Numerical Investigations on Thermal Performance and Energy Consumption of an Industrial Brazed Plate Heat Exchanger

Commercial, industrial, and residential activities boost energy demand all over the world. Global energy agencies and commissions recently report that more than a third of the generated electricity has been consumed by heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems. HVAC units can be utilized for diverse purposes and at various scales from split air-conditioners to advanced air-handling systems. Heat exchangers are the main and inevitable sub-components of HVAC industry, affecting thermal and hydraulic performance. This work uncovers thermal performance and pressure losses of an industrial brazed plate heat exchanger (BPHE) system with the aid of numerical strategies. There flow configurations of Design 1 (validated model), Design 2 (corrugated), and Design 3 (flat) have been simulated to observe the heat transfer rate and experienced pressure drop. Furthermore, the corrugation angles of 45°, 60°, and 75° are examined under the identical boundary conditions. Complementary parametric investigations are also carried out, including the influence of turbulence models, flow arrangement (parallel vs. counterflow), and different material choices. The findings indicate that flat BPHE model has superiority on operational energy consumption perspective, yet it reduces the heat transfer rate by %73.8 and 71.4% compared to corrugated designs. On the other hand, the chevron angle variation from 75° to 45° slightly enhances (⁓1.53%) the thermal performance of the investigated BPHE system.