Experimental and Simulation-Based Development of Heat-Transfer Correlations for Cyclopentane PCHE

Within the energy sector, the potential to effectively harness the considerable energy present in gas turbine waste heat via an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) could markedly improve overall energy efficiency. This investigation centers on a printed-circuit heat exchanger (PCHE) utilizing cyclopentane as the working fluid. The study employs a combination of experimental techniques and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to conduct an in-depth analysis of the PCHE’s performance, leading to the successful development of a highly accurate heat-transfer correlation. A thorough comparison of experimental and simulation data is carried out to examine the temperature and pressure distributions within the heat exchanger. The maximum deviation between experimental and correlation-estimated data is within 20% (hot fluid: 15%; cold fluid: 18%). These findings offer essential theoretical insights and practical guidance for optimizing and ensuring the stable operation of waste-heat recovery systems.