Thermostructural analysis on airfoil fin printed circuit heat exchanger using supercritical CO₂

The printed circuit heat exchanger (PCHE) has gained significant attention in concentrated solar and nuclear power plant applications due to its small size, high surface area to volume ratio, and ability to function effectively in high-pressure and high-temperature conditions. Ensuring the thermostructural performance of the PCHE remains at a high level is crucial for its safe and effective operation under critical operating environments. At present, PCHE materials primarily consist of alloys because of their outstanding thermal conductivity and great performance. Nevertheless, the durability of these heat exchangers may be restricted based on the specific environmental conditions they encounter, as metals are prone to corrosion. This research presents a numerical model in ANSYS Workbench 17.2 that couples fluid, thermal, and mechanical aspects in a three-dimensional analysis. The model is used to study the behaviour of an Airfoil Fin PCHE made of different composite materials. This study utilised a NACA0021 Airfoil Fin with a staggered pitch design. The numerical results indicated that the Carbon fiber reinforced polymer-GY-70 epoxy and E-Glass fiber reinforced polymer composites have lower equivalent thermal stress and strain compared to conventional alloys under the same operational conditions. So, these materials own an advantage for the supercritical CO₂ Brayton cycle application.