Heat Exchangers

( means access is password restricted)

INTRODUCTION

A research team led by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Research Foundation is developing advanced high temperature heat exchangers (HTHX) for hydrogen production and electrical energy conversion from advanced nuclear reactor concepts. Collaborators include researchers from UNLV, General Atomics (GA), Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), the University of California, Berkeley (UCB), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).

The HTHX research and development program is divided into two major projects:

High Temperature Heat Exchanger Design and Testing
Materials Characterization and Testing

This program is intended to establish a public-private partnership to develop and evaluate innovative high temperature heat exchangers for hydrogen production. The partnership will focus initially on engineering evaluation of heat exchangers for two hydrogen production technologies (thermally assisted electrolysis and the sulfur-iodine thermochemical cycle) that couple with a nuclear reactor power source to split the water molecule into its constituent parts. However, advanced high temperature heat exchangers are important to nearly all hydrogen production concepts and the range of processes that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will consider may be broadened in the next few years.

PERSONNEL

Program Manager

Anthony Hechanova

Associate Technical Directors
Yitung Chen, Design and Modeling
Dan Cook, Liquid Salts
Allen Johnson, Chemistry Support
Mohamed Trabia, Materials

Research Faculty
Ajit Roy, Mechanical Engineering
Clemens Heske, Chemistry
Samir Moujaes, Mechanical Engineering
Aihua Wang, Postdoctoral Researcher, Mechanical Engineering

Graduate Students
Anand Venkatesh (Ph.D.), Mech. Eng.
Vikram Marthandam (Ph.D.), Mech. Eng.
Rama Koripelli (Ph.D.), Mech. Eng.
Raghunandan Karamcheti (M.S.), Mech. Eng.
Lalit Savalia (M.S.), Mech. Eng.
Ancila Kaiparambil (M.S.), Mech. Eng.
Radhakrishnan Santhanakrishnan (M.S.), Mech. Eng.
Joydeep Pal (M.S.), Mech. Eng.
Vinay Virupaksha (M.S.), Mech. Eng.
Jagadesh Yelavarthi (M.S.), Mech. Eng.
Valery Ponyavin (Ph.D.), Mech. Eng.
Clayton DeLosier (Undergraduate), Mech. Eng.
Kiran Muramalla (M.S.), Mech. Eng.
Jayant Patil (M.S.), Mech. Eng.
Sucharitha Aekula (Ph.D.), Mech. Eng.

TASKS

Task 1: High Temperature Heat Exchanger Design (PI: Yitung Chen)

Task 2: Metallurgical Characterization, Corrosion Study and Crack Growth Evaluation (PI: Ajit Roy):

Task 3: High Temperature Heat Exchanger Prototype Testing (PI: Samir Moujaes)

Task 4: Analysis of Materials Exposed to S-I Cycle Environments (PI: Allen Johnson)

Task 5: Efficiency Improvement and Cost Reduction of Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cells Through Improved Electrodes and Electrolytes (PI: Clemens Heske)

ON-LINE DOCUMENTS

Student Theses
Development of Advanced High Temperature Heat Exchangers (Proposal)
HTHX Annual Report FY2005
Quarterly Reports
Secure On-Line Documents

MEETINGS AND PRESENTATIONS

NHI LIQUID SALT TECHNICAL MEETING, LAS VEGAS, N.V. (11/30/06)

LIQUID SALT TECHNICAL WORKING GROUP, Rocketdyne, Canoga Park, CA (10/28/05)

UNLV RESEARCH FOUNDATION HTHX QUARTERLY MEETINGS

HIGH TEMPERATURE HEAT EXCHANGER PROJECT KICKOFF, LAS VEGAS, N.V. (10/24/03)

UNLV WORKSHOP ON HIGH TEMPERATURE HEAT EXCHANGERS, LAS VEGAS, N.V. (04/17/03)

NUCLEAR HYDROGEN PLANNING MEETING, HILTON HEAD, S.C. (03/13-14/03)

Questions Contact: Anthony Hechanova