Effect of inlet flow maldistribution on performance of plate fin heat exchanger coupled with hydrogen ortho-para catalytic conversion

doi:10.16085/j.issn.1000-6613.2024-1493

Abstract

Abstract:

The plate fin heat exchanger coupled with hydrogen ortho-para catalytic conversion (PFHE-OP) is a key equipment for the integration of flow heat transfer and catalytic conversion in hydrogen liquefaction systems, and inlet flow maldistribution is one of the key factors affecting its performance. A distributed parameter model of multi-stream PFHE-OP was constructed in this research, and the effects of inlet flow maldistribution parameter ϕ of fluids A, B, and C on the flow and heat transfer characteristics, as well as the efficiency of o-p in PFHE-OP, were investigated; where A was the hot fluid hydrogen involving in o-p, and B was the hot fluid helium, and C was the cold fluid helium. The results indicated that when ϕ_A, ϕ_B and ϕ_C increased from 0 to 1.5, the heat exchange amount decreased by 3.3%, 8.8%, and 10.0%, respectively; ϕ_C had the most significant effect on the heat transfer amount, because fluid C, being hot fluid, had a larger mass flowrate than the sum of the mass flowrate of cold fluid A and B. The pump power increased with the increase of ϕ_A, decreased with the increase of ϕ_B, and first decreased and then increased with the increase of ϕ_C, and the heat exchange amount per unit pump power (HEPUP) gradually decreased with the increase of ϕ_A, ϕ_B and ϕ_C; the pump power and HEPUP were most sensitive to ϕ_A, which was due to that fluid A channel was filled with catalyst. Although no o-p was involved in fluid C, the influence of ϕ_C on the distribution of the para-hydrogen mass fraction at the outlet of fluid A was the most significant; with ϕ_C increasing from 0 to 1.5, the outlet para-hydrogen mass fraction in fluid channels near the top and the bottom decreased up to 11.9%; the increase in ϕ_C limits the o-p rate in the channels of fluid A near the top and bottom. The results can provide theoretical guidance for the optimization design of multi-stream PFHE-OP and promote the efficient utilization of hydrogen energy.

Key words: inlet flow maldistribution, plate fin heat exchanger, hydrogen ortho-para catalytic conversion, distributed parameter model, numerical simulation

摘要：

耦合氢正仲催化转化的板翅式换热器（PFHE-OP）是氢液化系统中实现流动换热和催化转化一体化的关键设备，入口流动不均是影响其性能的关键因素之一。本文构建了多股流PFHE-OP的分布参数模型，研究了A、B、C三种流体的入口流动不均参数ϕ对PFHE-OP流动换热特性及正仲转化效率的影响；其中A为发生氢正仲催化转化的热流体氢气，B为热流体氦气，C为冷流体氦气。结果表明，当ϕ_A、ϕ_B、ϕ_C从0增大到1.5时，PFHE-OP换热量分别下降3.3%、8.8%和10.0%；ϕ_C对换热量的影响最为显著，这是由于C流体作为热流体，其流量大于冷流体A和B流量之和。泵功随ϕ_A的增大而增大，随ϕ_B的增大而减小，随ϕ_C的增大而先减小后增大，单位泵功换热量（HEPUP）随ϕ_A、ϕ_B、ϕ_C的增大而逐渐减小；泵功和HEPUP对ϕ_A最为敏感，这是由于A流体通道中填充了催化剂。尽管C流体中未涉及氢正仲催化转化，但是ϕ_C对A流体出口仲氢质量分数分布的影响最明显；当ϕ_C从0增大到1.5时，靠近顶部和底部的A流体通道的出口仲氢质量分数下降高达11.9%；ϕ_C的增大限制了A流体靠近顶部和底部的通道内的氢正仲转化速率。研究结果可为多股流PFHE-OP的优化设计提供理论指导，促进氢能源的高效利用。

关键词: 入口流动不均, 板翅式换热器, 氢正仲催化转化, 分布参数模型, 数值模拟

CLC Number:

TK172

LI Ke, ZHU Shun, WEN Jian, WANG Simin. Effect of inlet flow maldistribution on performance of plate fin heat exchanger coupled with hydrogen ortho-para catalytic conversion[J]. Chemical Industry and Engineering Progress, 2025, 44(10): 5640-5651.

李科, 朱顺, 文键, 王斯民. 入口流动不均对耦合氢正仲催化转化板翅式换热器性能的影响[J]. 化工进展, 2025, 44(10): 5640-5651.

Figures/Tables 15

References 27

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模式	流体编号	质量流量/g·s^-1	入口温度T_in/K	入口压力p_in/MPa	流动方向	总层数	排布方式
制冷模式^[26]	1(HP He)	15.1	44.2	1.273	+x	6	232321232321
	2(LP He)	57.7	10.3	0.155	-x	20	232321232321
	3(MP He)	42.6	45.8	0.561	+x	13	232123232123232
液化模式^[26]	1(HP He)	6.8	50.9	1.246	+x	6	232321232321
	2(LP He)	51.9	11.6	0.157	-x	20	232321232321
	3(MP He)	46.2	52.1	0.639	+x	13	232123232123232

模式	流体编号	质量流量/g·s^-1	入口温度T_in/K	入口压力p_in/MPa	流动方向	总层数	排布方式
制冷模式^[26]	1(HP He)	15.1	44.2	1.273	+x	6	232321232321
	2(LP He)	57.7	10.3	0.155	-x	20	232321232321
	3(MP He)	42.6	45.8	0.561	+x	13	232123232123232
液化模式^[26]	1(HP He)	6.8	50.9	1.246	+x	6	232321232321
	2(LP He)	51.9	11.6	0.157	-x	20	232321232321
	3(MP He)	46.2	52.1	0.639	+x	13	232123232123232

T_out/K	制冷模式^[26]			液化模式^[26]
T_out/K	T_out,exp/K	T_out,cal/K	偏差/K	T_out,exp/K	T_out,cal/K	偏差/K
T_out1	12.5	12.6	0.1	13.3	13.8	0.5
T_out2	44.4	44.2	0.2	14.9	14.5	0.4
T_out3	13.1	12.7	0.4	51.1	50.9	0.2

T_out/K	制冷模式^[26]			液化模式^[26]
T_out/K	T_out,exp/K	T_out,cal/K	偏差/K	T_out,exp/K	T_out,cal/K	偏差/K
T_out1	12.5	12.6	0.1	13.3	13.8	0.5
T_out2	44.4	44.2	0.2	14.9	14.5	0.4
T_out3	13.1	12.7	0.4	51.1	50.9	0.2

流体	翅片类型	翅片高度/mm	翅片间距/mm	翅片厚度/mm	节距/mm	长度和宽度/mm	排布方式
A	穿孔翅片	6.0	1.5	0.3	0.05	1000, 500	CBC, BCA, CBC, ACB, CAC, BCB, CAC, BCA, CBC, BCA, CBC, BCA, CBC, BCA, CBC, ACB, CAC, BCB, CAC, BCA, CBC, BCA, CBC, BCA, CBC, ACB, CBC
B	锯齿翅片	9.5	1.2	0.3	3
C	锯齿翅片	4.7	1.4	0.2	3