INTRODUCTION

A heat exchanger is a device designed to efficiently transfer or "exchange" heat from one matter to
another. When a fluid is used to transfer heat, the fluid could be a liquid, such as water or oil, or could
be moving air. The most well known type of heat exchanger is a car radiator. In a radiator, a solution
of water and ethylene glycol, also known as antifreeze, transfers heat from the engine to the radiator
and then from the radiator to the ambient air flowing through it. Some examples are intercoolers, pre
heaters, boilers and condensers in power plants. Heat exchangers can be categorized based on the
construction of the components and the flow behaviour of the fluids.

The following table shows the basic categorization of heat exchangers.

Base
Construction Flow Behaviour
Tubular Parallel flow
Plate Cross flow
Shell and tube Counter flow

OBJECTIVES

• Understanding the application and the importance of the heat exchangers

• To study the principle of heat exchangers
THEORY

Heat exchanger transfer heat between two media. The media doesn’t come into direct contact and
there is no mixing. Heat transported from the hot medium to the cold medium by way of heat
conducting partition. As it flows along the partition, the hot medium emits heat to the partition and
cools down in doing so. In turn, the heated partition passes heat to the cold medium flowing along
the other side of the partition. This medium is thus heated. The heat transfer process at the partition
can therefore be described in terms of three separate stages.

1. Hot medium emits heat to the partition.

2. Heat conduction within the partition.
3. Partition emits heat to the cold medium.

The level of heat transfer determines by the performance of the heat exchanger in three heat transfer
stages. The ability to transfer heat from a medium to the partition or vice versa is described by the
heat transfer (U). The general equation for heat transfer rate (Q) is;

Q = UA(∆T)

Where;

o A – Surface Area
o ∆T – temperature Difference
o U – Overall heat transfer coefficient

For specific case of medium 1 on the hot partition side and medium 2 on the cold partition side,

Q = h1A ∆T1 where, ∆T1 = T1 – Tw1

Q = h2A ∆T2 where, ∆T2 = Tw2 – T2

Within the partition, heat is transferred from the hot side to the cold side by means of heat conduction
so then the following relationship applied,

∆Tw Tw1−Tw2
Q = KA = KA
𝑙 𝑙

Where;

 ∆Tw = Tw1 – Tw2

 K – Coefficient of heat conduction
 l – Thickness of the partition
 A – Area of the partition

At the steady state heat transfer rate through all three phases is same, so then equating the above
equations and considering mean parameters yields the following equation for mean heat transfer rate,

Q = kmAm∆Tln

Where;

∆Tmax − ∆Tmin A1 – A2
∆Tln = ∆Tmax Am = A1
𝑙𝑛 𝑙𝑛
∆Tmin A2

Considering the energy exchange with no allowances for losses, the mean coefficient of heat transition
km can be defined as follows,

m2cp2(T2A – T2E) – m1cp1(T1A – T1E) ∆Tmax

Km = ln ( ∆Tmin )
2Am(∆Tmax − ∆Tmin)

Where; m1 = p1v1

m2 = p2v2

Am = 0.223m2
EQUIPMENT

1. Temperature controller 5. Cold water circuit connections

2. Temperature displays 6. Process schematic
3. Flow rate displays 7. Hot water tank
4. Jacketed vessel with stirrer and coil WL
110.03

1. Temperature controller
2. Heated tank
3. Heat exchanger
4. pump
PROCEDURE

1. Connect the shell and tube heat exchanger (which has 7 tubes and 4 baffle plates) to the WL
110.03 service unit.
2. Connect the hot and cold fluid inlets using the provided quick action hose couplings.
3. Turn on the service unit using the main switch
4. Take down the readings for different flows for both parallel flow and counter flow
configurations.

DISCUSSION

1. Practical application of heat exchangers

A heat exchanger is a device that is used to transfer thermal energy between two or more fluids,
between a solid surface and a fluid, or between solid particulates and a fluid, at different
temperatures and in thermal contact. In heat exchangers, there are usually no external heat and work
interactions. Typical applications involve heating or cooling of a fluid stream of concern and
evaporation or condensation of single- or multicomponent fluid streams. In other applications, the
objective may be to recover or reject heat, or sterilize, pasteurize, fractionate, distil, concentrate,
crystallize, or control a process fluid. Common examples of heat exchangers are shell-and tube
exchangers, automobile radiators, condensers, evaporators, air preheaters, and cooling towers.

