The demand for microchannel heat exchangers, a type of compact heat exchanger, is expected to increase as they are used in applications requiring light weight and compactness and as apparatuses for offshore equipment. Above all, their demand has been increasing in recent years for use in the fuel supply systems of offshore equipment that uses liquefied natural gas (LNG) and small-capacity LNG vaporizers for satellite bases. These applications require, not only pressure tightness and compactness, but also measures to be taken against the freezing of the fluid serving as the heat medium. In the case of diffusion bonded compact heat exchangers (DCHETMs), concepts having to do with the suppression of freezing have been incorporated into their design, and tests were conducted using liquid nitrogen and LNG, to establish the design guidelines for the range of vaporization performance and icing. This report introduces the effort to apply a DCHETM to LNG vaporizer applications.
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