GE 3D printed heat exchanger tested at 900°C

GE Research, the R&D department of the American conglomerate GE, has successfully tested a new3D printingHeat exchanger prototype. GE Research’s sub-scale thermal conditioning unit, designed in conjunction with the University of Maryland and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), has a unique grape-like geometry that makes it extremely heat and pressure resistant. Now that it has passed the preliminary test, its temperature exceeds the capacity of the most advanced equipment at present, and exceeds 200 °C. General Electric Research said that its prototype can find applications in the energy sector, “in existing and next-generation power plants and Achieve cleaner and more efficient power generation on the jet engine platform”.

According to Lana Osusky, chief engineer at the General Electric Research Institute, additive manufacturing played an important role in the early success of the project. “she says:”3D printingThe design freedom provided by the process and design tools allows us to develop, build and test new heat exchanger designs more quickly, which was not possible before. “We may not want to eat these grapes, but when we completed this critical milestone, we still tasted victory.”

General Electric Research Institute and3D printing

As the R&D department of a multinational enterprise group, the General Electric Research Institute is engaged in a wide range of projects, from advanced robots to biological products, but it also has a strong3D printingThe team focuses on the development of materials, mechanical processes and optical technologies to increase the potential of the technology, especially in defense applications.Under its previous identity-General Electric Global Research, the business was supported by America Makes and developed a commercial grade metal laboratory together with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)3D printingmachine. The project immediately followed General Electric Research’s U.S. Navy contract, and the company received $9 million in funding to develop a method of digitally pairing naval parts to accelerate the production of mission-critical equipment.

Recently, Forge Lab of GE Research Institute designed a safe3D printingThe blockchain network can be encrypted in a way that protects data from cyber attacks, and it has received further military funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to add materials to create a “water out of thin air” system.Given that GE has a long history in the aerospace field, and its GE Aviation Division has proactively adopted3D printingTechnology, so it is not surprising that its General Electric research department has now developed an optimized thermal regulation device, which it says can “break efficiency barriers” and “reduce carbon emissions” in flight.

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General Electric Research3D printingSub-scale heat exchanger prototype. The picture comes from the General Electric Research Institute.

Reach a thermal milestone

Since the beginning of 2019, GE Research has been developing its new heat exchanger through ARPA-E’s “High Intensity Heat Exchange Through Materials and Manufacturing Process” or “HITEMMP” program. In principle, this $3.1 million project aims to produce a compact temperature- and pressure-resistant heat exchanger capable of operating electric turbines and jet engines with higher efficiency.

In this project, an interdisciplinary team of experts led by Osusky used the nickel superalloy designed by GE Research to create a heat exchanger they called “UPHEAT”.Through a lot of simulation, prototyping and testing, the scientists’3D printingThe device has a collection of thin-walled cells, loosely resembling grapes.With the famouscorrosionIn collaboration with scientific experts ORNL, GE Research has now tested the thermal resistance of its temperature regulation device. It not only reached the project’s initial target of 900°C, but also achieved nearly half of the target pressure of 3626 psi. The team intends to Deliver a demonstration prototype that fully meets the requirements before the first quarter of the year.

“From regulating the air you breathe on an airplane to keeping your car’s engine, computer and other electronic products cool, heat exchangers play an important function and are everywhere in our daily lives,” General Electric announced in its release Concluded in the press release. “For GE, these devices are essential to provide the world with large-scale power generation and jet propulsion systems in the cleanest and most effective way.”

Optimize heat exchanger design

In the past three years,3D printingThe released design flexibility has increasingly seen the technology being used to develop heat exchangers with unique geometries and thermal resistance qualities.For example, in February 2021, 3D Systems signed a contract with the US Army to help produce3D printingTopology optimized heat exchanger. As early as May 2019, ARPA-E also awarded Michigan State University $2.3 million for the development of a new additive-manufactured heat exchanger for power generation applications. Using an alloy suitable for LPBF, the team is working to create a scalable, compact thermal device that has strong corrosion resistance and high temperature resistance.

At the same time, solid metal3D printingExpert Fabrisonic has been cooperating with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL),3D printingA heat exchanger that can be used in space. Earlier this month, the company was able to help design a new one-piece part that eliminated dozens of small parts and joints that could fail during long-term tasks.

(Editor in charge: admin)