A Study on the Strength under Pressure of Micro Heat Exchanger

2006 ◽  
Vol 326-328 ◽  
pp. 265-268
Author(s):  
Taek Joon Son ◽  
Young Shin Lee

The strength of micro heat exchanger under pressure is studied in this paper. Micro heat exchanger is made with brazing technology. It is constructed of stainless steel thin plates with micro channels and in/out port for fluid flow. Micro channels in thin plates are formed by etching and all parts including thin plates are joined by brazing. The study on the strength under pressure is performed by structural analysis. For structural analysis, one layer of micro heat exchanger body is considered. It is composed of thin plate with micro channel and brazing filler which is used to join thin plates. This paper shows the tendency of stress behavior and gives design guideline of micro heat exchanger.

Author(s):  
Ian W. Jentz ◽  
Mark H. Anderson

Abstract The Homogenized Heat Exchanger Thermohydraulic (HHXT) modeling environment has been developed to provide thermodynamic modeling of printed circuit heat exchangers (PCHEs). This finite element approach solves solid conduction and fluid thermohydraulics simultaneously, without the need to mesh the minuscule micro-channels of a PCHE. The model handles PCHE features such as headers, solid side walls, and channel inlet and outlet regions, in addition to the micro-channel core. The HHXT model resolves PCHE thermohydraulics using simple model definitions and minimum computational overhead, making it an ideal design tool. This work introduces the thermohydraulic model at the core of HHXT. The homogenization approach used in the model occupies a medium between simplified linear analyses of heat transfer within a PCHE and the brute force of a fully resolved finite element, or computational fluid dynamics, model. An example problem modeling an experimental PCHE is presented. The ability of the HHXT model to simulate fluid flow through a directional varying micro-channel core of two heat-exchanging streams is demonstrated. The HHXT model is being distributed for free within the research community.


Author(s):  
Yan Li ◽  
Shuchao Zhang ◽  
Ning Mei

Fluid flow phenomena in micro channels received wide attention due to its high heat transfer coefficient. As a new technique in the field of micro channel phase-change heat transfer, anti-gravity flow can drive fluid flow by capillary force and create enhanced evaporation heat transfer conditions by promoting the formation of an extended meniscus in the three-phase contact-line region. Resulting from the circumferential discrepancy of degree of superheat, the radius of curvature of intrinsic meniscus decreases rapidly as liquid rising up, leading to the formation of capillary pressure gradient. With the increase of heat flux, subcooled boiling occurs and micro-bubble appears at the bottom of the fluted tube. Under the action of buoyancy and drag force, the bubble rises along the channel and at the same time grows continually for the presence of superheat until its break. This paper focuses on the numerical study of flow characteristics of anti-gravity flow in the micro channel and the influence of bubble under the subcooled boiling circumstance. The results shows that bubble plays a positive role in the formation of anti-gravity flow and the analytical expressions are presented for the rising velocity of liquid, the contact angle and the curvature of the intrinsic meniscus, which are all influenced by heat flux, superheat temperature and the geometric parameters of the channel.


Author(s):  
Ryan Lewis ◽  
Yunda Wang ◽  
Paul Schroeder ◽  
Collin Coolidge ◽  
Ray Radebaugh ◽  
...  

A number of small electronic devices benefit from micro-scale low temperature operation. Recently we have developed micro cryogenic coolers (MCCs) using a low-pressure, mixed-refrigerant Joule-Thomson cycle. The cryocoolers utilizes a MEMS-enabled gas compressor coupled to a micro cold stage. Two cold stages have been developed: one which uses a fiber-enabled heat exchanger assembled to a micro-machined throttling valve, and another which uses a MEMS-based heat exchanger. A microcompressor has been developed which uses MEMS-based check valves coupled to a membrane, which is actuated with a mechanically amplified piezoelectric amplifier. The compressor measures a volume 15 mL, can generate a pressure ratio of 6:1 and a maximum flow-rate of 60 standard mL/min. The complete cryocooler has reached low temperatures of 177 K, although temperature instability has been an issue, due to 2-phase flow through the micro-channels. This paper will cover the development and testing of the micro cryogenic cooler, as well as an analysis of the micro channel flow. A proper understanding of the micro-channel flow allows us to design refrigerant mixtures to improve the cooling power, and modify the cooler to eliminate temperature instabilities.


