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COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, ARCHITECTURE AND TECNOLOGY

Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Department

19 8 0

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN AGRICULTURAL AND BIOSYSTEMS ENGINEERING

MODULE # 9
Heat Exchangers
Learning Outcomes:

1. Learning the essentials and basic concepts of heat exchangers,

2. Learning heat exchanger types and selection criteria of heat exchanger according to usage area,
3. Capability to do thermal, pressure drop, strength, and cost analysis of heat exchangers.

Introduction:

A heat exchanger is a device that allows heat from a fluid (a liquid or a gas) to pass to a second
fluid (another liquid or gas) without the two fluids having to mix together or come into direct contact.
If that's not completely clear, consider this. In theory, we could get the heat from the gas jets just by
throwing cold water onto them, but then the flames would go out! The essential principle of a heat
exchanger is that it transfers the heat without transferring the fluid that carries the heat.

Types of heat exchangers

All heat exchangers do the same job—passing heat from one fluid to another—but they work in many
different ways.
Common heat exchangers include the flat-plate, shell and tube, and cross-flow types. A double-pipe
exchanger, the simplest form of the shell-and-tube type, is show in Fig. 10-1. If the fluids both flow in
the same direction, as shown, it is referred to as parallel-flow type; if they flow in opposite directions,
a counter-flow type. Fig. 10-2 shows a shell-and-tube exchanger with several tubes, two passes and
baffles.
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In cross-flow heat exchangers the fluids flow at the right angles to each other, as illustrated in
Fig. 10-3. If a fluid can move about freely while passing through the exchanger, the fluid is said to be
mixed.

Figure 10-4 shows a cross-flow type with both fluids unmixed. Here the temperature distribution with
distance is skewed because the fluid in a given flow path is subjected to a temperature difference
unlike that experienced by the fluid in any other path at the same distance from the inlet.
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The Overall Heat-Transfer Coefficient

It is often convenient to express the heat transfer rate for a combined conductive-convective
problem in the form, q = hA∆T, with h replaced by an overall heat-transfer coefficient U.

𝑇𝐴 − 𝑇𝐵
q = 1/ℎ 10-1
1 𝐴 + ∆𝑥/𝑘𝐴 + 1/ℎ2 𝐴

where TA and TB are the fluid temperatures on each side of the wall. The overall heat-transfer
coefficient U is defined by the relation;

q = UA∆Toverall 10-2

From the standpoint of heat-exchanger design the plane wall is of infrequent application; a more
important case for consideration would be that of a double-pipe heat exchanger, as shown in fig. 10.2.
In this application one fluid flows on the inside of the smaller tube while the other fluid flows in the
annular space between the two tubes. The convection coefficients are calculated by the methods
described in previous chapters, and the overall heat transfer is obtained from the thermal network of
figure 10.2b as;
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𝑇𝐴 − 𝑇𝐵
q= 1 ln(𝑟0 /𝑟𝑖 ) 1 10-3
+ +
ℎ𝑖 𝐴𝑖 2𝜋𝑘𝐿 ℎ0 𝐴0

where the subscripts i and o pertain to the inside and outside of the smaller inner tube. The overall
heat-transfer coefficient may be based on either the inside or outside area of the tube at the discretion
of the designer. Accordingly,

