GE successfully tested 3D printed next-generation heat exchangers at a temperature of nearly 900°C

In power generation equipment, the function of the heat exchanger is similar to that of the human lungs. The lungs can circulate the air that the human body breathes, so that the body maintains the best performance, while regulating the body’s temperature. The heat exchangers in power plants like gas turbines basically perform the same function, but of course these heat exchangers work under extreme temperature and pressure conditions.

Since the beginning of 2019, GE Research has been leading a next-generation heat exchanger project through the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA-E) Materials and Manufacturing Process High Intensity Heat Exchange Program (HITEMMP) to develop high temperature, high pressure and ultra-compact Type heat exchangers can achieve cleaner and more efficient power generation in existing and next-generation power plants and jet engine platforms. Being able to run power turbines and jet engines at higher temperatures means higher levels of efficiency.

Today, this project has achieved a key milestone: GE successfully tested the 3D printed UPHEAT ultra-high performance heat exchanger at a temperature close to 400°F higher than conventional equipment.

© GE

Inspiration from grapes

From conditioning the air you breathe on an airplane to keeping car engines, computers and other electronic devices cool, heat exchangers perform important functions and are ubiquitous in human daily life. For GE, how these equipment can provide the world with stable large-scale power generation and jet propulsion in the cleanest and most efficient way.

GE Research is GE’s innovation center, combining research and reality. A world-class team of more than 1,000 scientific, engineering, and marketing personnel (more than 500 PhDs) is located at the intersection of physics and marketing, physics and digital technology, and Work in a wide range of industries to provide innovation and capabilities that change the world for GE’s customers. GE Research is responsible for GE’s UPHEAT ultra-high performance heat exchanger.

The core manufacturing technology of GE’s UPHEAT ultra-high performance heat exchanger is3D printingTechnology, GE hopes that the new heat exchanger will operate at temperatures exceeding 900°C and pressures above 250 bar, and the thermal efficiency of the supercritical CO2 power cycle will be increased by 4%, which will increase power output while reducing emissions.

3D printingAdvantages of heat exchanger © 3D Science Valley《3D Printing and Heat Exchanger and Radiator White Paper (Part 2)》

Key milestones

The current design operates at temperatures exceeding 1,650°F (nearly 900°C) (which is far beyond 200°C or more in today’s state-of-the-art equipment) and pressures >3,600 psi (nearly 250bar). The chief engineer of GE Research will This breakthrough is attributed to3D printing-The new materials and design breakthroughs brought by additive manufacturing, the design freedom provided by the 3D printing process and design tools enable GE scientists to develop, build and test new heat exchanger designs that were impossible before.

After designing, simulating, building and testing a series of heat exchanger prototypes, the GE team adopted a unique design similar to grapes, which can withstand higher temperatures and pressures. The team observed the composition of a group of parenchyma cells in the structure of the fruit, and the inspiration of this structure led to the completion of this key milestone.

© GE

The GE team is expected to build and test its final prototype at full temperature (900°C (1652°F) and pressure (3,626 psi)) at the end of the project in the first quarter of 2022.

According to GE, this new heat exchanger design will break efficiency barriers. GE is using its deep knowledge in metals and thermal management and applying it in an unprecedented way, through3D printingWith the power of power, GE can now achieve designs that were previously impossible with traditional manufacturing processes.pass through3D printing-Additive manufacturing process, GE and the University of Maryland will now explore the design of more complex bionic shapes to achieve gradual changes in heat exchanger performance, thereby achieving higher efficiency and lower emissions.

In terms of materials, this new type of heat exchanger uses a unique high-temperature-resistant, crack-resistant nickel-based superalloy, which is a material designed by the GE research team for the additive manufacturing process. Oak Ridge National Laboratory will use its expertise in corrosion science to test and verify the long-term performance of materials.

Redefining the heat exchanger

GE has a patent showing that GE passed3D printingRedefine the heat exchanger. For example, the fluid channel may be curvilinear, and may include heat exchange fins less than 0.25 mm thick, and be formed with a fin density of more than twelve heat exchange fins per centimeter. In addition, the heat exchange fins may be angled with respect to the wall of the fluid channel, and adjacent fins may be offset with respect to each other. This heat exchange structure can be similarly used in automobiles, aviation, maritime and other industries to help heat transfer between fluids.

By app3D printingTechnology reduces the thermal resistance of the heat conduction path while maintaining or reducing the weight of the system. According to the understanding of 3D Science Valley, the technical characteristics of the thermal management system developed by GE include the advantages of light weight, low thermal resistance, unrestricted shape, and integrated structure. Outstanding commercial advantages include the ability to achieve customized designs, lower manufacturing prices, more functions, and more thermal elements of the same volume.

It can be said that in terms of the forward design led by the realization of product functions, continuous innovations in the product design level of heat exchangers and radiators are taking place, and these innovations will enhance the efficiency of human thermal management through commercialization. And ability.Quite a few companies in3D printingProgress has been made in heat exchangers and radiators. These include GE, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, Unison Industries in the aerospace field; heat exchangers developed by HiETA Technologies and Renishaw in the automotive field, and new high-efficiency heat exchangers developed by Conflux Exchanger ConfluxCore and aluminum radiator developed by Fiat Chrysler (FCA Automotive Group); microprocessor cooling solutions and thermal management systems developed by companies such as Microsoft, IBM, Ebullient LLC in the IT electronics field.

(Editor in charge: admin)