Influence and Analysis of a Viscosity-Velocity Combined Prediction Model on the Dynamic Thermodynamic Performance of Shell-and-Tube Heat Exchangers in Offshore/Coastal Marine Energy Systems

Abstract

To address the lack of dynamic prediction methods for heat exchangers operating under variable-viscosity and fluctuating-flow conditions in marine integrated energy systems, this study develops a dynamic wall-temperature prediction model for a shell-and-tube heat exchanger under combined viscosity-flow conditions. The model is established over flow velocities of 0.8–1.5 m/s and kinematic viscosities of 1.45 × 10⁻⁶–1.45 × 10⁻⁵ m²/s, representing fouling-prone operating conditions relevant to seawater/sewage-source heat pump applications. The main novelty of the study lies in linking viscosity-flow combined with wall-temperature dynamics in a unified prediction framework and in quantifying the nonlinear thermal response over a practically relevant operating range. The results show that a quartic polynomial relationship with flow velocity and viscosity can describe wall temperature. A distinct dynamic response pattern is observed: under low-viscosity conditions, wall temperature exhibits pronounced multi-peak fluctuations, whereas under high-viscosity conditions, it shifts to a more stable single-peak or gently declining trend. This behavior helps clarify the physical mechanism governing wall-temperature evolution under combined transport effects. In addition, the sewage-side heat transfer coefficient increases by up to 41.3%, while the overall heat transfer coefficient increases by 18.2–20.6% over the investigated range. These findings provide a dynamic prediction tool for heat exchanger performance in seawater-source heat pump systems integrated with intermittent marine renewable energy (such as offshore wind and wave power), and further indicate that the proposed model can offer useful mechanism-level insight into the dynamic thermal behavior of fouling-prone heat exchangers, thereby supporting the design and operation of seawater/sewage-source heat pump systems integrated with intermittent marine renewable energy sources such as offshore wind power.

Keywords

Shell-and-tube heat exchanger / Viscosity-flow combined / Dynamic wall-temperature response / Transfer function model / Marine integrated energy system / Seawater/sewage heat recovery

Statement of the Use of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies in the Writing Process

During the preparation of this manuscript, the authors used ChatGPT in order to refine sentence structure, enhance clarity, and ensure grammatical accuracy, without altering the core arguments or original ideas presented in the paper. After using this tool/service, the authors reviewed and edited the content as needed and take full responsibility for the content of the published article.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the financial support of Tianjin Municipal Science and Technology Bureau.

Author Contributions

Methodology, N.Q.; Software, W.H., N.Q., C.L. and S.Q.; Validation, C.L. and S.Q.; Investigation W.H., N.Q., C.L. and S.Q.; Writing Original Draft Preparation, W.H.; Review & Editing, N.Q.; Supervision, N.Q.; Project Administration, N.Q.; Funding Acquisition, N.Q.

Ethics Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Not applicable.

Data Availability Statement

Data will be made available on request.

Funding

This work was supported by the Tianjin Youth Fund Project [grant number 15JCQNJC06800], the University-level College Students’ Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program of Tianjin University of Technology [grant number 202510060172].

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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