1
Ui = 1 𝐴 ln(𝑟0 /𝑟𝑖 ) 𝐴 1 10-4a
ℎ𝑖
+ 𝑖 2𝜋𝑘𝐿 + ℎ 𝑖𝐴
0 0

1
Uo = 𝐴0 1 𝐴 ln(𝑟0 /𝑟𝑖 ) 1
10-4b
+ 0 +
𝐴𝑖 ℎ𝑖 2𝜋𝑘𝐿 ℎ0

Although final heat-exchanger designs will be made on the basis of careful calculations of U, it
is helpful to have a tabulation of values of the overall heat-transfer coefficient for various situations
which may be encountered in practice. We should remark that the value of U is governed in many cases
by only one of the convection heat-transfer coefficients. In most practical problems the conduction
resistance is small compared with the convection resistances. Then, if one value of h is markedly lower
than the other value, it will tend to dominate the equation for U.
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Radial systems Consider the cylindrical system consisting of a single material layer having an
inner and an outer convective fluid flow as shown in figure 2-10a. If T2 is temperature at r2, etc., then
gives;
(∆𝑇) (𝑇𝑖 − 𝑇𝑜
q = Ʃ𝑅𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙 = Ʃ𝑅 10-4c
𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ
where the thermal resistances are:
1 1
Ri = inside convective Rth = =
2𝜋𝑟1 𝐿ℎ𝑖 ℎ𝑖 𝐴1
ln(𝑟2 /𝑟1 )
Ra = conductive Rth due to material, Ra =
2𝜋𝑘𝑎 𝐿
1 1
Ro = outside convective Rth = =
2𝜋𝑟2 𝐿ℎ0 ℎ0 𝐴2
In these expressions L is the length of the cylindrical system. Summing the thermal resistances,
1 ln(𝑟2 /𝑟1) 1
Ʃ𝑅𝑡ℎ = + +
2𝜋𝑟1 𝐿ℎ𝑖 2𝜋𝑘𝑎 𝐿 2𝜋𝑟2 𝐿ℎ0

1
Now by definition U = , and for A it is customary to use the outer surface area, A0 = 2𝜋𝑟2 𝐿,
AƩR𝑡ℎ
so that;

1
Uo = .
(𝑟2 /𝑟1 ℎ𝑖 ) + [𝑟2 𝑙𝑛 (𝑟2 /𝑟1)/𝑘𝑎] + (1/ℎ0)

Where the subscript o denotes that Uo is based on the outside surface area of the cylinder.
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Problems:

Hot water with hi = 1961 W//m2. C, flows through a 2-in schedule 40 horizontal steel pipe (k = 54
W/m.0C) and is exposed to atmospheric air with ho = 7.91 W/m2.0C. Calculate the overall heat-transfer
coefficient for this situation, based on the outer area of pipe. From Appendix A; the dimensions of 2-in
schedule 40 pipe are: ID = 0.0525 m. and OD = 0.06033 m.

Solution:
For the unit length of pipe (1-m length) the thermal resistance of the steel is;
ln(𝑟0 /𝑟𝑖 ) ln(0.06033/0.0525) 𝐶
Rs = = = 4.097 x 10-4 𝑊
2𝜋𝑘 2𝜋(54 𝑊/𝑚.𝐶 𝑥 1𝑚)

1 1 1 𝐶
Ri = = ℎ 2𝜋𝑟 = (1961 𝑊/𝑚2 .𝐶)𝜋(0.0525𝑚 𝑥 1𝑚) = 3.092 x 10-3
ℎ𝑖 𝐴1 𝑖 𝑖 𝑊

1 1 1 𝐶
Ro = = = = 0.667
ℎ0 𝐴2 ℎ𝑜 2𝜋𝑟0 (7.91 𝑊/𝑚2 .𝐶)𝜋(0.06033𝑚 𝑥 1𝑚) 𝑊

The calculation clearly illustrates the fact that the free convection controls the overall heat-transfer
because Ro is much larger than Ri or Rs. The overall heat-transfer coefficient based on the outer area is
written in terms of these resistances as;

1
Uo = 𝐴 .
0 [ 𝑅𝑖 + 𝑅𝑠 + 𝑅𝑜 ]

1
Uo = 𝜋(0.06033)(1)[ 3.092 𝑥 10−3 + 4.097 𝑥 10−4+ 0.667 ]

Uo = 7.87 W/m2.C

Note: We used the outside area for a 1.0-m length as

Ao = π(0.06033) = 0.1895 m2/m.

