Heat exchangers used in corrosive environments in the chemical industry and process engineering are the focus of this ZBT development project. They are usually made of poorly thermally conductive plastics or expensive special materials such as titanium or high-priced pure graphite plates that have to be shaped and formed using complex process technology.

The project aims to close the gap between those high-performance materials and significantly cheaper but poorly thermally conductive plastics. This is to be achieved by developing thermally conductive graphite-plastic compounds with the same chemical resistance. The plastic compounds are to be processed into thin sheets in a continuous extrusion process, which will be equipped with the required functional structures by means of an embossing process and then assembled into a heat exchanger and tested.

Since the beginning of the project, various compound material concepts have been developed at the ZBT and compound plates have been produced in different thicknesses. Current investigations are concerned with the development of an embossing process to introduce the flow structures typical for heat exchangers. These heat exchanger plates are being extensively characterised at the TU-Kaiserslautern and will then be tested in a heat exchanger test stand.

Due to the inclusion of the entire value chain, it can be assumed that both raw material-producing SMEs and potential manufacturers and users of such heat exchangers will benefit from the project results. If you are interested in this projects results, please feel free to contact us.

Project information:

• IGF-Project No. 20999 N/1
  Development of highly filled thin-walled plastic elements with improved heat transfer properties in the corrosion area "KWÜT
  Duration: 01.02.2020 - 31.07.2022
• Research Association: Research Association for Process Engineering e.V. - GVT
• Project partner
  • Centre for Fuel Cell Technology ZBT GmbH - Department of Fuel Cells and Stacks
  • Technical University of Kaiserslautern, Chair of Thermal Process Engineering