Experimental and lattice Boltzmann simulated operation of a copper micro-channel heat exchanger

Abstract

The inherent inefficiency of many thermodynamic processes provide ample opportunity to harvest waste energy which would otherwise be released to the surrounding environment. A micro-channel heat exchanger (MHE) is presented that optimizes efficiency of energy transference by taking advantage of high thermal conductivity with copper fabrication and two-phase flow with a working fluid. Increasing the efficiency of the MHE, capillary channels allow fluid flow throughout the MHE, removing the necessity of an external work mechanism. For a power input of 3.44W, the absorbed and transferred energy through the MHE was approximately 95% when working fluid was utilized, compared to 87% for the MHE with no working fluid. In addition to characterizing the MHE experimentally, internal operation was analyzed and reinforced through a lattice Boltzmann method simulation of a single micro-channel. The lattice Boltzmann method is a computationally efficient alternative for multi-phase systems, notoriously difficult systems to

Power Generation via Small Length Scale Thermo-Mechanical Systems: Current Status and Challenges, a Review

“…The constructed prototype showed improvement in sealing and piston motion length through low viscous fluids (HFE 7100), allowing the expander to operate at a natural frequency of about 33 Hz. Other work has investigated design of individual components namely, boiler, superheater, and heat exchangers that are required for a fully functional millimeter scale expander system [52][53][54].…”

Pore‐scale analysis of a PEM fuel cell cathode including carbon cloth gas diffusion layer by lattice Boltzmann method

“…Therefore, pore-scale simulations providing accurate information at the microscopic level seem attractive. Lattice Boltzmann (LB) simulation technique with advantages such as high efficiency in parallel implementation, ease of dealing with complicated geometries [20,21], and great capability in depicting the interface phenomena in the multi-phase flow [22] is currently widely accepted for the simulation of gas transport through the GDL. However, in only a few LB investigations, the electrochemical reaction, which is an essential part of studying the behavior of the cathode electrode, is taken into account [23].…”