LOG MEAN TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCE

Consider the double-pipe heat exchanger shown in figure 10-2. The fluids may flow in either parallel
flow or counter-flow, and the temperature profiles for these two cases are indicated in figure 10-7. We
propose to calculate the heat transfer in this double-pipe arrangement with,

q = UA∆Tm
where; U = overall heat-transfer coefficient
A = surface area for heat transfer consistent with definition of U.
∆Tm = suitable mean temperature difference across heat exchanger.
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This temperature difference is called the log mean temperature difference (LMTD). Stated verbally, it
is the temperature difference at one end of the heat exchanger divided by the natural logarithm of the
ratio of these two temperature differences. It is left as an exercise for the reader to show that this
relation may also be used to calculate the LMTDs for counter-flow conditions.

LMTDs involves two important assumptions: (1) the fluid specific heats do not vary with
temperature, and (2) the convection heat-transfer coefficients are constant throughout the heat
exchanger. The second assumption is usually the more serious one because of entrance effects, fluid
viscosity, and thermal-conductivity changes, etc. Numerical methods must normally be employed to
correct for these effects.
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If a heat exchanger other than the double-pipe type is used, the heat transfer is calculated by
using a correction factor applied to the LMTD for a counter-flow double-pipe arrangement with the
same hot and cold fluid temperatures. The heat transfer equation then takes the form;

q = UAF∆Tm
Values of correction factor F according to Reference 4 are plotted in Figures 10-8 to 10-11 for several
different types of heat exchangers. When a phase change is involved, as in condensation or boiling
(evaporation), the fluid normally remains at essentially constant temperature and the relations are
simplified. For this condition, P or R becomes zero and we obtain;

F = 1.0 for boiling or condensation.

Problem:

1. Water at the rate of 68 kg/min is heated from 35 to 750C by an oil having a specific heat of 1.9
kJ/kg.0C. The fluids are used in a counter-flow double-pipe heat exchanger, and the oil enters
the exchanger at 110 0C and leaves at 75 0C. The overall heat-transfer coefficient is 320 W/m2.
0
C. Calculate the heat-exchanger area.
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Solution
The total heat transfer is determined from the energy absorbed by the water:
q = mwcw∆Tw = (68kg/min)(4.180 kJ/kg.0C)(75-35)0C = 11,369.6 kJ/min.
q = 11,369.6 kJ/min. x 1min/60 sec. = 189.5 kJ/sec. or
q = 189.5 kW.

Since all the fluid temperatures are known, the LMTD can be calculated by using the temperature
scheme in figure 10-7b.
(110−75)−(75−35)
∆Tm = 𝑙𝑛[(110−75)/(75−35)] = 37.440C.

Then, since q = UA∆Tm,

𝑞 1.895 𝑥 105 𝑊
A = 𝑈∆𝑇 = (320 𝑊/𝑚2 .𝐶)(37.440𝐶 ) = 15.82 m2.
𝑚

2. Instead of the double-pipe heat exchanger of example 1, it is desired to use a shell-and-tube

exchanger with the water making one shell pass and the oil making two tube passes. Calculate
the area required for this exchanger, assuming that the overall heat-transfer coefficient remains
at 320 W/m2.0C.

Solution;

To solve this problem, we determine a correction factor from figure 10-8 to be used with the
LMTD calculated on the basis of a counter-flow exchanger. The parameters according to the
nomenclature of figure 10-8 are;
T1 = 350C; T2 = 750C; t1 = 1100C; t2 = 750C
𝑡 2 − 𝑡1 75−110
P= = 35−110 = 0.46
𝑇1 − 𝑡1
𝑇1 − 𝑇2 35−75
R= = = 1.143
𝑡2 − 𝑡1 75−110
So the correction factor is;
F = 0.81
And the heat transfer is q = UAF∆Tm
𝑞 1.895 𝑥 105 𝑊
So that ; A = 𝑈𝐹∆𝑇 = (320 𝑊/𝑚2 .𝐶)( 0.81 )(37.44 0 𝐶 ) = 19.53 m2.
𝑚

3. A heat exchanger like that shown in figure 10-4 is used to heat an oil in the tubes (c = 1.9 kJ/kg. 0C)
from 15 0C to 85 0C. Blowing across the outside of the tubes is steam which enters at 130 0C and
leaves at 110 0C with a mass-flow of 5.2 kg/sec. The overall heat-transfer coefficient is 275
W/m2.0C and c for steam is 1.86 kJ/kg.0C. Calculate the surface area of the heat exchanger.

