Performance analysis of counter flow plate-fin heat exchangers considering the effect of longitudinal conduction

摘要

The performance of cryogenic plate-fin heat exchangers will degrade due to longitudinal heat conduction. A group of governing equations for a counter-flow plate-fin heat exchanger with double cold channels were put forward on the basis of theoretical analysis and eventually solved by using differential method to confirm the heat loss caused by longitudinal heat conduction. A dimensionless longitudinal heat diffusion coefficient is proposed to indicate the effect of longitudinal heat conduction in heat exchangers. A degradation factor τ is introduced to consider the deterioration in the performance of the heat exchanger due to longitudinal heat conduction.