Experimental study of flow and thermal behaviour in single and multi-pass chevron-type plate heat exchangers

The present experimental study brings about the flow maldistribution in the single and multi-pass plate heat exchanger. The different plates packages of 11, 23, 36, and 44 plates are configured in 1–1 pass, whereas 23 and 44 plates are individually configured in 2–2, 3–3, and 4–4 multi-pass arrangements. The experiments have been performed with mixed chevron angle in the Z-type flow configuration of the PHEs for Reynolds number, Re=297–2730, mass flow rate,(m˙)=0.55−1.28kg/s, volumetric flow rate, V˙=2000−4600LPH, inlet temperature for hot and cold fluids, Thi=40∘CandTci=14∘C respectively. The findings indicate that as the number of plates rises, the flow distribution becomes more non-uniform, whereas the increment in the number of pass arrangements brings the flow uniformity inside the channels of the PHEs. It is also found that a multi-pass gives a better thermal performance as compared to a single-pass arrangement. The correlations are established on experimental data for the effectiveness and friction factor using non-linear regression analysis for all configurations of the PHEs.