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ISSN Online: 2377-424X

International Heat Transfer Conference 12
August, 18-23, 2002, Grenoble, France

Thermo-hydraulic Performance of Cross-corrugated Plate Heat Exchangers

Get access (open in a dialog) DOI: 10.1615/IHTC12.300
6 pages

Abstract

Corrugation is commonly used in plate heat exchangers to enhance their thermal performance and rigidity. Two variables of importance in the design of these plates and therefore the heat exchangers are the size of the corrugation (ie, height H and pitch P) embossed on the plates, and the orientation of the corrugation with respect to the main flow direction, ie, the inclination angle β . In this paper, the effects of β on the thermal performance of and pressure loss in the exchanger are investigated through laboratory experimentation for a single-phase application using water. Two rectangular test heat exchangers made from corrugated steel sheets (P=25 mm and H=5.5 mm) with β=45° and 60° were tested. The results showed that the Nusselt number (Nu) and the Darcy friction factor (f) for the 60° channel were higher compared to the 45° sample by a factor of 1.5-2 in the Reynolds number range 300 < Re < 1600. However, in comparison with a flat plate channel, this factor at Re ≅ 1000 was of the order of 5 for Nu and as high as 30 for f. Also, the data showed a transitory behaviour in the range Re ≅ 450-900 and 600-1300 for the 60° and 45° samples, respectively. The experimental data gathered in this study are compared with published data from a number of sources in the literature. While good agreement was found with some studies, a large discrepancy with other experimental data was revealed. This discrepancy is explained to be due to either geometric parameters (eg, P/H ratio, the equivalent diameter, the surface area enlargement factor) and/or the experimental techniques used. The details of the experimental set-up, data analysis, explanation of the cause of the discrepancy, and conclusions are provided.