International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 202 (2023) 123755

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International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/hmt

Experimental and numerical study on the heat transfer and flow

characteristics of convex plate heat exchanger based on
multi-objective optimization
Dingbiao Wang a,b, Haoran Zhang a,b, Guanghui Wang a,b,∗, Honglin Yuan a,b, Xu Peng a,b
a
School of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
b
International Joint Laboratory of New Energy Clean Utilization Technology and Energy-Saving Equipment, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The convex plate heat exchanger is one of the new types of plate heat exchangers that have specific
Received 17 October 2022 functional properties compared to conventional plate heat exchangers, the structural parameters of con-
Revised 1 December 2022
vex plate heat exchangers are important in affecting the heat transfer performance. In this paper, based
Accepted 5 December 2022
on two-layer multi-objective optimization which is aimed at maximum performance evaluation criterion
Available online 11 December 2022
(PEC) and maximum field synergy number (Fc), the heat transfer and flow characteristics of convex plate
Keywords: heat exchanger are investigated experimentally and numerically. The optimization findings are broken
Convex plate heat exchanger down into single factor, response surface, and sensitivity analysis. The optimal results under different ob-
Heat transfer jective functions are analyzed and the optimal structural parameters obtained which are the welding hole
Flow characteristics radius (R) is 5.81 mm, the ellipse radius (L) is 5.02 mm, and the welding hole spacing (P) is 64.00 mm;
Multi-objective optimization Compared to the structure before optimization, the size-optimized structure may enhance the tempera-
ture differential between the inlet and outflow of the cooling water by less than 8.27%, the heat transfer
performance is increased by 20.43%, and the comprehensive performance is improved by 2.3∼19.59%.
© 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
The plate heat exchanger (PHE) is light in weight and compact
in volume, has a wide heat exchange area, and a high heat ex-
change efficiency [1,2]. There are over 60 different plate patterns of
the PHEs, The most common surface pattern used is the corrugated
design [3], so the corrugated PHEs have been heavily studied [4–
12]. Compared with other heat exchangers, convex plate heat ex-
changer is a new pattern of PHE emerging in recent years, they has
advantages as good heat transfer performance, low flow resistance
and enduring high pressure [13], but there are few investigations
on convex PHEs. Mohamood and Ligrani [14] studied the plate with
the pit-convex cell structure through numerical simulation, and it
is found that the local Nusselt number at the pit-convex cell in-
creased compared to the flat plate, which indicates that the sec-
ondary flow generated at the pit-convex cell has an important ef-
fect on heat transfer. Their work laid a theoretical foundation for
the design of the convex plate heat exchanger. Pillow plate heat
exchanger (PPHE) is a type of PHE with a complex wavy struc-
∗
Corresponding author at: School of Mechanical and Power Engineering,
Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450 0 01, China.
E-mail address: ghwang@zzu.edu.cn (G. Wang).
ture [15], whose structure and performance are similar to convex
PHEs. Djakow et al. [16] found that the “dimpled” surface results
in the heat transfer coefficient increased by 24%, as compared to
a smooth-surface pillow-plate channel. Piper et al. [17] proposed a
reliable design method available for pillow plate heat exchanger,
and it is based on forming simulations, which accurately repro-
duced the inherently three-dimensional wavy pillow-plate chan-
nels by imitating the real manufacturing process of pillow plates.
Even so, through this method we cannot have the optimal struc-
tural parameters of PPHE. Later, Piper et al. [18] came up with
another method to enhance the heat transfer in pillow-plate heat
exchangers (PPHE) based on a secondary structuring of the pillow-
plate surface with dimples. The numerical results have shown, that
the thermo-hydraulic efficiency in the new channel is increased
by 11.2%, compared to conventional pillow plates. Shirzad et al.
[19] numerically analyzed optimal geometrical parameters of pil-
low plate heat exchanger (PPHE), and found that PPHE with longer
longitudinal or transversal distance in the channel was more effi-
cient for lower friction coefficient.
From the above research, it can be seen that the structural pa-
rameters not only have a great impact on the performance of con-
ventional PHEs, but also on the one of convex PHEs. With the con-
tinuous improvement of computer technology, the development of
numerical simulation technology and finite element, the structural

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2022.123755
0017-9310/© 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
D. Wang, H. Zhang, G. Wang et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 202 (2023) 123755

