Heat Exchangers

Patricio F. Mendez
University of Alberta
ChE 314 Heat Transfer

Contents
1 Types of heat exchangers 2

2 Three key equations in calculation 2

2.1 Duty of heat exchanger q (11.3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.2 Size of the heat exchanger A (11.3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.3 Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.4 Calculation example: tube length to achieve a desired outlet
temperature (Example: 11.1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

3 Heat Capacity Rates 12

3.1 Parallel flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.2 Counter flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.3 Special operating conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3.3.1 Condensing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3.3.2 Evaporating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
3.3.3 Equal heat capacity rate: Ch = Cc . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

4 Calculations of local temperature differences in the heat ex-

changer 18
4.1 For parallel flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
4.2 For counter flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

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1 Types of heat exchangers
Heat exchangers are typically classified by types of construction and flow
arrangements.
• Construction
1. concentric tube (double-pipe)
2. shell and tube: passes
3. compact heat exchangers (typically laminar flow)
– finned
– parallel plate
• Flow arrangement
1. direction of flow
– parallel flow: hot and cold fluids enter at the same end and
flow in the same direction and leave at the same end.
– counterflow: hot and cold fluids enter at the opposite ends,
flow in the opposite directions and leave at opposite ends.
– cross flow: flow direction is perpendicular to each other
– baffles: installed to increase the coefficient of the shell-side
fluid
2. mixing
– mixed: internal never, external occasionally. Temperature
variations are primarily in the main-flow direction.
– unmixed: internal always, external occasionally.

2 Three key equations in calculation

In the calculations related to heat exchangers the temperature evolution of
the hot and cold fluid can be obtained by establishing energy rate balance
on a differential control volume defined for hot fluid of dimension dx along
the tube length subject to the following assumptions:

2
 • heat exchanger is insulated
• axial conduction is negligible compared to advection
• potential and kinetic energy changes are negligible
• specific heat of both fluids are constant (no phase change)
• overall heat transfer coefficient is constant
• the heat exchanger is running in steady state
• no heat generations

2.1 Duty of heat exchanger q (11.3)

Assume the heat transfer between the exchanger and its surroundings as well
as the changes in potential and kinetic energy are negligible, total rate of heat
transfer between the hot and cold fluids is:

q = ṁh (ihi − iho ) Eq.(11.6a)

q = ṁc (ico − ici ) Eq.(11.7a)

where i is the enthalpy of the fluids and subscripts h and c refer to hot and
cold fluids and subscripts i and o indicate inlet and outlet. With no phase
changes, specific heat c of both fluids remain constant and differences in
enthalpy can be expressed as the product of specific heat and temperature
difference:

q = ṁh ch (Thi − Tho ) Eq.(11.6b)

q = ṁc cc (Tco − Tci ) Eq.(11.7b)

2.2 Size of the heat exchanger A (11.3)

The total heat transfer rate q can be related to the temperature difference
between hot and cold fluids ∆T = Th − Tc as:

q = U A∆T Eq.(11.9)

where U is the overall heat transfer coefficient and A is the reference area (size
of heat exchanger). Since ∆T varies with position in the heat exchanger, a log

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mean temperature difference (LMTD) ∆Tlm is necessary (detailed derivation
can be found in Section 4):

∆T2 − ∆T1
∆Tlm =
ln(∆T2 /∆T1 )

For parallel flow exchangers: ∆T1 = Th,i −Tc,i ∆T2 = Th,o −Tc,o Eq.(11.16).
For counterflow exchangers: ∆T1 = Th,i −Tc,o ∆T2 = Th,o −Tc,i Eq.(11.17).
Correction factor F is necessary to calculate the LMTD for multipass and
cross-flow heat exchangers. ∆T is obtained by applying a correction factor
F to the value of ∆Tlm,CF under counterflow conditions.

∆T = F ∆Tlm,CF Eq.(11.S.1)

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 (a) (b)

(c) (d)

Figure 1: F for a shell-and-tube heat exchanger with one shell and any
multiple of two tube passes (a), and F for a single-pass, cross-flow heat
exchanger with both fluids unmixed (b), and F for a shell-and-tube heat
exchanger with two shell passes and any multiple of four tube passes (c), and
F for a single-pass, cross-flow heat exchanger with one fluid mixed and the
other unmixed (d).

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2.3 Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient U

Figure 2: Schematic of the series thermal resistance circuit of a typical heat

exchanger: convection of the hot fluid inside, fouling in the hot side, conduc-
tion within the wall, fouling on the cold fluid side and convection of the cold
fluid outside. Neglect the effect of natural convection and radiation.

