Created in COMSOL Multiphysics 5.

2a

Cross-Flow Heat Exchanger

This model is licensed under the COMSOL Software License Agreement 5.2a.
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. See www.comsol.com/trademarks.
Introduction
This application simulates the fluid flow and heat transfer in a micro-heat exchanger of
cross-flow type made of stainless steel. Heat exchangers of this type are found in
lab-on-chip devices in biotechnology and microreactors, for example for micro-fuel cells.
The application takes into account heat transferred through both convection and
conduction. The geometry and material properties are taken from Ref. 1.

Model Definition
Figure 1 shows the heat exchanger’s geometry. Notice that the fluid channels have a
square cross section rather than the circular cross section more commonly used in
micro-heat exchangers. A cross-flow heat exchanger can typically consist of about 20 unit
cells. However, because the unit cells are identical except for edge effects in the outer cells,
you can restrict the model to a single unit cell.

Figure 1: Depiction of the modeled part of the micro-heat exchanger.

Because heat is transferred by convection and conduction, the model uses a Conjugate
Heat Transfer interface in the laminar flow regime.

The boundary conditions are insulating for all outer surfaces except for the inlet and outlet
boundaries. At the inlets for both cold and hot streams, the temperatures are constant and
a laminar inflow profile with an average velocity of 2.5 mm/s is defined.

At the outlet, the heat transport is dominated by convection, which makes the outflow
boundary condition suitable. For the flow field, the model applies the outlet boundary
condition with a constant pressure.

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As shown in Figure 1, you can take advantage of the model’s symmetries to model only
half of the channel height. Therefore, the symmetry boundary condition applies to the
channels.

Results and Discussion

Figure 2 shows the temperature at the channel walls as well as temperature isosurfaces in
the device, which clearly reveal the influence of the convective term.

Figure 2: Channel wall temperature and isotherms through the cell geometry.

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As can be seen in Figure 3, the temperature differs significantly between the different
outlets in both hot and cold streams. This implies that the hot stream is not cooled
uniformly.

Figure 3: Temperature field at the outlet boundaries.

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The flow field in the channels is a typical laminar velocity profile; see Figure 4.

Figure 4: Velocity profile in the channels.

There are several quantities that describe the characteristics and effectiveness of a heat
exchanger. The mixing-cup temperature of the fluid leaving the heat exchanger is
calculated according to (1.4 in Ref. 2)

 ρC p Tu ds
 T = outlet
----------------------------------------- (1)
 ρC p u ds
outlet

COMSOL Multiphysics provides built-in variables to easily calculate T. At the upper
channels, the outlet mixing-cup temperature is 45 °C. At the lower channels, despite a
hotter inlet temperature, a lower value of 38.6 °C is found for the outlet mixing-cup
temperature. The maximum pressure drop in the heat exchanger is 5 Pa.

The overall heat transfer coefficient is another interesting quantity. It is a measure of the
performance of a heat exchanger design defined as

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 P
h eq = ----------------------------------------- (2)
A ( T hot – T cold )

where P is the total exchanged power and A is the surface area through which P flows. In
this model, the value of heq is about 1500 W/(m2·K).

References
1. W. Ehrfeld, V. Hessel, and H. Löwe, Microreactors, John Wiley & Sons, 2000.

2. P.K. Nag, Heat and Mass Transfer, 2nd ed., Tata McGraw-Hill, 2007.

Application Library path: Heat_Transfer_Module/Heat_Exchangers/

crossflow_heat_exchanger

Modeling Instructions
From the File menu, choose New.

NEW
In the New window, click Model Wizard.

MODEL WIZARD
1 In the Model Wizard window, click 3D.
2 In the Select Physics tree, select Heat Transfer>Conjugate Heat Transfer>Laminar Flow.
3 Click Add.
4 Click Study.
5 In the Select Study tree, select Preset Studies for Selected Physics Interfaces>Stationary.
6 Click Done.

GLOBAL DEFINITIONS

Parameters
1 On the Home toolbar, click Parameters.
2 In the Settings window for Parameters, locate the Parameters section.

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3 In the table, enter the following settings:

Name Expression Value Description

T_cold 300[K] 300 K Temperature, cold stream
T_hot 330[K] 330 K Temperature, hot stream
u_avg 2.5[mm/s] 0.0025 m/s Average inlet velocity

GEOMETRY 1
1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1) click Geometry 1.
2 In the Settings window for Geometry, locate the Units section.
3 From the Length unit list, choose µm.

First, create the cross-section of one unit cell and extrude it.

