Heat Exchanger Types

Heat exchangers are typically classified according to flow arrangement and type of construction.
The simplest heat exchanger is one for which the hot and cold fluids move in the same
or opposite directions in a concentric tube (or double-pipe) construction. In the parallel-flow
arrangement of Figure 11.1a, the hot and cold fluids enter at the same end, flow in the same
direction, and leave at the same end. In the counterflow arrangement of Figure 11.1b, the
fluids enter at opposite ends, flow in opposite directions, and leave at opposite ends.
Alternatively, the fluids may move in cross flow (perpendicular to each other), as shown
by the finned and unfinned tubular heat exchangers of Figure 11.2. The two configurations

T he process of heat exchange between two fluids that are at different temperatures
and separated by a solid wall occurs in many engineering applications. The device used
to implement this exchange is termed a heat exchanger, and specific applications may be
found in space heating and air-conditioning, power production, waste heat recovery, and
chemical processing.
In this chapter our objectives are to introduce performance parameters for assessing the
efficacy of a heat exchanger and to develop methodologies for designing a heat exchanger
or for predicting the performance of an existing exchanger operating under prescribed
conditions.

are typically differentiated by an idealization that treats fluid motion over the tubes as
unmixed or mixed. In Figure 11.2a, the cross-flowing fluid is said to be unmixed because
the fins inhibit motion in a direction (y) that is transverse to the main-flow direction (x). In this
case the cross-flowing fluid temperature varies with x and y. In contrast, for the unfinned
tube bundle of Figure 11.2b, fluid motion, hence mixing, in the transverse direction is possible,
and temperature variations are primarily in the main-flow direction. Since the tube flow
is unmixed in either heat exchanger, both fluids are unmixed in the finned exchanger, while
the cross-flowing fluid is mixed and the tube fluid is unmixed in the unfinned exchanger.
The nature of the mixing condition influences heat exchanger performance.
Another common configuration is the shell-and-tube heat exchanger [1]. Specific
forms differ according to the number of shell-and-tube passes, and the simplest form,
which involves single tube and shell passes, is shown in Figure 11.3. Baffles are usually
installed to increase the convection coefficient of the shell-side fluid by inducing turbulence
and a cross-flow velocity component relative to the tubes. In addition, the baffles physically
support the tubes, reducing flow-induced tube vibration. Baffled heat exchangers with one
shell pass and two tube passes and with two shell passes and four tube passes are shown in
Figures 11.4a and 11.4b, respectively.

400 m2/m3 for liquids and 700 m2/m3 for gases) heat transfer surface area per unit
volume. Termed compact heat exchangers, these devices have dense arrays of finned tubes
or plates and are typically used when at least one of the fluids is a gas, and is hence characterized
by a small convection coefficient. The tubes may be flat or circular, as in Figures
11.5a and 11.5b, c, respectively, and the fins may be plate or circular, as in Figures 11.5a, b
and 11.5c, respectively. Parallel-plate heat exchangers may be finned or corrugated and
may be used in single-pass (Figure 11.5d) or multipass (Figure 11.5e) modes of operation.
Flow passages associated with compact heat exchangers are typically small (Dh 5 mm),
and the flow is usually laminar.
11.2 The Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient
An essential, and often the most uncertain, part of any heat exchanger analysis is determination
of the overall heat transfer coefficient. Recall from Equation 3.19 that this coefficient
is defined in terms of the total thermal resistance to heat transfer between two fluids.
In Equations 3.18 and 3.36, the coefficient was determined by accounting for conduction
and convection resistances between fluids separated by composite plane and cylindrical
walls, respectively. For a wall separating two fluid streams, the overall heat transfer coefficient
may be expressed as

where c and h refer to the cold and hot fluids, respectively. Note that calculation of the UA
product does not require designation of the hot or cold side (UcAc UhAh). However,
calculation of an overall coefficient depends on whether it is based on the cold or hot side
surface area, since Uc Uh if Ac Ah. The conduction resistance Rw is obtained from
Equation 3.6 for a plane wall or Equation 3.33 for a cylindrical wall.
It is important to acknowledge, however, that Equation 11.1a applies only to clean,
unfinned surfaces. During normal heat exchanger operation, surfaces are often subject to
fouling by fluid impurities, rust formation, or other reactions between the fluid and the wall
material. The subsequent deposition of a film or scale on the surface can greatly increase the
resistance to heat transfer between the fluids. This effect can be treated by introducing an
additional thermal resistance in Equation 11.1a, termed the fouling factor, Rf. Its value depends
on the operating temperature, fluid velocity, and length of service of the heat exchanger.
In addition, we know that fins are often added to surfaces exposed to either or both
fluids and that, by increasing the surface area, they reduce the overall resistance to heat
transfer. Accordingly, with inclusion of surface fouling and fin (extended surface) effects,
the overall heat transfer coefficient is modified as follows:
UA hA
R
A
R
R
A hA
(11.1b)
Although representative fouling factors (Rf) are listed in Table 11.1, the factor is a
variable during heat exchanger operation (increasing from zero for a clean surface, as
deposits accumulate on the surface). Comprehensive discussions of fouling are provided in
References 2 through 4.
The quantity o in Equation 11.1b is termed the overall surface efficiency or temperature
effectiveness of a finned surface. It is defined such that, for the hot or cold surface
without fouling, the heat transfer rate is
q ohA(Tb T) (11.2)
where Tb is the base surface temperature (Figure 3.21) and A is the total (fin plus exposed
base) surface area. The quantity was introduced in Section 3.6.5, and the following expression
was derived:

