Numerical simulation of the flow capacity of a preliminary heat exchanger of an aircraft air conditioning system

Аuthors

Kupchik V. S., Fevralskikh A. V.^*

Moscow Aviation Institute (National Research University), 4, Volokolamskoe shosse, Moscow, А-80, GSP-3, 125993, Russia

*e-mail: a.fevralskih@gmail.com

Abstract

In bleed air systems of modern civil aircraft, preliminary heat exchangers (precoolers) cool the hot air taken from the main engine compressors. The problem of intensifying the thermal efficiency of the precooler without significantly increasing its overall dimensions is an urgent design task. One of the ways to solve it is to increase heat transfer by optimizing the flow path of the cold circuit. The aim of this work is a numerical study of geometric factors affecting the flow parameters in the purge circuit of a tubular air-to-air heat exchanger. The methodology is based on two-dimensional RANS simulation with closure using the k-ω SST turbulence model. The results show that the dependence of the reduced pressure drop on the flow rate is approximated by a power function  with B → 1,9, while the coefficient A exhibits a local minimum at a certain value of the relative elongation of the tube matrix. The paper presents the results of evaluating various configurations of the precooler matrix, both in terms of their hydraulic performance and heat transfer efficiency.

Keywords:

preliminary heat exchanger, precooler, bleed air system, numerical simulation, RANS, hydraulic resistance, heat transfer efficiency, optimization

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