DEVELOPMENT OF A CERAMIC PLATE-FIN HEAT EXCHANGER FOR OPERATION TEMPERATURES UP TO 1250 °C

Heat management at elevated temperatures is a key element to energy savings in power generation and industrial processes. Better energy efficiencies imply higher operating temperatures in many cases. High temperature heat exchangers based on ceramic materials open up such opportunities in many applications. This paper outlines the results of the ongoing work on the design of such heat exchangers and their applications. Based on the specifications of a sample EFGT cycle, the engineering of a ceramic high-temperature plate-fin heat exchanger based on the Offset-Strip-Fin (OSF) design was performed. The results are summarised also considering the manufacturing process, options for corrosion-preventing coatings and sealings. An economical study on selected processes quantifies the market opportunities of several candidate applications. It turns out that, with a transition from single-part-production to series production, a number of promising options exist in power generation and process heat applications