Southwest Research Institute has expanded its heat exchanger testing capabilities to include megawatt-scale performance evaluations.
The expanded capabilities address increasing demands for the testing of heat exchangers that efficiently transfer heat between two or more fluids without mixing for heating and cooling applications. Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has adapted existing equipment and infrastructure so it can offer customized heat exchanger testing to clients across multiple industries.
“SwRI’s expanded heat exchanger testing capabilities will address a significant market gap for high-heat transfer rates involving high-temperature and high-flowrate applications,” said research engineer Dr Eugene Hoffman of SwRI’s Fluids Engineering Department. “This was the perfect time to advance our capabilities and expertise to meet increasing demands for specialized and custom heat exchanger testing capabilities that only a few facilities can accommodate.”
The heat exchanger market is expected to reach more than US$30 billion within the next 10 years. While everyday systems like heating, ventilation and air conditioning and automobiles require heat exchangers to operate, the technology is also vital in data centers, aerospace and defense applications.
SwRI’s facilities offer testing capabilities for diverse thermal management systems ranging from drones to power systems. The customizable testing setups accommodate heat exchangers from tens of kilowatts to several megawatts capacity.
“Our testing capabilities apply to many different systems needing thermal management,” Hoffman said. “From drones to power systems, we provide a comprehensive equipment suite to help clients manage a variety of thermal systems while supporting their design and testing needs.”
Typical car radiators handle a few kilowatts of heat transfer, while military trucks and heavy-duty vehicles require hundreds of kilowatts. High-speed hypersonic aircraft and data center mechanical skids require megawatts of heat exchange rates, creating demand for large-scale testing capabilities.
The increasing demand for high-speed computing and systems supporting artificial intelligence produces considerable heat, making high-capacity heat exchangers essential. SwRI’s customizable testing facilities position the organization to evaluate heat exchangers for data center operations addressing these requirements.
“With access to substantial power and space, there is no strict upper limit to what we can test,” said SwRI research engineer Dr Ashok Thyagarajan. “We are prepared to scale our facilities to meet higher demands as needed. Our customizable testing setups and the broad spectrum of heat exchangers we can evaluate are indeed unique.”
SwRI’s existing research facilities can handle large power requirements, making it suitable for customized heat exchanger testing as power requirements increase and fewer organizations are equipped to perform testing at megawatt scale.
