Numerical study on the cross-corrugated primary surface heat exchanger having asymmetric cross-sectional profiles for advanced intercooled-cycle aero engines

Due to its high volume goodness and light weight, the cross-corrugated primary surface heat exchanger is a promising candidate for application to an advanced intercooled-cycle gas turbine engine. The asymmetric corrugation profile considered in this paper has the possibility of achieving balanced pressure drops on both hot and cold sides of an intercooler matrix, which may enable significant weight reductions not only in counter-flow designs, but also in cross-flow designs. For the assessment of its performance, a numerical procedure incorporating a detailed three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics model and a lumped parameter flow-network model has been investigated. By developing a new parameterization method for the shape of the profile, the detailed aero-thermal performance of the asymmetric profile is summarized quantitatively. A cross-flow heat exchanger matrix sizing study for matrix weight minimization is carried out, and the results show the high dependency of the potential improvements on the given operating conditions and design requirements.