Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “heat exchanger”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1989

Initial characterization of a modular heat exchanger with an integral heat pipe

As part of the Civil Space Technology Initiative (CSTI) Advanced Technology program, a conceptual design of the Stirling space engine (SSE) was generated. The overall goal of the CSTI high capacity power element is to develop the technology base needed to meet the long duration, high capacity power requirements for future NASA space missions. The free-piston Stirling engine (FPSE) was chosen as the growth option in the CSTI program. A major goal during the conceptual design of the SSE was to reduce the number of critical joints. One area of concern was the heat exchanger assemblies that typically have the majority of critical joints. The solution proposed in the SSE conceptual design used 40 modular heat exchangers. Each module has its own integral heat pipe to transport heat from the heat source to the engine. A demonstration of the modular concept was undertaken before committing to the detailed design of the SSE heat exchangers. An existing FPSE was modified as a test bed for modular heat exchanger evaluation. The engine incorporated three heat exchanger modules, each having a sodium filled heat pipe. The thermal loading of these modules was intended to be similar to the conditions projected for the SSE modules. The engine was assembled and tests are underway. The design and fabrication of the heat exchanger modules and the engine used for these tests were described. Evaluation of the individual heat pipes before installation in the engine is described. The initial test results with the modules in operation on the engine were presented. Future tests involving the engine were outlined.

Schreiber, Jeffrey G.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Printed circuit primary heat exchanger for power conversion in heat pipe microreactor applications

Here, in the present study, a model was developed for a recuperated air Brayton cycle for heat pipe microreactors, and the effect of the primary heat exchanger type assessed. An annular flow heat exchanger and a printed circuit heat exchanger (PCHE) were evaluated. A sub-sized diffusion bonded, PCHE test specimen was manufactured and tested with nitrogen as the working fluid to validate and improve the PCHE model. A comparison of the thermal cycle efficiency for the Brayton cycle coupled to a heat pipe microreactor using each of the two primary heat exchangers showed competitive performance for both options, with achievable cycle efficiencies of 34 % and 35 % for the annular and printed circuit heat exchangers, respectively. The impact of heat pipe length and additional reheating stages on cycle efficiency was studied. Increasing the heat pipe condenser length from 0.8 to 2.0 m resulted in an increase in cycle efficiency of 3.5 % and 3.2 % for the annular and printed circuit heat exchangers, respectively. The use of additional reheating stages showed a reduction in cycle efficiency since the heat pipe surface area limits the primary heat exchanger size and effectiveness. These results highlight the importance of the primary heat exchanger on the performance of a heat pipe microreactor. Overall, the cycle model, testing, and heat exchanger model showed the potential for the PCHE to improve the economics of a heat pipe microreactor relative to the annular flow heat exchanger, which also opens the possibility to use different heat transfer fluids such as supercritical CO 2 .

PCHE↗
NASA NTRS2019

Utilization of Micro Tube Heat Exchanger for Next Generation Phase Change Material Heat Exchanger Development

Abstract and not the Final document is attached. Low Lunar orbit presents a unique thermal environment with high planetary and high solar IR requirements. Orion requires a phase change material heat exchanger (PCM HX) to act as a supplemental heat rejection device (SHReD) during this orbit. As a result, Orion currently uses a PCMHX to meet heat rejection demands in low lunar orbit. This PCM HX weighs 145 lbs, a significant amount of weight on the Crew Module Adaptor. To reduce this weight, a new PCM HX and phase change material is being proposed. This new PCM HX, constructed by Mezzo technologies, was originally designed as a water based PCM HX but is now be repurposed for phase change materials with transition temperatures in Orion's set points and different freeze front propagations. Mezzo's PCM HX utilizes micro tubes which greatly increase the overall heat transfer efficiency allowing for a compact design and significant weight savings. A new phase change material is also being proposed which has a higher latent heat of fusion as well as a higher density. This paper investigates the design, testing, and analysis done on the new Mezzo PCM HX as well as the corresponding phase change material.

Foley, Lauren A.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Passive heat exchanger for solar heating

Requirements for design, manufacture, installation, and performance of passive heat-exchanger module with auxiliary heaters for use with solar-heating systems are described.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1978

Preliminary design package for maxi-therm heat exchanger module

Heat exchangers were developed for use in a solar heating and cooling system installed in a single family dwelling. Each of the three exchangers consisted of a heating and cooling module and a submersed electric water heating element. Information necessary to evaluate the preliminary design of the heat exchanger is presented in terms of the development and verification plans, performance specifications, installation and maintenance, and hazard analysis.