tural optimization. He et al. [26] optimized the construction and

Nomenclature size of the exhaust heat exchanger for the automotive generator
based on the characteristics of fluid heat transfer and fluid re-
A inlet cross-sectional area, m2 sistance. A comprehensive set of numerical thermoelectric gener-
c specific heat capacity, J kg−1 K−1 ator model of engine exhaust heat recovery is built using For-
cp constant pressure specific heat capacity, J kg−1 K−1 tran software based on typical plate exhaust heat exchanger. The
DH equivalent diameter of the channel, m maximum net power requires a smaller height. The ideal cross-
f Darcy resistance coefficient sectional area for automobiles is 0.0056m2 and the optimal scale
h convective heat transfer coefficient, W m−2 K−1 is 0.005 m in height and 0.56 m in length. Zhu et al. [27] stud-
L size-optimized ellipse radius, effective length, mm ied different inner topologies of thermoelectric generator numeri-
Nu Nusselt number cally and experimentally. There a good agreement between the re-
P hole spacing, mm sults of the study carried out by Zhu and a simulation result per-
Qm mass flow, kg s−1 formed by Wang et al. [28], where cylindrical grooves were the
Q heat, J best design for the inner topology of the heat exchanger. Hajabdol-
Qs heat source of solids, J lahi [29] optimized the plate-fin heat exchanger using construction
Qf heat source of Fluid, J theory and compare their findings to conventional structures. Heat
Pr Prandtl number exchange efficiency and yearly cost are chosen as objective func-
P pressure drop, Pa tions, and multi-objective optimization is performed on two ge-
P’ half hole spacing, mm ometries: standard and structural plate-fin heat exchangers (PFHE).
q heat flux density, J m−2 s−1 The results demonstrated that structural PFHE has an optimal ef-
qcv volume flow, m3 h−1 ficiency greater than 0.747, but conventional PFHE has one lower
R welding hole radius than 0.747. Hao et al. [30] used the heat flow model to perform
ui speed components, m s−1 an experimental investigation on the geometric optimization of
Re Reynolds number the plate-fin heat exchanger’s deflection fins, and provided a novel
T temperature, K heat exchanger design and analysis solution based on the heat flow
Tm qualitative Temperature, K approach, which resulted in a better solution. The tree traversal
T temperature difference, K approach is used to improve the compact heat exchanger’s fin con-
T m log mean temperature difference, K struction. The upgraded heat exchanger improves the overall heat
Tf fluid reference temperature, K transfer coefficient by 7.43%, while the pressure on the air side de-
Tw wall temperature, K creases. The loss is minimized by 29.7%, providing valuable knowl-
edge for fin structure optimization in real-world applications. Xi-
Greek symbol
aoxiang et al. [31] researched on the comprehensive performance
λ fluid thermal vonductivity, W m−1 K−1
of sinusoidal fins in PFHE numerically based on fluid-structure in-
θ speed pressure synergy angle, Deg
teraction (FSI) analysis. The analysis results of stress distribution
ρ density, kg m−3
has shown that the maximum stress was located in the fins at the
k turbulent kinetic energy, J kg−1
entry and exit areas of the structure. For solving the problem of
ε urbulent dissipation, m3 s−2
high oil temperature in a certain engineering machinery transmis-
μ dynamic viscosity, kg m−1 s−1
sion system, Xiaoxiang et al. [31] proposed a method to improve
Subscripts the heat dissipation performance of the PHE by improving the in-
i, j Coordinate direction ternal structure of the heat exchanger. Heat dissipation power of
in inside, in the heat exchanger is increased by 18.3% through this method.
out out, out It can be seen from above that the mentioned scholars are basi-
max maximum cally all focusing on structural optimization of conventional PHEs
min minimum while the optimization of convex PHEs structure is rarely stud-
ied. Wang and Xu [32] presented a concave-convex plate heat ex-
Abbreviations changer and research on it numerically using multi-objective opti-
PHE plate heat exchanger mization. The results has shown that the diameter of the concave-
FEM finite element method convex plate cell body has the greatest impact on heat exchange
PPHE pillow plate heat exchanger performance and the depth of the pit body has the greatest impact
MOGA multi-objective genetic algorithm on resistance and comprehensive performance; Then, using opti-
PFHE plate-fin heat exchangers mization criteria, three sets of optimal structural parameters are
PEC comprehensive performance evaluation criteria obtained.
Fc field synergy number To summarize, researches on PHEs size optimization have been
quite comprehensive, and size optimization has steadily evolved to
a conjunction of multi-parameter and multi-objective. The size op-
optimization design has also been improved rapidly. The basic idea timization of the flow channel of the plate heat exchanger is often
of numerical simulation of structural optimization using finite el- only for the original structure, and a single optimization is carried
ement method is to achieve the optimal solution of the objec- out, according to the research; the size optimization gradually de-
tive function under the constraints of design variables [20]. The velops to a optimization with the combination of multi-parameter
structural optimization includes the optimization of size, topology and multi-objective. There are more studies on the chevron corru-
and shape [21–25]. The three optimization methods are divided gation PHEs, while few investigations on honeycomb convex PHEs.
into the initial, middle and final stages of the corresponding struc- The novelty this paper is that the flow and structural parameters
tural design. With the gradual maturity of research, these three of the plate heat exchanger are constructed as research objects in
methods are gradually expanded from solid mechanics to fluid two-layer optimization cycle and the optimal parameters of the
mechanics. In recent years, there are a large number of scholars flow path in convex PHE are obtained on the basis of the actual
studying the enhancement of the performance of PHEs by struc- working conditions.

2
D. Wang, H. Zhang, G. Wang et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 202 (2023) 123755

This paper is organized as follows: First, the numerical simula- 2.1.2. Boundary conditions
tion model is described in Section 2. Second, the multi-objective The boundary conditions are as follows: the upper and lower
optimization analysis of size of the flow channel of the convex walls of the heat exchange plate are set as adiabatic walls, and
plate is discussed in Section 3, where experimental data and sim- the fluid is heated by a constant heat flux density (Q) which is
ulation data of the convex plate are organized. And the calculation 800 W/m2 ; The cooling fluid in the plate is water, mass flow inlet,
method of the physical parameters is determined in Section 4. using different Re, convert it to the corresponding mass flow (Qm ),
its inlet temperature is 303 K; the two sides are set as symmet-
2. Numerical simulation rical boundaries; the inlet and outlet surfaces are set as periodic
boundary conditions, and the calculation formula of mass flow is:
2.1. Geometric model
Reμ
v= (7)
Fig. 1 shows that the left side of the heat exchange plate is ρ de
the cold fluid inlet, and the right is the discharge port. The hon-
eycomb structure is arranged symmetrically on the heat exchange Qm = ρν A (8)
plate, so it can be simplified when designing and calculating. In In the above formula, μ is the dynamic viscosity, de is the
this design, the optimized design unit is the welding hole after the equivalent diameter, ρ is the fluid density, and A is the inlet cross-
semi-elliptical rotation, its radius(R) is D/2, the short axis of the el- sectional area.
lipse is L, the distance between the holes of the two design units is
P, the thickness of the heat exchange plate is H, and the boundary 2.2. Evaluation index and objective function
is adiabatic.
2.2.1. Evaluation indicators
2.1.1. Governing equations (Nu/Nu0 )/(f/f0 )1/3 [34] is a measurement index under the same
Flow continuity equation: pump power, which is based on the relationship between power
consumption and the cube of the speed. Its value is greater than 1,
∇ ·u=0 (1)
indicating that strengthening the heat transfer surface can provide
Momentum equation: more heat under the same power. In practice, it can more accu-
rately reflect the comprehensive heat exchange performance of the
ρ (u · ∇ )u = −∇ p + μu + F (2) heat exchanger, so this paper uses it as the evaluation index of the
Energy equation: heat exchanger performance, and its formula is as follows:
hDH
ρ c p (u · ∇ )T = kf T (3) Nu = (9)
λ
Turbulence is a common flow phenomenon that has superior
properties in flow and heat transfer. Currently, the engineering
q
h= (10)
standard k − ε model, Realizable k − ε model and RNG k − ε model Tw − T f
is the most widely used. Some scholars have examined these three
2 P D H
models, among which, RNG k − ε model can handle the flow with f = (11)
Lρ U 2
a large degree of streamline bending and a high strain rate, so this
design uses RNG k − ε model [33]. In the above formula, Nu is the Nusselt number of the heat ex-
change plate, h is the heat transfer coefficient of the heat exchange
∂ (ρ kui ) ∂ ∂k plate, λ is the fluid thermal conductivity, q is the heat flux density,
= (α μ ) + Gk − ρε (4)
∂ xi ∂xj k ef f ∂xj Tw is the wall temperature, Tf is the fluid reference temperature, f
is the Darcy resistance coefficient, P is the pressure drop over the
∂ (ρε ui ) ∂ ∂ε ε ε2
= (αε μe f f ) + C1∗ε Gk − C2ε ρ (5) channel length L, DH is the equivalent diameter of the channel, ρ
∂ xi ∂xj ∂xj k k is the fluid density, U is the average velocity of the runner section.

