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Model ID: 173

A 3D Model of a MEMS Heat Exchanger

The model in this study deals with a micro heat exchanger made of stainless steel. These types of heat exchangers are found in lab-on-a-chip devices in biotechnology and in micro reactors, for example for micro fuel cells.

A square cross section is used for the fluid channels compared to the standard circular cross sections used in macroscopic heat exchangers. The heat exchanger is of cross-flow configuration and can consist of about 20 unit cells. In the channels, where fluid flows, the velocity field is set to an analytical expression that approximates fully developed laminar flow for a channel of square cross section. For both the hot and cold streams, the velocity component in the z-direction is set to zero.

The figure shows the isothermal surfaces in the device. The influence of the convective term in the flow channels is clearly seen in the isothermal surfaces. Temperature differences are found at the outlet between the different channels in the hot stream, which implies that the hot stream is not uniformly cooled in the different channels. This effect is also seen in the cold stream.

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