LAPSE:2025.0163v1
Published Article
LAPSE:2025.0163v1
Thermo-Hydraulic Performance of Pillow-Plate Heat Exchangers with Streamlined Secondary Structures: A Numerical Analysis
June 27, 2025
Abstract
Pillow-plate heat exchangers (PPHEs) represent a viable alternative to conventional shell-and-tube and plate heat exchangers. The waviness of their channels intensifies fluid mixing in the boundary layers and facilitates heat transfer. Applying secondary surface structuring can further enhance the overall thermo-hydraulic performance of PPHEs, thus increasing their competitiveness against conventional heat exchangers. In this work, streamlined secondary structures applied on the PPHE surface were studied numerically to explore their potential in enhancing near-wall fluid mixing. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of single-phase turbulent flow in the inner PPHE channel were performed and pressure drop, heat transfer coefficients, and overall thermo-hydraulic efficiency were determined. The simulation results clearly demonstrate a favourable influence of secondary structuring on the heat transfer performance of PPHEs.
Pillow-plate heat exchangers (PPHEs) represent a viable alternative to conventional shell-and-tube and plate heat exchangers. The waviness of their channels intensifies fluid mixing in the boundary layers and facilitates heat transfer. Applying secondary surface structuring can further enhance the overall thermo-hydraulic performance of PPHEs, thus increasing their competitiveness against conventional heat exchangers. In this work, streamlined secondary structures applied on the PPHE surface were studied numerically to explore their potential in enhancing near-wall fluid mixing. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of single-phase turbulent flow in the inner PPHE channel were performed and pressure drop, heat transfer coefficients, and overall thermo-hydraulic efficiency were determined. The simulation results clearly demonstrate a favourable influence of secondary structuring on the heat transfer performance of PPHEs.
Record ID
Keywords
Computational Fluid Dynamics, Heat transfer intensification, Surface structuring
Subject
Suggested Citation
Afsahnoudeh R, Riese J, Kenig EY. Thermo-Hydraulic Performance of Pillow-Plate Heat Exchangers with Streamlined Secondary Structures: A Numerical Analysis. Systems and Control Transactions 4:79-85 (2025) https://doi.org/10.69997/sct.178665
Author Affiliations
Afsahnoudeh R: Paderborn University, Chair of Fluid Process Engineering, Paderborn, Germany
Riese J: Paderborn University, Chair of Fluid Process Engineering, Paderborn, Germany
Kenig EY: Paderborn University, Chair of Fluid Process Engineering, Paderborn, Germany
Riese J: Paderborn University, Chair of Fluid Process Engineering, Paderborn, Germany
Kenig EY: Paderborn University, Chair of Fluid Process Engineering, Paderborn, Germany
Journal Name
Systems and Control Transactions
Volume
4
First Page
79
Last Page
85
Year
2025
Publication Date
2025-07-01
Version Comments
Original Submission
Other Meta
PII: 0079-0085-1233-SCT-4-2025, Publication Type: Journal Article
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LAPSE:2025.0163v1
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https://doi.org/10.69997/sct.178665
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[v1] (Original Submission)
Jun 27, 2025
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References Cited
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