k2
μe f f =μ+μt , μt =ρ Cμ (6) 2.3. Objective function
ε
Where Gκ represents the turbulent kinetic energy due to the mean In the ANSYS Workbench platform, Nu, f, PEC, and Fc are se-
velocity gradient. lected as the objective functions, namely:
hDH q
max : Nu = ,h = ;
λ Tw − T f
2 P D H
min : f = ;
Lρ U 2
Nu/Nu0 (12)
max : P EC = ;
( f / f0 )1/3
u ∂∂Tx + v ∂∂Ty + w ∂∂Tz
max : F c=  
−
→
 U |gradT |
In the formula, Nu represents the intensity of convective heat
transfer; f represents the degree of fluid resistance to the honey-
comb panel; PEC represents the measure of heat transfer under
constant pump power; Fc is the field synergy number, and the bet-
Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of heat exchange plate geometry and flow path. ter the synergy is, the better the heat transfer effect can be. There

3
D. Wang, H. Zhang, G. Wang et al.
Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of meshing division.
is a certain mutual constraint between each objective function. The
larger value of Nu is, the smaller value of f is, which can lead to a
larger PEC, and the larger value of Fc are selected as the optimal
structure parameters.
In this paper, the structural parameters of the heat exchange
plate are selected as design variables, which is, the welding hole
radius R = D/2, the ellipse short axis L, and the hole spacing P
between the two design units. The variation ranges of each param-
eter are: 2 mm ≤ R ≤ 7 mm, 5 mm ≤ L≤ 15 mm, 32 mm ≤ P ≤
50 mm, the life R = D/2, P’ = P/2.
2.3.1. Meshing
ANSYS Meshing is constantly used in the heat exchange plate
researches. In the case of high Re number, the physical quantity of
the wall boundary changes drastically, and the irregularity of the
comprehensive geometric shape and the independent evaluation
requirements of the mesh size are selected. The unstructured tetra-
hedral mesh is used to refine the local mesh for the wall boundary
layer, and a larger mesh in the main channel, which can save com-
puting resources without affecting the calculation accuracy. The
mesh is divided as what is shown in Fig. 2.
In order to eliminate the influence of different meshing num-
bers on the calculation results, it is necessary to conduct mesh-
ing independence assessment. Hold R = 4 mm, L = 8 mm, and
P = 80 mm still, and with them put into calculation the number
of Nu varies with the decrease of the meshing step size and the
increase of meshing number gradually. When the mesh is refined
to a certain extent, the value of Nu tends to stable, which can in-
dicate that the effect of the number of meshing on the simulation
calculation is eliminated. Fig. 3 shows the variation of Nu under
different mesh numbers.
The meshing step size in the Fig. 3 is from 1.5 to 0.8 mm, and
the range of meshing number is from 11,053 to 90,0 0 0. It can be
seen from the figure below that when the step size is 0.9 mm,
which is when the meshing number reaches to 50,145, the value
of Nu basically tends to be stable. If the meshing number contin-
ues to increase at this point, there will not only be no benefit to
the calculation results, but also an unnecessary increase in the cal-
culation time. Therefore, this paper selects a step size of 0.9 mm
for calculation.
3. Multi-objective optimization analysis
In this section, the single factor method and the three-
dimensional response surface method are respectively used to an-
alyze the influence of structural parameters such as different void
radius (R), ellipse radius (L), and hole spacing (P) on heat transfer
and flow resistance characteristics, and then the effect of different
design parameters on heat transfer and flow resistance is also an-
alyzed. The sensitivity of the characteristics provides a reference
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International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 202 (2023) 123755
Fig. 3. Variation of Nu number under different mesh numbers.
for obtaining the heat exchange plate with the optimal structure
in actual production.
3.1. Single factor analysis
In Fig. 4, the effect of different void radius (R), ellipse radius (L),
and hole spacing (P) on Nu value is shown. It can be seen from that
when the welding hole spacing (P) and the ellipse radius (L) are
constant, the Nu increases with the increase of the welding hole
radius (R) when 1 mm ≤ R ≤ 7 mm, that is, increasing the weld-
ing hole radius can enhance the heat transfer efficiency of the heat
exchange plate. As shown in Fig. 4(b), when the hole spacing takes
different values, with the change of R, the variation trend of Nu is
the same, and the variation of the Nu with the change of the hole
spacing (P) is very small, that is, the P has little effect on the heat
transfer efficiency. Fig. 4(c) shows the effect of 1 mm ≤ R ≤ 7 mm
and different values of L on the Nu. As the R number increases,
the Nu also increases; for the same R, when L increases, also in-
creases the Nu, and when L is small, R has less effect on the Nu.
Fig. 4(a) shows the effect of different ellipse radius (L) on Nu under
different hole spacing (P). It can be seen that with the increase of
ellipse radius (L), Nu increases, indicating that the increase of el-
lipse radius (L) increases. It can greatly enhance the heat exchange
efficiency of the heat exchange plate. Combining Fig. 4(a) and (b),
when the welding hole radius (R) and the ellipse (L) radius are
constant, the hole spacing has little effect on the Nu. When 32 mm
≤ P/2 ≤ 50 mm, the optimal hole spacing is P/2 = 44 mm. Com-
bining Fig. 4(b) and (c), when the hole radius (R) is constant, the
ellipse radius (L) has a greater influence on the Nu than the hole
spacing (P).
Fig. 5 shows the effect of different welding hole radius (R), el-
lipse radius (L), and hole spacing (P) on the resistance coefficient
(f). Fig. 5(a) shows the influence of the ellipse radius (L) on the f
when the hole spacing (P) is different. It can be seen from the fig-
ure that with the increase of the ellipse radius (L), the f increases,
and so does the flow resistance also increase. Fig. 5(b) shows the
influence of different welding hole radius (R) on the f under dif-
ferent hole spacing (P). It can be seen from the figure that as the
welding hole radius (R) increases, the f also increases. Combining
Fig. 5(a) and (b), we can see that the increase of the welding hole
radius (R) and the ellipse radius (L) will increase the flow resis-
tance. When the welding hole radius (R) and the ellipse radius (L)