2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 1035-1040 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jae Young Jeong ◽  
Wonseok Jo ◽  
Heungseob Kim ◽  
Seok Heum Baek ◽  
Seong Beom Lee

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rasmi Ranjan Behera ◽  
Mamilla Ravi Sankar ◽  
Prahlad Kumar Baruah ◽  
Ashwini Kumar Sharma ◽  
Alika Khare

The demand for miniaturized components is increasing day by day as their application varies from industry to industry such as biomedical, micro-electro-mechanical system and aerospace. In the present research work, high-quality micro-channels are fabricated on 304 stainless steel by laser beam micromachining process with nanosecond Nd:YAG laser. The laser pulse energy (LPE), scanning speed (SS) and scanning pass number (SP No.) are used as the process parameters, whereas the depth and width of the kerf as well as the surface roughness are used to characterize the micro-channels. It is found that the kerf depth, width and surface roughness decrease with increase in the SS. The kerf depth sharply increases with increase in the SP No. The kerf width is minimum at 30 mJ LPE, 400 µm s‒1 SS and 10 SP No. The minimum surface roughness is observed at 30 mJ LPE, 500 µm s‒1 SS and 10 SP No. The oxygen content is found to gradually decrease with the distance from the centre of the micro-channel. Based on the experimental results, optimized input parameters can be offered to control the micro-channel dimensions and improve their surface finish effectively on stainless steel.


Author(s):  
Ulrich Schygulla ◽  
Ju¨rgen J. Brandner ◽  
Eugen Anurjew ◽  
Edgar Hansjosten ◽  
Klaus Schubert

This publication describes the development of a new microstructure to transfer high heat fluxes. With a simple mathematical model based on heat conduction theory for the heat transfer in a micro channel at laminar flow conditions it was deduced that for the transmission of high heat fluxes only the initial part at the beginning of the micro channels is of importance, i.e. the micro channels should be short. Based on this principle a micro structure was designed with a large number of short micro channels taken in parallel. With this newly developed microstructure a prototype of a micro heat exchanger and a surface micro cooler was manufactured and tested. Using the prototype of the micro heat exchanger, manufactured of plastic, heat fluxes up to 500 W/cm2 were achieved at a pressure loss of 0.16 MPa and a mass flow of the water of 200 kg/h per passage. Due to the use of materials with a higher temperature resistance and higher stability like aluminum or ceramic, higher water throughputs and higher flow velocities could be realized in the micro channels. Thus it was possible to increase the heat flux up to approx. 800 W/cm2 at a pressure loss of approx. 0.35 MPa and a mass flow of 350 kg/h per passage. The important focus of investigation of the surface micro cooler was set on the examination of the surface temperatures for different heat fluxes and different velocities of the water in the micro channels. The experimental results of these surface micro coolers are summarized to characteristic maps. With this characteristic maps it is possible to determine whether a micro surface cooler can be used for a specific application.


Author(s):  
Mesbah G. Khan ◽  
Amir Fartaj

In past few years, narrow diameter flow passages (≤3 mm) have attracted huge research attentions due to their several advantageous features over conventional tubes (≥6 mm) especially from the view points of higher heat transfer, lesser weight, and smaller device size. Several classifications of narrow channels, based on sizes, are proposed in the open literature from mini to meso and micro (3 mm to 100 μm). The meso- and micro-channels have not yet entered into the HVAC and automotive heat exchanger industries to the expected potentials to take the above-mentioned advantages. The reasons may be the limited availability of experimental data on pressure drop and heat transfer and the lack of consolidated design correlations as compared to what is established for compact heat exchangers. While a number of studies available on standalone single straight channels, works on multi-channel slab similar to those used as typical thermal heat exchanger core elements are inadequate, especially the research on multichannel serpentine slab are limited in the open literature. The 50% ethylene glycol and water mixture is widely used in heat exchanger industry as a heat transfer fluid. Studies of pressure drop and heat transfer on this commercially important fluid using narrow tube multi-channel slab is scarce and the availability of experimental data is rare in the open literature. Conducting research on various shapes of meso- and micro-channel heat exchanger cores using a variety working fluids are a definite needs as recommended and consistently urged in ongoing research publications in this promising area. Under present long-term project, an automated dynamic single-phase experimental infrastructure has been developed to carryout the fluid flow and heat transfer research in meso- and micro-channel test specimens and prototype microchannel heat exchanger using a variety of working fluids in air-to-liquid crossflow orientation. In the series, experiments have been conducted on 50% ethylene glycol and water solution in a serpentine meso-channel slab having 68 individual channels of 1 mm hydraulic diameter to obtain the heat transfer data and the general pressure drop nature of the test fluid. Current paper presents the heat transfer characteristics of ethylene glycol-water mixture and the Reynolds number effects on pressure drop, heat transfer rate, test specimen NTU and effectiveness, overall thermal resistance, and the Nusselt number.


