Wilson Heat Exchanger™

CR Series

The Continuous Rotation of the CR Series heat exchangers is best-suited for applications where both gas streams are near atmospheric pressure. For higher-pressure applications, consider the IR Series heat exchangers that use a patented indexed-rotation sealing system.

IR Series

The Indexed Rotation of the IR Series is best-suited for heat exchange between gas streams with absolute pressures up to a 4:1 ratio. For applications with operating flows near atmospheric pressure, consider the CR Series heat exchangers that use a continuous-rotation ceramic disk.

Breakthrough Technology

The ultra-high effectiveness of the Wilson Heat Exchanger™ is the result of MIT research that achieved elusive breakthroughs. The significant benefits of a rotating regenerator-type heat exchanger have long been known but were previously offset by rapid wear and leakage. However, the substantial operational benefits and performance efficiencies of a ceramic regenerator warranted the research to overcome these problems. With worldwide rights to the resulting patented MIT technologies, Wilson TurboPower has successfully developed a practical regenerator-type ceramic heat-transfer system for industry.

This ultra-effective, heat-transfer process can achieve a remarkable efficiency up to 98%. In contrast to a conventional recuperator-type metal heat exchanger that performs in principle like an automobile radiator, the Wilson regenerator-type heat exchanger uses a ceramic honeycomb disk. As the ceramic core slowly rotates, hot gas flows through and heats a portion of the disk, while cool air or another gas flows in the opposite direction through the remaining preheated portion.

The ceramic core of the Wilson Heat Exchanger has excellent thermal characteristics for regenerators including a low coefficient of expansion, a high working temperature, and low conductivity. The ceramic honeycomb contains between 200 and 1,100 open passages per square inch (depending on the application), and coating the surface of the ceramic with chemical catalysts can additionally reduce certain types of harmful emissions.

The Wilson Heat Exchanger offers significant advantages over metal recuperators for high efficiency, high operating temperature, high durability, and small size. In contrast to a conventional recuperator-type heat exchanger that transfers heat through the walls of tubes or plates, the Wilson regenerator-type heat exchanger uses a more effective ceramic honeycomb disk. The ceramic core of the Wilson Heat Exchanger can effectively process high inlet temperatures to allow more heat to be recovered and reused. A metallic heat exchanger can suffer severe deterioration at high temperatures, so it is common practice to precool the inlet air or gas — which may prolong equipment life but obviously wastes heat energy.

The Wilson regenerator-type heat exchanger is also considerably smaller (down to one-twentieth the size!) and is the most effective type of heat exchanger for many applications.

Wilson Heat Exchanger™ in test.

As the flow of hot gas heats a portion of the rotating ceramic disk, cool gas flows in the opposite direction through the preheated section to very effectively recover thermal energy.

Ceramic components permit higher operating temperatures for greater system efficiency.

The Wilson regenerator heat exchanger is considerably smaller yet more efficient than a similar capacity shell-and-tube  system.