Hydrodynamic and thermal study of a conical rotating heat exchanger.

This work reports on a new heat exchanger for various food products (jam, sauces). The fluid flows between two coaxial parallel cones from the vertex to the base. The inner cone rotates and the outer is stationary. A uniform heat flux is delivered through the external wall. The numerical modelling is performed on a bidimensional configuration by the finite-volume method with Phoenics package. The model takes into account the rheological food products characteristics. The principal phenomenon, numerically and experimentally observed, is the appearance of the recirculation that renews the fluid on the heating wall, increases the heat transfer and has a mixing effect.