Tuesday, June 17, 2025

UW-Madison Engineers Develop Enhanced Warmth Exchanger Utilizing 3D Printing


Engineers on the College of Wisconsin-Madison have created a warmth exchanger with advanced inner channels that outperforms conventional designs. The crew used topology optimization to develop twisting fluid pathways that improved warmth switch effectivity. This modern design was then manufactured utilizing laser powder mattress fusion, a steel 3D printing method.

UW-Madison Engineers Develop Enhanced Warmth Exchanger Utilizing 3D Printing
A rendering of a topologically optimized unit cell for a warmth exchanger core. The optimized design has cold and hot fluid channels with intricate geometries and complicated floor options.(Picture Credit score: Xiaoping Qian)

“Historically, warmth exchangers stream scorching fluid and chilly fluid by straight pipes, primarily as a result of straight pipes are simple to fabricate,” says Xiaoping Qian, a professor of mechanical engineering at UW-Madison. “However straight pipes usually are not essentially the most effective geometry for transferring warmth between cold and hot fluids.”

Testing confirmed the optimized design achieved 27% increased energy density in comparison with typical straight channel designs. This enchancment permits for extra compact and lighter warmth exchangers, notably useful in aerospace and aviation functions. The crew printed their findings within the June 1, 2025 subject of the Worldwide Journal of Warmth and Mass Switch.

The analysis stands out as a result of it efficiently bridges computational design and sensible manufacturing. The crew carried out a patented method known as projected undercut perimeter that ensures advanced designs stay manufacturable. Professor Qian famous this sensible focus: “Optimizing design on the pc is one factor, however to really make and take a look at it’s a very totally different factor.”

Excessive-temperature warmth exchangers are important elements in lots of applied sciences, together with aerospace, energy technology, and industrial processes. This work demonstrates how additive manufacturing allows extra environment friendly designs that have been beforehand inconceivable to provide with conventional manufacturing strategies.

Supply: engineering.wisc.edu

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