Cross-Scale Simulation Study of Porous Medium Heat Exchangers Based on Reliable Cell Selection
This study compares the heat transfer and pressure drop of three cell structures, namely Kelvin cells (KCs), ellipsoidal Kelvin cells (EKCs), and body-centered cubic (BCC) structures, at the cell scale in order to identify the superior configuration. Then, we conducted numerical simulations on the h...
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2025-07-01
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| author | Yiqiang Liang Jun Zhang Yu Liu Mingrui Sun Yongchen Song |
| author_facet | Yiqiang Liang Jun Zhang Yu Liu Mingrui Sun Yongchen Song |
| author_sort | Yiqiang Liang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study compares the heat transfer and pressure drop of three cell structures, namely Kelvin cells (KCs), ellipsoidal Kelvin cells (EKCs), and body-centered cubic (BCC) structures, at the cell scale in order to identify the superior configuration. Then, we conducted numerical simulations on the heat exchangers based on porous media, and evaluate their comprehensive performance. It is shown that KCs have a superior heat transfer. Their volumetric heat transfer coefficient (h<sub>V</sub>) is more than 50% higher than that of EKCs and more than 100% higher than that of BCC structures. EKCs exhibit a lower pressure drop. In the heat exchanger performance optimization study, the Kelvin structure demonstrated significant heat transfer characteristics. Simulation data show that the heat transfer performance at the hot end of the Kelvin heat exchanger (KCHE) is enhanced by more than 40% compared to the conventional plate-fin structure (FHE), but its flow channel pressure drop characteristics show a significant nonlinear increase. It is noteworthy that the improved Kelvin heat exchanger (EKCHE), optimized by introducing elliptic cell topology, maintains heat transfer while keeping the pressure loss increase within 1.22 times that of the conventional structure. The evaluation of the heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics is consistent for both scales. In addition, the EKC configuration exhibits a superior overall heat transfer capacity. To summarize, this work proposes a systematic numerical framework encompassing cell unit screening through heat exchanger design, offering valuable guidance for the structured development and analysis of porous media heat exchangers in relevant engineering domains. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2d8aeb2b7c1a495a889f2a3b30a31b99 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj-art-2d8aeb2b7c1a495a889f2a3b30a31b992025-08-20T03:16:42ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732025-07-011813351010.3390/en18133510Cross-Scale Simulation Study of Porous Medium Heat Exchangers Based on Reliable Cell SelectionYiqiang Liang0Jun Zhang1Yu Liu2Mingrui Sun3Yongchen Song4Key Laboratory of Ocean Energy Utilization and Energy Conservation of Ministry of Education, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, ChinaKey Laboratory of Ocean Energy Utilization and Energy Conservation of Ministry of Education, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, ChinaKey Laboratory of Ocean Energy Utilization and Energy Conservation of Ministry of Education, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, ChinaKey Laboratory of Ocean Energy Utilization and Energy Conservation of Ministry of Education, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, ChinaKey Laboratory of Ocean Energy Utilization and Energy Conservation of Ministry of Education, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, ChinaThis study compares the heat transfer and pressure drop of three cell structures, namely Kelvin cells (KCs), ellipsoidal Kelvin cells (EKCs), and body-centered cubic (BCC) structures, at the cell scale in order to identify the superior configuration. Then, we conducted numerical simulations on the heat exchangers based on porous media, and evaluate their comprehensive performance. It is shown that KCs have a superior heat transfer. Their volumetric heat transfer coefficient (h<sub>V</sub>) is more than 50% higher than that of EKCs and more than 100% higher than that of BCC structures. EKCs exhibit a lower pressure drop. In the heat exchanger performance optimization study, the Kelvin structure demonstrated significant heat transfer characteristics. Simulation data show that the heat transfer performance at the hot end of the Kelvin heat exchanger (KCHE) is enhanced by more than 40% compared to the conventional plate-fin structure (FHE), but its flow channel pressure drop characteristics show a significant nonlinear increase. It is noteworthy that the improved Kelvin heat exchanger (EKCHE), optimized by introducing elliptic cell topology, maintains heat transfer while keeping the pressure loss increase within 1.22 times that of the conventional structure. The evaluation of the heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics is consistent for both scales. In addition, the EKC configuration exhibits a superior overall heat transfer capacity. To summarize, this work proposes a systematic numerical framework encompassing cell unit screening through heat exchanger design, offering valuable guidance for the structured development and analysis of porous media heat exchangers in relevant engineering domains.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/13/3510heat exchangersforced convection heat transferporous structurecross-scale simulationcomputational fluid dynamics |
| spellingShingle | Yiqiang Liang Jun Zhang Yu Liu Mingrui Sun Yongchen Song Cross-Scale Simulation Study of Porous Medium Heat Exchangers Based on Reliable Cell Selection Energies heat exchangers forced convection heat transfer porous structure cross-scale simulation computational fluid dynamics |
| title | Cross-Scale Simulation Study of Porous Medium Heat Exchangers Based on Reliable Cell Selection |
| title_full | Cross-Scale Simulation Study of Porous Medium Heat Exchangers Based on Reliable Cell Selection |
| title_fullStr | Cross-Scale Simulation Study of Porous Medium Heat Exchangers Based on Reliable Cell Selection |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cross-Scale Simulation Study of Porous Medium Heat Exchangers Based on Reliable Cell Selection |
| title_short | Cross-Scale Simulation Study of Porous Medium Heat Exchangers Based on Reliable Cell Selection |
| title_sort | cross scale simulation study of porous medium heat exchangers based on reliable cell selection |
| topic | heat exchangers forced convection heat transfer porous structure cross-scale simulation computational fluid dynamics |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/13/3510 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yiqiangliang crossscalesimulationstudyofporousmediumheatexchangersbasedonreliablecellselection AT junzhang crossscalesimulationstudyofporousmediumheatexchangersbasedonreliablecellselection AT yuliu crossscalesimulationstudyofporousmediumheatexchangersbasedonreliablecellselection AT mingruisun crossscalesimulationstudyofporousmediumheatexchangersbasedonreliablecellselection AT yongchensong crossscalesimulationstudyofporousmediumheatexchangersbasedonreliablecellselection |