Review of printed circuit heat exchangers and its applications in solar thermal energy

As a unique kind of compact heat exchangers, Printed Circuit Heat Exchanger, PCHE, has attracted a lot of attention owing to its merits of high heat transfer, small volume, compactness, lightweight, and extreme endurance of a wide range of pressure and temperature. This paper offers a review on critical aspects of PCHEs and its applications in solar thermal energy systems. Firstly, the development process and manufacturing technology of PCHEs are introduced, then the advantages and limitations of the development compared to other heat exchangers are summarized followed by a summary and analysis of four typical channel configurations as well as their advantages/shortcomings. Then, the thermo-hydraulic performance as well as the investigation details of PCHEs with four typical channel configurations and the developed correlations of flow and heat transfer are summarized and analyzed in detail. Moreover, current deployment and potential improvement in the performance of PCHEs in solar thermal energy systems are pointed out. Finally, a critical review of the existing research results pertinent to PCHEs is presented with future research directions suggested.