Because of the high thermal conductivity (1700 W/(m.K)) and the low density (0.2 to 0.6 g/cm3), the graphite foam is a good option for heat exchangers in vehicles. However, there is a high pressure drop through the foam due to the open cells of the foam. In order to evaluate the performance of graphite foam heat exchanger, a simulation comparison between a convectional aluminum louver fin heat exchanger and a corrugated graphite foam heat exchanger is carried out in this paper. The aim of the comparison is to investigate the coefficient of performance (COP), power density (PD), and compactness factor (CF). Due to the high thermal conductivity of graphite foam, the graphite foam is a potential candidate material for heat exchangers in vehicles. In order to evaluate the performance of graphite foam heat exchangers, a corrugated graphite foam is compared with a convectional aluminum louver fin. The major results are as follows: (1) The value of PD and CF are much higher in the corrugated graphite foam than in the aluminum louver fin. Thus, the graphite foam can reduce the weight and size of heat exchangers significantly, which would lead to a light or compact cooling system in vehicles. (2) The aluminum louver fin has a higher COP value than the corrugated graphite foams. By increasing the velocity, the difference in COP between the corrugated foam and aluminum louver fin heat exchangers becomes smaller. Because the graphite foam is not a mature thermal material, there are still several problems (high pressure drop, low COP value, weak mechanical properties, and so on) blocking the development of graphite foam heat exchangers.


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    Title :

    Graphite foam heat exchanger for vehicles


    Contributors:
    Lin, W. (author) / Sunden, B. (author)


    Publication date :

    2011


    Size :

    10 Seiten, 6 Bilder, 18 Quellen




    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    Print


    Language :

    English




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