Plate Heat Exchangers Using Natural Graphite Sheets

Graphite heat exchangers (G-HEX) are good alternatives to metallic heat exchangers due to their excellent thermal properties, low cost, light weight, and high resistivity to corrosion. In this study, the potential of fabrication of natural flake graphite-based plate heat exchanger is being investigated. A new layered G-HEX and a graphite plate heat exchanger are fabricated and their thermal and hydraulic performance are compared with an off-the-shelf chevron-type plate heat exchanger using a custom-made experimental setup. An optimization study is then conducted to further improve the graphite plate heat exchanger performance. To understand the potential of utilization of G-HEX in corrosive environments, a corrosion test is then performed on natural flake graphite sheets.