The combined effects of wall longitudinal heat conduction and inlet fluid flow maldistribution in crossflow plate-fin heat exchangers

Abstract

An analysis of a crossflow plate-fin compact heat exchanger, accounting for the combined effect of two-dimensional longitudinal heat conduction through the exchanger wall and nonuniform inlet fluid flow distribution on both hot and cold fluid sides is carried out using a finite element method. Using the fluid flow maldistribution models, the exchanger effectiveness and its deterioration due to the combined effects of longitudinal heat conduction and flow nonuniformity are calculated for various design and operating conditions of the exchanger. It was found that the performance deteriorations are quite significant in some typical applications due to the combined effects of wall longitudinal heat conduction and inlet fluid flow nonuniformity on crossflow plate-fin heat exchanger.