Numerical Investigation on Effect of Operating Parameters on Plate Fin Heat Exchanger.

Compact heat exchangers (CHE) are very well known for their special design which includes high heat transfer coefficient and maximum temperature driving force between the hot and cold fluids. The accurate prediction of the thermal performance of a compact heat exchanger in the design stage is highly desirable for most aerospace applications. In the present study, the numerical investigation for effect of operating parameters on plate fin heat exchanger is carried out. Plate fin heat exchanger is analyzed for offset strip fins, having rectangular cross section. A steady state model for the core dimensions of a plate fin cross flow heat exchanger is developed using MATLAB. Design variables such as surface areas, free flow areas, exchanger core size are calculated for the given operating parameters of cross flow CHE. The effect of effectiveness of the CHE on size of the heat exchanger is also established by varying effectiveness from 0.8 to 0.9 with different operating parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]