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Heat transfer and fluid flow characteristics in a plate heat exchanger filled with copper foam

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Abstract

A small plate heat exchanger filled with copper foam which can be applied for small scale electronic cooling is presented. The heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop of water flow inside a plate heat exchanger filled with copper foam (PHECF) are experimentally studied. The effect of copper foam pore density and water velocity on the optimum thermal performance is also presented. The experiment is performed with a Reynolds number ranging from 1200 to 2000 and copper foam pore density ranging from 30 to 50 pores per inch (PPI). The results show that the heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop increased when the water velocity and pore density increased. The heat transfer coefficient is enhanced by 20.23%, 29.37%, and 40.28% for PHECF with a pore density of 30 PPI, 40 PPI, and 50 PPI as compared to a plate heat exchanger. The total pressure drop of water flow inside PHECF is dominated by inertial drag pressure drop. Thermal performance of PHECF with 50 PPI is highest with the average thermal performance factor of 1.21. The Nusselt number and friction factor correlation of water flow inside plate heat exchanger filled with copper foam are also proposed for practical applications.

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Abbreviations

A :

cross-sectional area of the flow channel, m2

A s :

heat transfer area, m2

c p,c :

specific heat at constant pressure of cold stream, J/ kg K

c p,h :

specific heat at constant pressure of hot stream, J/ kg K

D H :

hydraulic diameter of the flow channel, m

Da:

Darcy number

f :

friction factor

F:

inertial coefficient of PHECF

g :

gravitational acceleration, m/s2

K:

permeability of PHECF

k s :

aluminum plate thermal conductivity, W/m K

h c :

cold stream heat transfer coefficient, W/m2 K

h h :

hot stream heat transfer coefficient, W/m2 K

LMTD:

logarithmic mean temperature difference, K

L :

vertical distance of port between the entrance and exit, m

\( {\dot{m}}_c \) :

mass flow rate of cold water, kg/s

\( {\dot{m}}_h \) :

mass flow rate of hot water, kg/s

P:

perimeter of flow channel, m

ΔP G :

gravitational pressure drop, Pa

ΔP F :

frictional pressure drop, Pa

ΔP T :

total pressure drop, Pa

ΔP M :

pressure loss at the entrance and exit, Pa

Nu:

Nusselt number

Q avg :

average heat transfer rate, W

T ci :

temperature of cold water at the entrance, K

T co :

temperature of cold water at the exit, K

T hi :

temperature of hot water at the entrance, K

T ho :

temperature of hot water at the exit, K

Re:

Reynolds number

TPF:

thermal performance factor

U :

overall heat transfer coefficient, W/m2 K

V :

water velocity, m/s

Δ x :

plate thickness, m.

μ :

dynamic viscosity, kg/ m s

ρ :

density, kg/ m3

υ :

specific volume, m3 /kg

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the support provided by the Thailand Science Research and Innovation (TSRI), the "Research Chair Grant" National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), and King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi through the “KMUTT 55th Anniversary Commemorative Fund”.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Power Engineering Technology, King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok, Bangsue, Bangkok, 10800, Thailand

    Kitti Nilpueng

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India

    Lazarus Godson Asirvatham

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Yildiz Technical University, Yildiz, Besiktas, Istanbul, Turkey

    Ahmet Selim Dalkılıç

  4. School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China

    Omid Mahian

  5. Renewable Energy and Micro/Nano Sciences Lab., Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

    Omid Mahian

  6. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Incheon National University, Incheon, Republic of Korea

    Ho Seon Ahn

  7. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangmod, Bangkok, 10140, Thailand

    Somchai Wongwises

  8. National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Pathum Thani, 12120, Thailand

    Somchai Wongwises

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  1. Kitti Nilpueng
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  2. Lazarus Godson Asirvatham
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  3. Ahmet Selim Dalkılıç
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  4. Omid Mahian
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  5. Ho Seon Ahn
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  6. Somchai Wongwises
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Correspondence to Somchai Wongwises.

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Nilpueng, K., Asirvatham, L.G., Dalkılıç, A.S. et al. Heat transfer and fluid flow characteristics in a plate heat exchanger filled with copper foam. Heat Mass Transfer 56, 3261–3271 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-020-02921-x

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