are constant, when 32 mm ≤ P/2 ≤50 mm, the f increases first
and then decreases as it increases. When the hole spacing (P) is
D. Wang, H. Zhang, G. Wang et al.
Fig. 4. Effects of design variables on Nu.
small, the flow resistance is small. Fig. 5(c) shows the influence of
the welding hole radius (R) on the f under different ellipse radius
(L). It can be seen from the figure that the f is proportional to the
welding hole radius (R). When the welding hole radius (R) is con-
stant, the ellipse radius (L) increases, the f increases accordingly,
and when the welding hole radius (R) is small, the curve is con-
centrated; when the welding hole radius (R) is large, the curve is
scattered, and when the welding hole radius is large, the influence
of the ellipse radius (L) on the f is more sensitive. In Fig. 5(b) and
(c), the curves in (b) are relatively concentrated than those in (c),
which means changing the ellipse radius (L) has a greater effect on
the fluid flow resistance than the hole spacing (P).
Fig. 6 shows the effect of different welding hole radius (R), el-
lipse radius (L), and hole spacing (P) on the PEC value, that is,
the comprehensive heat transfer performance. In Fig. 6(a), it shows
the influence of the ellipse radius (L) on the PEC when the hole
spacing (P) is different. With the increase of the ellipse radius
(L), the PEC showed a downward trend. Fig. 6(b) shows the influ-
ence of the welding hole radius (R) on the PEC, when the hole
spacing (P) takes different values. It can be seen from the fig-
ure that with the increase of the welding hole radius (R), the PEC
shows a downward trend. Comparing Fig. 6(a) and (b), it can be
seen that with the increase of the hole spacing (P), the PEC also
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International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 202 (2023) 123755
shows a downward trend. Fig. 6(c) shows the influence of the
welding hole radius (R) on the PEC when the ellipse radius (L) is
different. With the increase of the welding hole radius, the PEC
shows a downward trend. From Fig. 6(a)–(c), it can be seen that
the PEC shows a downward trend with the increase of the de-
sign variables welding hole radius (R), ellipse radius (L), and hole
spacing (P).
Fig. 7 shows the effect of different welding hole radius (R), el-
lipse radius (L), and hole spacing (P) on the field synergy number
(Fc). In Fig. 7(a), it is a graph considering the influence of the el-
lipse radius (L) on the cosine value of the synergy angle under dif-
ferent hole distances (P). It can be seen from the figure that with
the increase of the ellipse radius (L), within the range of 5 mm ≤
L ≤ 15 mm, the Fc first increased and then decreased, and when
L = 10.83 mm, a peak Fc = 0.037677 appeared. Fig. 7(b) shows the
effect of the welding hole radius (R) on the Fc under different el-
lipse radius (L). The curves in the figure have intersections point,
which verifies the conclusion in the figure (a), with the increase of
the R, the Fc increases, and the heat transfer effect is strengthened.
In Fig. 7(c), it shows the influence of the R on Fc under different
P. As the R increases, the Fc increases. Comparative analysis of (a)
and (c) shows that there is only one curve in both figures, indicat-
ing that changing the P will not change the Fc.
D. Wang, H. Zhang, G. Wang et al.
Fig. 5. Effects of design variables on f.
3.2. 3D response surface analysis
The single factor analysis has certain limitations. It can only re-
flect the influence of a single structural parameter on the objec-
tive function, while the three-dimensional response surface analy-
sis method can reflect the change of the objective function under
the action of two parameters.
Fig. 8 shows the influence of structural parameters on Nu. Fig.
(a) shows the effect of the two-way action of the welding hole ra-
dius (R) and the ellipse radius (L) on Nu. It can be seen from the
figure that the highest Nu appears in the maximum welding hole
radius (R) and ellipse radius (L). The welding hole radius (R) takes
the maximum value. Fig. (b) shows the influence of the hole spac-
ing (P) and the welding hole radius (R) on the Nu. It can be seen
from the figure that with the increase of the welding hole radius
(R), the Nu increases. With the increase of the spacing (P), the Nus-
selt number first increases and then decreases slightly, and its peak
appears at P/2 = 44 mm.
Fig. 9 shows the effect of structural parameters on the resis-
tance coefficient (f). Fig. (a) shows the influence of the two effects
of the welding hole radius (R) and the ellipse radius (L) on the f.
It can be seen from the figure that with the increase of the weld-
ing hole radius (R) and the ellipse radius (L), the f increases, and
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International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 202 (2023) 123755
the maximum value appears where R and L are maximum. Fig. (b)
shows the influence of the hole spacing (P) and the welding hole
radius (R) on the f. With the increase of the welding hole radius
(R), the f increases, and with the increase of the hole spacing (P),
the f first increases and then decreases, and the peak value is ob-
tained at R = 7 mm and P/2 = 40 mm.
Fig. 10 shows the effect of structural parameters on the com-
prehensive heat transfer performance (PEC). Fig. (a) shows the in-
fluence of the welding hole radius (R) and the ellipse radius (L)
on the PEC. It can be seen from the figure that within the range
of 2 mm ≤ R ≤ 7 mm, with the increase of the welding hole ra-
dius (R), the PEC gradually decreases. With the increase of the el-
lipse radius (L), the PEC gradually decreases. At the minimum el-
lipse radius (L) and the minimum welding hole radius (R), the PEC
achieves the maximum value. Fig. (b) shows the effect of the hole
spacing (P) and the welding hole radius (R) on the PEC. It can be
seen from the figure that the PEC increases with the decrease of
the welding hole radius (R), and shows a trend of first decreasing
and then increasing with the increase of the hole spacing (P), and
the maximum value appears at the minimum welding hole radius
(R) and the hole spacing (P).
The effect of structural parameters on the field synergy number
(Fc) is shown in Fig. 11. The influence of the welding hole radius
D. Wang, H. Zhang, G. Wang et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 202 (2023) 123755

