Study on the Flow and Heat Transfer Performance of Microchannel Heat Exchangers With Different Elliptical Concave Cavities

Abstract Ellipticity has a significant impact on the flow and heat transfer performance of microchannel heat exchangers (MHEs) with elliptical concave cavities. In this study, five types of MHEs with different elliptical concave cavities (ellipticities of 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0, and 1.2) were designed. The influence of ellipticity on the flow and heat transfer performance of MHEs was numerically investigated using ANSYS Fluent 21.0 R1. Moreover, MHEs with corresponding elliptical concave cavities structures were processed and manufactured, and then an experimental platform was designed and built for experimental verification. The results showed that the fluid velocity distribution in MHEs with elliptical concave cavities was symmetrical, and the formation of secondary flow in the elliptical concave cavities led to the continuous destruction and reconstruction of the flow and thermal boundary layer in the microchannel, which is conducive to mass and heat transfer in the MHEs with elliptical concave cavities. The inlet and outlet pressure drop of MHEs with elliptical concave cavities increased as the inlet flow rate increased. At the same inlet flow rate, the inlet and outlet pressure drop of the MHE with elliptical concave cavities first increased and then decreased with increasing ellipticity. At an ellipticity of 1.0, the inlet and outlet of MHE exhibited the lowest pressure drop indicating that the MHE with an ellipticity of 1.0 featured the highest pressure drop performance. The cold‐water outlet temperature of the MHEs with elliptical concave cavities first decreased and then increased as the inlet flow rate increased. At the same inlet flow rate, the cold‐water outlet temperature of the MHEs with elliptical concave cavities first increased and then decreased with increasing ellipticity, while the hot‐water outlet temperature of the MHEs first decreased and then increased with increasing flow rate. This indicated that the MHE with an ellipticity of 1.0 exhibited excellent heat transfer performance.