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Polymer Composite Heat Exchangers

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Innovative Heat Exchangers

Abstract

The innovative development of polymer composite tubes exhibiting high thermal conductivities for use in heat exchangers, various aspects for implementing these tubes and designing polymer composite heat exchangers are presented. Polymer composite grades based on polypropylene and polyphenylene sulphide filled with graphite have been developed by Technoform Kunststoffprofile GmbH (Lohfelden, Germany). A special extrusion process allows high filler loadings of up to 60 vol% and the orientation of filler particles in the polymer matrix to reach enhanced thermal conductivities in the radial direction. Thermal and mechanical properties, chemical resistance to various acids and alkaline media, lifetime behaviour, heat transfer performance and fouling behaviour were studied for composites with 50 vol% graphite. The extruded polymer composite tubes have a thermal conductivity of about 13–20 W/(m K) which is around 50–100 times higher than that of standard polymers and is comparable to stainless steel grades. The excellent chemical resistance, low weight, good processability as well as highly promising initial test rig results in fouling studies compared to corrosion-resistant metals open up cost-efficient opportunities for heat exchangers in various industries such as chemical, petrochemical, oil and gas, food and beverage, and seawater desalination industries. Important design aspects such as various possibilities of mounting the polymer composite tubes in the tube plates and the maximum unsupported tube span for avoiding tube failures by flow-induced vibrations are discussed. A potential enhancement of heat transfer by shaping polymer composite tubes other than circular plain tubes and the construction of fully polymer-based heat exchangers will be in the focus of future development.

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Abbreviations

A :

Heat transfer surface area (m2)

A :

Dimensionless tube axial stress multiplier

A :

Pre-exponential factor (1/s)

c :

Concentration (mol/m3)

C :

Dimensionless constant in Eq. (11)

C L :

Dimensionless lift coefficient

CF:

Cleanliness factor

d :

Tube diameter (m)

D :

Dimensionless parameter in Eq. (10)

E a :

Activation energy (J/mol)

E t :

Modulus of elasticity (Pa)

f n :

Natural frequency (1/s)

h :

Heat transfer coefficient (W/(m2 K))

I :

Second moment of area (m4)

k :

Thermal conductivity (W/(m K))

k deg :

Rate constant of polymer degradation (1/s)

L :

Unsupported tube span (m)

L t :

Tube length (m)

\(\dot{m}\) :

Mass flow rate (kg/s)

\(\dot{Q}\) :

Heat transfer rate (W)

R :

Universal gas constant (R = 8.314 J/(mol K)) (J/(mol K))

R a :

Arithmetic mean roughness (µm)

R f :

Fouling resistance (m2 K/W)

R z :

Mean roughness depth (µm)

s :

Tube wall thickness (m)

S :

Salinity (g/kg)

t :

Time (s)

T :

Temperature (K)

u :

Fluid flow velocity (m/s)

U :

Overall heat transfer coefficient (W/(m2 K))

y vs :

Vortex shedding amplitude (m)

y tb :

Turbulent buffeting amplitude (m)

α :

Linear coefficient of thermal expansion (1/K)

Γ :

Wetting rate (kg/(s m))

δ T :

Dimensionless logarithmic decrement

ϑ :

Temperature (°C)

ϑ g :

Glass transition temperature (°C)

ϑ m :

Melting temperature (°C)

ρ :

Density (kg/m3)

σ m :

Tensile strength (Pa)

ϕ :

Volume fraction of filler

ω 0 :

Effective weight of the tube per unit length (kg/m)

0:

Initial condition

c:

Clean

C:

Compound

co:

Condensation

crit:

Critical

ev:

Evaporation

f:

Fouling, fouled condition

F:

Filler

i:

Inner, inside

m:

Mean

max:

Maximum

o:

Outer, outside

P:

Polymer

t :

At time t

W:

Wall

AAS:

Atomic absorption spectroscopy

DVGW:

German Technical and Scientific Association for Gas and Water

EDXS:

Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy

FEM:

Finite element method

FEP:

Polyfluoroethylene propylene

HDT:

Heat deflection temperature

MED:

Multiple-effect distillation

PA 6, PA 66:

Polyamides

PB:

Polybutylene

PBT:

Polybutylene terephthalate

PC:

Polycarbonate

PE:

Polyethylene

PEEK:

Polyetheretherketone

PEEK-GR:

Polyetheretherketone–graphite composite

PET:

Polyethylene terephthalate

PFA:

Perfluoroalkoxy

PP:

Polypropylene

PP-GR:

Polypropylene–graphite composite

PPO:

Polyphenylene oxide

PPS:

Polyphenylene sulphide

PPS-GR:

Polyphenylene sulphide–graphite composite

PS:

Polystyrene

PSU:

Polysulfone

PTFE:

Polytetrafluoroethylene

PV:

Photovoltaic cell

PVDF:

Polyvinylidene fluoride

SEM:

Scanning electron microscopy

TEMA:

Tubular Exchanger Manufacturers Association, Inc.

THB:

Transient hot bridge

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Acknowledgements

The authors are very grateful to M.Sc. Christoph Gatz, M.Sc. Sebastian Schilling, M.Sc. Alexander Stärk and M.Sc. Maximilian Waack for supporting the development of the polymer composite tubes with experimental and theoretical studies at the University of Bremen, Germany.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Technische Thermodynamik, Fachbereich Produktionstechnik, Universität Bremen, Badgasteiner Straße 1, 28359, Bremen, Germany

    Heike Glade

  2. Technoform Kunststoffprofile GmbH, Otto-Hahn-Straße 34, 34253, Lohfelden, Germany

    Dirk Moses & Thomas Orth

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  1. Heike Glade
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Correspondence to Heike Glade .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Technische Universität Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany

    Hans-Jörg Bart

  2. TU Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany

    Stephan Scholl

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Glade, H., Moses, D., Orth, T. (2018). Polymer Composite Heat Exchangers. In: Bart, HJ., Scholl, S. (eds) Innovative Heat Exchangers. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71641-1_2

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