Topology Optimization of Two Fluid Heat Exchangers

A method for density-based topology optimization of heat exchangers with two fluids is proposed. The goal of the optimization process is to maximize the heat transfer from one fluid to the other, under maximum pressure drop constraints for each of the fluid flows. A single design variable is used to describe the physical fields. The solid interface and the fluid domains are generated using an erosion-dilation based identification technique, which guarantees well-separated fluids, as well as a minimum wall thickness between them. Under the assumption of laminar steady flow, the two fluids are modelled separately, but in the entire computational domain using the Brinkman penalization technique for ensuring negligible velocities outside of the respective fluid subdomains. The heat transfer is modelled using the convection-diffusion equation, where the convection is driven by both fluid flows. A stabilized finite element discretization is used to solve the governing equations. Results are presented for two different problems: a two-dimensional example illustrating and verifying the methodology; and a three-dimensional example inspired by shell-and-tube heat exchangers. The optimized designs for both cases show an improved heat transfer compared to the baseline designs. For the shell-and-tube case, the full freedom topology optimization approach is shown to yield performance improvements of up to 113% under the same pressure drop

Review of Shape and Topology Optimization for Design of Air-to-Refrigerant Heat Exchangers

Air-to-refrigerant heat exchangers (HXs) have been the topic of exhaustive research as they are fundamental components of HVAC&R systems. It has been well-established that the large airside thermal resistance dominates the HX thermal resistance, and thus significant research efforts have focused on improving the air-side performance of these heat exchangers. As HXs continue to become more compact, thermal resistance reduction is typically realized through the utilization of extended secondary heat transfer surfaces such as fins. However, past research has shown that the thermal-hydraulic trade-offs provided by fins are often not attractive enough to warrant their use, especially for small diameter tubes. Yet, the inadequate primary surface area provided by compact HXs essentially mandate the necessity of fins to meet thermal resistance requirements. In recent years, advancements in computational tools such as Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and optimization algorithms, coupled with the advent of additive manufacturing technologies, have allowed engineers to expand conventional HX design ideologies to include such concepts as shape and topology optimization. This lends itself directly to primary heat transfer surface optimization and even the potential removal of finned surfaces altogether. This paper presents a comprehensive literature review investigating air-to-refrigerant HX shape and topology optimization. The fundamentals of both shape and topology optimization, model development, and experimental validations are all separately discussed. Studies featuring manufactured prototypes and/or experimentally validated optimal designs are treated with additional emphasis. This paper concludes by identifying key research gaps and proposing future research directions for HX shape and topology optimization

Design for Additive Manufacturing of Conformal Cooling Channels Using Thermal-Fluid Topology Optimization and Application in Injection Molds

Additive manufacturing allows the fabrication parts and tools of high complexity. This capability challenges traditional guidelines in the design of conformal cooling systems in heat exchangers, injection molds, and other parts and tools. Innovative design methods, such as network-based approaches, lattice structures, and structural topology optimization have been used to generate complex and highly efficient cooling systems; however, methods that incorporate coupled thermal and fluid analysis remain scarce. This paper introduces a coupled thermal-fluid topology optimization algorithm for the design of conformal cooling channels. With this method, the channel position problem is replaced to a material distribution problem. The material distribution directly depends on the effect of flow resistance, heat conduction, as well as forced and natural convection. The problem is formulated based on a coupling of Navier-Stokes equations and convection-diffusion equation. The problem is solved by gradient-based optimization after analytical sensitivity derived using the adjoint method. The algorithm leads a two -dimensional conceptual design having optimal heat transfer and balanced flow. The conceptual design is converted to three-dimensional channels and mapped to a morphological surface conformal to the injected part. The method is applied to design an optimal conformal cooling for a real three dimensional injection mold. The feasibility of the final designs is verified through simulations. The final designs can be exported as both three-dimensional graphic and surface mesh CAD format, bringing the manufacture department the convenience to run the tool path for final fitting

A new methodology for thermostructural topology optimization: Analytical definition and validation

