ABSTRACT / SUMMARY

This experiment is conducted based o n the heat transfer at a

different temperature gradient. In order to control and indicate the
te mperatures of T H i n , T H o u t , T H m i d , T C m i d , T C i n , and T C o u t as well as the hot
and cold water flow rate, we used the concentric tube heat exchanger
which was aided with ther mo meters an d flow rate meters. The e xperi ment
is separated into two parts; Part A and Part B. Part A is conducted with
varying temperatures at constant flo w rate whereas Part B is conducted
with varying flow rates at constant te mperature. In Part A, counter flow is
more efficient than parallel flow. For parallel flow, the average efficiency
is 32.33%, whereas the o verall heat transfer coefficient, U, is 0.6962
W /m 2 K a t 40C, 1.0885 W /m 2 K a t 50C, and 1.0098 W /m 2 K at 60C. For
counter flow, the average efficiency is 36.88%, whereas the overall heat
transfer coefficient, U, is 1.2144 W /m 2 K at 40C, 1.0885 W /m 2 K at 50C,
and 1.0429 W /m 2 K at 60 C. In part B, counter flow is also more efficient
than parallel flow. For parallel flow, the average efficiency is 33.41%,
whereas the overall heat transfer coefficient, U, is 0.8101 W /m 2 K at 2000
c m 3 / min, 1.1139 W /m 2 K at 3000 cm 3 / min, and 1.0818 W /m 2 K at 4000
c m 3 / min. For counter flow, the average efficiency is 34.42%, whereas the
overall heat transfer coefficient, U, is 0.9572 W /m 2 K at 2000 cm 3 / min,
1.1139 W /m 2 K at 3000 cm 3 / min, and 1. 0818 W /m 2 K at 4000 cm 3 / min. The
experi ment is co mpleted and successf ully conducted.

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INTRODUCTION

The heat exchange process bet ween t he fluids that are at distinct
te mperatures with a separation of solid wall occurs in many engineering
applications. Heat exchanger is a device used to imple ment this exchange
process. A fe w applications may include space heati ng and airconditioning, waste heat recovery and che mical processing.

Heat exchangers can be divided into two classifications, which are

flow arrange ment accordance and con struction type. The heat exchanger
applied in this experiment is the si mplest one, with the hot as well as the
cold fluids move in the sa me or opposi te directions in a concentric tube
construction. In the parallel flow arrange ment, both hold and cold fluids
enter at the sa me end, flo w in the sa me direction, and leave at the same
end. In the counter flow arrange ment, t he fluids enter at different ends,
flow in different directions, and leave at different ends. The two
configurations are differentiated by an idealisation that controls the fluid
motion over the tubes as being unmi xe d or mixed.

The heats were transferred bet ween t wo fluids via convention mode,
which refers to the hot fluid to the wall and also by conduction which
occur within the wall itself and back to the convection process fro m wall to
the cold fluid.

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AIMS / OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this experiment is to demonstrate the working

principles of

concentric flow heat exchanger under parallel as well as

counter flow conditions, to demonstrate the effect of heat water inlet

te mperature variation on the performa nce characteri stics of a concentric
tube heat exchanger, to demonstrate the effect of flow rate variation on
the performance of a concentric tube heat exchanger and also to
deter mine the mo st efficient of concen tric tube heat e xchanger whether it
is the parallel flow or counter-current flow.

THEORY

Concentric tube heat exchanger is one of the most co mmon

conductive-convective types of heat exchanger. Parallel flow is defined as
when both fluids enter the concentric tube heat exchanger fro m the sa me
sides and flow through the sa me directions whereas the counter flow is
defined as when both fluids enter from the opposite sides and flow
through the opposite directions. It is co mmonly claimed that the counter
flow is more efficient than the parallel flow.

Consider a double-pipe heat exchanger. The heat transfer rate at

any distance 2 along the tubes bet wee n the hot and cold fluids is given by
q x = UA(T H T C ) ........... ................(1)

  

where
A

: surface area for heat transfer consistent with definition of U

TH

: hot fluid temperature

TC

: cold fluid temperature

: the overall heat transfer coefficient based on either the

inside or outside area of the tube.

