Numerical study on the performance of a microchannel heat exchanger with a novel channel array

Abstract

In conventional microchannel heat exchangers, only one kind of fluid (hot or cold) flows in each plate. The channels contain different kinds of fluid depending on the vertical position, but they have the same kind of fluid at all horizontal positions. Therefore, there is a slower heat transfer rate in the horizontal direction than in the vertical direction. We propose a microchannel heat exchanger in which hot and cold fluid flows alternately in each plate to improve the thermal performance. This novel channel array requires a special design for the inlet and outlet. The proposed channel array has a faster heat transfer rate than a conventional channel array. The thermal performance of the novel channel array increases with increasing Reynolds number and Prandtl number, but it decreases as the ratio of solid to fluid thermal conductivity increases. © 2011 The Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers.