Parametric study of heat transfer enhancement on cross-flow heat exchangers

In this research, cross-flow heat exchangers with external and internal recycles were investigated in the laminar regime respectively. Mathematical models of heat exchangers were established to study its thermo-hydraulic performances. The effects of recycle ratio, capacitance rate ratio and heat transfer area were investigated. The results demonstrate that the dimensionless heat transfer rate rises with the increase of recycle ratio R or capacitance rate ratio C2/C1, or with the decrease of heat transfer area A. The maximum increase of efficiency reached up to 28% and 21% for internal and external recycles, respectively.