HEAT EXCHANGERS

AND
IMPORTANCE OF HEAT
TRANSFER MEDIA
 HEAT TRANSFER MEDIA
PROPERTIES
 Liquids and vapors used to transport and
transfer heat require special properties.
 High boiling temperatures and low vapor
pressures reduce the possibility of hazards and
limit the capital cost of plant.
 The fluids should have a high specific heat
capacity, a high thermal conductivity, be non-
toxic and, if possible, non-corrosive.
 They should be commercially available and
economical to use.
Steam as media
 Steam and water are the most widely used of all
heating media.
 It is produced from relatively cheap and plentiful
water.
 It can be used to produce power and then
provide heat.
 When using steam(or water) ,the high process
temperatures are achieved by pressurizing the
steam (or water).
 The main limitations of steam are its high vapor
pressure and its relatively low critical
Steam is of two types. They are:
Saturated steam : It occurs when steam and water are
in equilibrium .When temperature of the water is
raised, steam is being evolved and the steam
conditions are said to be saturated because if the
pressure is raised by external means, some of the
steam will start to condense back.
Super Saturated steam : If the pressure is held at a
lower level than that achieved at saturation, there is
effectively an excess temperature for that pressure,
and the steam is said to be superheated steam.
In heating applications, saturated steam is preferable,
because it has a better energy exchange capacity .
Superheated steam must cool down, and become
saturated steam, before condensing in a heat
Mineral oil as media
 Mineral oil(paraffin oil) is colorless, odorless,
light mixtures of higher alkanes from a
mineral source, particularly a distillate of
petroleum.
 These are mainly used as coolants due to
their high boiling points.
 But their high costs limit their applications.
 Molten salts and metals as media
 Molten salts and liquid metals can be used up to
temperatures of about 873K.
 But their usage involves problems in design,
handling, safety and expense.
 They tend to be used in systems that operate
continuously.
 A commonly used molten salt is a eutectic mixture
of sodium nitrite (40% w/w), sodium nitrate (7%
w/w) and potassium nitrate (53% w/w).
 It is non-toxic and chemically stable up to 723K.
 It’s maximum operating temperature is about
Synthetic organic fluids as media
 The eutectic mixture of two stable
compounds can be used as a eutectic fluid.
 Some of the examples are biphenyl-diphenyl
oxide, mixture of di- and tri-aryl ethers,
mixture of diphenylethane and alkylated
aromatics.
 Compared to hot oils, it exhibits better
thermal stability.
 It is mostly used in liquid phase heat transfer
applications.
Criteria for selection of thermal fluids
The key fluid property is the temperature
range.
The other important fluid properties are
viscosity, density, specific heat and thermal
conductivity.
The fluid must have less environmental
impact and less toxicity.
A number of other factors such as size of the
system, heating source(gas fire boiler,
electric resistance heaters), pumping
capabilities and perhaps any flash point
 HEAT TRANSFER
 Heat transfer is the exchange of thermal
energy between physical systems.
 The rate of heat transfer is dependent on the
temperatures of the systems and the
properties of the intervening medium through
which heat is transferred.
 The three fundamental modes of heat transfer
are
Conduction
Convection
Radiation
Conduction : Direct transfer of heat from one
substance to another.
 Ex : Ice melts in hand

Convection : Direct heat transfer from a fluid.