Heat exchanger found applications in almost all

• Chemical and petrochemical plants

• Air Conditioning Systems
• Power production
• Waste Heat recovery
• Automobile Radiator
• Central Heating System
• Electronic Parts

Plate and fin heat exchangers are mostly used for low temperature services such as natural gas, helium
and oxygen liquefaction plants, air separation plants and transport industries such as motor and
aircraft engines.

Shell Side Nozzle heat exchangers are used in Power plants, Oil Refineries, Manufacturing Industries,
Nuclear Power Plant, Food and Dairy Industries and Refrigeration systems

2. Performance of different type of heat exchangers

Heat exchangers are classified according to

• Transfer process
 • Number of fluids
• Degree of surface compactness
• Construction
• Flow arrangements
• Heat transfer mechanisms

Types of heat exchangers

1. Indirect contact type

a) Direct transfer type heat exchanger

b) Storage type heat exchanger
c) Fluidized bed heat exchanger
2. Direct-Contact Heat Exchanger

a) Immiscible Fluid Exchangers

b) Gas–Liquid Exchangers
c) Liquid–Vapor Exchangers

3. Tubular

a) Double pipe
b) Shell and tube
c) Spiral tube
d) Pipe coils

4. Plate type

a) Plate and frame

b) Spiral
c) Plate coil
d) Printed circuit

5. Extended surface

a) Plate-fin
b) Tube-fin
c) Regenerative
d) Rotary
e) Fixed matrix
f) Rotating hoods

There could be internal thermal energy sources in the exchangers, such as in electric heaters and
nuclear fuel elements. Combustion and chemical reaction may take place within the exchanger, such
as in boilers, fired heaters, and fluidized-bed exchangers. Mechanical devices may be used in some
exchangers such as in scraped surface exchangers, agitated vessels, and stirred tank reactors.

Plate Fin Heat Exchanger

 This type of heat exchanger uses sandwiched passages containing fins to increase the effectiveness
of the unit. The designs include cross-flow and counter-flow coupled with various fin configurations
such as straight fins, offset fins and wavy fins.

Plate and fin heat exchangers are usually made of aluminium alloys, which provide high heat transfer
efficiency. The material enables the system to operate at a lower temperature and reduce the weight
of the equipment.

Shell Cover Plate Heat Exchanger

Heat transfer efficiency is less compared to plate type cooler. Cleaning and maintenance is difficult
since a tube cooler requires enough clearance at one end to remove the tube nest Capacity of tube
cooler cannot be increased. Requires more space in comparison to plate coolers

Tube Side Channel & Nozzle heat exchangers

This heat exchanger consist series of tubes where one set of the tubes contain fluids that are being
heated or cooled. The second fluid runs over the liquid that are being heated or cooled. It also provides
a large ratio of heat transfer area to volume and weight.

Heat tube heat exchangers

composed of multiple, thin, slightly separated plates that have very large surface areas and fluid flow
passages for heat transfer. This stacked-plate arrangement can be more effective, in a given space.
Advances in gasket and brazing technology have made the plate-type heat exchanger increasingly
practical.

3. LMTD and NTU

LMTD

The log mean temperature difference (LMTD) is a logarithmic average of the temperature difference
between the hot and cold streams at each end of the exchanger. which is the suitable form of the
average temperature difference for use in the analysis of heat exchangers. Here ∆T1 and ∆T2
represent the temperature difference between the two fluids at the two ends (inlet and outlet) of the
heat exchanger. It makes no difference which end of the heat exchanger is designated as the inlet or
the outlet

It should be noted that below equation is good for any heat exchanger provided that the end point
temperature differences are defined properly. For multi-pass and cross-flow heat exchangers, as will
be shown later, the log mean temperature difference should be corrected through a correction factor.
 ∆𝑇1 − ∆𝑇2
∆𝑇𝑙𝑚 =
ln(∆𝑇1⁄∆𝑇2 )

The logarithmic mean temperature difference ∆Tlm is obtained by tracing the actual temperature
profile of the fluids along the heat exchanger and is an exact representation of the average temperature
difference between the hot and cold fluids. It truly reflects the exponential decay of the local
temperature difference.