Source record↗
DOE OSTI2025

Field Test and Thermal Performance Comparison of a Novel Underground Thermal Battery with a Single U-tube Borehole Heat Exchanger for Geothermal Heat Pump Application

Geothermal Heat Pumps (GHP) are a proven technology to electrify and decarbonize space heating and cooling by utilizing the thermally consistent underground as a heat sink or source. However, the high drilling costs of conventional borehole heat exchangers (BHEs) associated with GHP systems and subsurface heterogeneity have been two major challenges to their widespread adoption. In this paper, we present results from a field-scale pilot of an Underground Thermal Battery (UTB) as a potential alternative to a conventional BHE. To benchmark the UTB performance, a side-by-side field test was conducted to compare the UTB with a conventional BHE installed at the same site. The UTB was installed in a 7.01-meter-deep borehole having a diameter of 0.9 meter, whereas the conventional BHE (with single U-tube loop) is in a borehole with 36.6-meter depth and 0.15-meter diameter. Both are integrated into a GHP system to meet the thermal energy demands of office space at the Illinois Energy Farm on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus. The system’s performance is compared in terms of heat transfer rate, outlet temperatures, and contributions to the overall thermal power of the GHP system under varying thermal demands and in different heat pump operation modes: heating only, cooling only, and hybrid (alternative, diurnal heating and cooling). Results to date indicate that the UTB delivers a more consistent response under during a time period of varying thermal demands. Its operational performance is better during short-term with higher thermal demands, while the conventional BHE performs better under continuous, long-term thermal demands.

Pokhrel, Sajjan [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000228523749)↗
NASA NTRS1993

Test results of a Stirling engine utilizing heat exchanger modules with an integral heat pipe

The Heat Pipe Stirling Engine (HP-1000), a free-piston Stirling engine incorporating three heat exchanger modules, each having a sodium filled heat pipe, has been tested at the NASA-Lewis Research Center as part of the Civil Space Technology Initiative (CSTI). The heat exchanger modules were designed to reduce the number of potential flow leak paths in the heat exchanger assembly and incorporate a heat pipe as the link between the heat source and the engine. An existing RE-1000 free-piston Stirling engine was modified to operate using the heat exchanger modules. This paper describes heat exchanger module and engine performance during baseline testing. Condenser temperature profiles, brake power, and efficiency are presented and discussed.

Skupinski, Robert C.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Active heat exchange system development for latent heat thermal energy storage

Active heat exchange concepts for use with thermal energy storage systems in the temperature range of 250 C to 350 C, using the heat of fusion of molten salts for storing thermal energy are described. Salt mixtures that freeze and melt in appropriate ranges are identified and are evaluated for physico-chemical, economic, corrosive and safety characteristics. Eight active heat exchange concepts for heat transfer during solidification are conceived and conceptually designed for use with selected storage media. The concepts are analyzed for their scalability, maintenance, safety, technological development and costs. A model for estimating and scaling storage system costs is developed and is used for economic evaluation of salt mixtures and heat exchange concepts for a large scale application. The importance of comparing salts and heat exchange concepts on a total system cost basis, rather than the component cost basis alone, is pointed out. The heat exchange concepts were sized and compared for 6.5 MPa/281 C steam conditions and a 1000 MW(t) heat rate for six hours. A cost sensitivity analysis for other design conditions is also carried out.

Lefrois, R. T.↗
NASA NTRS1988

The design and fabrication of a Stirling engine heat exchanger module with an integral heat pipe

The conceptual design of a free-piston Stirling Space Engine (SSE) intended for space power applications has been generated. The engine was designed to produce 25 kW of electric power with heat supplied by a nuclear reactor. A novel heat exchanger module was designed to reduce the number of critical joints in the heat exchanger assembly while also incorporating a heat pipe as the link between the engine and the heat source. Two inexpensive verification tests are proposed. The SSE heat exchanger module is described and the operating conditions for the module are outlined. The design process of the heat exchanger modules, including the sodium heat pipe, is briefly described. Similarities between the proposed SSE heat exchanger modules and the LeRC test modules for two test engines are presented. The benefits and weaknesses of using a sodium heat pipe to transport heat to a Stirling engine are discussed. Similarly, the problems encountered when using a true heat pipe, as opposed to a more simple reflux boiler, are described. The instruments incorporated into the modules and the test program are also outlined.

Schreiber, Jeffrey G.↗
NASA NTRS1988

The design and fabrication of a Stirling engine heat exchanger module with an integral heat pipe

The conceptual design of a free-piston Stirling Space Engine (SSE) intended for space power applications has been generated. The engine was designed to produce 25 kW of electric power with heat supplied by a nuclear reactor. A novel heat exchanger module was designed to reduce the number of critical joints in the heat exchanger assembly while also incorporating a heat pipe as the link between the engine and the heat source. Two inexpensive verification tests are proposed. The SSE heat exchanger module is described and the operating conditions for the module are outlined. The design process of the heat exchanger modules, including the sodium heat pipe, is briefly described. Similarities between the proposed SSE heat exchanger modules and the LeRC test modules for two test engines are presented. The benefits and weaknesses of using a sodium heat pipe to transport heat to a Stirling engine are discussed. Similarly, the problems encountered when using a true heat pipe, as opposed to a more simple reflux boiler, are described. The instruments incorporated into the modules and the test program are also outlined.

