Review of Most Recent Progress on Development of Polymer Heat Exchangers for Thermal Management Applications

Polymeric materials have several favorable properties for heat transfer systems, including low weight, low manufacturing cost, antifouling, and anticorrosion. Additionally, polymers are typically electrical insulators, making them favorable for applications in which electrical conductivity is a concern. Examples of utilizing these favorable properties are discussed. The drawbacks to raw polymer materials include low thermal conductivity, low structural strength, and poor stability at elevated temperatures. Methods of mitigating these unfavorable properties, including loading the polymer with other materials and developing new polymers, are discussed. Enhanced geometric designs enabled by additive manufacturing can also improve thermal performance of polymer heat exchangers. Results of a research study utilizing additive manufacturing toward developing high-performance and cost-effective polymer heat exchangers for an air-to-liquid application are reviewed and discussed. Finally, needs for further research on enhancing polymer thermal performance are discussed.

Polymer Heat Exchangers: An Enabling Technology for Water and Energy Savings

Polymer heat exchangers (PHXs), using thermally-enhanced composites, constitute a “disruptive” thermal technology that can lead to significant water and energy savings in the thermoelectric energy sector. This paper reviews current trends in electricity generation, water use, and the inextricable relationship between the two trends in order to identify the possible role of PHXs in seawater cooling applications. The use of once-through seawater cooling as a replacement for freshwater recirculating systems is identified as a viable way to reduce the use of freshwater and to increase power plant efficiency. The widespread use of seawater as a coolant can be made possible by the favorable qualities of thermally-enhanced polymer composites: good corrosion resistance, higher thermal conductivities, higher strengths, low embodied energy and good manufacturability. The authors use several seawater cooling case studies to explore the potential water and energy savings made possible by the use of PHX technology. The results from three case studies suggest that heat exchangers made with thermally enhanced polymer composites require less energy input over their lifetime than corrosion resistant metals, which generally have much higher embodied energy than polymers and polymers composites. Also, the use of seawater can significantly reduce the use of freshwater as a coolant, given the inordinate amounts of water required for even a 1MW heat exchanger.