Numerical investigation of counter flow microchannel heat exchanger with MEPCM suspension

The aim of this paper is to study the flow and heat transfer of microencapsulated phase change material (MEPCM) suspension in counter flow microchannel heat exchanger (CFMCHE) and it’s effect of the performance of this heat exchanger when using this suspension as a coolant instead of pure fluid. The hydrodynamic and thermal characteristics of this suspension flows in microchannels of CFMCHE is numerically investigated. The MEPCM suspension used in this paper consists of microcapsules constructed from n-octadecane as a phase change material (PCM) and the shell material is polymethylmethacrylate, these capsules are suspended in water in a concentration of (0–20)%.From the results, using of MEPCM suspensions as a cooling fluid lead to modify thermal performance of a CFMCHE by increasing its effectiveness but it also lead to increase the pressure drop. From heat transfer (thermal performance) point of view it is better to use this type of fluid to increase cooling efficiency of a CFMCHE, but due to extra increase in pressure drop it leads to reduce the overall performance compared with pure fluids. Therefore its use depends on the application at which this heat exchanger is used.

Research highlights
► CFMCHE is numerically investigated in this paper with MEPCM slurry as a coolant instead of pure fluid.
► Both hydrodynamic and thermal performances are investigated with both pure fluid and PCM slurry.
► Results showed that using of PCM suspension as a coolant increase both effectiveness and pressure drop.