Schreiber, Jeffrey G.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Active heat exchange system development for latent heat thermal energy storage

Five tasks to select, design, fabricate, test and evaluate candidate active heat exchanger modules for future applications to solar and conventional utility power plants were discussed. Alternative mechanizations of active heat exchange concepts were analyzed for use with heat of fusion phase change materials (PCMs) in the temperature range of 250 to 350 C. Twenty-six heat exchange concepts were reviewed, and eight were selected for detailed assessment. Two candidates were selected for small-scale experimentation: a coated tube and shell heat exchanger and a direct contact reflux boiler. A dilute eutectic mixture of sodium nitrate and sodium hydroxide was selected as the PCM from over 50 candidate inorganic salt mixtures. Based on a salt screening process, eight major component salts were selected initially for further evaluation. The most attractive major components in the temperature range of 250 to 350 C appeared to be NaNO3, NaNO2, and NaOH. Sketches of the two active heat exchange concepts selected for test are given.

Lefrois, R. T.↗
NASA NTRS1948

Generalized Charts for Determination of Pressure Drop of a High-speed Compressible Fluid in Heat-exchanger Passages I : Air Heated in Smooth Passages of Constant Area with Constant Wall Temperature

In the present paper an analysis is made of the compressible-flow variations occurring in heat-exchanger passages. The results of the analysis describe the flow and heating characteristics for which specific flow passages can be treated as segments of generalized flow systems. The graphical representation of the flow variations in the generalized flow systems can then be utilized as working charts to determine directly the pressure changes occurring in any specific flow passage. On the basis of these results, working charts are constructed to handle the case of air heated at constant wall temperature under turbulent-flow conditions. A method is given of incorporating the effect on the heat-exchanger flow process of high temperature differential between passage wall and fluid as based on recent NACA experimental data. Good agreement is obtained between the experimental and the chart pressure-drop values for passage-wall average temperatures as high as 1752 degrees R (experimental limit) and for flow Mach numbers ranging from 0.32 to 1.00 (choke) at the passage exit.

Valerino, Michael F↗
NASA NTRS1978

Heat exchanger

A heat exchanger, as exemplified by a rocket combustion chamber, is constructed by stacking thin metal rings having microsized openings therein at selective locations to form cooling passages defined by an inner wall, an outer wall and fins. Suitable manifolds are provided at each end of the rocket chamber. In addition to the cooling channel openings, coolant feed openings may be formed in each of rings. The coolant feed openings may be nested or positioned within generally U-shaped cooling channel openings. Compression on the stacked rings may be maintained by welds or the like or by bolts extending through the stacked rings.

Sokolowski, D. E.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Fault-Tolerant Heat Exchanger

A compact, lightweight heat exchanger has been designed to be fault-tolerant in the sense that a single-point leak would not cause mixing of heat-transfer fluids. This particular heat exchanger is intended to be part of the temperature-regulation system for habitable modules of the International Space Station and to function with water and ammonia as the heat-transfer fluids. The basic fault-tolerant design is adaptable to other heat-transfer fluids and heat exchangers for applications in which mixing of heat-transfer fluids would pose toxic, explosive, or other hazards: Examples could include fuel/air heat exchangers for thermal management on aircraft, process heat exchangers in the cryogenic industry, and heat exchangers used in chemical processing. The reason this heat exchanger can tolerate a single-point leak is that the heat-transfer fluids are everywhere separated by a vented volume and at least two seals. The combination of fault tolerance, compactness, and light weight is implemented in a unique heat-exchanger core configuration: Each fluid passage is entirely surrounded by a vented region bridged by solid structures through which heat is conducted between the fluids. Precise, proprietary fabrication techniques make it possible to manufacture the vented regions and heat-conducting structures with very small dimensions to obtain a very large coefficient of heat transfer between the two fluids. A large heat-transfer coefficient favors compact design by making it possible to use a relatively small core for a given heat-transfer rate. Calculations and experiments have shown that in most respects, the fault-tolerant heat exchanger can be expected to equal or exceed the performance of the non-fault-tolerant heat exchanger that it is intended to supplant (see table). The only significant disadvantages are a slight weight penalty and a small decrease in the mass-specific heat transfer.

Izenson, Michael G.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Active heat exchange system development for latent heat thermal energy storage

Various active heat exchange concepts were identified from among three generic categories: scrapers, agitators/vibrators and slurries. The more practical ones were given a more detailed technical evaluation and an economic comparison with a passive tube-shell design for a reference application (300 MW sub t storage for 6 hours). Two concepts were selected for hardware development: (1) a direct contact heat exchanger in which molten salt droplets are injected into a cooler counterflowing stream of liquid metal carrier fluid, and (2) a rotating drum scraper in which molten salt is sprayed onto the circumference of a rotating drum, which contains the fluid salt is sprayed onto the circumference of a rotating drum, which contains the fluid heat sink in an internal annulus near the surface. A fixed scraper blade removes the solidified salt from the surface which was nickel plated to decrease adhesion forces. In addition to improving performance by providing a nearly constant transfer rate during discharge, these active heat exchanger concepts were estimated to cost at least 25% less than the passive tube-shell design.

Alario, J.↗