Block 1 (blk1)
1 On the Geometry toolbar, click Block.
2 In the Settings window for Block, locate the Size and Shape section.
3 In the Width text field, type 800.
4 In the Depth text field, type 800.
5 In the Height text field, type 60.

Block 2 (blk2)
1 Right-click Block 1 (blk1) and choose Build Selected.
2 On the Geometry toolbar, click Block.
3 In the Settings window for Block, locate the Size and Shape section.
4 In the Width text field, type 800.
5 In the Depth text field, type 100.
6 In the Height text field, type 40.
7 Locate the Position section. In the y text field, type 200.

Array 1 (arr1)
1 Right-click Block 2 (blk2) and choose Build Selected.
2 On the Geometry toolbar, click Transforms and choose Array.
3 Select the object blk2 only.
4 In the Settings window for Array, locate the Size section.
5 From the Array type list, choose Linear.

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6 In the Size text field, type 5.
7 Locate the Displacement section. In the y text field, type 120.
8 Locate the Selections of Resulting Entities section. Click New.
9 In the New Cumulative Selection dialog box, type Channels in the Name text field.
10 Click OK.

Rotate 1 (rot1)
1 On the Geometry toolbar, click Transforms and choose Rotate.
2 Click in the Graphics window and then press Ctrl+A to select all objects.
3 In the Settings window for Rotate, locate the Rotation Angle section.
4 In the Rotation text field, type 180.
5 Locate the Point on Axis of Rotation section. In the z text field, type 60.
6 Locate the Axis of Rotation section. From the Axis type list, choose Cartesian.
7 In the x text field, type 1.
8 In the y text field, type 1.
9 In the z text field, type 0.
Keep the existing unit cell by the following step.
10 Locate the Input section. Select the Keep input objects check box.
11 Click Build All Objects.
12 Click the Zoom Extents button on the Graphics toolbar.

Define several selections that help you throughout the model set-up.

DEFINITIONS

Explicit 1
1 On the Definitions toolbar, click Explicit.
2 In the Settings window for Explicit, type Upper Inlets in the Label text field.
3 Locate the Input Entities section. From the Geometric entity level list, choose Boundary.
4 Select Boundaries 41, 48, 55, 62, and 69 only.

Explicit 2
1 On the Definitions toolbar, click Explicit.
2 In the Settings window for Explicit, type Lower Inlets in the Label text field.
3 Locate the Input Entities section. From the Geometric entity level list, choose Boundary.

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4 Select Boundaries 8, 14, 20, 26, and 32 only.

Explicit 3
1 On the Definitions toolbar, click Explicit.
2 In the Settings window for Explicit, type Upper Outlets in the Label text field.
3 Locate the Input Entities section. From the Geometric entity level list, choose Boundary.
4 Select Boundaries 44, 51, 58, 65, and 72 only.

Explicit 4
1 On the Definitions toolbar, click Explicit.
2 In the Settings window for Explicit, type Lower Outlets in the Label text field.
3 Locate the Input Entities section. From the Geometric entity level list, choose Boundary.
4 Select Boundaries 77–81 only.

Explicit 5
1 On the Definitions toolbar, click Explicit.
2 In the Settings window for Explicit, type Symmetry in the Label text field.
3 Locate the Input Entities section. From the Geometric entity level list, choose Boundary.

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4 Select the Group by continuous tangent check box.
Select one of the uppermost and lowermost boundaries, which now automatically will
select all uppermost and lowermost boundaries thanks to the continuous tangency.

The next selections are needed to evaluate the equivalent heat transfer coefficient.

Union 1
1 On the Definitions toolbar, click Union.
2 In the Settings window for Union, type Outlets in the Label text field.
3 Locate the Geometric Entity Level section. From the Level list, choose Boundary.
4 Locate the Input Entities section. Under Selections to add, click Add.
5 In the Add dialog box, In the Selections to add list, choose Upper Outlets and Lower
Outlets.
6 Click OK.

MATERIALS
Define the material properties.

Material 1 (mat1)
1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1) right-click Materials and
choose Blank Material.

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2 In the Settings window for Material, type Stainless Steel in the Label text field.
3 Locate the Material Contents section. In the table, enter the following settings:

Property Name Value Unit Property

group
Thermal conductivity k 15 W/(m·K) Basic
Density rho 7800 kg/m³ Basic
Heat capacity at constant Cp 420 J/(kg·K) Basic
pressure

ADD MATERIAL
1 On the Home toolbar, click Add Material to open the Add Material window.
2 Go to the Add Material window.
3 In the tree, select Built-In>Water, liquid.
4 Click Add to Component in the window toolbar.

