Open Access

ARTICLE

Simulation and Optimization of the Fluid Solidification Process in Brazed Plate Heat Exchangers

by Weiting Jiang^1,*, Lei Zhao^1,*, Chongyang Wang², Tingni He¹, Weiguo Pan¹

1 College of Energy and Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai University of Electric Power, Shanghai, 201306, China
2 CGN New Energy Holdings Co., Ltd., Shanghai Branch, Shanghai, 200241, China

* Corresponding Authors: Weiting Jiang. Email: ; Lei Zhao. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: CFD Modeling and Multiphase Flows)

Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing 2023, 19(10), 2597-2611. https://doi.org/10.32604/fdmp.2023.027504

Received 01 November 2022; Accepted 14 March 2023; Issue published 25 June 2023

Abstract

When a brazed plate heat exchanger is used as an evaporator, the working mass in the channel may undergo solidification, thereby hindering the refrigeration cycle. In this study the liquid solidification process and its optimization in a brazed plate heat exchanger are investigated numerically for different inlet velocities; moreover, different levels of corrugation are considered. The results indicate that solidification first occurs around the contacts, followed by the area behind the contacts. It is also shown that dead flow zones exist in the sharp areas and such areas are prone to liquid solidification. After optimization, the solidification area attains its smallest value when a corrugation spacing λ = 4.2 mm is considered.

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Keywords

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