As a matter of fact, the te mperature of the hot and cold fluids

changes along the tube. Therefore, in order to calculate the heat transfer
between the t wo fluids, equation (1) should be integrated between the
inlet and outlet conditions, giving that

q = UAT l m ................ .........(2)

where T l m is the mean te mperature difference across the heat exchanger
and it can be given as

T l m = T i n - T o u t / ln (T i n / T o u t ) ..... .......................(3)

This temperature difference is called the log mean te mperature

difference (LMTD) and is valid for both flow conditions. The derivation
shown above is made according to two significant assumptions: first, the
fluid specific heats do not vary with te mperature and second, the heat
convection heat transfer coefficients are constant throughout the
exchanger. The second assu mptions a re influenced by entrance effects,
fluid viscosity and thermal conductivity changes.

The heat loss from the hot fluid flowing in the inner tube can be
deter mined from
(
  

qH =

H Cp H

(T H i n T H o u t ) ......... ........... ..........(4)

where

= hot water ma ss flow rate

Cp H

= hot water specific heat

THin

= hot fluid temperature at entrance

T H ou t = hot fluid temperature at e xit

Si milarly, the heat gained by the cold fluid flowing in the space between
the inner and outer pipes can be calculated fro m

qC =

C Cp C

(T C i n T C o u t ) ......... ........... ......(5)

where

= cold water mass flo w rate

Cp C

= cold water specific heat

TCin

= cold fluid temperature at entrance

T C ou t = cold fluid temperature at e xit

Suppose that q C is less than the q H , so me heat is lost through the

insulating material to the surrounding air, abide the outer surface of the
concentric tube is insulated. Thus, the efficiency can be obtained from

= q C ................... ...........(6)
qH

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The effectiveness of a heat exchanger is defined as

actual heat transfer

........................(7)

Maximum Possible Heat Transf er

The value of the actual heat transfer may be obtained f rom calculating
the energy lost by the hot f luid f rom equation (4) or the energy gained by the
cold f luid f rom equation (5). Since the energy gained by the cold f luid is lost
through the insulating material to the surrounding air, it is pref erable to
substitute the value of energy lost by the hot f luid as the actual heat transf er in
equation (7).
In order to determine the maximum possible heat transf er for the heat
exchanger, one of the f luids is logically required to undergo a temperature
change which represents the maximum temperature diff erence present in the
heat exchanger, which is the diff erence in the temperatures for the hot and cold
f luids entering the heat exchanger. Likewise, the f luid is the one having the
minimum value of

Cp. Thus, the ma xi mu m possible heat transfer then can

be expressed as

qmax = (

Cp) m i n (T H i n T C i n ) ........ ....... ........(8)

The minimu m fluid may be either the hot or cold fluid, depending on the
mass flo w rates and specific heats, and so the efficiency

qH

, is

x 100 % .............. ........(9)

q max

K
  

APPARATUS

- Concentric tube heat exchanger

- W ater tank
- Thermo meters
- Volumetric flow meters

EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
Part A: Constant flow rate, varies te mp eratures
1. The main switch is switched on.
2. The te mperature and pu mp switches are switched on.
3. The valve is set to parallel flow.
4. The hot water flo w rate is set at 3000 cm 3 / min and the cold water flow
rate at 2000 cm 3 / min.
5. The te mperature is set at 40C.
6. The syste m is let stable until T H i n is 40C and the values of the
te mperature at T H o u t , T H m i d , T C m i d , T C i n , and T C ou t are taken.
7. Step 4 until 6 are repeated by varying the te mperature at 50C and
60C.
8. Step 4 until 7 are repeated with counter flow.

