ChE 304

Chemical Engineering Laboratory III

Experiment 01
STUDY OF DOUBLE PIPE HEAT EXCHANGER

Submitted by:
Md. Sohel Rana
Student ID: 1702028
Level 3, Term 2
Group: 06 (A1)
Group members: 1702026, 1702027, 1702029, 1702030

Submitted to:
Kaniz Fatema
Assistant Professor
Department of Chemical Engineering
Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology

Date of performance: 11/12/2021

Date of submission: 18/12/2021

Department of Chemical Engineering

Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology
Summary
The primary objective of the experiment was to study the double pipe heat exchanger
and obtain individual and overall heat transfer coefficients. The variation of heat
transfer coefficients with Reynolds number and fluid velocity was also analyzed, and
the experimentally calculated overall heat transfer coefficients were compared with
theoretically obtained values. The heat transfer between water and saturated steam
was studied using a double pipe heat exchanger in this experiment. The experiment
was conducted in three different steam pressures of 5 psig, 10 psig, and 15 psig. The
water flow rate was varied, keeping the steam pressure constant at a particular value.
The steam was passed through the annulus section, exchanging heat with water
passing through the tubular section of the double pipe heat exchanger. The
temperature of the inlet and outlet water, condensate mass and required time, and the
volumetric flow rate of water was measured. The Nusselt number was plotted against
the Reynolds number on a log-log plot for each pressure. The plot showed a positive
slope for each pressure. The log-log plot of water side heat transfer coefficient vs.
velocity also had a positive slope. The third type of plot was the Wilson plot to
determine the dirt factor of the heat exchanger. The dirt factor was found to be 0.0002
m2K/W, 0.0005 m2K/W, and 0.0003 m2K/W for 5 psig, 10 psig, and 15 psig steam
pressure, respectively. The overall heat transfer coefficients increased with increasing
water flow rate and pressure, as seen from experimental and theoretical calculations.
The discrepancies in theoretical and experimental results, especially in the heat loss of
steam and heat gain of water, might be due to pressure fluctuation, the unsteady flow
of water, poor heat shield, fouling of pipe, and the working mechanism of a steam
trap.

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Experimental Section
Apparatus:
 Double pipe heat exchanger
 Pressure gauge
 Thermometer
 Flowmeter
 Balance
 Bucket

Experimental Setup:

Figure 1: Schematic diagram of the experimental setup of double pipe heat exchanger

Experimental Procedure:
The steam line was kept open to eliminate the stored liquid for some moment. The
thermometer was placed in the inlet and outlet side of the water. Then, the steam
control valve and water inlet control valve was opened. The steam pressure was held
constant (5 psig) by regulating the steam control valve throughout the experiment.
Once the steam pressure became constant, the inlet and outlet temperature of the
water was recorded, and the mass of condensate was measured after a fixed period.
The time to flow 10 L water through the tube side was noted. Once the above
procedure had been followed, the water flow rate was increased, and the above

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procedure was repeated five times. Finally, the above procedure was followed at
increased steam pressure (10 psig and 15 psig).

Results and Discussion

Inner pipe specifications:
Tube length, L = 7' 4"
Nominal diameter = 1”
Schedule no. 40

Table 1: Observed temperature, flow rate, and mass of water and condensate for different
constant steam pressure.

Steam Water temperature (℃) Condensate

Obs. Water flow rate
pressure Mass Time
no. Inlet Outlet Mw×10-2 (L/s)
P (psig) (kg) (s)
1 25.0 44.0 25.97 1.00
2 25.0 43.0 34.79 1.10
5 3 25.0 40.5 43.16 1.15
4 25.0 40.0 37.01 1.25
5 25.0 40.0 38.05 1.35
1 25.0 44.0 34.59 1.15
2 25.0 41.0 42.84 1.20
10 3 25.0 39.5 44.64 1.25 120
4 25.0 39.0 45.19 1.35
5 25.0 40.5 38.27 1.20
1 25.0 48.5 21.63 1.10
2 25.0 46.5 29.78 1.20
15 3 25.0 43.0 39.45 1.35
4 25.0 42.0 39.05 1.30
5 25.0 41.5 39.12 1.35

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Table 2: Water properties at average water temperature.

Steam Temperature Specific heat of Thermal

Average water Density Viscosity
pressure Obs. Difference water conductivity
temperature μ
P no. of water Cp ρ (kg/m3) k
(℃) (Pa.s)
(psig) (℃) (Jkg-1K-1) (Wm-1K-1)
1 19.0 34.5 4174 994.1 0.000731 0.623
2 18.0 34.0 4174 994.3 0.000738 0.622
5 3 15.5 32.8 4174 994.7 0.000757 0.620
4 15.0 32.5 4174 994.8 0.000761 0.620
5 15.0 32.5 4174 994.8 0.000761 0.620
1 19.0 34.5 4174 994.1 0.000731 0.623
2 16.0 33.0 4174 994.6 0.000753 0.620
10 3 14.5 32.3 4174 994.9 0.000765 0.619
4 14.0 32.0 4174 994.9 0.000768 0.619
5 15.5 32.8 4174 994.7 0.000757 0.620
1 23.5 36.8 4174 993.4 0.000697 0.626
2 21.5 35.8 4174 993.7 0.000712 0.624
15 3 18.0 34.0 4174 994.3 0.000738 0.621
4 17.0 33.5 4174 994.5 0.000746 0.621
5 16.5 33.3 4174 994.5 0.000750 0.621

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Table 3: Calculated data of mass flow rate of water, and condensate, heat lost by steam, heat gained by water, LMTD, and experimental overall heat transfer.

