flow maldistribution in a minichannel plate heat exchanger

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 135-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paweł Dąbrowski ◽  
Michał Klugmann ◽  
Dariusz Mikielewicz
Keyword(s):  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Plate Heat Exchanger ◽  
Low Flow ◽  
Multiple Channels ◽  
Flow Rates ◽  
Plate Heat ◽  
Flow Maldistribution ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Analysis of the state of-the-art in research of minichannel heat exchangers, especially on the topic of flow maldistribution in multiple channels, has been accomplished. Studies on minichannel plate heat exchanger with 51 parallel minichannels with four hydraulic diameters, i.e., 461 μm, 574 μm, 667 μm, and 750 μm have been presented. Flow at the instance of filling the microchannel with water at low flow rates has been visualized. The pressure drop characteristics for single minichannel plate have been presented along with the channels blockage, which occurred in several cases. The impact of the mass flow rate and channels’ cross-section dimensions on the flow maldistribution were illustrated.

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