Study on Convective Heat Transfer and Energy Efficiency Characteristics of a Vortex-Inducing–Microchannel Composite Structure for Machine Tool Thermal Control Plates

To realize high heat transfer capacity with low energy consumption in machine tool thermal control systems under high-flow-rate conditions, a vortex-inducing–microchannel composite enhanced thermal control plate is proposed. Numerical simulations combined with experimental validation are conducted to investigate the effects of vortex-inducing geometry and microchannel configuration under unified boundary conditions. Heat transfer capacity, pressure drop, coefficient of performance (COP), and performance evaluation criterion (PEC) are employed for comprehensive assessment. The results show that vortex induction enhances fluid mixing and boundary layer renewal, while microchannels effectively suppress pressure loss and energy consumption. Their synergistic coupling enables a balanced optimization between heat transfer enhancement and flow resistance control. Compared with a conventional thermal control plate, the proposed composite structure achieves over 20% improvement in heat transfer capacity and more than 50% increase in COP within the tested operating range. Among the investigated configurations, circular and square vortex-inducing structures combined with microchannels exhibit superior overall performance, with the circular configuration reaching a maximum COP enhancement of 72% at a flow rate of 7 L/min. This study provides practical guidance for structural selection and parameter optimization of composite thermal control plates for machine tools.