Fig. 6. Effects of design variables on PEC.

(R) and the ellipse radius (L) on the Fc is shown in Fig. (a). The Fc Table 1
Sensitivity of structural parameters to objective function.
increases as the welding hole radius (R) increases; as the ellipse
radius (L) increases, the Fc shows a trend of increasing and then Nu f PEC Fc
decreasing. The influence of the welding hole radius (R) and the R 0.0321 0.3379 -0.08012 0.1776
hole spacing (P) on the Fc is shown in Fig. (b). As the welding hole L 0.0310 0.1893 -0.03291 0.0203
radius (R) increases, the Fc increases, and the P increases, as shown P 0.0085 0.0956 -0.02237 0
in the diagram. When R =7 mm, P has no effect on the change in
Fc, and the Fc reaches its highest value.
The welding hole radius (R), which is much greater than the
3.3. Parameter sensitivity analysis ellipse radius (L) and the hole spacing (P), has the most sensitive
influence on the Nu, f, PEC and Fc, as shown in the table and fig-
Three design variables are chosen for this paper’s optimization: ure. The ellipse radius (L) comes in second, with the hole spac-
welding hole radius (R), ellipse radius (L), and hole spacing (P). ing (P) having the least impact on the objective function. Based on
With the different objective functions Max: Nu, Max: PEC, Max: the above analysis, the size of the welding hole radius (R) should
Fc, and Min: f, the impact of the objective function is different. be prioritized when optimizing the size of the honeycomb plate
Sensitivity analysis of the parameters is required to determine the heat exchanger, which also serves as a reference for actual indus-
impact of each optimization parameter on the optimization result trial production.
and provide more accurate guidance for practical industrial ap-
plications. The sensitivity of each optimization parameter to the 3.4. Optimization results
objective function is shown in the Table 1. The histogram of the
structural parameters’ sensitivity to the objective function is shown The optimization calculation is carried out using the multi-
in Fig. 12. Through the above sensitivity icons, the degree of influ- objective genetic algorithm (MOGA) in the generated 10 0 0 sample
ence of each design parameter on the objective function can be points, as per the requirements of MOGA’s convergence conditions.
seen. Three sets of optimization results are obtained for each objective

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D. Wang, H. Zhang, G. Wang et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 202 (2023) 123755

Fig. 7. Effects of design variables on Fc.

Fig. 8. Influence of structural parameters on Nu.

8
D. Wang, H. Zhang, G. Wang et al.
Fig. 9. Influence of structural parameters on f.
Fig. 10. Influence of structural parameters on PEC.
function using the different objective functions used in this paper.
The table below shows the specific results.
The Table 2 shows that the different objective functions pro-
duce different optimization results. When a single objective func-
tion is used, but the objective function is optimal, other objective
functions must be sacrificed to achieve the optimal degree. When
a single target Max: Nu is used, for example, Nu= 173.0116, which
is the maximum value, indicating that the heat transfer efficiency
is the highest, but f = 0.1990, which is also the maximum value. As
a result, despite the highest heat transfer efficiency, the resistance
to fluid flow losses is also the highest. Likewise, when the f is the
smallest, the Nu is also the smallest. The PEC is used as the objec-
tive function to consider the flow and heat transfer performance
comprehensively.
It can be seen from Table 2 that under the Max: PEC, Max: Fc
objective function, the Nu of all optimization results are greater
than 160, the f is less than 0.16, the value of PEC is greater than
9
International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 202 (2023) 123755
3.0, the maximum value is 3.2699, and the maximum value of Fc
is 0.0387. In the first group, all objective functions are in the mid-
dle of the three groups. Although the Nu and the Fc of the second
group are larger than those of the first group, their PEC is smaller,
and the f is smaller. f is larger than that. The same is true for
the third group, in which two evaluation metrics are better than
the first group, and two are inferior to the first group. Taking the
above conditions into consideration, the PEC of the first group is
better than that of the other two groups. Therefore, R = 5.81 mm,
L = 5.02 mm, and P’ = 32.00 mm are the best results.
4. Experimental comparison and performance analysis
The performance test experiment of the convex PHE was car-
ried out using Zhengzhou University’s comprehensive experimen-
tal platform for heat exchange equipment performance test. A 1:1
modelling is carried out based on the actual size of the heat ex-
D. Wang, H. Zhang, G. Wang et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 202 (2023) 123755

Fig. 11. Influence of structural parameters on Fc.

