Thermal-Hydraulic Performance of Additively Manufactured Plate Heat Exchangers with Single and Double Sine Wave Corrugations: A CFD Study

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were employed to model a novel double sine wave corrugated heat exchanger surface. The turbulent flow within the heat exchanger channels was simulated using the k- omega SST model for the corrugated cases. In contrast, a laminar model was applied to the flat plate heat exchanger without corrugations. The simulation results demonstrate that 3D-printed polymer heat exchangers are effective for heat transfer, with the double-sine wave corrugated surface outperforming the single-sine wave corrugated surface. Specifically, the double sine wave configuration achieved a 20% higher Nusselt number and a 15% lower friction factor than the single sine wave, indicating superior thermal-hydraulic performance. Optimal performance was observed with low amplitude and frequency of the sine waves, suggesting that small protrusions and wider- spaced corrugations enhance heat transfer without significantly increasing pressure drop. These findings have significant implications for the design of efficient and cost-effective heat exchangers, particularly in applications where both thermal performance and energy efficiency are critical. Further experiments with full-scale heat exchangers are necessary to validate these results and explore practical applications.