Optimization of Heat Exchangers

The objective of this research is to develop tools to design and optimize heat exchangers (HE) and compact heat exchangers (CHE) for intermediate loop heat transport systems found in the very high temperature reator (VHTR) and other Generation IV designs by addressing heat transfer surface augmentation and conjugate modeling. To optimize heat exchanger, a fast running model must be created that will allow for multiple designs to be compared quickly. To model a heat exchanger, volume averaging theory, VAT, is used. VAT allows for the conservation of mass, momentum and energy to be solved for point by point in a 3 dimensional computer model of a heat exchanger. The end product of this project is a computer code that can predict an optimal configuration for a heat exchanger given only a few constraints (input fluids, size, cost, etc.). As VAT computer code can be used to model characteristics )pumping power, temperatures, and cost) of heat exchangers more quickly than traditional CFD or experiment, optimization of every geometric parameter simultaneously can be made. Using design of experiment, DOE and genetric algorithms, GE, to optimize the results of the computer code will improve heat exchanger disign.