where m (2h/kt)1/2 and t is the fin thickness. For several common fin shapes, the efficiency
may be obtained from Table 3.5.
Note that, as written, Equation 11.2 corresponds to negligible fouling. However, if fouling
is significant, the convection coefficient in Equation 11.2 must be replaced by a partial
overall heat transfer coefficient of the form Up h/(1 hRf). In contrast to Equation 11.1b,
which provides the overall heat transfer coefficient between the hot and cold fluids, Up is
termed a partial coefficient because it only includes the convection coefficient and fouling
factor associated with one fluid and its adjoining surface. Partial coefficients for the hot and
cold sides are then Up,h hh/(1 hhRf,h) and Up,c hc/(1 hcRf,c), respectively. Equation 11.3
may still be used to evaluate o for the hot and/or cold side, but Up must be used in lieu of
h to evaluate the corresponding fin efficiency. Moreover, it is readily shown that the second
and fourth terms on the right-hand side of Equation 11.1b may be deleted if the convection
coefficients in the first and fifth terms are replaced by Up,c and Up,h, respectively.
The wall conduction term in Equation 11.1a or 11.1b may often be neglected, since
a thin wall of large thermal conductivity is generally used. Also, one of the convection
coefficients is often much smaller than the other and hence dominates determination of the
overall coefficient. For example, if one of the fluids is a gas and the other is a liquid or a
liquid–vapor mixture experiencing boiling or condensation, the gas-side convection coefficient
is much smaller. It is in such situations that fins are used to enhance gas-side convection.
Representative values of the overall coefficient are summarized in Table 11.2.
For the unfinned, tubular heat exchangers of Figures 11.1 through 11.4, Equation 11.1b
reduces to
UA U A U A

11.3 ■ Heat Exchanger Analysis: Use of the Log Mean Temperature Difference 651
The overall heat transfer coefficient may be determined from knowledge of the hot
and cold fluid convection coefficients and fouling factors and from appropriate geometric
parameters. For unfinned surfaces, the convection coefficients may be estimated from
correlations presented in Chapters 7 and 8. For standard fin configurations, the coefficients
may be obtained from results compiled by Kays and London [5].
11.3 Heat Exchanger Analysis: Use of the Log Mean
Temperature Difference
To design or to predict the performance of a heat exchanger, it is essential to relate the total
heat transfer rate to quantities such as the inlet and outlet fluid temperatures, the overall
heat transfer coefficient, and the total surface area for heat transfer. Two such relations
may readily be obtained by applying overall energy balances to the hot and cold fluids, as
shown in Figure 11.6. In particular, if q is the total rate of heat transfer between the hot and
cold fluids and there is negligible heat transfer between the exchanger and its surroundings,
as well as negligible potential and kinetic energy changes, application of the steady flow
energy equation, Equation 1.12d, gives
q m_ h (ih,i ih,o) (11.6a)
and
q m_ c (ic,o ic,i) (11.7a)
where i is the fluid enthalpy. The subscripts h and c refer to the hot and cold fluids, whereas
the subscripts i and o designate the fluid inlet and outlet conditions. If the fluids are not undergoing
a phase change and constant specific heats are assumed, these expressions reduce to
q m_ hcp,h (Th,i Th,o) (11.6b)
and
q m_ ccp,c (Tc,o Tc,i) (11.7b)
where the temperatures appearing in the expressions refer to the mean fluid temperatures
at the designated locations. Note that Equations 11.6 and 11.7 are independent of the flow
arrangement and heat exchanger type.
Another useful expression may be obtained by relating the total heat transfer rate q to
the temperature difference T between the hot and cold fluids, where
T Th Tc (11.8)
Such an expression would be an extension of Newton’s law of cooling, with the overall
heat transfer coefficient U used in place of the single convection coefficient h. However,

where Tm is an appropriate mean temperature difference. Equation 11.9 may be used with
Equations 11.6 and 11.7 to perform a heat exchanger analysis. Before this can be done,
however, the specific form of Tm must be established.
11.3.1 The Parallel-Flow Heat Exchanger
The hot and cold mean fluid temperature distributions associated with a parallel-flow heat
exchanger are shown in Figure 11.7. The temperature difference T is initially large but
decays with increasing x, approaching zero asymptotically. It is important to note that, for
such an exchanger, the outlet temperature of the cold fluid never exceeds that of the hot
fluid. In Figure 11.7 the subscripts 1 and 2 designate opposite ends of the heat exchanger.
This convention is used for all types of heat exchangers considered. For parallel flow, it
follows that Th,i Th,1, Th,o Th,2, Tc,i Tc,1, and Tc,o Tc,2.
The form of Tm may be determined by applying an energy balance to differential elements
in the hot and cold fluids. Each element is of length dx and heat transfer surface area
dA, as shown in Figure 11.7. The energy balances and the subsequent analysis are subject
to the following assumptions.
1. The heat exchanger is insulated from its surroundings, in which case the only heat
exchange is between the hot and cold fluids.
2. Axial conduction along the tubes is negligible.
3. Potential and kinetic energy changes are negligible.
4. The fluid specific heats are constant.
5. The overall heat transfer coefficient is constant.