Heat transfer performance of a helical heat exchanger depending on coil distance and flow guide for supercritical cryo-compressed hydrogen

Liquid hydrogen (LH₂) has a higher density than gaseous hydrogen, so it has high transport efficiency and can be stored at relatively low pressure. In order to use efficient bulk hydrogen in the industry, research for the LH₂ supply system is needed. In the high-pressure hydrogen station based on LH₂ currently being developed in Korea, a heat exchanger is used to heat up supercritical hydrogen at 700 bar and 60 K, which is pressurized by a cryogenic high-pressure pump, to gas hydrogen at 700 bar and 300 K. Accordingly, the heat exchanger used in the hydrogen station should consider the design of high-pressure tubes, miniaturization, and freezing prevention. A helical heat exchanger generates secondary flow due to the curvature characteristics of a curved tube and can be miniaturized compared to a straight one on the same heat transfer length. This paper evaluates the heat transfer performance through parametric study on the distance between coils, guide effect, and anti-icing design of helical heat exchanger. The helical heat exchanger has better heat transfer performance than the straight tube exchanger due to the influence of the secondary flow. When the distance between the coils is uniform, the heat transfer is enhanced. The guide between coils increases the heat transfer performance by increasing the heat transfer length of the shell side fluid. The freezing is observed around the inlet of distribution tube wall, and to solve this problem, an anti-icing structure and a modified operating condition are suggested.