A thermal design method for the performance optimization of multi-stream plate-fin heat exchangers
An optimization design method based on field synergy principle is developed for Multi-stream plate-fin heat exchangers (MPHEs) with a segmented differential model. The heat exchanger is divided into a number of sub-exchangers along the main stream, and each sub-exchanger consists of N passages along the height of the exchanger. Compared with the traditional heat exchanger design, this method allow