• Journal of the Korean Society of Visualization
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.69-76
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• 2021

Printed circuit heat exchanger (PCHE) is a compact heat exchanger with good heat transfer performance, high structure integrity, and reliability over a wide range of temperatures and pressures. Instead of the traditional zigzag and straight shape channel, the sinusoidal shape channel was adopted in this study to investigate the relation of thermal-hydraulic performance and waviness factors (period and amplitude). The local flow characteristics and the heat flux distribution were compared to verify the effects of period and amplitude on heat transfer performance. As the period of channel becomes shorter, the rapid change of the flow direction can produce high flow separation around the corner leading to the disturbance of the boundary layer opposite wall. The nonuniform distribution of flow velocity appeared around the corner positions can promote fluid mixing and lead to higher thermal performance. An evaluation index was used to compare the comprehensive performance of PCHE considering the Nusselt number and Fanning factor. Based on the simulation results, the optimal design parameters of PCHE channel shape were found that the channel with an equivalent bending angle of 15° offers the highest heat flux capacity.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.541-549
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• 2022

This study investigates anti-icing design by conjugate heat transfer analysis in lab-scale printed circuit heat exchanger (PCHE) for supply of cryogenic high pressure liquid hydrogen. The conjugate heat transfer analysis by using computational dynamics (CFD) provided various temperature distributions at important locations in PCHE heat exchanger and predicted the possibility of freezing in hot channel. And, the effect of inlet temperature of glycol water was analyzed in order to resolve the freezing problem in PCHE.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.240-248
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• 2024

The purpose of this study is to investigate the freezing phenomena in printed circuit heat exchanger (PCHE) for cryogenic liquid hydrogen vaporizer. Local freezing phenomena in hot channels should be avoided in designing PCHE for cryogenic liquid hydrogen vaporizer. Hence, the flow and thermal characteristics of PCHE is experimentally investigated to figure out the conditions under when freezing occurs. To conduct lab-scale PCHE experiment, liquid nitrogen is used as a working fluid in cold channels instead of using liquid hydrogen. Glycol water is used as a working fluid in hot channels. Based on the experimental data, ratio between mass flow rates of cold channels and that of hot channels is proposed as contour map to avoid the freezing phenomena in PCHE.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.1786-1795
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• 2021

Printed Circuit Heat Exchanger (PCHE) is a widely used heat exchanger in the supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO₂) Brayton cycle because it can work under high temperature and pressure, and has been a hot topic in Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) projects for use as recuperators and condensers. Most previous studies focused on channel structures or shapes. However, no clear advancement has so far been seen in the allover size of the PCHE. In this paper, we proposed an optimal size of the PCHE with a fixed volume. Two boundary conditions of PCHE were simulated, respectively. When the volume of PCHE was fixed, the heat transfer rate and pressure loss were picked as the optimization objectives. The Pareto front was obtained by the Multi-objective optimization procedure. We got the optimized number of PCHE channels under two different boundary conditions from the Pareto front. The comprehensive performance can be increased by 5.3% while holding in the same volume. The numerical results from this study can be used to improve the design of PCHE with straight channels.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.22 no.11
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• pp.751-759
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• 2010

A newly developed type PCHE(Printed Circuit Heat Exchanger), which has a longitudinal corrugation flow channel, was fabricated using etching and diffusion bonding to evaluate its hydraulic performance. The pressure drop characteristics obtained from the experimental results are presented and the local friction factors associated with different hydraulic diameters and inclination angles are discussed. The results of a three-dimensional numerical simulation are presented, conducted using commercial CFD(Computational Fluid Dynamics) software at lower Reynolds number range. The numerical results were validated by experimental data obtained from helium gas experimental apparatus. The results of CFD prediction show fairly good agreement with the experimental data.

• Proceedings of KOSOMES biannual meeting
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• 2017.11a
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• pp.38-38
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• 2017

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.37 no.9
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• pp.1189-1194
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• 2013

The Intermediate Heat Exchanger (IHX) of a Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) is a core component that transfers the high heat of $950^{\circ}C$ generated in the VHTR to a hydrogen production plant. The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute manufactured a lab-scale prototype of a Printed Circuit Heat Exchanger (PCHE) as a candidate for an IHX. In this study, as a part of a high-temperature structural integrity evaluation of the lab-scale PCHE prototype made of SUS316L, we carried out high temperature structural analysis modeling and macroscopic thermal and elastic structural analysis for the lab-scale PCHE prototype under helium experimental loop (HELP) test conditions as a precedent study prior to the performance test in HELP.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.35 no.9
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• pp.1137-1143
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• 2011

The IHX (intermediate heat exchanger) of a VHTR (very high-temperature reactor) is a core component that transfers the high heat generated by the VHTR at $950^{\circ}C$ to a hydrogen production plant. Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute manufactured a small-scale prototype of a PCHE (printed circuit heat exchanger) that was being considered as a candidate for the IHX. In this study, as a part of high-temperature structural integrity evaluation of the small-scale PCHE prototype, we carried out high-temperature structural analysis modeling and macroscopic thermal and elastic structural analysis for the small-scale PCHE prototype under small-scale gas-loop test conditions. The modeling and analysis were performed as a precedent study prior to the performance test in the small-scale gas loop. The results obtained in this study will be compared with the test results for the small-scale PCHE. Moreover, these results will be used in the design of a medium-scale PCHE prototype.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.41 no.11
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• pp.767-773
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• 2017

Printed Circuit Heat Exchanger (PCHE) has an advantage for exchanging thermal energy between high-pressure and high-temperature fluids because its core is made by diffusion bonding method of accumulated metal thin-plates which are engraved of flow channel. Moreover, because it is possible that the flow channel can be micro-size hydraulic diameter, the heat transfer area per unit volume can be made larger than traditional heat exchanger. Therefore, PCHE can have higher efficiency of heat transfer. The smaller channel size can make the larger heat transfer area per unit volume. But if high pressure fluid flows inside the channel, the channel wall can be deformed, the structure and shape of flow channel and header have to be designed appropriately. In this study, the design methodology of PCHE channel in high pressure environment based on pressure vessel codes was investigated. And this methodology was validated by computational analysis.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Pressure Vessels and Piping
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.8-14
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• 2018

Printed circuit heat exchangers (PCHEs) are widely used with an increasing demand for industrial applications. PCHEs are capable of operating at high temperatures and pressure. We consider a PCHE as a candidate intermediate heat exchanger type for a high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR). For conventional application using stainless steels, design and manufacturing of PCHEs are well established. For applications to HTGR, knowledge of longitudinal conduction and deformation of channel is required to estimate design margin. This paper analyzes the effects of longitudinal conduction and deformation of channel on thermal performance using a code internally developed for design and analysis of PCHEs. The code has a capability of two dimensional simulations. Longitudinal conduction is estimated using the code. In HTGR operating condition, about ten percent of design margin is required to compensate thermal performance. The cross-sectional images of PCHE channels are obtained using an optical microscope. The images are processed with computer image process technique. We quantify the deformation of channel with dimensional parameters. It is found that the deformation has negative effect on structural integrity. The deformation enhances thermal performance when the shape of channel is straight in laminar flow regime. It reduces thermal performance in cases of a zigzag channel and turbulent flow regime.