Faculty
Department
Year of Publication
Keyword
Publication Type
Abstract
Conventional heat exchangers face a fundamental trade-off between thermal
effectiveness and hydraulic performance. Triply Periodic Minimal Surfaces (TPMS),
enabled by Additive Manufacturing, present a promising solution, offering high
surface-to-volume ratios and complex internal geometries that promote enhanced flow
mixing and heat transfer. This research details the design and numerical analysis of a
heat exchanger utilizing a Gyroid TPMS core. The primary objective was to assess its
thermal-hydraulic performance using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and
benchmark it against a conventional plate-type exchanger.
The methodology employed a novel computational workflow, beginning with the
generation of the complex implicit geometry in nTopology. This model was then
exported to Ansys Fluent for simulation. A full-scale Conjugate Heat Transfer (CHT)
analysis was conducted, using the k-ω SST turbulence model to accurately resolve the
flow and thermal coupling. The intricate geometry's meshing challenge was overcome
using the Fault-Tolerant Meshing (FTM) workflow.
The validated simulation results demonstrated the superior hydrodynamic efficiency of
the Gyroid TPMS design with a 1370% lower pressure drop and 570% less pumping
power. This presented a clear trade-off, as the conventional plate-type transferred 2.4
times more heat but at a substantial pressure cost. This study successfully validates a
robust computational workflow for analysing complex TPMS geometries and
concludes that these architectures provide a viable path toward developing more
compact, lightweight, and thermally efficient heat exchangers.
effectiveness and hydraulic performance. Triply Periodic Minimal Surfaces (TPMS),
enabled by Additive Manufacturing, present a promising solution, offering high
surface-to-volume ratios and complex internal geometries that promote enhanced flow
mixing and heat transfer. This research details the design and numerical analysis of a
heat exchanger utilizing a Gyroid TPMS core. The primary objective was to assess its
thermal-hydraulic performance using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and
benchmark it against a conventional plate-type exchanger.
The methodology employed a novel computational workflow, beginning with the
generation of the complex implicit geometry in nTopology. This model was then
exported to Ansys Fluent for simulation. A full-scale Conjugate Heat Transfer (CHT)
analysis was conducted, using the k-ω SST turbulence model to accurately resolve the
flow and thermal coupling. The intricate geometry's meshing challenge was overcome
using the Fault-Tolerant Meshing (FTM) workflow.
The validated simulation results demonstrated the superior hydrodynamic efficiency of
the Gyroid TPMS design with a 1370% lower pressure drop and 570% less pumping
power. This presented a clear trade-off, as the conventional plate-type transferred 2.4
times more heat but at a substantial pressure cost. This study successfully validates a
robust computational workflow for analysing complex TPMS geometries and
concludes that these architectures provide a viable path toward developing more
compact, lightweight, and thermally efficient heat exchangers.
Supervisor(s)
co-supervisor