The total thermal resistance of the series circuit between two fluids is the
sum of all compositions:

Rtot = Rconvh + Rfoulh + Rcond + Rfoulc + Rconvc

where subscripts h and c represent hold and cold fluid, respectively. The
next step is to calculate each thermal resistance in the circuit.
For convection:
1
Rconvh =
h̄h Ah
1
Rconvc =
h̄c Ac

For unfinned concentric tubes:

ln Do /Di
Rcond =
2πkL
where L is the length of the heat exchanger
For fouling:
During typical heat exchanger operations, surfaces are often subject to foul-
ing by impurities, rust, or other reactions between the fluid and the wall

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material, which introduces an additional thermal resistance in the series cir-
cuit:
00
Rfoulh
Rfoulh =
Ah
R00
Rfoulc = foulc
Ac
where Ah is the surface area of the hot fluid side, and Ac is the surface area
00
of the cold fluid side Ac = πDc L. Representative fouling resistances Rfoul h
00
and Rfoulc
can be found in Table 11.1.

Figure 3: Fouling factors of typical fluids in heat exchangers.

For finned tubes:

Thermal resistance for finned tubes is represented as
1
Rconvf =
ηo h̄A

where A is the total exposed area (fin plus exposed base area) and the overall
surface efficiency ηo can be derived as a function of the efficiency of a single
fin:
Af
ηo = 1 − (1 − ηf ) Eq.(11.3)
A
Af is the total finned area (without including exposed base) and ηf is the
efficiency of a single fin.

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Putting all thermal resistances together, for the clean (no foulings), unfinned
wall separating two fluid streams, the overall heat transfer coefficient is:
1 1 1 1 1
= = = + Rcond + Eq.(11.1a)
UA Uc Ac Uh Ah (hA)c (hA)h

For the wall separating two fluid streams with fouling and fin effects, the
overall heat transfer coefficient is:
00 00
1 1 Rfoulc
Rfoulh
1
= + + Rcond + + Eq.(11.1b)
UA (ηo h̄A)c (ηo A)c (ηo A)h (ηo h̄A)h

For the unfinned, tubular heat exchangers with inner and outer tube surfaces
of Ai = πDi L and Ao = πDo L, Eq.(11.1b) reduces to:
00 00
1 1 Rfouli
ln(Do /Di ) Rfoulo
1
= + + + + Eq.(11.5)
UA hi Ai Ai 2πkL Ao ho Ao
where subscripts i and o represent inner and outer surfaces which may be
exposed to either the hot or cold fluid.

2.4 Calculation example: tube length to achieve a de-

sired outlet temperature (Example: 11.1)
A counterflow, concentric tube heat exchanger is used ot cool the lubricating
oil for a large industrial gas turbine engine. The flow rate of cooling water
through the inner tube (Di =25 mm) is 0.2 kg/s, while the flow rate of oil
through the outer annulus (D0 =45 mm) is 0.1 kg/s. The oil and water
enter at temperatures of 100 and 30◦ C , respectively. How long must the
tube be made if the outlet temperature of the oil is to be 60◦ C ? From
Table A.5, for unused engine oil at average temperature T̄h = (100 ◦ C +
60 ◦ C)/2 = 80 ◦ C, viscosity of oil µ = 3.25 × 10−2 N.s
m2
, specific heat c=2131
J/Kg.K, and thermal conductivity k=0.138 W/m.K. From Table A.6, for
water at an average temperature about 35◦ C , viscosity of water µ = 725 ×
10−6 N.s
m2
, c=4178 J/Kg.K, k=0.625 W/m.K and Pr=4.85. Assume the tube
wall thermal conduction resistance and fouling factors are negligible and both
the water and oil have achieved the fully developed conditions which means
the overall heat transfer coefficient U is independent of the tube length L.

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Figure 4: Schematic of the counterflow heat exchanger with cooling water
flowing inside and hot oil flowing outside in the opposite direction.

Solution:
Step 1: Calculate the duty of heat exchanger for the oil (hot fluid)
q = ṁh ch (Thi − Tho )
kg J
= 0.1 × 2131 × (100 ◦ C − 60 ◦ C) = 8524W
s kgK

Step 2: Calculate the log mean temperature difference

We must first calculate the outlet temperature of the water (cold fluid)
With the calculated duty, the outlet temperature of cooling water can be
calculated as:
q = ṁc cc (Tci − Tco ) =⇒
q
Tco = + Tci
ṁc cc
8524W
= kg J
+ 30 ◦ C = 40.2 ◦ C
0.2 s × 4178 kgK

The heat exchanger length L is associated with the calculation of overall heat
exchange rate q = U A∆Tlm by choosing the inner surface area A = πDi L as

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the reference area. Log mean temperature difference ∆Tlm and the overall
heat transfer coefficient U need to be determined first.