Table 2
Optimization results under different objective functions.

R(mm) L(mm) P’(mm) f Nu PEC Fc

Max Fc 7.00 6.86 47.03 0.1597 166.7237 3.0273 0.0397

7.00 6.85 48.49 0.1557 166.3868 3.0467 0.0397
7.00 6.85 42.80 0.1642 167.0240 3.0151 0.0397
Min: f 2.00 5.00 50.00 0.1079 161.7199 3.3475 0.0303
Max: Nu 7.00 15.00 45.47 0.1990 173.0116 2.9399 0.0381
Max: PEC 2.00 5.00 32.00 0.1114 163.7460 3.3539 0.0303
Max: PEC 5.81 5.02 32.00 0.1349 163.8117 3.1621 0.0387
Max Fc 6.95 5.02 32.04 0.1426 164.3915 3.1143 0.0396
3.53 5.01 32.07 0.1199 162.8499 3.2699 0.0349
Min: f 2.00 5.01 32.01 0.1114 163.7411 3.3536 0.0303
Max: Nu 2.03 5.21 34.70 0.1149 163.8607 3.3297 0.0305
5.38 14.99 49.98 0.1671 170.1214 3.0722 0.0377

Fig. 13. Physical construction of bump plate.

the outside of the heat exchanger to reduce heat loss and the wa-
ter is used as a heat source as well as the cooling medium for
convex PHE in this experiment.

4.2. Introduction to the experimental platform of convex PHE

The heat exchanger multi-functional comprehensive experimen-

Fig. 12. Sensitivity of structural parameters to objective function.
changer, and the simulation and experimental results are com-
pared and analyzed, as well as the heat transfer performance, flow
resistance performance, and comprehensive heat transfer perfor-
mance of the new heat exchanger.
4.1. Test the heat exchanger structure
tal device used in the convex PHE experiment is shown in Fig. 14,
and it can complete the heat exchanger pressure drop measure-
ment experiment, the heat exchanger heat exchange performance
measurement experiment, and the fluid heat transfer coefficient
measurement experiment. The experimental system can be shared
by the connected heat exchangers to complete the measurement of
different heat exchangers.
Table 3
Structural parameters of bump plate.

plate board length board board

Fig. 13 in this section depicts the heat exchanger structure used thickness/mm /mm width/mm spacing/mm
to verify the performance of the new convex PHE and Table 3 lists 1.2 800 200 7
its structural parameters. The 200 mm thick insulation cotton on

10
D. Wang, H. Zhang, G. Wang et al.
Fig. 14. Experimental platform.
Fig. 14 is a schematic flow chart of the experimental device of
the comprehensive experimental platform. The experimental sys-
tem consists of a circulating water system, a measurement system
and a heat exchanger.
The circulating water system is divided into a cold-water circu-
lating system and a hot water circulating system.
The cold-water circulation system in this experiment consists of
water inlet pipes, water tanks, valves, water pump, cooler, flowme-
ter. The lift of cold-water pump lift is 19 m, its maximum flow is
13 m3 /h, the power supply requirements are 50 Hz–220 V, and the
electric current is 0.4 A. The cold-water circulation process is: fill
the water tank through the water inlet pipe, start the circulating
pump, adjust the flowmeter, draw cold water from the water stor-
age tank, flow through the water pump, valve and then flow into
the flowmeter, and then enter the convex plate heat exchange ex-
perimental section. After heating in the heat exchanger, it flows
back to another liquid storage tank for cooling and standby. After
the above process, the cold-water circulation is completed.
The hot water circulation system in this experiment is mainly
composed of electric heating boiler, pipeline, water pump, flowme-
ter and heating jacket outside the honeycomb plate. The hot wa-
ter pump is of SGR type with a power of 0.55 kW, a rated lift of
20 m, a maximum flow of 5 m3 /h, a power supply requirement of
50 Hz–220 V, and an electric current of 0.4 A. The electric heat-
ing boiler is equipped with an electrical control cabinet and an au-
tomatic water supply tank, with a volume of 0.23 m3 . The boiler
temperature can be set from 0 to 99 °C through the electrical con-
trol cabinet. When the temperature of the medium in the boiler
reaches the set temperature, the relay will automatically discon-
nect and stop heating. When the medium temperature is less than
5 °C of the set temperature, the relay will be turned on and start
heating.
The hot water circulation process is: start the hot water pump,
draw hot water from the boiler, flow through the hot water pump
and valve, and then enter the flowmeter, connect to the convex
PHE, and then flow back to the boiler to continue heating after
heat exchange and cooling. Finally, complete the hot water cycle.
The measurement system includes a temperature measurement
system, a flow measurement system and a differential pressure
measurement system.
The temperature measurement system measures the inlet and
outlet temperatures of the hot and cold fluids, and is measured by
a WZP type PT100 thermal resistance with an accuracy grade of
11
International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 202 (2023) 123755
Table 4
Cold water flow and flow rate comparison table.
flow (L/h) 100 200 300 400
Flow rate (m/s) 0.14 0.28 0.42 0.56
A and a measurement range of 0∼300 °C. The temperature is dis-
played by the XMTD-308 intelligent digital temperature controller,
the measurement error is ± 0.5%F. S ± 1B, the compensation error
is less than or equal to 5 °C, and the thermal response time is less
than 30 s.
The flow measurement system measures the volume flow of
the hot and cold fluids in the experiment, which is measured by
a FM10 electromagnetic flowmeter in this experiment both cold-
water section and hot water section. its allowable temperature
is -25 ∼ 100 °C, the maximum pressure is 1 MPa, the range is
100∼1000 L, it measures with an accuracy of ± 0.5%. Based on the
measured volume flow, the flow rate is calculated.
The differential pressure measurement system measures the
pressure drop loss of the cooling water after passing through the
heat exchanger, which is measured by the 3051 capacitive differ-
ential pressure transmitters. 100 KPa, the accuracy is ±0.1%.
4.3. Experimental design and experimental procedures
The purpose of designing the experiment in this section is to
measure the heat exchange performance of the convex PHE com-
pare the performance results of the new heat exchange plate nu-
merically simulated with the experimental results, and verify the
performance of the new heat exchange plate.
4.3.1. Experimental parameter design
The heat transfer performance of the convex plate is tested. This
experiment adopts the method of fixing the flow of hot water and
changing the flow of cold water. The main parameters are designed
as follows:
The value range of cold-water flow is 10 0∼40 0 L/h, and the cor-
responding flow rate is shown in Table 4:
The hot water flow is maintained at 400 L/h.
The highest value of hot water temperature is determined
by the equipment with the lowest temperature resistance in the
whole experimental hot water circulation system, so the boiler set
temperature is 80 °C. During the experiment, due to some heat
D. Wang, H. Zhang, G. Wang et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 202 (2023) 123755

