
The rotary gas–gas heat exchanger (GGH) plays a key role in waste heat recovery and emission control systems. In this study, a full-scale numerical investigation is conducted to examine the temperature distribution characteristics of a rotary GGH, with particular focus on its circumferential thermal behavior under varying operating conditions. A local thermal non-equilibrium (LTNE) model is employed to distinguish the heat transfer dynamics between the solid matrix and the gas phase, while the multiple reference frame (MRF) approach is applied to capture the effects of rotation. Simulation results reveal that both the metallic heat exchange surfaces and the flue gas exhibit notable circumferential temperature fluctuations, whose intensity is strongly dependent on the rotational speed. At lower speeds, temperature fluctuations are more pronounced, resulting in a high non-uniformity coefficient of 4.296. Conversely, as the rotational speed increases from 0.1 rpm to 1 rpm, the non-uniformity coefficient decreases significantly to 0.4813, indicating improved temperature uniformity at higher speeds. These findings highlight the sensitivity of rotary GGH thermal performance to rotational speed and confirm the suitability of the adopted modeling approach for accurately predicting system behavior.
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