Heat transfer and fluid flow in a plate heat exchanger part I. Experimental investigation

This paper presents an experimental investigation of the hydrodynamic and thermal fields in a two-channel chevron-type plate heat exchanger for laminar and turbulent conditions. The friction factor for a Reynolds number up to 850 and the Nusselt number for the hot channel for a Reynolds number up to 1500 are presented. The qualitative influence of the Reynolds number on these two parameters is similar to that established in other published studies. The values of both these parameters obtained in the present study are intermediate between the corresponding extremes previously reported. The observed differences are attributed to the corrugation geometry, the presence of the straight smooth passages along the sides of the channels, the port configuration and the number of plates. On the other hand, the calculated effectiveness of the plate heat exchanger is identical with that obtained from the classical analytical expression for counter-flow heat exchangers. The temperature distributions on the first and the last of the three plates for a laminar case and two turbulent cases are also presented. Distorted isotherm patterns have been observed, likely caused by the presence of the straight smooth passages located along the longitudinal edges of the plates. (C) 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.