THERMAL-HYDRAULIC PERFORMANCE OF DIFFERENT DISCONTINUOUS FINS USED IN A PRINTED CIRCUIT HEAT EXCHANGER FOR SUPERCRITICAL CO2

In this study, four discontinuous fin configurations in parallel and staggered arrangements are investigated to classify their effects on the thermal-hydraulic performance of a printed circuited heat exchanger. Meanwhile, the formation mechanism of the flow resistance of supercritical CO2 is studied in an airfoil fin printed circuited heat exchanger. It shows that the fin configurations have little effect on the overall thermal-hydraulic performance when the mass flow rate of supercritical CO2 is low. The flow resistance dramatically increases during the heating process due to velocity increment caused by increased density, but is not significantly affected by the change in dynamic viscosity.