About

IAMHEX aims to push boundaries

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Compact heat exchangers (HEX) are used in many areas. Examples include HVAC systems, aerospace, vehicles, compact energy conversion systems, integrated industrial processes, and cooling of micro- and power electronics. In all these application areas, a good design is crucial to achieve high overall energy efficiency and reduce costs. The IAMHEX project aims to achieve technological improvements in heat exchangers by pushing the boundaries of both current design methods and production processes.

Pushing the limits

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While experimentally testing prototypes is very cumbersome, design based on detailed numerical simulations is also too time-consuming and expensive. Simplified simulation models or design methods, on the other hand, are too inaccurate to achieve a significantly improved design. In the IAMHEX project, we therefore combine advanced heat transfer models with efficient optimization methods to automatically determine the best possible shape within limited computational time. With these innovative computer-generated designs, we push the limits of what can be achieved through Additive Manufacturing (AM).

Focus

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The IAMHEX project focuses on improving the capabilities of AM processes for thermally conductive materials (copper and aluminum alloys) through two complementary technologies:

• Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF)
• 3D micro-extrusion.

Finally, the development of new measurement techniques will allow us to verify the models and their improved designs.