A Comparative Evaluation and Selection of High-Temperature Heat Exchangers for Application to Integrated Energy Systems

Abstract

The following report aims to create a refined and well-structured method for comparatively evaluating heat exchanger technologies for integrated energy systems that caters customers' specific needs while meeting engineering requirements. For the evaluation, this study elevates previous evaluation metrics, enhances the knowledge base via literature and market surveys, and identifies the figures of merit with robust rationales to enhance the quality of decisions made throughout the proposed heat exchanger evaluation process. The heat exchanger designs evaluated as part of the case study are shell and tube heat exchangers, printed circuit heat exchangers, plate heat exchangers, spiral heat exchangers, and heat pipe heat exchangers. The information presented in this report is meant for industries interested in making a preliminary screening process to identify the most suitable heat exchanger design for their application of interest.

Identification and Evaluation of Thermal Transport Components for Integrated Energy Systems

“…Weight is another factor that could indirectly or directly impact piping transportation and installation costs. A correlation for estimating the shipping cost (𝑆𝐶) is presented below, with the total weight of the piping (𝑤 𝑝𝑇 ), the total transportation distance (𝑡𝑑 𝑇 ), the cost per kg/pound (𝐶 𝑤 ), and the cost per km/mile (𝐶 𝑑𝑖𝑠 ) all being metrics needed to perform the cost estimate [25]:…”

“…This structured framework represents and quantifies criteria related to the problem or goal at hand, enabling decision makers to better evaluate different IHX options. Yoo et al [25] presented a new evaluation framework introducing a structured evaluation methodology that employs an integrated QFD-AHP a process to facilitate optimal selection of heat exchangers by taking into account application-specific end-user demands, as well as engineering requirements. Though this evaluation framework is recommended, this section focuses solely on the FOMs proposed by Yoo et al…”

“…The evaluation metrics (or FOMs) identified in [25] are to comparatively evaluate heat exchangers based on their technical and economical requirements as well as the relative priorities required by end users. These FOMs are generalized so as to be applicable to different IES scenarios.…”

“…Heat exchangers should efficiently transfer heat from one system to another. Yoo et al [25] identified three technical requirements for evaluating and comparing the thermal performance of heat exchangers: thermal effectiveness, heat transfer coefficient, and fouling resistance.…”

“…Yoo et al ( 2023) [25] proposed another metric that can be used when the heat transfer coefficient is challenging to compute or when insufficient data are available. They proposed to use the heat transfer surface area per heat duty (As/Q) as a metric, since these data are generally provided by vendors, and these are fundamental values that could provide insight into heat exchanger performance.…”