Research On Fin-and-Tube Heat Exchanger Structure Based On Topology Optimization

As a compact heat exchanger with a high heat transfer unit,the tube-fin heat exchanger is widely used in chemical equipment heat exchange,electronic equipment cooling,and aerospace and other cutting-edge fields.The optimum design of the structure is critical to the development of these fields.As a result,this paper uses the tube-fin heat exchanger as the object of structural optimization design and investigates the structural performance enhancement mechanism of the new topological fin using the field synergy theory,combined with the topology optimization method and the multi-objective genetic optimization algorithm.The following are the key research findings and conclusions of this paper:(1)The topology optimization of the tube-fin heat exchanger is done using the porous media model in conjunction with the MMA algorithm in the FEM framework.Filtering and projection methods were developed throughout the optimization phase to address numerical instability.Finally,the results show that with the increase of Reynolds number and heat generation coefficient,the flow channel branch of the topology optimized structure increases,so that the heat transfer performance and flow performance under a variety of operating situations may be effectively combined.(2)A unique slotted fin structure is presented based on the 2D topology optimization findings.The Nusselt number(Nu),friction factor(f),performance evaluation criteria(PEC),and field synergy number(Fc)were used to compare the performances of the new slotted fin and three conventional fin structures to investigate the performance enhancement mechanism.The findings reveal that the unique streamline form on the slotted fin has a substantial impact on lowering flow resistance and improving heat transfer when compared to the standard fin construction.Furthermore,its comprehensive performance and field synergy can increase by up to12.7 percent and 31.28 percent respectively(3)A genetic algorithm is used for multi-objective optimization of the slotted fin’s winglet inclination angle.Multi-objective optimization is used to maximize the field synergy number Fc and the comprehensive performance evaluation factor PEC,and the best Pareto solution set is eventually found.The effect of winglet inclination angle on flow performance,heat transfer performance,and field synergy was further investigated using single-factor analysis and response surface analysis.The findings demonstrate that the adjusted inclined winglets can effectively regulate fluid flow direction,minimizing the flow dead zone between tube walls and improving fin performance greatly.The Nu,f,PEC,and Fc of the optimized fins are raised by 76.22 percent,8.53 percent,81.38 percent,and 59.04 percent,respectively,when compared to the vertical winglets before optimization.(4)The conjugate equation is improved using topology optimization theory,and a dimensionless and sensitivity analysis is performed.Following that,the 3D TO structure(Structure)was created with the purpose of optimizing unit heat exchange,and the thermal and hydraulic performance of the multi-objective optimized slotted fin Structure)and the typical rectangular winglet fin(Structure)were quantitatively compared.The findings demonstrate that the Structure1 outperforms the Structure2 in terms of overall performance and field synergy by 7.34 percent and 25.63 percent,respectively,while the latter outperforms the Structure3 by 70.48 percent and 61.78 percent.