A review on Polymer Heat exchangers for thermal systems.

1. 11/11/2016 seminar_ppt I ND I rev00 Sangli
A Presentation on
“A REVIEW ON
POLYMER HEAT EXCHANGERS
FOR THERMAL SYTEMS”
Presented by : Mr. Nandkishor R. Darade
nandkishor.darade@gmail.com

2.  Introduction
• Challenges
• Properties
• Applications
• Conclusions
• References
11/11/2016 seminar_ppt I ND I rev00 2
• In thermal systems, heat exchangers are very
important to the overall efficiency, cost, and size
of the system. Currently, these applications rely
heavily on heat exchanger designs, often
constructed using copper, aluminum, or steel.
• Metal HX issues are expensive to manufacture,
limited by operating conditions, materials and
manufacturing techniques.
• So the alternative designs are created using
Polymers.

3.  Introduction
• Challenges
• Properties
• Applications
• Conclusions
• References
11/11/2016 seminar_ppt I ND I rev00 3
Characteristics of materials used in HX

4. • Introduction
 Challenges
• Properties
• Applications
• Conclusions
• References
11/11/2016 seminar_ppt I ND I rev00 4
• Thermal conductivity
• Strength of polymers
• Operating Temperature, Pressure
Material Thermal Conductivity
W/(K m)
PE 0.33 ‐ 0.57
PEEK 0.25
Cu (pure) 401
Cu
(commercial) 240 ‐ 380
Al 99,5% 236
Steel 48 ‐ 58
Steel (SS) 15
Material Tensile strength
MPa
PE 30
PEEK 97
Cu 200
Al 99,5% 75 ‐ 110
Steel 310 ‐ 630
Steel (SS) 700 ‐ 1300

5. 11/11/2016 seminar_ppt I ND I rev00 5
Material Min.
Application
Temperature
°C
Max.
Application
Temperature
°C
Max.
Temperature
for Short
Term °C
PE ‐80 90 100
PEEK ‐65 240 300
• Introduction
 Challenges
• Properties
• Applications
• Conclusions
• References
The utilization of polymer materials in high
performance HX applications requires
totally new design approaches with very
thin materials, reduced mechanical forces on
the material and alternative solutions to
achieve turbulent flow regimes.

6. • Introduction
• Challenges
 Properties
• Applications
• Conclusions
• References
11/11/2016 seminar_ppt I ND I rev00 6
• Material properties of Polymers & PMCs
• The most important properties include
• Thermal conductivity
• Specific heat capacity
• Max. operating Temprature
• Coefficient of thermal expansion
• Tensile strength, modulus
• Density

7. • Introduction
• Challenges
 Properties
• Applications
• Conclusions
• References
11/11/2016 seminar_ppt I ND I rev00 7
• Zaheed and Jachuck (2004) compared a Ni–Cr–Mo (8 W/m-K)
alloy tubular heat exchanger to a PVDF version of the same unit,
and when considering the difference in density and in material
cost, it was found that, despite being 6 times larger, the PVDF
heat exchanger will cost 2.5 times less than the metal version.
• Ma et al. (2002) Condensation experiments on a single tube
coated with a PTFE film showed an increase of the heat transfer
rate ranging from 0.3 to 4.6 times compared to a regular brass
tube. Drop-wise condensation was found to occur for more than
22,000 h.
• Brouwers and Van Der Geld (1996) found drop-wise
condensation occurred within a pure PVDF plate heat exchanger.
This indicates that polymer films could be used to increase the
heat transfer rate in condensing applications sustaining drop-wise
condensation over an extended period of time.

8. • Introduction
• Challenges
 Properties
• Applications
• Conclusions
• References
11/11/2016 seminar_ppt I ND I rev00 8
Reinforcement Matrix Formulation Thermal
conductivity
Continuous
carbon fibers Polymer
-
330
Natural graphite Epoxy
-
370
1DP-120 Polyester
45 wt 245.0
1DVGCF Epoxy
38 Vf 695
2DVGCF Epoxy 56 Vf 292
The material properties of polymers and different composites shows
these materials can be used in heat exchange applications.

9. • Introduction
• Challenges
• Properties
 Applications
• Conclusions
• References
11/11/2016 seminar_ppt I ND I rev00 9
• Liquid-to-liquid heat exchangers
• Morcos and Shafey (1995) presented a PVC shell and
tube heat exchanger for varying tube and shell side
Reynolds numbers.
• The wall thickness was found to limit the overall heat
transfer coefficient to a maximum of 90 W/ m2-K.
• To enhance the heat transfer rate, double conical PVC
turbulators were introduced in the tubes.

10. • Introduction
• Challenges
• Properties
 Applications
• Conclusions
• References
11/11/2016 seminar_ppt I ND I rev00 10
• In a review of the use of polymers in liquid- to- liquid
heat transfer, Davidson et al. (1998) assessed polymers
according to strength, stiffness, cost, and thermal
conductivity.
• For the tubes, high temperature nylon (HTN), cross-
linked polyethylene (PEX) were chosen.
• For the headers, glass fiber reinforced polymers were
preferred, with HTN, PP, and PPS being the
recommended types.
• Liu (2000) studied the feasibility of both a shell-and-
tube heat exchanger and an immersed unit
numerically.

