Performance of a Biologically-Inspired Heat Exchanger with Hierarchical Bifurcating Flow Passages

David M. Calamas, John Baker

Research output: Contribution to book or proceedingChapter

Abstract

The performance of a heat exchanger with fractal-like flow passages has been examined. The hierarchical bifurcating flow passages in the heat exchanger studied here mimic those seen in the vascular systems of plants and animals. Overall system performance was examined computationally. The computational fluid dynamics results, cast in terms of commonly defined dimensionless parameters, show that system performance can be characterized in a manner similar to traditional compact heat exchanger designs. Previous use of hierarchical bifurcating flow passages for heat exchanger applications has typically been limited to miscroscale flow networks. This work examines the potential of such networks for mesoscale applications.
Original languageAmerican English
Title of host publicationProceedings of the Aerospace Sciences Meeting
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 9 2012

Keywords

  • Heat exchanger
  • Hierarchical bifurcating flow passages

DC Disciplines

  • Mechanical Engineering

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Performance of a Biologically-Inspired Heat Exchanger with Hierarchical Bifurcating Flow Passages'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this