Simulink Simulation of Thermodynamic Heat Exchangers

Simulating thermodynamic heat exchangers in Simulink provides an efficient method for modeling practical heat transfer processes. By constructing modular models, users can flexibly adjust material properties and heat transfer coefficients to analyze thermal performance under various operating conditions. The implementation typically involves creating custom blocks or utilizing Simscape Fluids library components with configurable parameters through MATLAB scripting.

During simulation, defining geometric parameters (e.g., tube diameter, length) and thermophysical properties (e.g., thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity) is essential. These parameters directly impact heat exchange efficiency. Parameterized modeling can be efficiently achieved using Simulink's mask functionality or programmatic configuration via set_param() functions to dynamically update block parameters during simulation runs.

Setting the heat transfer coefficient is a critical step that integrates multiple heat transfer mechanisms including convection and conduction. Users can dynamically adjust this coefficient based on empirical formulas or experimental data, observing its impact on output variables like outlet temperature and thermal load through real-time parameter tuning and sensitivity analysis algorithms.

Following the same modeling architecture, the system can be adapted for condenser simulations by modifying working fluids and boundary conditions (e.g., saturation temperature). This modular design approach significantly enhances reusability and scalability of thermodynamic system simulations, allowing for easy component substitution through library linking and model referencing techniques in Simulink.