  

Part B: Constant te mperature, varies flow rates

1. The valve for parallel flow is set.
2. The te mperature is set at 60C.
3. The hot and cold water flow rates ar e set at 2000 cm 3 / min.
4. The syste m is let stable and the temperature at T H o u t , T H m i d , T C m i d , T C i n ,
and T C ou t are taken.
5. Step 3 and 4 are repeated by varying the hot water flo w rate to 3000
c m 3 / min and 4000 cm 3 / min.
6. Step 2 until 5 are repeated with counter flow.

RESULTS
Part A: Constant flow rate, varies te mp eratures
Heat

Temperature (C)

H
3

Exchanger

TH

in

TH

mid

TH

out

TC

in

TC

mid

TC

C
3

( cm /m i n)

( cm /m i n)

3000

2000

3000

2000

out

40

39

38

29

30

31

Parallel

50

48

45

29

30

36

Flow

60

56

53

29

33

39

40

39

37

29

30

32

Counter

50

48

45

29

31

36

Flow

60

57

53

29

33

40


  

Part B: Constant te mperature, varies flow rates

Heat

Temperature (C)

Exchanger

Parallel

TH

in

TH

60

Flow

Counter

60

Flow

mid

TH

out

TC

TC

in

mid

TC

( cm 3 /m i n)

( cm 3 /m i n)

out

54

51

27

31

36

2000

56

52

27

32

38

3000

57

54

27

33

39

4000

55

50

27

30

37

2000

56

52

27

31

38

3000

58

54

27

32

39

4000

2000

2000

SAMPLE CALCULATIONS

Part A: Constant flow rate, varies te mp eratures

Parallel flow at 60C :
Take that the density of saturated wat er, = 988 kg/ , the specific heat
capacity of hot and cold water as Cp H @ 6 0 C = 4.185 kJ/kg. K and Cp C @ 2 9 C
= 4.179 kJ/kg. K respectively and the heat transmission area, A = 0.067

.
H

= 3000 cm 3 /min = 5 x 10 - 5 m 3 /s

= 2000 cm 3 /min = 3.33 x 10 - 5 m 3 /s

= 5 x 10 - 5 m 3 /s x 988 kg/
= 0.0494 kg/s

= 3.33 x 10 - 5 m 3 /min x 988 kg/

= 0.0329 kg/s

_
  


    
   






 


= 0.0329 kg/s x 4.179 kJ/ kg.K



= 0.1375 kJ/s.K
  
q H

= 0.0494 kg/s x 4.185 kJ/ kg.K x (333 326) K

H Cp H

(T H i n T H o u t ) 

= 1.4472 W
Ma xi mu m heat transferred, q m a x

= 

(T H i n T C i n )

= 0.1375 kJ/s.K (333 302) K

= 4.2625 W

Efficiency,

qH

x 100 %

q max
= 1.4472 W x 100%
= 4.2625 W

= 33.95 %

T i n - T o u t

Log Mean Te mperature Difference, T l m =

ln (T i n / T o u t )
 (333-302)K (326-312)K

ln ((333-302)K/(326-312)K)
= 21.39 K

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Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient, U =

q
A x T l m

1.4448 W
0.067 m 2 x 21.39 K

= 1.0098 W /m 2 K

Heat Exchanger

T (C )

q H (W )

qmax

(%)

(W )

Parallel Flow

Counter Flow

Average
(%)

U
(W /m 2 K)

40

0.4128

1.5125

27.29

0.6962

50

1.0327

2.8875

35.76

60

1.4472

4.2625

33.95

1.0098

40

0.6192

1.5125

40.94

1.2144

50

1.0327

2.8875

35.76

60

1.4471

4.2625

33.95

32.33

36.88

1.0885

1.0885
1.0429

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Part B: Constant te mperature, varies flow rates

Counter flow at 4000 cm 3 / min:

The te mperature is fixed at 60C. Take the density of saturated water, =
988 kg/ , the specific heat capacity of hot and cold water as CpH @ 6 0 C =
4.185 kJ/kg. K and CpC @ 2 7 C = 4.179 kJ/kg. K respectively and the hea t
trans mission area, A = 0.067
.

