A Polyimide Micro Heat Exchanger With a Suspended 3D Parallel Channel Structure for Cryogenic Application

Published

November 11, 2011

Author(s)

Yunda Wang, Ryan J. Lewis, Mu Hong Lin, Yiwei Yan, Ray Radebaugh, Peter E. Bradley, Yung-Cheng Lee

Abstract

A heat exchanger (HX) plays an important role in many cryogenic systems. This paper demonstrates a fully integrated fabrication process to make a novel monolithic polyimide micro heat exchanger. The structure of this heat exchanger consists of two parallel rectangular polyimide channels stacked on top of each other with a typical dimension of 15 mm × 4 mm × 90 µm suspended on a silicon substrate. The fabrication is based on the surface micro-machining technology using electroplated copper as the sacrificial layers and polyimide as the structural material. Preliminary testing results demonstrated that the polyimide HX can sustain a cryogenic temperature lower than 77 K and is able to hold a pressure larger than 1 MPa. The pressure drop across the channel was found to increase parabolically with the flow-rate through it as assessed with standard nitrogen in room temperature.

Proceedings Title

ASME 2011 International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition
IMECE2011

Conference Dates

November 11-17, 2011

Conference Location

denver, CO, US

Pub Type

Conferences

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DOI Link

Keywords

cryogenics, polyimide, micro heat exchanger

Citation

Wang, Y. , Lewis, R. , Lin, M. , Yan, Y. , Radebaugh, R. , Bradley, P. and Lee, Y. (2011), A Polyimide Micro Heat Exchanger With a Suspended 3D Parallel Channel Structure for Cryogenic Application, ASME 2011 International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition IMECE2011, denver, CO, US, [online], https://doi.org/10.1115/IMECE2011-62513 (Accessed October 11, 2025)