TY - JOUR

T1 - Analyses of thermal performance and pressure drop in a plate heat exchanger filled with ferrofluids under a magnetic field

AU - Zheng, Dan

AU - Yang, Jiawang

AU - Wang, Jin

AU - Kabelac, Stephan

AU - Sundén, Bengt

N1 - Funding Information: This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant number 51806057] and the Project of Innovation Ability Training for Postgraduate Students of Education Department of Hebei Province [Grant number CXZZSS202000X].

PY - 2021/6/1

Y1 - 2021/6/1

N2 - This paper experimentally investigates the effect of various magnetic fields on the performance of a plate heat exchanger filled with ferrofluids. Spherical nanoparticles Fe3O4 with an average diameter of 20 nm are dispersed into DI-water to synthesize the ferrofluid. Thermal performance and flow characteristics of the ferrofluid with 0.1% particle concentration are investigated based on various arrangements of magnets outside the plate heat exchanger. Effects of magnetic field strength and distribution are thoroughly studied concerning the performance of the heat exchanger with various ferrofluid flow rates. Results indicate that with a vertical arrangement of two magnets side by side outside the sidewalls, 21.8% increase in average Nusselt number and 10.0% reduction in average pressure drop are achieved compared to the cases without a magnetic field. Novel configurations of magnets are first discussed in a plate heat exchanger. Ferrofluid flow control is achieved under a measurable magnetic field strength and different flow rates. It is well known that enhancement of thermal performance in the plate heat exchanger is accompanied with a reduction of resistance loss. Deposition of magnetic particles and blockage in the channel of the plate heat exchanger will also be weakened based on results from this research.

AB - This paper experimentally investigates the effect of various magnetic fields on the performance of a plate heat exchanger filled with ferrofluids. Spherical nanoparticles Fe3O4 with an average diameter of 20 nm are dispersed into DI-water to synthesize the ferrofluid. Thermal performance and flow characteristics of the ferrofluid with 0.1% particle concentration are investigated based on various arrangements of magnets outside the plate heat exchanger. Effects of magnetic field strength and distribution are thoroughly studied concerning the performance of the heat exchanger with various ferrofluid flow rates. Results indicate that with a vertical arrangement of two magnets side by side outside the sidewalls, 21.8% increase in average Nusselt number and 10.0% reduction in average pressure drop are achieved compared to the cases without a magnetic field. Novel configurations of magnets are first discussed in a plate heat exchanger. Ferrofluid flow control is achieved under a measurable magnetic field strength and different flow rates. It is well known that enhancement of thermal performance in the plate heat exchanger is accompanied with a reduction of resistance loss. Deposition of magnetic particles and blockage in the channel of the plate heat exchanger will also be weakened based on results from this research.

KW - Ferrofluid

KW - Heat transfer enhancement

KW - Magnetic field

KW - Plate heat exchanger

KW - Pressure drop

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85101417378&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.fuel.2021.120432

DO - 10.1016/j.fuel.2021.120432

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85101417378

VL - 293

JO - Fuel

JF - Fuel

SN - 0016-2361

M1 - 120432

ER -