GE Research 3D printed a heat exchanger for more efficient energy conversion

As part of a two-and-a-half year mission led by Advanced Research Projects Agency, GE Research launched a $2.5 million project to 3D print a high temperature, high pressure and super compact heat exchanger. This should produce cleaner and more efficient energy for the platforms of existing and future power plants. The group’s research division has teamed up with the University of Maryland and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to complete this ambitious project. The partners were able to present a first prototype that was quite convincing.

A heat exchanger is a device that allows a fluid to be heated or cooled by another fluid circulating at a different temperature, without the two fluids mixing. These devices are beginning to be designed using additive manufacturing, a method that offers more complexity to the part while reducing production times and costs.

Credits: GE Research

A 3D printed heat exchanger by GE Research

GE and its partners explain that their heat exchangers should operate in environments up to 900°C and 248 bar. Peter deBock, thermal engineer at GE Research explains: “We use our extensive knowledge in metal management and thermal management and apply it like never before thanks to the power of 3D printing. Thanks to this method, we can now realize new architectural designs that were previously impossible. This will allow us to create a “UPHEAT” device that can operate cost-effectively at temperatures higher than those of current heat exchangers (+250°C).“