Author(s):  
Merrill A. Wilson ◽  
Kurt Recknagle ◽  
Kriston Brooks

Typically, ceramic micro-channel devices are used for high temperature heat exchangers, catalytic reactors, electronics cooling, and processing of corrosive streams where the thermomechanical benefits of ceramic materials are desired. These benefits include: high temperature mechanical and corrosion properties and tailorable material properties such as thermal expansion, electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity. In addition, by utilizing Laminated Object Manufacturing (LOM) methods, inexpensive ceramic materials can be layered, featured and laminated in the green state and co-sintered to form monolithic structures amenable to mass production. In cooperation with the DOE and Pacific Northwest National Labs, silicon carbide (SiC) based micro-channel recuperator concepts are being developed and tested. The performance benefits of a high temperature, micro-channel heat exchanger are realized from the improved thermal efficiency of the high temperature cycles and the improved effectiveness of micro-channels for heat transfer. In designing these structures, the heat and mass transfer within the micro-channels are being analyzed with heat transfer models, computational fluid dynamics models and validated with experimental results. As an example, a typical micro-turbine cycle was modified and modeled to incorporate this ceramic recuperator and it was found that the overall thermal efficiency of the micro-turbine could be improved from about 27% to over 40%. Process improvements require technical advantages and cost advantages. These LOM methodologies have been based on well-proven industry standard processes where labor, throughput and capital estimates have been tested. Following these cost models and validation at the prototype scale, cost estimates were obtained. For the micro-turbine example, cost estimates indicate that the high-temperature SiC recuperator would cost about $200 per kWe. The development of these heat exchangers is multi-faceted and this paper focuses on the design optimization of a layered micro-channel heat exchanger, its performance testing, and fabrication development through LOM methodologies.


2018 ◽  
Vol 941 ◽  
pp. 2148-2153
Author(s):  
James Allen Zess ◽  
Martin Dressler

Micro-channel heat exchangers (MCHXs) manufactured by Zess & Lin Industries provide highly effective heat transfer and are used in a growing number of critical applications. MCHXs consist of stainless steel or high temperature Nickel-based alloy plates with micro channels that are chemically etched or machined into each plate. These traditional extractive manufacturing methods of chemical etching and machining used in manufacturing MCHX plates are difficult and costly as a large percentage of expensive alloy is lost during manufacturing.


2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josep Farré-Lladós ◽  
Jasmina Casals-Terré ◽  
Jordi Voltas ◽  
Lars G. Westerberg

Purpose – This paper aims to present a new methodology to manufacture micro-channels suitable for high operating pressures and micro particle image velocimetry (μPIV) measurements using a rapid-prototyping high-resolution 3D printer. This methodology can fabricate channels down to 250 μm and withstand pressures of up to 5 ± 0.2 MPa. The manufacturing times are much shorter than in soft lithography processes. Design/methodology/approach – The novel manufacturing method developed takes advantage of the recently improved resolution in 3D printers to manufacture an rapid prototyping technique part that contains the hose connections and a micro-channel useful for microfluidics. A method to assemble one wall of the micro-channel using UV curable glue with a glass slide is presented – an operation required to prepare the channel for μPIV measurements. Once built, the micro-channel has been evaluated when working under pressure and the grease flow behavior in it has been measured using μPIV. Furthermore, the minimum achievable channels have been defined using a confocal microscopy study. Findings – This technique is much faster than previous micro-manufacturing techniques where different steps were needed to obtain the micro-machined parts. However, due to current 3D printers ' resolutions (around 50 μm) and according to the experimental results, channels smaller than 250-μm2 cross-section should not be used to characterize fluid flow behaviors, as inaccuracies in the channel boundaries can deeply affect the fluid flow behavior. Practical implications – The present methodology is developed due to the need to validate micro-channels using μPIV to lubricate critical components (bearings and gears) in wind turbines. Originality/value – This novel micro-manufacturing technique overcomes current techniques, as it requires less manufacturing steps and therefore it is faster and with less associated costs to manufacture micro-channels down to 250-μm2 cross-section that can withstand pressures higher than 5 MPa that can be used to characterize microfluidic flow behavior using μPIV.


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