Thermo-hydraulic characterization of a self-pumping corrugated wall heat exchanger

Compactness, efficiency and thermal control of the heat exchanger are of critical significance for many electronic industry applications. In this view, a new concept of heat exchanger at millimeter scale is proposed and numerically studied. It consists in dynamically deforming at least one of its walls by a progressive wave in order to create an active corrugated channel. Systematic studies were performed in single-phase flow on the different deformation parameters that allow obtaining the thermo-hydraulic characteristics of the system. It has been observed the dynamic wall deformation induces a significant pumping effect. Intensification of heat transfer remains very important even for highly degraded waveforms although the pumping efficiency is reduced in this case. The mechanical power applied on the upper wall to deform it dynamically is linked to the wave shape, amplitude, frequency and outlet-inlet pressure difference. The overall performance of the proposed system has been evaluated and compared to existing static channels. The performance of the proposed heat exchanger evolved in two steps for a given wall deformation. It declines slightly up to a critical value of mechanical power applied on the wall. When this critical value is exceeded, it deteriorates significantly, reaching the performance of existing conventional systems. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.