Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Flow and Heat Transfer and Ortho-Para Hydrogen Conversion Performance in a Catalyst-Filled Plate-Fin Heat Exchanger

ZHU Shun; WEN Jian; XU Pan; LI Ke; WANG Simin

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Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Flow and Heat Transfer and Ortho-Para Hydrogen Conversion Performance in a Catalyst-Filled Plate-Fin Heat Exchanger

更新时间：2026-04-14

- Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Flow and Heat Transfer and Ortho-Para Hydrogen Conversion Performance in a Catalyst-Filled Plate-Fin Heat Exchanger
- JOURNAL OF XI’AN JIAOTONG UNIVERSITY (2026)
- 作者机构：
  
  1.西安交通大学能源与动力工程学院，710049，西安
  2.西安交通大学化学工程与技术学院，710049，西安
- 作者简介：
- 基金信息：
- DOI：
  CLC： TK91
- Received：30 December 2025，
  
  Revised：2026-03-27，
  
  Accepted：13 April 2026，
- 稿件说明：
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ZHU Shun, WEN Jian, XU Pan, et al. Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Flow and Heat Transfer and Ortho-Para Hydrogen Conversion Performance in a Catalyst-Filled Plate-Fin Heat Exchanger[J/OL]. JOURNAL OF XI’AN JIAOTONG UNIVERSITY, 2026.
DOI：

ZHU Shun, WEN Jian, XU Pan, et al. Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Flow and Heat Transfer and Ortho-Para Hydrogen Conversion Performance in a Catalyst-Filled Plate-Fin Heat Exchanger[J/OL]. JOURNAL OF XI’AN JIAOTONG UNIVERSITY, 2026. DOI：

摘要

为实现氢液化过程中，正仲氢的连续高效转化，针对正仲氢催化剂填充板翅式换热器（CFPFHE），采用实验测试与数值模拟相结合的方法，系统研究了其流动阻力、换热性能及正仲氢催化转化特性。基于搭建的CFPFHE低温实验测试平台，在良好绝热条件下开展了不同雷诺数工况的流动换热与正仲转化实验，并采用热平衡法计算了填料通道（热侧）出口仲氢的体积分数。此外，建立了CFPFHE的三维数值模型，对CFPFHE流动换热与正仲氢转化过程进行了模拟，并通过实验结果对模型进行了验证。研究结果表明：随着雷诺数的增加，热侧与冷侧摩擦阻力因子均逐渐降低；热侧换热因子先增大后减小，在热侧雷诺数约为213时达到峰值，而冷侧换热因子随冷侧雷诺数单调下降；出口仲氢体积分数随热侧雷诺数先升高后略有下降。数值模拟结果与实验数据吻合良好，摩擦阻力因子、换热因子及出口仲氢体积分数的平均相对偏差均小于7.15%。该研究结果验证了所建数值模型的可靠性，可为CFPFHE在大型氢液化装置中的工程应用提供参考。

Abstract

To achieve continuous and efficient ortho-para hydrogen conversion during hydrogen liquefaction

a catalyst-filled plate-fin heat exchanger (CFPFHE) was investigated using a combined experimental and numerical approach. The flow resistance

heat transfer performance

and ortho-para hydrogen catalytic conversion characteristics of the CFPFHE were systematically studied. Based on a cryogenic experimental test platform developed for the CFPFHE

experiments on flow and heat transfer coupled with ortho-para hydrogen conversion were carried out under different Reynolds number conditions with good thermal insulation

and the para-hydrogen volume fraction at the outlet of the filled channel (hot-side) was determined using the heat balance method. In addition

a three-dimensional numerical model of the CFPFHE was established to simulate the coupled flow

heat transfer

and ortho-para hydrogen conversion processes

and the model was validated against experimental data. The results indicate that

with in

creasing Reynolds number

the friction factors of both the hot and cold sides decrease gradually; the hot-side heat transfer factor first increases and then decreases reaching a peak at a hot-side Reynolds number of about213

while the cold-side heat transfer factor decreases monotonically with cold-side Reynolds number; the outlet para-hydrogen volume fraction first increases and then slightly decreases with increasing hot-side Reynolds number. The numerical results show good agreement with the experimental data

with the average relative deviations of the friction

factors

heat transfer factors

and outlet para-hydrogen volume fraction all within 7.15%. These results confirm the reliability of the proposed numerical model and provide a reference for the engineering application of CFPFHEs in large-scale hydrogen liquefaction systems.

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Keywords

references

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