Sensitivity analysis and numerical experiments on transient test of compact heat exchanger surfaces

A single-blow transient testing technique considering the effect of longitudinal heat conduction is suggested for determining the average convection heat transfer coefficient of compact heat exchanger surface. By matching the measured outlet fluid temperature variation with similar theoretical curves, the dimensionless longitudinal conduction parameter λ₁, the time constant of the inlet fluid temperature τ⁺, and the number of heat transfer units N _tu can be determined simultaneously using the Levenberg-Marquardt nonlinear parameter estimation method. Both sensitivity analysis and numerical experiments with simulated measurements containing random errors show that the method in the present investigation provides satisfactory accuracy of the estimated parameter N _tu, which characterizes the heat transfer performance of compact heat exchanger surfaces. __________ Translated from Journal of Power Engineering, 2007, 27(2): 227-232 译自:动力工程]