Heat transfer enhancement in heat exchangers

In the power generation industry, high performance heat exchangers are needed to promote substantial improvements in effective utilization of waste heat in low temperature heat recovery applications. High performance heat exchangers are also seriously needed in low temperature power and refrigeration cycles that operate on renewable base energy sources such as ocean thermal energy conversion, geothermal and solar energy systems. Presently, the excessively large heat transfer surface area requirements prohibit cost-effective use of these systems. This paper reports on the new and promising electrohydrodynamic (EHD) technique which has demonstrated impressive potential for enhancing heat transfer in heat exchangers involving single-phase or phase-change processes. This article provides a brief description of EHD operational principles, research advancements in EHD during the past decade, and potential future EHD applications of specific interest to the HVAC and R industry.