Effect of flow path on the performance of plate heat exchanger with chevron shape

This paper conducted a study of the effect of flow path such as direct and bent flow types on the performance of heat transfer and pressure of plate heat exchanger with chevron shape by using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Numerical model of complex flow fields in hot channel has been developed to evaluate the characteristics of heat transfer and flow. The turbulence model is implemented as the standard k-w model. The boundary condition was defined by the equivalent heat transfer coefficient and low temperature in cold channel. Various simulation data of each flow path were displayed by contour and graph of streamline, flow velocity vector, pressure, temperature, and heat flux. As a result, the bent flow type showed better performance of heat transfer and pressure loss than the direct one. And, as the flow rate increased, this performance feature became more noticeable.