PROCESS INDUSTRY HEAT-EXCHANGER RESEARCH-AND-DEVELOPMENT WITH POSSIBLE IMPLICATIONS FOR AEROSPACE-TECHNOLOGY

Important European co-ordinated research activities in heat exchangers are within the European Community Non-Nuclear Energy R&D Programme en titled JOULE, while national governments and a wide variety of industr ial laboratories and companies also carry out work in these areas. Thi s paper will cover the past and present JOULE activities in a number o f ways. R&D projects within this programme include gas-gas, gas liquid , gas solid and liquid-liquid heat exchangers, with high. medium and l ow temperature terrestrial process applications. Examples of past proj ects which are described include compact plate heat exchangers, novel high capacity thermosyphons, the use of jet impingement to enhance hea t transfer, fouling and complementary activities such as expert system s. Projects currently being studied within JOULE concentrate mainly on two-phase heat transfer enhancement and fouling of both gas side and liquid-side heat transfer equipment. In order to maintain the competit iveness of industry, the paper underlines the necessity to continue th e R&D activities in heat exchanger technologies.