dissipation of the hot water pipeline, after stabilization, the water Table 5
Experimental data of bump plate.
inlet temperature is Around 75 °C. After the cold-water tempera-
ture passes through the incubator, it is stable at about 30 °C. Flow(L/h) Speed (m/s) Tin /°C Tout /°C  p/Pa Nu f

100 0.139 33.4 55.2 25 236.98 0.106

4.3.2. Experimental procedure 200 0.278 32.1 48.2 100 404.36 0.107
(1) Preparation stage: Before the experiment, it is necessary to 300 0.417 31.7 44.2 240 603.07 0.113
check and debug the equipment to ensure the safety of the 400 0.556 32 42.6 450 740.92 0.119
experiment and the accuracy of the experimental data. There
is no leakage in the hot and cold-water circulation system,
the boiler, water tank and other water outside reach the
safety line. The measuring instruments are calibrated. At the
beginning of the experiment, ensure that the valves of the
heat exchange section are fully opened, and the other valves
are closed.
Fig. 15. 1:1 numerical model of the new heat exchange plate.
(2) After completing the above preparations, turn on the power
and set the boiler heating temperature to 80 °C. When the
boiler temperature rises to the set temperature, turn on the 4.4.2. Experimental data
hot water pump switch and adjust the rotor flowmeter valve When the hot water and steam flow rates are higher during the
to make the hot water flow rate reach 400 L/h. experiment, the measured experimental data is more accurate, and
(3) After the hot water circulation system is turned on, when the time it takes for the steam flow to stabilize is longer. It is done
the reading of the hot water flowmeter is stable, turn on the at the maximum value by adjusting the cooling water flow, and
switch of the cold-water pump and turn on the cold-water it is done at the average value by performing multiple tests. The
circulation system. Adjust the valve to control the flowmeter experimental results are listed in the Table 5 below.
so that the flow of cold water reaches 100 L/h.
(4) Observe the reading changes on the temperature display in-
4.4.3. Simulation data
strument. When there is no obvious change in the reading
In Fig. 15, a 1:1 model for the convex plate model obtained by
within 30 s, it means that the entire system is basically sta-
size optimization is established based on the size of the convex
ble. At this time, record the inlet and outlet temperatures of
plate, as shown in.
the cold and hot fluids and the pressure difference between
This paper’s numerical simulation is divided into two sections.
the inlet and outlet of the convex plate.
The first section is based on the experimentally determined struc-
(5) Adjust the electromagnetic flowmeter and change the flow
ture and size of the convex PHE. The boundary conditions are set
rate of cooling water to 200 L/h, 300 L/h, and 400 L/h re-
according to the experimental conditions of the convex plate, and
spectively, repeat steps 3 and 4 to complete the entire ex-
a 1:1 model is established. To ensure that the numerical method
perimental measurement.
was accurate, a comparative analysis was performed. The second
(6) After the experiment is over, turn off the power of the boiler
part is: a model of the same size as the experimental convex plate
first, and after the boiler temperature drops, turn off the
is established, and the experimental conditions are used to sim-
switches of the hot water pump and the cold-water pump,
ulate, based on the structural parameters obtained by optimizing
and the switch of the differential pressure transmitter, close
the size of the convex plate in Section 2. Tables 6 and 7 show the
each valve, and tidy up the test bench.
results of the simulation.

4.4. Physical parameters and experimental analysis

4.4.4. Uncertainty analysis
The experimental data and simulation data of the convex plate The measured and derived parameters are combined into the
are organized, and the calculation method of the physical parame- results in the way of functional relationships. Therefore, the results
ters is determined. must also be propagated into the estimation errors of each param-
eter. A dependent variable, y, is derived from the co-evolution of
4.4.1. Physical parameters several independent variables xn , as follows:
With the progress of the experiment, the temperature of the y = f (x1 , x2 , ......, xn ) ± UI (15)
cooling water in the water tank will increase, so that the tempera-
ture of the cooling water inlet of the heat exchanger will increase.
Therefore, in the calculation process, the average temperature of
Table 6
the fluid is used to determine the physical parameters of water. Simulation data of experimental bump plate.
Tin +Tout Flow (L/h) Speed (m/s) Tin /°C Tout /°C  p/Pa Nu f
Tm = (13)
2
100 0.139 33.4 66.09 71.16 212.11 0.298
In the formula, Tm is the qualitative temperature of cooling wa- 200 0.278 32.1 51.32 273.21 456.32 0.284
ter in°C; Tin is the inlet temperature of cooling water in°C while 300 0.417 31.7 46.25 587.20 633.49 0.270
Tout is the outlet temperature of cooling water in°C. 400 0.556 32 43.29 1015.26 838.37 0.262

After the qualitative temperature is determined, the physical

parameters of cooling water at this temperature are calculated by Table 7
interpolation method, for example: when 20 °C < Tm < 40 °C, Simulation data of optimized bump plate.
the specific heat capacity cm , density ρm and thermal conductivity Flow (L/h) Speed (m/s) Tin /°C Tout /°C  p/Pa Nu f
λm at this temperature can be calculated by the following formu-
100 0.139 33.4 68.52 73.42 181.95 0.309
las: 200 0.278 32.1 52.91 279.64 470.45 0.291
XT =40 − XT =20 300 0.417 31.7 47.32 599.83 762.91 0.277
Xm = XT =20 + × (Tm − 20 ) (14) 400 0.556 32 44.04 1040.20 907.51 0.269
40 − 20

12
D. Wang, H. Zhang, G. Wang et al. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 202 (2023) 123755

Fig. 16. Comparison between simulation and experiment of bump plate.

