Design framework based on implicit modeling for a compact heat exchanger with triply periodic minimal surface structures

Abstract

Advances in additive manufacturing technology have made it possible to produce complex structures. Utilizing this manufacturing technology, compact heat exchangers with triple periodic minimal surface (TPMS) structures have been proposed and implemented for highly thermal-efficient devices with limited space. However, design process of complex compact heat exchangers is still time-consuming and labor dependent. This study aims to develop a design framework for TPMS-based compact heat exchangers. In the first step, a TPMS structure and compact heat exchanger geometries are modeled based on implicit modeling techniques. In the next step, a parametric study based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations is performed to evaluate the heat exchanging performance for three structures: gyroid, Schwarz-P, and diamond. In the final step, a design modification algorithm for compact heat exchangers is proposed. The proposed approach performs automatic shape correction based on resulting pressure drop distribution from the CFD simulation.