RCAIDE.Library.Plots.Thermal_Management.plot_cross_flow_heat_exchanger_conditions

plot_cross_flow_heat_exchanger_conditions#

plot_cross_flow_heat_exchanger_conditions(cross_flow_hex, results, coolant_line, save_figure=False, show_legend=True, save_filename='Cross_Flow_HEX_Conditions', file_type='.png', width=11, height=7)[source]#

Creates a multi-panel visualization of cross-flow heat exchanger operating conditions.

Parameters:

  • cross_flow_hex (Component) –

    Cross-flow heat exchanger component containing:
    • tagstr

      Unique identifier for the heat exchanger

  • results (Results) –

    RCAIDE results data structure containing:
    • segments[i].conditions.energy[coolant_line.tag][cross_flow_hex.tag]
      Heat exchanger data containing:
      • coolant_mass_flow_rate[:,0]

        Coolant flow rate in kg/s

      • effectiveness_HEX[:,0]

        Heat exchanger effectiveness

      • power[:,0]

        Heat transfer rate in watts

      • air_inlet_pressure[:,0]

        Air-side inlet pressure in Pa

      • inlet_air_temperature[:,0]

        Air inlet temperature in K

      • air_mass_flow_rate[:,0]

        Air flow rate in kg/s

  • coolant_line (Component) –

    Coolant line component containing:
    • tagstr

      Unique identifier for the coolant circuit

  • save_figure (bool, optional) – Flag for saving the figure (default: False)

  • show_legend (bool, optional) – Flag to display segment legend (default: True)

  • save_filename (str, optional) – Name of file for saved figure (default: “Cross_Flow_HEX_Conditions”)

  • file_type (str, optional) – File extension for saved figure (default: “.png”)

  • width (float, optional) – Figure width in inches (default: 11)

  • height (float, optional) – Figure height in inches (default: 7)

Returns:

fig – Handle to the generated figure containing six subplots arranged in a 3x2 grid:

Return type:

matplotlib.figure.Figure

Notes

Creates visualization showing:

  • Thermal performance metrics

  • Flow conditions for both fluids

  • Heat transfer characteristics

  • Operating pressures and temperatures

Definitions

‘Effectiveness’

Ratio of actual to maximum possible heat transfer

‘NTU’

Dimensionless measure of heat exchanger size

‘Capacity Ratio’

Ratio of minimum to maximum heat capacity rates

‘Mass Flow Rate’

Mass of fluid flowing per unit time

See also

RCAIDE.Library.Plots.Thermal_Management.plot_thermal_management_performance

Overall system performance

RCAIDE.Library.Plots.Thermal_Management.plot_air_cooled_conditions

Air-cooled heat exchanger analysis