Solution:

The total heat transfer may be obtained from an energy balance on the steam

q = mscs∆Ts = (5.2 kg/sec)(1.86 kJ/kg.0C)(130 - 110)0C = 193 kW.

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We can solve for the area from equation (10-13). The value of ∆Tm is calculated as if the exchanger
were counter-flow double-pipe.
(130−85)−(110−15)
Thus, ∆Tm = 𝑙𝑛[(130−85)/(110−15) = 66.9 0C.

Now, from figure 10-11, t1 and t2 will represent the unmixed fluid (the oil) and T 1 and T2 will
represent the mixed fluid (the steam) so that;

T1 = 130 0C; T2 = 110 0C; t1 = 15 0C; t2 = 850C

𝑇1 − 𝑇2 130−110
And we calculate; R= = = 0.286
𝑡 2 − 𝑡1 85−15

𝑡2 − 𝑡1 85−15
P= = 130−15 = 0.609
𝑇1 − 𝑡1

Consulting figure 10-11, we find;

F = 0.97

So the area is calculated from;

𝑞 193,000 𝑊
A = 𝑈𝐹∆𝑇 = (275 𝑊/𝑚2 .𝐶)( 0.97 )(66.9 0𝐶 ) = 10.82 m2.
𝑚

References
1. Introduction to Heat Transfer by Aubrey I. Brown and Salvatore M. Marco; Third Edition, ISBN
971–103–063-2
2. Heat Transfer Ninth Edition by J.P. Holman, Copyright 2002, ISBN 0-07-112230-3

Prepared by: Engr. B. A. Hontiveros

Course Facilitator
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EXERCISES:

Name: _____________________________________ Rating: _____________

Course & Year: _____________Date Perform: ___________Date: Submitted: ___________

Activity # 9

Heat Exchanger

I. Problem sets: Read the statement carefully and analyze the known and needed unknown data.
Show your solutions clearly in a long bond paper and fasten to long folder with complete name,
course and year.
1. Water (mass = 1.4 kg/s ; CP =4.187 kJ/kg.K) is heated from 40 0C to 70 0C by an oil (mass = 2
kg/s; CP = 1.9 kJ/kg.K) entering at 110 0C in a counter flow heat exchanger. If overall heat-
transfer coefficient is 350 W/m2.K, calculate the surface area required.

2. Water is heated from 30 0C to 750C at the rate of 1.2 kg/s by an oil having a specific heat of 1.9
kJ/kg.0C. The fluids are used in a counter-flow double-pipe heat exchanger, and the oil enters
the exchanger at 115 0C and leaves at 75 0C. The surface area of heat exchanger is 16.5 m2.
Calculate overall heat-transfer coefficient.

3. A shell-and tube heat exchanger operates with two shell passes and four tube passes. The shell
fluid is ethylene glycol ( CE = 2.742 kJ/kg.0C), which enters at 140 0C and leaves at 80 0C with
a flow rate of 4500 kg/hr. Water (CW = 4.187 kJ/kg.0C) flows in the tubes, entering at 35 0C
and leaving at 85 0C. The overall heat-transfer coefficient for this arrangement is 850 W/m2.0C.
Calculate the flow rate of water required and the area of the heat exchanger.

------ Good Luck --------

Prepared by:

Engr. Bonifacio A. Hontiveros

Course Facilitator