 Ex : The green house effect

Radiation : Transfer of heat energy through

empty medium.
 Ex : The sun
 Heat transfer equipments
o Heat exchangers
o Heaters
o Coolers
o Condensers
o Vaporizers
o Boilers
o Evaporators
Intro about HEAT EXCHANGERS
 A heat exchanger is a device used to transfer
heat between one or more fluids.
 The fluids may be separated by solid wall to
prevent mixing of fluids or they may be in
direct contact.
 They are widely used in space heating,
refrigeration, air conditioning, power
stations, chemical plants, petrochemical
plants, petroleum refineries, natural-gas
processing and sewage treatment.
This is a simple tubular heat
exchanger.
CLASSIFICATION OF HEAT EXCHANGERS
There are three primary classifications of
heat exchangers according to their flow
arrangement.
 Parallel flow heat exchangers
 Counter flow heat exchangers
 Cross flow heat exchangers
1.Countercurrent 2.Crossflow 3.Parallelflow
flow
1. In counter-flow heat exchangers, the two
fluids enter the exchanger from opposite
ends . It is the most efficient one.
2. In a cross-flow heat exchanger, the fluids
travel roughly perpendicular to one another
through the exchanger .
3. In parallel-flow heat exchangers, the two
fluids enter the exchanger at same end and
travel in parallel to one another to the other
side.
 Performance of heat exchanger
For efficiency, heat exchangers are designed to maximize
the surface area of the wall between the two fluids, while
minimizing resistance to fluid flow through the exchanger.
It’s performance can also be affected by the addition of
corrugations or fins in one or both directions, which
increase surface area and may channel fluid flow or induce
turbulence.
Heat exchangers are cheap for both design & maintenance,
making them a good choice for small scale industries.
On the other hand, their low efficiency coupled with the
high space occupied in large scales, has led modern
industries to use more efficient heat exchangers as shell &
tube or plate.
 Selection of heat exchanger
The selection of a heat exchanger for a particular
application depends on many factors , including :
 the chemical, physical and thermal properties of
the two fluids over the operating temperature and
pressure ranges
 the operating temperature and pressure ranges of
the two fluids
 any phase change that occurs in the fluids over the
operating range of conditions
 the fouling factors of the two fluids (potential of
dirt accumulation and scaling)
 suitable materials for construction
Types of heat exchangers
o Double pipe heat exchanger
o Shell and tube heat exchanger
o Plate heat exchangers
o Plate and shell heat exchanger
o Adiabatic wheel heat exchanger
o Plate fin heat exchanger
o Fluid heat exchanger
o Phase-change heat exchanger
o Direct contact heat exchanger
o Micro channel heat exchanger
 Double pipe heat exchanger
 A double pipe heat exchanger is perhaps the simplest of
all the heat exchangers.
 Double pipe heat exchangers are also known as hairpin,
jacketed type , jacketed U-tube and concentric pipe.
 These styles of double pipe may have a bundle of inner
tubes rather than a single tube and the limits on these
styles are the number of tubes (less than 30 tubes) and
the diameter of the outer tube is less than 200mm.
 They are used for low heat duties with surface area
requirements less than 47 square meters.
 When large heat exchange duty is required, a number of
these units can be connected in series or parallel to fit
into space available.
 One fluid flows through the inside pipe and
the other flows through the annulus between
the two pipes.
 The wall of the inner pipe is the heat transfer
surface.
 In double pipe heat exchanger design, an
important factor is the type of flow pattern in
the heat exchanger.
 A double pipe heat exchanger will typically be
either counter flow or parallel flow.
Advantages Disadvantages
 Suited to high Limited to low heat
pressure duties.
applications. There is no cross
 Standardization, flow.
simplifies As units are added,
maintenance, there is possibility of
servicing and leakage because of
stocking of plants. the increase in
 Flexibility, units can number of
be added or removed connections.
as required.
Shell and tube heat exchanger
 It consists of a series of tubes.
 One set of the tubes contains the fluid that must be
heated or cooled .The second fluid runs over the
tubes that are being heated or cooled so that it can
either provide the heat or absorb the heat required.
 A set of tubes is called the tube bundle (may be plain
or longitudinally finned or corrugated).
 These are typically used for high pressure
applications (with pressure > 30 bar and
temperature > 533K).
 Typically, the ends of each tube are connected to
plenums(water boxes)through holes in tubesheets.
The tubes may be straight or bent.
Parameters considered in design
 Tube diameter : Using a small tube diameter
makes it more economical and compact but
makes mechanical cleaning difficult.
 Tube thickness : The thickness of the wall of
the tubes must withstand the internal tube
pressure and also the overpressure in the shell.
 Tube length : Heat exchangers are usually
cheap when they have small shell diameter and
long tube length . The aim is, typically, to make
the heat exchanger as long as physical possible
whilst not exceeding production capabilities.
Tube pitch : A larger tube pitch (i.e.; the centre-
centre distance of adjoining tubes) leads to a
larger overall shell diameter , which leads to a
more expensive heat exchanger.
Tube corrugation : This increases turbulence of
the fluids and the effect is very important in the
heat transfer giving a better performance.
Tube layout : It refers to how tubes are positioned
as 4 types : triangular(30), rotated triangular(60),
rotated square(45), square(90).
Baffle design : Baffles are used in shell and tube
heat exchangers to direct the fluid across the
tube bundle.They run perpendicularly to the shell
and hold the bundle, preventing the tubes from
Applications of heat exchangers
Oil and gas industry
Chemical processing
Power generation
Heat recovery
Vehicle transportation and more
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