MATERIALS

Water, liquid (mat2)

1 On the Home toolbar, click Add Material to close the Add Material window.
2 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1)>Materials click Water, liquid
(mat2).
3 In the Settings window for Material, locate the Geometric Entity Selection section.
4 From the Selection list, choose Channels.

H E A T TR A N S F E R ( H T )

Fluid 1
1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1)>Heat Transfer (ht) click Fluid
1.
2 In the Settings window for Fluid, locate the Domain Selection section.
3 From the Selection list, choose Channels.

Temperature 1
1 On the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Temperature.
2 In the Settings window for Temperature, locate the Boundary Selection section.
3 From the Selection list, choose Upper Inlets.

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4 Locate the Temperature section. In the T0 text field, type T_hot.

Temperature 2
1 On the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Temperature.
2 In the Settings window for Temperature, locate the Boundary Selection section.
3 From the Selection list, choose Lower Inlets.
4 Locate the Temperature section. In the T0 text field, type T_cold.

Outflow 1
1 On the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Outflow.
2 In the Settings window for Outflow, locate the Boundary Selection section.
3 From the Selection list, choose Upper Outlets.

Outflow 2
1 On the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Outflow.
2 In the Settings window for Outflow, locate the Boundary Selection section.
3 From the Selection list, choose Lower Outlets.

Symmetry 1
1 On the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Symmetry.
2 In the Settings window for Symmetry, locate the Boundary Selection section.
3 From the Selection list, choose Symmetry.
So far, the boundary conditions for heat transfer have been specified. Continue with the
set up of the flow equation.

LAMINAR FLOW (SPF)

1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1) click Laminar Flow (spf).
2 In the Settings window for Laminar Flow, locate the Domain Selection section.
3 From the Selection list, choose Channels.

Because of the different inlet temperatures, the densities for the hot and cold stream vary
and produce different velocities when the laminar inflow boundary condition is used. In
order to have the same velocity profile on each inlet, define the laminar inflow boundary
condition for the hot and cold inlet boundaries separately.

Inlet 1
1 On the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Inlet.
2 In the Settings window for Inlet, locate the Boundary Selection section.

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3 From the Selection list, choose Upper Inlets.
4 Locate the Boundary Condition section. From the list, choose Laminar inflow.
5 Locate the Laminar Inflow section. In the Uav text field, type u_avg.
The Entrance length value must be large enough so that the flow can reach a laminar
profile. For a laminar flow, Lentr should be significantly greater than 0.06ReD, where
Re is the Reynolds number and D is the inlet length scale. In this case, 1 mm is an
appropriate value.
6 In the Lentr text field, type 1[mm].

Inlet 2
1 On the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Inlet.
2 In the Settings window for Inlet, locate the Boundary Selection section.
3 From the Selection list, choose Lower Inlets.
4 Locate the Boundary Condition section. From the list, choose Laminar inflow.
5 Locate the Laminar Inflow section. In the Uav text field, type u_avg.
6 In the Lentr text field, type 1[mm].

Outlet 1
1 On the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Outlet.
2 In the Settings window for Outlet, locate the Boundary Selection section.
3 From the Selection list, choose Upper Outlets.

Outlet 2
1 On the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Outlet.
2 In the Settings window for Outlet, locate the Boundary Selection section.
3 From the Selection list, choose Lower Outlets.

Symmetry 1
1 On the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Symmetry.
2 In the Settings window for Symmetry, locate the Boundary Selection section.
3 From the Selection list, choose Symmetry.

After solving the model, the equivalent heat transfer coefficient is evaluated according to
Equation 2. To do so, define the following coupling operator.

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DEFINITIONS

Average 1 (aveop1)
1 On the Definitions toolbar, click Component Couplings and choose Average.
2 In the Settings window for Average, type Average on Upper Channel Walls in the
Label text field.
3 Locate the Source Selection section. From the Geometric entity level list, choose
Boundary.
4 Select Boundaries 40, 42, 45, 47, 49, 52, 54, 56, 59, 61, 63, 66, 68, 70, and 73 only.
To select more easily these boundaries, use the Paste button and insert the list of
numbers above in the Paste Selection dialog box.

STUDY 1
On the Home toolbar, click Compute.

RESULTS

Temperature (ht)
COMSOL Multiphysics automatically creates four default plots: a temperature plot, an
isothermal contour plot, a slice plot for the velocity field, and contour plot for the pressure
field. The isothermal contours will be modified, to create the plot shown in Figure 2.

