Brazed aluminum, Plate-fin heat exchangers for OTEC

Conference · Mon Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1980 · Alternative Energy Sources; (United States)

OSTI ID:6887800

Foust, H D

Brazed aluminum plate-fin heat exchangers have been available for special applications for over thirty years. The performance, compactness, versatility, and low cost of these heat exchangers has been unequaled by other heat exchanger configuration. The application of brazed aluminum has been highly limited because of necessary restrictions for clean non-corrosive atmospheres. Air and gas separation have provided ideal conditions for accepting brazed aluminum and in turn have benefited by the salient features of these plate-fin heat exchangers. In fact, brazed aluminum and cryogenic gas and air separation have become nearly synonymous. Brazed aluminum in its historic form could not be considered for a seawater atmosphere. However, technology presents a new look of significant importance to OTEC in terms of compactness and cost. The significant technological variation made was to include one-piece hollow extensions for the seawater passages. Crevice corrosion sites are thereby entirely eliminated and pitting corrosion attack will be controlled by an integral and sacrificial layer of a zinc-aluminum alloy. This paper on brazed aluminum plate-fin heat exchangers for OTEC will aquaint the reader with the state-of-art and variations suggested to qualify this form of aluminum for seawater use. In order to verify the desirable cost potential for OTEC, Trane teamed with Westinghouse to perform an OTEC system analysis with this heat exchanger. These results are very promising and reported in detail elsewhere.

• Research Organization: Process Division The Trane Company LaCrosse, Wisconsin
• OSTI ID: 6887800
• Report Number(s): CONF-801210-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Alternative Energy Sources; (United States) Journal Volume: 4
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
140800* -- Solar Energy-- Ocean Energy Systems
ALLOYS
ALUMINIUM ALLOYS
BRAZING ALLOYS
EVALUATION
FINS
HEAT EXCHANGERS
OCEAN THERMAL POWER PLANTS
PERFORMANCE
PLATES
POWER PLANTS
SOLAR POWER PLANTS
THERMAL POWER PLANTS