In the last few years, the rapid diffusion of components produced through additive manufacturing processes has boosted the research on design methodologies based on topology optimization algorithms. Structural topology optimization is largely employed since it permits to minimize the component weight and maximize its stiffness and, accordingly, optimize its resistance under structural loads. On the other hand, thermal topology optimization has been less investigated, even if in many applications, such as turbine blades, engines, heat exchangers, thermal loads have a crucial impact. Currently, structural and thermal optimizations are mainly considered separately, despite the fact that they are both present and coupled in components in service condition. In the present paper, a novel methodology capable of defining the optimized structure under simultaneous thermomechanical constraints is proposed. The mathematical formulation behind the optimization algorithm is reported. The proposed methodology is finally validated on literature benchmarks and on a real component, confirming that it permits to define the topology, which presents the maximized thermal and mechanical performance

The reservoir network: A new network topology for district heating and cooling

Thermal district networks are effective solutions to substitute fossil fuels with renewable energy sources for heating and cooling. Moreover, thermal networking of buildings allows energy efficiency to be further increased. The waste heat from cooling can be reused for heating in thermal district systems. Because of bidirectional energy flows between prosumers, thermal networks require new hydraulic concepts. In this work, we present a novel network topology for simultaneous heating and cooling: the reservoir network. The reservoir network is robust in operation due to hydraulic decoupling of transfer stations, integrates heat sources and heat sinks at various temperature levels and is flexible in terms of network expansion. We used Modelica simulations to compare the new single-pipe reservoir network to a basecase double-pipe network, taking yearly demand profiles of different building types for heating and cooling. The electric energy consumed by the heat pumps and circulations pumps differs between the reservoir and base case networks by less than 1%. However, if the reservoir network is operated with constant instead of variable mass flow rate, the total electrical consumption can increase by 48% compared to the base case. As with any other network topology, the design and control of such networks is crucial to achieving energy efficient operation. Investment costs for piping and trenching depend on the district layout and dimensioning of the network. If a ring layout is applied in a district, the reservoir network with its single-pipe configuration is more economical than other topologies. For a linear layout, the piping costs are slightly higher for the reservoir network than for the base case because of larger pipe diameters

Minimizing water and energy consumptions in water and heat exchange networks.

This study presents a mathematical programming formulation for the design of water and heat exchangers networks based on a two-step methodology. First, an MILP (mixed integer linear programming) procedure is used to solve the water and energy allocation problem regarding several objectives. The first step of the design method involves four criteria to be taken into account., ie, fresh water consumption (F1), energy consumption (F2), interconnection number (F3) and number of heat exchangers (F4). The multiobjective optimization Min [F1, F2] is solved by the so-called ɛ-constraint method and leads to several Pareto fronts for fixed numbers of connections and heat exchangers. The second step consists in improving the best results of the first phase with energy integration into the water network. This stage is solved by an MINLP procedure in order to minimize an objective cost function. Two examples reported in the dedicated literature serve as test bench cases to apply the proposed two-step approach. The results show that the simultaneous consideration of the abovementioned objectives is more realistic than the only minimization of fresh water consumption. Indeed, the optimal network does not necessarily correspond to the structure that reaches the fresh water target. For a real paper mill plant, energy consumption decreases of almost 20% as compared with previous studies

Towards Fully Additively-Manufactured Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machines: Opportunities and Challenges

With the growing interest in electrification and as hybrid and pure electric powertrains are adopted in more applications, electrical machine design is facing challenges in terms of meeting very demanding performance metrics for example high specific power, harsh environments, etc. This provides clear motivation to explore the impact of advanced materials and manufacturing on the performance of electrical machines. This paper provides an overview of additive manufacturing (AM) approaches that can be used for constructing permanent magnet (PM) machines, with a specific focus on additively-manufactured iron core, winding, insulation, PM as well as cooling systems. Since there has only been a few attempts so far to explore AM in electrical machines (especially when it comes to fully additively-manufactured machines), the benefits and challenges of AM have not been comprehensively understood. In this regard, this paper offers a detailed comparison of multiple multi-material AM methods, showing not only the possibility of fully additively-manufactured PM machines but also the potential significant improvements in their mechanical, electromagnetic and thermal properties. The paper will provide a comprehensive discussion of opportunities and challenges of AM in the context of electrical machines

Heat Exchanger Design with Topology Optimization

Topology optimization is proving to be a valuable design tool for physical systems, especially for structural systems. However, its application in the field of heat transfer is less evident but is constantly progressing. In this chapter, we would like to introduce topology optimization in the context of heat exchanger design to the general reader. We also provide a chronological review of available literature to see the current progress of topology optimization in the field of heat transfer and heat exchanger design. We expect that topology optimization will prove to be a valuable tool in heat exchanger design for the coming years