= 4000 cm 3 /mi n = 6. 67 x 10 - 5 m 3 / s

= 2000 cm 3 /mi n = 3. 33 x 10 - 5 m 3 / s

= 6. 67 x 10 - 5 m 3 / s x 988 kg/

= 3. 33x 10 - 5 m 3 /mi nx 988 kg/

= 6. 59 x 10 - 2 kg/ s

= 0. 0329 kg/ s

    
   






 


= 0.0329 kg/s x 4.179 kJ/ kg.K

= 0.1375 kJ/s.K
  
q H =


H Cp H

(T H i n T H o u t ) 

= 6.59 x 10 - 2 kg/s x 4.185 kJ/kg. K x (333 327) K

= 1.6547 W

Ma xi mu m heat transferred, q m a x = 

(T H i n T C i n )

= 0.1375 kJ/s. K (333 300) K

= 4.5375 W

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Efficiency,

qH

x 100 %

q max
= 1.6547 W x 100%
4.5375 W
= 36.47 %

Log Mean Te mperature Difference, T l m =

T i n - T o u t
ln (T i n / T o u t )

 (333-300)K (327-312)K

ln ((333-300)K/(327-312)K)
= 22.83 K

Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient, U =

q
A x T l m

1.6547 W
0.067 m 2 x 22.83 K

= 1.0818 W /m 2 K

Heat

Flow

Exchanger

Rate

q H (W )

q m a x (W )

(%)

Average
(%)

U
(W /m 2 K)

(cm 3 /m in)

2000

1.2392

4.5375

27.31

0.8101

Parallel

3000

1.6539

4.5375

36.45

Flow

4000

1.6547

4.5375

36.47

1.0818

2000

1.3769

4.5373

30.34

0.9572

Counter

3000

1.6539

4.5375

36.45

Flow

4000

1.6547

4.5375

36.47

33.41

34.42

1.139

1.1139
1.0818

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SAMPLE ERROR CALCULATIONS

Part A: Constant flow rate, varies te mp eratures

Parallel flow :
Percentage of error = 100% %calculated value
100
= 100% 32.33 %
100 %
= 0.6767%

Part B: Constant te mperature, varies flow rates

Counter Flow :
Percentage of error = 100% %calculated value
100
= 100% 34.42 %
100 %
= 0.6558%

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DISCUSSION

There are a few ob jectives which are to be achieved in this

experi ment; to de mon strate the workin g principles of concentric flow heat
exchanger

under

parallel

as

well

as

counter

flow

conditions,

to

de monstrate the effect of heat water inlet temperature variation on the

performan ce characteristics of a co ncentric tube heat exchanger, to
de monstrate the effect of flo w rate variation on the perfor mance of a
concentric tube heat exchanger and the most important part of the
objectives is to determine the most ef ficient flow of concentric tube heat
exchanger whether it is the parallel flow or counter-current flow.

concentric

tube

heat

exchanger

is

used

to

archive

these

objectives. The heat e xchanger itself is co mbined with ther mo meters and
flow rate meters. Thus, the control of t he hot fluids temperatures and both
hot and cold fluids flow rates are made easier. W e can observe the values
of T H i n , T H o u t , T H m i d , T C m i d , T C i n , and T C ou t . This e xperiment is conducted
with two parts of separated conditions, which are by varying the flow rates
at constant te mperature and by varying the te mperatures at constant flow
rate.

Part A is conducted by varying the temperatures fro m 40C, 50 and

60C at 3000 cm 3 / min of the hot fluids flow rate and 2000 cm 3 / min for th e
cold fluids flow rate. The efficiency of parallel flow calculated is 32.33%
and values of the overall heat transfer coefficients are 0.6962 W /m 2 K at
40C 1.0885 W /m 2 K at 50 C and 1.0098 W /m 2 K at 60 C. In contrary, the
calculated results for counter flow is 36.88 % of efficiency and the overall

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heat transfer coefficients are 1.2144 W /m 2 K at 40C, 1.0885 W /m 2 K a t

50C and 1.0429 W /m 2 K at 60C.

