Design optimization of perforated plate heat exchangers using taguchi method

Performance ofa Perforated plate heat exchanger(PPHE) depends on many design variables such as plate thickness, spacer thickness, pore diameter, porosity etc. For a given heat duty, these parameters can be optimized for maximizing effectiveness, minimizing volume and minimizing or limiting pressure drop. In this paper an attempt has been made for optimization of the design variables ofa PPHE so that effectiveness of the heat exchanger per unit volume is maximized under the constraints of fluid pressure drop and length of the heat exchanger. Unlike the conventional approach, importance is given to the length of the heat exchanger which is limited to the available space inside the vacuum chamber of the diffusion bounding machine or the space available in a specific application. Using the given length of the heat exchanger and allowable pressure drop, the problem has been defined in unconstrained form and solved by Taguchi method.