Optimization of structural parameters of airfoil-fin printed circuit heat exchanger for power and thermal management system of hypersonic vehicles

A supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO(2)) to aviation kerosene fuel heat exchanger is an important part of the power and thermal management system (PTMS) of hypersonic vehicles. This study developed a numerical model for a sCO(2)-fuel airfoil-fin printed circuit heat exchanger (AF-PCHE) used in the PTMS. Moreover, four parameters were optimized with the comprehensive performance coefficient (JF) as an optimization objective, including airfoil horizontal spacing (L-h), airfoil vertical spacing (L-v), the height of cold-side channel (H-c,H-rp3), and the height of hot-side channel (H-c,H-CO2). The results indicated that the most significant parameter affecting the JF was the H-c,H-CO2, followed by the H-c,H-rp3. The optimized structural parameters were L-h = 12.6 mm, L-v = 5.26 mm, H-c,H-rp3 = 1.05 mm, and H-c,H-CO2 = 1.36 mm. The significance order of the single-factor effects of the JF was H-c,H-CO2 > L-v > H-c,H-rp3 > L-h. The JF of the optimized design was increased by 24 % compared to the original design of the AF-PCHE.