Simulation of fluid flow in a heat exchanger with elastic intermediate separator at different working conditions

In this work, a plate heat exchanger with an inconsistent flow is investigated in different working conditions. Four different models in laminar and turbulent flows with rigid and elastic plates at different Reynolds numbers have been studied, and the effect of the separator plate elasticity on the heat transfer rate and the efficiency of the heat exchanger has been investigated. A sinusoidal profile is used at the entrance to the cold passage. The results of this study showed that the elasticity of the intermediate plate in both laminar and turbulent flow has raised the heat transfer rate. Of course, in cases where the middle plane was elastic, the friction coefficient increased relative to the rigid plate. The efficiency of the heat exchanger is defined and is obtained for the heat exchanger to consider both heat transfer rate and pressure drop. Results showed that in most cases, the efficiency of the heat exchanger with elastic separator is more than one. The results showed that the maximum efficiency is 5.2 which was observed in Re=3000 and the minimum efficiency is 0.9 which occurs in Re=200.