Isothermal Contours (ht)

In the Model Builder window, under Results right-click Isothermal Contours (ht) and choose
Surface.

Surface 1
1 In the Settings window for Surface, locate the Data section.
2 From the Data set list, choose Exterior Walls.
3 Click Replace Expression in the upper-right corner of the Expression section. From the
menu, choose Model>Component 1>Heat Transfer>Temperature>T - Temperature.
4 Click to expand the Inherit style section. Locate the Inherit Style section. From the Plot
list, choose Isosurface.
5 On the Isothermal Contours (ht) toolbar, click Plot.

To visualize the velocity field as in Figure 4, follow the steps below:

Slice
1 In the Model Builder window, expand the Velocity (spf) node.

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2 Right-click Slice and choose Delete.

Velocity (spf)
In the Model Builder window, under Results right-click Velocity (spf) and choose Surface.

Surface 1
1 In the Settings window for Surface, click Replace Expression in the upper-right corner of
the Expression section. From the menu, choose Model>Component 1>Laminar Flow>
Velocity and pressure>spf.U - Velocity magnitude.
2 Locate the Expression section. From the Unit list, choose mm/s.
3 On the Velocity (spf) toolbar, click Plot.

Data Sets
To show the temperature on the outlet boundaries only, as in Figure 3, first produce a new
data set for the selection built before. Then use this data set for a surface plot of the
temperature.

Surface 2
1 On the Results toolbar, click More Data Sets and choose Surface.
2 In the Settings window for Surface, type Outlets in the Label text field.
3 Locate the Selection section. From the Selection list, choose Outlets.

3D Plot Group 5
1 On the Results toolbar, click 3D Plot Group.
2 In the Settings window for 3D Plot Group, type Outlet Temperature in the Label text
field.

Surface 1
1 Right-click Outlet Temperature and choose Surface.
2 In the Settings window for Surface, locate the Data section.
3 From the Data set list, choose Outlets.
4 Locate the Coloring and Style section. From the Color table list, choose ThermalLight.
5 On the Outlet Temperature toolbar, click Plot.

Global Evaluation 1
1 On the Results toolbar, click Global Evaluation.
2 In the Settings window for Global Evaluation, type Mixing-Cup Temperatures in the
Label text field.

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3 Click Replace Expression in the upper-right corner of the Expressions section. From the
menu, choose Model>Component 1>Heat Transfer>Global>Weighted average
temperature>ht.ofl1.Tave - Weighted average temperature.
4 Locate the Expressions section. In the table, enter the following settings:

Expression Unit Description

ht.ofl1.Tave degC Weighted average temperature (Upper Outlets)
ht.ofl2.Tave degC Weighted average temperature (Lower Outlets)

5 Click Evaluate.

TABLE
1 Go to the Table window.
The mixing-cup temperature at upper outlets is about 38.5°C and at the lower outlets
about 45°C.

RESULTS

Derived Values
To calculate the maximum pressure drop proceed as follows:

Surface Maximum 1
1 On the Results toolbar, click More Derived Values and choose Maximum>Surface
Maximum.
2 In the Settings window for Surface Maximum, locate the Selection section.
3 From the Selection list, choose All boundaries.
4 Click Replace Expression in the upper-right corner of the Expressions section. From the
menu, choose Model>Component 1>Laminar Flow>Velocity and pressure>p - Pressure.
5 In the Label text field, type Maximum Pressure Drop.
6 Locate the Expressions section. In the table, enter the following settings:

Expression Unit Description

p Pa Maximum pressure drop

7 Click Evaluate.

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TABLE
1 Go to the Table window.
The maximum pressure is 5 Pa. The minimum pressure is defined by the outlet
boundary conditions and is zero. Thus, the maximum pressure drop is also 5 Pa.

Now, evaluate the equivalent heat transfer coefficient as defined in Equation 2. You can
use the integration operators defined previously in Component 1>Definitions.

RESULTS

Global Evaluation 2
1 On the Results toolbar, click Global Evaluation.
2 In the Settings window for Global Evaluation, locate the Expressions section.
3 In the table, enter the following settings:

Expression Unit Description

aveop1(ht.ntflux)/(T_hot-T_cold) W/(m^2*K)

4 In the Label text field, type Heat Transfer Coefficient.

5 Locate the Expressions section. In the table, enter the following settings:

Expression Unit Description

aveop1(ht.ntflux)/ W/(m^2*K) Heat transfer coefficient
(T_hot-T_cold)

6 Click Evaluate.

TABLE
1 Go to the Table window.
The equivalent heat transfer coefficient is about 1500W/(m2·K).

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