Annals of the Assembly for International Heat Transfer Conference 13

ISBN 1-56700-225-0 / CD 1-56700-226-9

Year 2006

J. Mitrovic
Institut für Energie- und Verfahrenstechnik, Thermische Verfahrenstechnik und Anlagentechnik, Universität Paderborn, 33095 Paderborn, Germany

B. Maletic
Thermal Process Engineering and Plant Technology, University of Paderborn, Paderborn, Germany

A thermoplate is a heat transfer device that consists of two metallic sheets, which are spot-welded according to an appropriate pattern over the whole surface, whereas the edges - except for connecting tubes - are continuously seam-welded. By applying a hydro-form technique, a channel having a complex geometry is established between the sheets. One fluid is conducted through this channel, the other one on the outside of the so shaped thermoplate. Such heat transfer devices are encountered in several areas of cooling and heating technique and process technology e.g. as condensers or evaporators.
The objective of our investigations is to numerically find out the optimal geometry of the thermoplate with respect to heat transfer of the inside fluid that passes the channel as single phase. In order to achieve this, the geometrical and process parameters such as the pattern of welding spots, the distance between the sheets, and the Reynolds number have been varied. For the simulation the commercial software StarCD was used. The numerical experiments show that the heat transfer potential of the thermoplate having a staggered arrangement of welding spots is markedly higher than the one of a common flat channel, particularly at larger Reynolds numbers. The variations of the geometrical parameters indicate the welding spot pitch in streamwise direction to be a pivotal quantity regarding the heat transfer optimisation.

HEX-10 pages DOI: 10.1615/IHTC13.p18.100 Download article

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