∆Tlm is always less than ∆Tam [arithmetic mean temperature ∆Tam = 0.5*(∆T1 + ∆T2)]. Therefore,
using ∆Tam in calculations instead of ∆Tlm will overestimate the rate of heat transfer in a heat
exchanger between the two fluids. When ∆T1 differs from ∆T2 by no more than 40 percent, the error
in using the arithmetic mean temperature difference is less than 1 percent. But the error increases to
undesirable levels when ∆T1 differs from ∆T2 by greater amounts. Therefore, we should always use
the logarithmic mean temperature difference when determining the rate of heat transfer in a heat
exchanger.

NTU

The Number of Transfer Units (NTU) Method is used to calculate the rate of heat transfer in heat
exchangers (especially counter current exchangers) when there is insufficient information to
calculate the Log-Mean Temperature Difference (LMTD).

A kind of problem encountered in heat exchanger analysis is the determination of the heat transfer
rate and the outlet temperatures of the hot and cold fluids for prescribed fluid mass flow rates and
inlet temperatures when the type and size of the heat exchanger are specified. The heat transfer
surface area of the heat exchanger in this case is known, but the outlet temperatures are not. Here
the task is to determine the heat transfer performance of a specified heat exchanger.

The LMTD method could still be used for this alternative problem, but the procedure would require
tedious iterations, and thus it is not practical. In an attempt to eliminate the iterations from the
solution of such problems, Kays and London came up with a method in 1955 called the
effectiveness– NTU method, which greatly simplified heat exchanger analysis.

the number of transfer units,

Where, U - is the overall heat transfer coefficient

A -is the heat transfer area
Cmin -is the minimum heat capacity
The value of NTU is a measure of the heat transfer surface area As. Thus, the larger the NTU, the larger
the heat exchanger.

4. The effect of flow rate to the heat transfer of heat exchanger

The higher the velocity through the heat exchanger, higher the turbulence and the higher the
turbulence, the more efficient the thermal transfer. Turbulent flow creates a great deal of disturbance
along the flow path. This turbulence forces the fluid against the walls of the heat exchanger and
increases the friction between the fluid and the surface. The turbulence constantly pushes fresh fluid
against the metal wall, and the greater the volume of fluid in contact with the walls of the heat
exchanger, the greater the thermal transfer.

The overall heat transfer coefficient is dependent on both the cooling water and process water flow
rates since it is a function of the convection heat transfer on the shell side and tube side.

5. Best maintenance practice for heat exchangers

Maintenance of heat exchangers can be performed by several methods such as acid cleaning,
sandblasting, high-pressure water jet, bullet cleaning or drill rods. In large-scale cooling water
systems for heat exchangers, water treatment such as purification, addition of chemicals, catalytic
approach, etc., are used to minimize fouling of the heat exchanging equipment. Other water treatment
processes are also used in steam systems for power plants to minimize fouling and corrosion of the
heat exchanger and other equipment. Most of the chemical and additives used for fouling and
corrosion mitigation are hazardous to the environment. So, the days have come to apply chemicals of
approaches benign to the environment.

CONCLUSIONS

Heat exchangers are commonly used in practice, and an engineer often finds himself or herself in a
position to select a heat exchanger that will achieve a specified temperature change in a fluid stream
of known mass flow rate, or to predict the outlet temperatures of the hot and cold fluid streams in a
specified heat exchanger.

In this practical, we use the two methods used in the analysis of heat exchangers. Of these, the log
mean temperature difference (or LMTD) method and the effectiveness–NTU (the number of transfer
units) method

Heat exchangers usually operate for long periods of time with no change in their operating
conditions. Therefore, they can be modelled as steady-flow devices. As such, the mass flow rate of
each fluid remains constant, and the fluid properties such as temperature and velocity at any inlet or
outlet remain the same. Also, the fluid streams experience little or no change in their velocities and
elevations, and thus the kinetic and potential energy changes are negligible. The specific heat of a
fluid, in general, changes with temperature. But, in a specified temperature range, it can be treated
as a constant at some average value with little loss in accuracy. Axial heat conduction along the tube
is usually insignificant and can be considered negligible. Finally, the outer surface of the heat
exchanger is assumed to be perfectly insulated, so that there is no heat loss to the surrounding
medium, and any heat transfer occurs between the two fluids only.