Part B is conducted with constant temperature at 27C yet varying

fluid flow rates. However, the cold fluid flow rate is maintained constant at
2000 c m 3 / min for both parallel and counter flow. The calculated efficiency
for parallel flow is 33.41% whereas th e overall heat transfer coefficient is
0.8101 W /m 2 K at 2000 cm 3 / min of hot fluid flow rates, 0.9572 W /m 2 K at
3000 cm 3 / min and 1.0818 W /m 2 K at 4000 cm 3 / min. For counter flow, the
efficiency is 34.42% mean while the heat transfer coefficients are 0.9572
W /m 2 K at 2000 cm 3 / min, 1.1139 W /m 2 K at 3000 cm 3 / min and 1.0818
W /m 2 K a t 4000 cm 3 / min.

Notice that for both e xperi ments in part A and Part B, the counter
flow produce greater efficiency than parallel flow. This result follows the
theoretical conclusion where counter flow heat exchanger is more efficient
than parallel flow. Ho wever, there are a lot of errors and mistakes that
may have affected the results obtained. The very co mmon error occurs
during conducting the experiments are careless way of reading the
ther mo meters when taking the te mp eratures of fluids. The eye of an
observer must be parallel to the thermo meter meniscus to avoid parallax
error. Another mistake that may have been co mmitted is not pressing the
enter button after setting the tempe ratures. This has caused a minor
problem when the te mperature always manipulate even after setting it to
the desired temperature. Besides that, the flow rates always change
easily during the experi ments. Moreo ver, the reading of T H

in

fro m the

typical laboratory thermo meter is mere ly different from the reading on the
digital thermo meter.

cK
   

CONCLUSION

In Part A, counter flo w is more efficient than parallel flow. For

parallel flow, the average efficiency is 32.33%, whereas the overall heat
transfer coefficient, U, is 0.6962 W /m 2 K at 40C, 1.0885 W /m 2 K at 50C,
and 1.0098 W /m 2 K at 60 C. For counte r flow, the average efficiency is
36.88%, whereas the overall heat transfer coefficient, U, is 1.2144 W /m 2 K
at 40C, 1.0885 W /m 2 K at 50C, and 1. 0429 W /m 2 K at 60 C.

In part B, counter flow is also more efficient than parallel flow. For
parallel flow, the average efficiency is 33.41%, whereas the overall heat
transfer coefficient, U, is 0.8101 W /m 2 K at 2000 cm 3 / min, 1.1139 W /m 2 K
at 3000 cm 3 / min, and 1.0818 W /m 2 K at 4000 cm 3 / min. For counter flow,
the average efficiency is 34.42%, wher eas the overall heat transfer
coefficient, U, is 0.9572 W /m 2 K at 200 0 cm 3 / min, 1.1139 W /m 2 K at 3000
c m 3 / min, and 1.0818 W /m 2 K at 4000 cm 3 / min.

RECOMMENDATIONS

There are a few reco mmendations and precautions that have to be

considered when conducting this experiment so that better results can be
obtained with fewer errors.

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First and foremost, the eye of an obser ver must be parallel to the
meniscus when reading the te mperatures. This is to assure that no
parallax error is commit ted.

Secondly, the experi ment should at least be repeated 3 times in

order to get average values. Thus, comparisons can be made and the
results are more convincing and precise.

Thirdly, the flow rates as well as the temperatures must be

monitored thoroughly during the experiment so that they re main constant.
This is to avoid such erroneous results or else, the objectives of the
experi ment may not be achieved succe ssfully.

Besides that, any leakage of the instruments involved should be

avoided and they should be assured to work properly. In addition, any
direct contact with the water or the instru ments should as well be avoided
as this experi ment involves hot fluids which can cause burn to skin.

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REFERENCES

1. Fundamental of Heat and Mass Tra msf er ( 6th Edition,) John

W iley & sons (Asia) Pte Ltd
2. Saunders, E. A. (1988). Heat Exchang es: Selection, Design and
Construction. New York: Long man Scientific and Technical.

APPENDICES

Refer to the attach ment provided on the next page.

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