Chliszcz Katarzyna, Laskowska Dorota, Kuczyński Waldemar, Bałasz Błażej, Kasperowaicz Maciej, Moj Kevin
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Energy, Koszalin University of Technology, Śniadeckich 2, 75-453 Koszalin, Poland.
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Opole University of Technology, ul. Proszkowska 76, 45-758 Opole, Poland.
Materials (Basel). 2025 Jun 26;18(13):3035. doi: 10.3390/ma18133035.
The miniaturization of heat exchangers requires advanced manufacturing methods, as conventional techniques such as milling or casting are insufficient for producing complex microscale geometries. This study investigates the feasibility of using selective laser melting (SLM) with 316L stainless steel powder to fabricate compact heat exchangers with minichannels. The exchanger was designed using Autodesk Inventor 2023.3 software and produced under optimized process parameters. Measurements using a hydrostatic balance demonstrated that the applied process parameters resulted in a relative material density of 99.5%. The average microhardness in the core region of the SLM-fabricated samples was 255 HV, and the chemical composition of the final material differed only slightly from that of the feedstock material (stainless steel powder). Dimensional accuracy, surface quality, and internal structure integrity were assessed using computed tomography, optical microscopy, and contact profilometry. The fabricated component demonstrated high geometric fidelity and channel permeability, with local surface deformations associated with the absence of support structures. The average surface roughness (Ra) of the minichannels was 11.11 ± 1.63 µm. The results confirm that SLM technology enables the production of functionally viable heat exchangers with complex geometries. However, limitations remain regarding dimensional accuracy, powder removal, and surface roughness. These findings highlight the potential of metal additive manufacturing for heat transfer applications while emphasizing the need for further research on performance testing under real operating conditions, especially involving two-phase flow.
热交换器的小型化需要先进的制造方法，因为诸如铣削或铸造等传统技术不足以制造复杂的微尺度几何形状。本研究调查了使用316L不锈钢粉末选择性激光熔化（SLM）制造带有微通道的紧凑型热交换器的可行性。该热交换器使用Autodesk Inventor 2023.3软件进行设计，并在优化的工艺参数下制造。使用静水天平测量表明，所应用的工艺参数导致相对材料密度为99.5%。SLM制造样品核心区域的平均显微硬度为255 HV，最终材料的化学成分与原料材料（不锈钢粉末）仅略有不同。使用计算机断层扫描、光学显微镜和接触轮廓仪评估尺寸精度、表面质量和内部结构完整性。制造的部件显示出高几何保真度和通道渗透率，局部表面变形与缺乏支撑结构有关。微通道的平均表面粗糙度（Ra）为11.11±1.63 µm。结果证实，SLM技术能够生产具有复杂几何形状的功能可行的热交换器。然而，在尺寸精度、粉末去除和表面粗糙度方面仍然存在限制。这些发现突出了金属增材制造在传热应用中的潜力，同时强调了在实际运行条件下，特别是涉及两相流的情况下，对性能测试进行进一步研究的必要性。