11. • Introduction
• Challenges
• Properties
 Applications
• Conclusions
• References
11/11/2016 seminar_ppt I ND I rev00 11

12. • Introduction
• Challenges
• Properties
 Applications
• Conclusions
• References
11/11/2016 seminar_ppt I ND I rev00 12
Heat transfer capacity PEX Nylon Copper
3000 W 1.78 m2 0.50 m2 0.50 m2
6000 W 7.78 m2 2.16 m2 2.19 m2
Heat transfer capacity PEX Nylon Copper
3000 W 4.21 m2 1.89 m2 1.10 m2
6000 W 11.4 m2 8.42 m2 2.03 m2
Total exterior heat transfer surface areas for shell and tube HX
at 5.7L/min
Total exterior heat transfer surface areas for Immersed HX at
5.7L/min

13. • Introduction
• Challenges
• Properties
 Applications
• Conclusions
• References
11/11/2016 seminar_ppt I ND I rev00 13
• Zakardas et al. (2005) presented a novel design of
polymer heat exchanger for liquid-to-liquid or
condensing-fluid-to-liquid heat transfer: hollow fiber
heat exchangers.
• These units showed a very high compactness
achieving 1500 m2 of exterior surface in an 11.8 cm
long shell with a diameter of 2.3 cm. OHTC upto1360
W/m2-K were reported.
• The unit ‘41939’ was found to be able to transfer up to
5.3 kW with a volume which is over 250 times smaller
than a conventional design.

14. • Introduction
• Challenges
• Properties
 Applications
• Conclusions
• References
11/11/2016 seminar_ppt I ND I rev00 14
• Patel and Brisson (2000) studied a polymer kapton
heat exchanger for cryogenic applications.
• A novel design for a plastic thin-film heat exchanger
was developed and tested by Lowenstein and Sibilia
(1993, 1999). This investigation proved the feasibility
of designing and producing evaporators and absorbers
from thin plastic films.
• Based on tests of the long-term creep characteristics of
a HDPE film, the projected life of this heat exchanger
made from HDPE and operating at 172 kPa/38 C
would be 20 years.

15. • Introduction
• Challenges
• Properties
 Applications
• Conclusions
• References
11/11/2016 seminar_ppt I ND I rev00 15
• Spiral HX using polymer films
HX diameter 0.1 – 0.4 m
HX height 0.3 – 0. 8 m
HX –weight 1 - 10 kg
Heat transfer 0.5 – 3 kW/K
Typical pressure drop 150 – 400 mbar
Typical liq. volume flow 0.2 – 1.5 m³/h
Maximum system pressure (20 °C) 9 bar
Maximum system pressure (90 °C) 5 bar
Maximum system temperature 120 °C
Maximum pressure difference between
Channels 3 bar

16. • Introduction
• Challenges
• Properties
 Applications
• Conclusions
• References
11/11/2016 seminar_ppt I ND I rev00 16
• Gas-to-gas heat exchangers
• Rousse et al. (2000) presented an experimental study
of a PE shell-and-tube heat recovery unit for
greenhouses.
• The designed unit met the requirements and
satisfactory performance under frosting conditions. In
operation, efficiencies up to 84% were measured.

17. • Introduction
• Challenges
• Properties
 Applications
• Conclusions
• References
11/11/2016 seminar_ppt I ND I rev00 17
• Saman and Alizadeh (2001, 2002) presented a
numerical and experimental study of a polymer plate
heat exchanger aimed at dehumidification and cooling
• Thin PE sheets (0.2 mm) separate both streams.
• The numerical results were compared with measured
data and good agreement was found.

18. • Introduction
• Challenges
• Properties
• Applications
 Conclusions
• References
11/11/2016 seminar_ppt I ND I rev00 18
• By using very thin polymer structures, both plate and
tubular heat exchangers can be successfully designed,
constructed, and tested with their performance being
comparable to conventional units at lower cost and
reduced weight.
• If one considers the advances made in composite
materials, as well as the new emerging technologies
such as nano scale composites, it is clear that, through
careful material selection and design modification, the
incorporation of polymer materials into HVAC&R
applications holds tremendous promise for future heat
exchanger designs.

19. • Introduction
• Challenges
• Properties
• Applications
• Conclusions
 References
11/11/2016 seminar_ppt I ND I rev00 19
• [1] C. T’Joen, Y. Park, Q. Wang, A. Sommers, X. Han, A. Jacobi.
A review on polymer heat exchangers for HVAC&R applications.
• [2] T. Malik and C. W. Bullard. Suitability of Polymer Heat
Exchangers for Air Conditioning Applications.
• [3] Ullrich Hesse, Thomas Weimer. Polymer Material Heat
Exchangers Application in Refrigerant Cycles.
• [4] A. Sommers, Q. Wang, X. Han, C. T'Joen, Y. Park, A. Jacobi.
Ceramics and ceramic matrix composites for heat exchangers in
advanced thermal systems-A review.
• [5] Bidisha Ghosh, Wadeema Yousef, Mariam Al Jaberi, Nuha Al
Hajeri, Asrar Al Braiki,Valerie Eveloy, and Peter Rodgers. Design
and Investigation into the Thermal andMechanical Performance
of a Polymer Composite Prototype Gas-Liquid Heat Exchanger.
• [6] Alberto Fina, Guido Saracco, Samuele Porro, Fabrizio Pirri,
Franco Anzioso,Carloandera Malvicino. Potential of thermally
conductive polymers based on carbon allotropes in the
development of new heat management components on board a
car.
• [7] Dr. Catherine Thibaud-Erkey. High thermal conductivity
polymer composites for low cost heat exchangers.

20. 11/11/2016 seminar_ppt I ND I rev00 20
• Introduction
• Challenges
• Properties
• Applications
• Conclusions
• References
 Thank You
“Quality is a Journey,
not a Destination”