Improved evaporation heat transfer surfaces for cost effective compact heat exchangers for the process industries

Objective

Compact two-phase heat exchangers may find a wide field of applications as useful devices in the process industries.
Compared to single-phase heat exchangers, their stage of development is lower. There is a need to develop and optimize cost-effective high-performance evaporation heat transfer surfaces. The objective of this project is to develop high-performance cost-effective evaporation heat transfer surfaces and their implementation in compact two-phase heat exchangers.

The project will lead to improved design of intensified compact two-phase heat exchangers. Design guidelines will be delivered, including a set of correlations.


Enhanced evaporation heat transfer surfaces (plates and tubes, as the basic elements of heat exchangers) provide increased heat exchanger efficiency. This holds for operation at high heat fluxes (close to departure from nucleate boiling), but especially for operation at medium and low heat fluxes where extremely small wall superheats can be obtained for stable boiling. Such enhanced evaporation heat transfer surfaces for compact heat exchangers are studied experimentally and theoretically. The major emphasis is on heat transfer surfaces of tubular and planar designs. Single element, small-scale lab model and prototype testing, employing a variety of fluids representative for the process industries, such as water, pentane, cyclohexane, will be combined to provide the basis for future optimized products.
Computational fluid dynamics modelling will be used and validated by the experiments. Design tools for heat exchanger designers will be developed. Local heat transfer characteristics on the gas-side of compact two-phase heat exchangers will also be investigated. Practical correlations for predicting the gas-side heat transfer will be derived. A concerted action on heat exchangers covering the whole field of heat exchanger technology to the process industries is also carried out. The aim of this action is to improve technology transfer towards the EC, and to disseminate and exploit R&D results of past and current JOULE projects. It will also advise the EC on future heat exchanger strategies.

Fields of science

• natural sciences › physical sciences › classical mechanics › fluid mechanics › fluid dynamics › computational fluid dynamics

Programme(s)

• FP3-JOULE 2 - Specific research and technological development programme (EEC) in the field of non-nuclear energy, 1990-1994

Topic(s)

• 040201 - Industry

Call for proposal

Data not available

Funding Scheme

CSC - Cost-sharing contracts

Coordinator

UNIVERSITAET STUTTGART

Address

31,pfaffenwaldring 31
70569 Stuttgart
Germany

Participants (5)

COMPAGNIE INDUSTRIELLE D'APPLICATIONS THERMIQUES

France

Address

Rue Jean Falconnier 30
01350 Culoz

Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique (CEA)

France

Address

Centre D'études De Grenoble
38041 Grenoble

NATIONAL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS

Greece

Address

Iroon Polytechnioy 5
15780 Athens

THE PROVOST, FELLOWS AND SCHOLARS OF THE COLLEGE OF THE HOLY AND UNDIVIDED TRINITY OF QUEEN ELIZABETH NEAR DUBLIN HEREINAFTER TRINITY COLLEGE DUBLIN

Ireland

Address

Parsons Building, Trinity College
2 Dublin

Trefimetaux SA

France

Address

11 Rue De L'hôtel De Ville
92411 Courbevoie