∆T2 − ∆T1
∆Tlm =
ln ∆T2 /∆T1
(100 ◦ C − 40.2 ◦ C) − (60 ◦ C − 30 ◦ C)
= = 43.2 ◦ C
ln(100 ◦ C − 40.2 ◦ C)/(60 ◦ C − 30 ◦ C)

Step 3: Calculate the overall heat transfer coefficient

As the conduction within the tube and fouling factors are assumed negligible,
the overall heat transfer coefficient is:
1 1 1
= +
UA (hA)c (hA)h
In this case, Ac = Ah = A = πDi L due to negligible tube thickness between
cold and hot fluid, U is simplified as:
1
U=
(1/hc ) + (1/hh )
Now, the calculation of U turns into the determination of the average con-
vection coefficient of the cooling water and hot oil.
Step 3.1: Calculate the convection coefficient of cooling water hc
Check ReD for internal flow of circular tubes:
um D ṁDi 4ṁ
ReD = = πD 2 =
ν ρ × 4i × ν πDi µ
4 × 0.2 kg
s
= = 14050 > 2300
π × 0.025m × 725 × 10−6 N.s
m2

The flow is turbulent and convection coefficient can be computed from Equa-
tion 8.60 for heating case (n = 0.4):

NuD =0.023ReD 4/5 Pr0.4

= 0.023140504/5 × 4.850.4 = 90

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Thus, convection coefficient hc is calculated by:
W
NuD k 90 × 0.625 mK W
hf = = = 2250 2
Di 0.025m mK

Step 3.2: Calculate the convection coefficient of oil hh

Hot oil flows in the concentric annulus with outer diameter and inner di-
ameter of Do and Di , respectively. For noncircular tubes, hydraulic diam-
eter needs to be calculated as the effective diameter (detailed in Internal
Flows). For concentric annulus, hydraulic diameter is Dh = Do − Di =
0.045m − 0.025m = 0.02m, and the corresponding Reynolds number is:

um Dh ṁh (Do − Di ) 4ṁh

ReD = = 2 2 =
ν π/4(Do − Di )µ π(Do + Di )µ
kg
4 × 0.1 s
=
π × (0.045 + 0.025)m × 3.25 × 10−2 N.s
m2
= 56.0 < 2300 =⇒ Laminar flow

For this case Di /Do ≈ 0.56, check the tabulated Nui for inner surface of a
concentric annulus from Table 8.2:

Figure 5: Nu for fully developed laminar flow in a circular tube annulus.

N ui ≈ 5.74 from the table for Di /Do = 0.5 (You can also obtain a more

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accurate result of N ui ≈ 5.63 by linear interpolation):
hh Dh
NuD = ≈ 5.74
k
Therefore, convection coefficient of the oil is:
W
NuD k 5.74 × 0.138 mK W
hh = = = 39.6 2
Dh 0.02m mK
Step 3.3: Numerical value of the overall heat transfer coefficient U
Substituting the calculated hc and hh into the expression of U to obtain:
1 1
U= =
(1/hc ) + (1/hh ) (1/2250 mW W
2 K ) + (1/39.6 m2 K )

W
≈ 38.9 2
mK
Step 4: Calculate the length of tube to achieve the outlet temperature of
oil to be 60◦ C .
According to q = U A∆Tlm and A = πDi L:
A q 8524W
L= = = W
= 64.6m
πDi U ∆Tlm πDi 38.9 m2 K × π × 0.025m × 43.2 ◦ C

3 Heat Capacity Rates

Assume there are no phase changes and the specific heat of both fluids are
constant, the total heat exchange rate q is then:
q = ṁh ch (Thi − Tho )
q = ṁc cc (Tco − Tci )

Denoting the product of mass flow rate and the specific heat of the hot and
cold fluid as the heat capacity rate of Ch and Cc , temperature variations in
the same fluid as ∆Th and ∆Tc , respectively, and q reduces to:
q
q = Ch ∆Th =⇒ ∆Th =
Ch
q
q = Cc ∆Tc =⇒ ∆Tc =
Cc
∆T is smallest for the fluid with the highest heat capacity rate.

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3.1 Parallel flows

Figure 6: Temperature distributions for parallel flow heat exchangers. If the

heat capacity rate of hot fluid is larger than that of cold fluid Ch > Cc , ∆Th
should be smaller than ∆Tc . When the heat exchanger is long enough, both
fluids achieve the same outlet temperature: ∆T2 = 0.

