The Thermal Characteristics of a Helical Coil Heat Exchanger for Seawater-source Heat Pump in Cold Winter

A high-density polyethylene helical coil heat exchanger (HCHE) is firstly adopted by a seawater-source heat pump system (SWHP) and experiments are conducted to study the thermal performance of the heat exchanger in icy condition. The external convective heat transfer coefficient is calculated by the experimental results and used in the development of the mathematical models. To predict the heat transfer process of the HCHE in icy condition in frigid periods of winter, a mathematical model is developed. Simulations with different parameters are conducted to investigate the effects of variable parameters on the thermal performance, such as inlet temperature, intermediate medium's flow rate, heat exchanger's length and diameter, temperature of seawater. The study indicates that the developments of the mathematical model are very helpful in the designing of heat exchangers used for the SWHP system.