The interval of the total uncertainty in the results is indispens- the simulated value of the convex PHE is 3.12 °C, and the relative
able, and the variables should be as independent as possible. The error is less than 19.37%. The temperature difference between the
approach of Root Sum Squares (RSS) [35] is widely used in the cal- water inlet and outlet increased by less than 8.27%. Fig. (c) is a
culation of the absolute error, Eq. (16). comparison chart of the Nu, which can be traced from the figure.
 2  2  2
The maximum absolute error between the simulated value and the
experimental value is 97.45, and the relative error is lower than
∂f ∂f ∂f
δy = ( δ x1 ) +
2
(δ x2 ) + ...... +
2
( δ x n )2 13.15%. Compared with the two simulated values, the Nu has in-
∂ x1 ∂ x2 ∂ xn creased by 20.43% at the highest. Fig. (d) is a comparison chart
(16) of comprehensive heat exchange performance. It can be seen from
the figure that the maximum absolute error between the experi-
In this note, the uncertainty calculated from the RSS method for mental value and the simulated value of the original convex PHE
the heat flux gained by coolant is estimated to be less than 8.2%. is 1.22, and the relative error is less than 22.42%. The comprehen-
sive heat transfer performance of the plate is 2.3% < PEC < 19.59%.
4.4.5. Result analysis In summary, the simulation and experimental values show that the
The simulation and experimental results of the original bump temperature difference at the cooling water outlet, the Nu, and the
plate heat exchanger and the simulation results of the bump plate relative error of the comprehensive heat transfer performance are
after size optimization are shown in Fig. 16. As can be seen from within 23%, so the simulation results are credible.
Fig. (a), as the flow rate increases, the pressure drop at the inlet
and outlet of the cooling water increases, but the experimental re- 5. Conclusion
sults of the original convex PHE are quite different from the sim-
ulated values. Fig. (b) is a temperature difference diagram. When We do not have a good command of the optimal structural pa-
the speed is greater than 0.25 m/s, the maximum absolute error rameters of the convex PHE under operating conditions for there
of the temperature difference between the experimental value and are few researches on the optimization of convex PHE structure. As

13
D. Wang, H. Zhang, G. Wang et al.
a result, the multi-objective optimization of its calculation unit was
carried out based on the structure of the existing convex PHE, and
the parameters of the optimal configuration were obtained. The re-
search method was used to investigate the reliability of numerical
simulation and the superiority of the new structure by combin-
ing experiment and simulation. The following are the main con-
clusions:
(1) In order to optimize the plate heat exchanger’s size, a sim-
plified modelling is carried out to target the structural char-
acteristics of the plate heat exchanger, and the genetic algo-
rithm is used to perform multi-objective optimization, with
the optimization results analyzed by single factor, response
surface, and sensitivity. PEC decreases as each structural pa-
rameter is increased; Fc increases as the welding hole ra-
dius (R) increases; a peak appears under the influence of
the ellipse radius (L); the welding hole spacing (P) has no
effect; the structural parameters have no effect. The objec-
tive function’s sensitivity is ordered as follows from high to
low: welding hole radius (R), ellipse radius (L), and weld-
ing hole spacing (P). The best results for various objective
functions are compared and analyzed, and the best struc-
tural parameters for the heat exchange plate are discovered:
P’ = 32.00 mm, R = 5.81 mm, L = 5.02 mm. When the
cooling water inlet velocity is greater than 0.25 m/s, the
size-optimized structure can increase the temperature dif-
ference between the cooling water inlet and outlet by less
than 8.27%, and the Nu by 20.43%, compared to the ones of
the existing convex PHE. The results have improved by 2.3–
19.59%.
(2) To perform the numerical simulations on the size-optimized
structure, an experimental platform is constructed and ex-
perimental research on the convex PHE is conducted, the
experimental and simulation results are compared. The tem-
perature difference between the experimental and simulated
values has a maximum absolute error of 3.12 °C, and the
relative error is less than 19.37%. The temperature differen-
tial between the input and output cooling water has grown
by 8.27% when comparing the two simulated values. The
greatest absolute error of the Nu between simulated and
experimental values is 97.45, and the relative error is less
than 13.15%. The Nu has increased by a maximum of 20.43%
when comparing the two simulated values. For comprehen-
sive heat exchange performance, the absolute error between
the experimental value and the simulated one of the orig-
inal convex PHE is 1.22, and the relative error is less than
22.42%. The size-optimized structure’s overall heat transfer
performance has improved from 2.3 to 19.59%.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Dingbiao Wang: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, In-
vestigation, Writing – original draft. Haoran Zhang: Data curation,
Writing – original draft. Guanghui Wang: Conceptualization, Fund-
ing acquisition, Resources, Supervision, Writing – review & editing.
Honglin Yuan: Visualization, Investigation. Xu Peng: Resources,
Supervision, Visualization, Writing – review & editing.
Data availability
Data will be made available on request.
14
International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 202 (2023) 123755
Acknowledgments
The authors thank the National Natural Science Foundation of
China (Project Contract No.21576245, 52206120), the China Post-
doctoral Science Foundation (Project Contract No.2022M712855).
The authors thank the reviewers for their useful remarks, improv-
ing the quality of the present work.
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