ISSN Online: 2379-1748
ISBN Flash Drive: 978-1-56700-472-4
ISBN Online: 978-1-56700-471-7
3rd Thermal and Fluids Engineering Conference (TFEC)
CONSTRUCTAL OPTIMIZATION FOR DISC-SHAPED HEAT EXCHANGER BASED ON THERMAL EFFICIENCY MAXIMIZATION
Abstract
Constructal design of a disc-shaped heat exchanger (DSHE) is implemented in this paper. Maximum thermal
efficiency and total tube volume are taken as the optimization objective and constraint, respectively. Optimal
tube lengths of the DSHE are obtained, and the effect of mass flow rate on its optimal construct is analyzed. The
results show that for the first order DSHE, its thermal efficiency has the maximum and the elemental tube angle
has the corresponding optimal value. For the higher order DSHEs, the optimal constructs of the DSHEs are not
varied when their mass flow rates are small and large enough, and the DSHE structure is simplified into the
structure of the last order DSHE when the mass flow rate is large enough. For the same tube volume and area of
the DSHEs with 4 central tubes and a large mass flow rate, the thermal efficiency of the third order DSHE is
increased by 7.33% than that of the first order DSHE. Therefore, the performance of the DSHE is increased
when its structure becomes complex in this case. The obtained results can offer some instructions for the optimal
designs of various thermal systems, such as power, refrigeration and heat pump plants.