Experimental and numerical thermal-hydraulic performance analyses of a novel spiral printed circuit heat exchanger
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This study presents a comprehensive experimental and numerical investigation of a novel design Spiral Printed Circuit Heat Exchanger (SPCHE), evaluating its thermal-hydraulic performance against a conventional straight-channel Printed Circuit Heat Exchanger (PCHE). Water is used as a working fluid in both hot and cold channels. The finite element based framework is used to accurately capture the thermal-hydraulic behavior inside the SPCHE. Due to the channel curvature, Dean flow develops over the range of Reynolds numbers studied, motivating the use of a turbulent RANS π β π model. The numerical model is validated against experimental measurements to analyze various thermal hydraulics characteristics across Reynolds numbers ranging from 1000 to 12000 and hot-inlet temperatures from 323.15 K to 343.15 K. Results demonstrate that the spiral geometry induces secondary flows which significantly enhance thermal performance, yielding convective heat transfer coefficients exceeding 1 . 6 Γ 1 β’ 0 4 W m β2 K β1 and 2 . 0 Γ 1 β’ 0 4 W m β2 K β1 for the hot and cold channels, respectively at the expense of increased pressure drop. A comparative Performance Evaluation Criterion (PEC) analysis confirms a net thermal-hydraulic improvement of 52.5%β54.9% for the hot side and 35.4%β39.6% for the cold side. The heat duty is improved by 65%β70% with variation of the hot-inlet temperature from 323.15 K to 343.15 K. The experimentally validated friction factor and Nusselt number correlations with prediction errors within Β± 5 % is obtained with current study. It provides a foundation for the enhanced performance design of advanced compact heat exchanger like SPCHE where high thermal efficiency and space constraints are critical. Furthermore, the spiral channels achieve a fourfold reduction in maximum dimension of the device corresponding to a linear compactness ratio ( πΏ s t r a i g h t / π· s p i r a l ) of 4.1, highlighting their superior space efficiency compared to straight channels.
Source: Progress in Nuclear Energy
Authors: Habib Ur Rahman, Muhammad Ilyas, Khalid Waheed, Abid Hussain, Muhammad Ali Khan, Mirza Nadeem Baig, Manzoor Ahmed, Inam ul Haq
Language: English
Subfield: Mechanical Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,930
OpenAlex ID: W7212357751