3.2 Counter flows

For counter flows, inlet and outlet temperature differences are ∆T1 = Thi −Tco
and ∆T2 = Tho − Tci . Unlike parallel flows, the outlet temperature of the
cold fluid Tco may exceed the outlet temperature of the hot fluid Tho .

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Figure 7: Temperature distributions for counter flow heat exchangers. If
the heat capacity rate of hot fluid is larger than that of cold fluid ch > cc ,
∆Th < ∆Tc and vice versa. In the case of ch < cc , ∆T2 approaches zero when
the counter flow heat exchanger is long enough.

3.3 Special operating conditions

3.3.1 Condensing
When the heat capacity rate of the hot fluid is much larger that than of
the cold fluid, which means Ch  Cc , the temperature of hot fluids remains
approximately unchanged through the heat exchanger and the cold fluid gets

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heated up. The condition, Ch  Cc , can be achieved if the hot fluid is a
condensing vapor, temperature remains constant when condensation occurs
∂i
and thus ch → ∞, (this is because c = ∂T , when a change in phase occurs,
enthalpy changes at a constant temperature).

Figure 8: Temperature distributions for a condensing vapor of ch >> cc .

3.3.2 Evaporating
In a evaporator, if the cold fluid undergoes phase changes and remains con-
stant in its temperature, the heat capacity rate of the cold fluid tends to
infinity, much larger than the heat capacity rate of the hot fluid: cc >> ch .
As a result, the temperature of cold fluid remains unchanged and that of the
hot fluid decreases along the tube.

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Figure 9: Temperature distributions for an evaporating liquid of ch << cc .

3.3.3 Equal heat capacity rate: Ch = Cc

Consider a counter flow with both hot and cold fluids of the same heat
capacity rates Ch = Cc , the temperature difference ∆T = Th − Tc is constant
throughout the exchanger, which means ∆T1 = ∆T2 = ∆Tlm .

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Figure 10: Temperature distributions for a counter flow heat exchanger with
equivalent fluid heat capacities ch = cc .

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4 Calculations of local temperature differences
in the heat exchanger
4.1 For parallel flows

Figure 11: Temperature distributions for a parallel-flow heat exchanger.

The energy rate balance follows that:

qin − qout + 
qgen
=q
st

where qin = ṁh ch (Th − Tref ) and qout = ṁh ch (Th + dTh − Tref ) + dq where
Tref is the reference temperature and the heat exchange rate is given by the
product of heat capacity rate and temperature difference of hot fluid:
dq
dq = −ṁh ch dTh = Ch dTh =⇒ dTh = −
Ch

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Similarly, by establishing the energy rate balance for a differential control
volume in cold fluid to obtain:
dq
dq = ṁc cc dTc = Cc dTc =⇒ dTc =
Cc

Therefore, the change of temperature difference between the hot and cold
fluid is:
 
1 1
dTh − dTc = d(∆T ) = −dq +
Ch Cc
The rate of heat transfer via convection can also be expressed as:
dq = U dA∆T Eq (11.12)
Combining the above two equations together:
 
1 1
d(∆T ) = −U dA∆T +
Ch Cc
Rearranging:
 
d(∆T ) 1 1
= −U + dA
∆T Ch Cc
Integrating both sides from position 1 to position 2 along the direction of
tube length and substituting Ch = q/(Thi − Tho ) and Cc = q/(Tco − Tci ):
 
∆T2 1 1
ln = −U A + Eq (11.13)
∆T1 Ch Cc
 
Thi − Tho Tco − Tci
= − UA +
q q
UA
=− [(Thi − Tci ) − (Tho − Tco )]
q
where ∆T1 = Thi − Tci and ∆T2 = Tho − Tco are the temperature differences
at the inlet and outlet, respectively. We then obtain:
∆T2 − ∆T1
q = UA = U A∆Tlm Eq (11.14)
ln ∆T2
∆T1

Conclusion: The appropriate temperature difference we need to calculate

the heat exchange rate is the log mean temperature difference ∆Tlm .

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4.2 For counter flows
The energy rate balance applies to any type of heat exchangers. For coun-
terflow heat exchangers, inlet and outlet temperatures are defined as: ∆T1 =
Thi − Tco and ∆T2 = Tho − Tci .

Figure 12: Temperature distribution for long heat exchangers under counter
flow conditions.

Acknowledgement
This set of notes is based on class notes from previous years by Prof. Mendez,
and was first typed and illustrated by PhD student Ying Wang as part of
her Fraser and Shirley Russell Teaching Fellowship.

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