Phase-Dependent Finite Difference Heat Transfer Analysis with Heat Exchanger Applications

Abstract

The finite difference method, a form of nodal analysis, is a powerful tool for developing accurate models of the changing thermal states of an object. With this method, a body that is too large or too complex for analytical heat transfer analysis can be separated into many smaller subvolumes for which the analytical equations are reasonable to solve. For this project, the goal is to develop a program that uses the finite difference method to model the heat transfer within a body subject to external effects, temperature dependent thermophysical properties, and material phase changes. The specific application that this program will be used for is modeling a simplified phase changing heat exchanger system, allowing for simulations to be run of various heat exchanger geometries and leading to a more optimized heat exchanger design. The program is predominantly written in C++, with MATLAB used for data visualization purposes. A node sensitivity study was also run to validate the stability of the model.