ABSTRACT
An active cooling system is proposed to cool heat-release devices in an artificial space deep in the earth. As a key component of the cooling system, a Self-Similar Heat Exchanger (SSHE) is used for cooling the heat-release devices. The structure modification involving tapered inlet manifold and zigzag micro-channel were imposed on the original model of SSHE for mitigating the maldistribution and improving its overall performance. Numerical simulation work was carried out to validate the structure improvement. Comparing with the original design, the maximum temperature and the temperature difference on the heating surface of the optimized design was reduced around 9 K and that of the pressure drop was reduced around 26%, in the case of the mass flow rate covering 28.8–115.2 kg/h. The optimized design of the SSHE shows a better heat transfer performance with a lower pressure drop.