Heat Mean Experimental

Steam Saturation Latent heat of Mass flow Mass flow Heat
gained rate of overall heat Wall
Obs. pressure temperatur condensation rate of rate of lost by LMT
by heat transfer temperature
no. P e of steam λ water condensate steam D
water flow coefficient (℃)
(psig) (℃) (kJ/kg) Mw (kg/s) Mc (kg/s) Qs (W)
Qw (W) Qm (W) UOE (Wm-2K-1)
1 0.258 0.008 18619 20474 19547 73.5 1135 71.4
2 0.346 0.009 20481 25989 23235 74.0 1339 71.2
3 5 108.37 2234.3 0.429 0.010 21412 27775 24594 75.4 1392 70.6
4 0.368 0.010 23274 23051 23163 75.6 1306 70.4
5 0.379 0.011 25136 23699 24418 75.6 1377 70.4
1 0.344 0.010 21232 27270 24251 80.4 1287 74.9
2 0.426 0.010 22155 28456 25305 82.0 1316 74.1
3 10 115.25 2215.5 0.444 0.010 23078 26880 24979 82.8 1287 73.8
4 0.450 0.011 24924 26273 25598 83.1 1314 73.6
5 0.381 0.010 22155 24628 23392 82.3 1213 74.0
1 15 120.93 2199.6 0.215 0.009 20163 21077 20620 83.6 1051 78.8
2 0.296 0.010 21996 26557 24276 84.7 1222 78.3
3 0.392 0.011 24746 29471 27108 86.6 1334 77.5
4 0.388 0.011 23829 27557 25693 87.2 1257 77.2
5 0.389 0.011 24746 26794 25770 87.4 1257 77.1

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Table 4: Calculated data for velocity, dimensionless numbers, water-side heat transfer coefficient, film temperature, and water properties at film temperature.

Steam Water-side Film Thermal

Velocity Reynolds Prandtl Nusselt Density Viscosity
pressure Obs. heat transfer temperature conductivity
V number number number of water of water
P no. coefficient Tf K
(m/s) Re Pr Nu ρf (kg/m3) μf (Pa.s)
(psig) hi (Wm-2K-1) (℃) (Wm-1K-1)

1 0.47 16905 4.90 94.2 2207 80.7 971.3 0.00035 0.670

2 0.63 22436 4.95 118.6 2773 80.5 971.5 0.00035 0.670
5 3 0.78 27146 5.10 139.5 3251 80.0 971.8 0.00035 0.670
4 0.67 23158 5.12 123.0 2868 79.9 971.8 0.00035 0.670
5 0.68 23809 5.12 125.8 2932 79.9 971.8 0.00035 0.670
1 0.62 22516 4.90 118.5 2775 85.0 968.6 0.00033 0.673
2 0.77 27085 5.07 139.0 3239 84.4 969.0 0.00034 0.672
10 3 0.80 27789 5.16 142.7 3320 84.1 969.2 0.00034 0.672
4 0.81 28021 5.18 143.8 3347 84.0 969.2 0.00034 0.672
5 0.69 24070 5.10 126.7 2952 84.3 969.0 0.00034 0.672
15 1 0.39 14756 4.65 83.0 1954 89.4 965.8 0.00032 0.675
2 0.54 19894 4.76 106.3 2494 89.0 966.0 0.00032 0.675
3 0.71 25441 4.96 131.2 3063 88.3 966.4 0.00032 0.674
4 0.70 24918 5.01 129.5 3024 88.1 966.6 0.00032 0.674

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 5 0.70 24830 5.04 129.4 3021 88.1 966.6 0.00032 0.674
Table 5: Calculated data for water and steam side heat transfer coefficient, theoretical overall heat transfer coefficient, experimental, and theoretical 1/U.

Water-side Steam side Theoretical overall

Steam
heat transfer heat transfer heat transfer (1/v)0.8
pressure Obs. Experimental 1/U Theoretical 1/U
coefficient coefficient coefficient
P no. (m2K/W) (m2K/W)
hi ho UOT (s/m)0.8
(psig)
(Wm-2K-1) (Wm-2K-1) (Wm-2K-1)
1 2207 7939 1439 0.00088 0.00069 1.84
2 2773 7920 1727 0.00075 0.00058 1.45
5 3 3251 7874 1948 0.00072 0.00051 1.22
4 2868 7864 1770 0.00077 0.00057 1.38
5 2932 7864 1800 0.00073 0.00056 1.35
1 2775 7858 1725 0.00078 0.00058 1.46
2 3239 7809 1939 0.00076 0.00052 1.23
10 3 3320 7783 1974 0.00078 0.00051 1.19
4 3347 7775 1985 0.00076 0.00050 1.18
5 2952 7800 1807 0.00082 0.00055 1.35
15 1 1954 7870 1299 0.00095 0.00077 2.13
2 2494 7838 1585 0.00082 0.00063 1.65
3 3063 7783 1857 0.00075 0.00054 1.32
4 3024 7768 1838 0.00080 0.00054 1.33

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5 3021 7761 1836 0.00080 0.00054 1.32

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Graphical Representation:

1000.0

f(x) = 0.0285275426687748 x^0.832301958517833

Nusselt 100.0 R² = 0.999136116242385
number,
Nu

10.0
1000 10000 100000

Reynolds number, Re

Figure 2: Log-log plot of Nusselt number vs. Reynolds number at 5 psig steam pressure.

1000.0

f(x) = 0.0204953949988822 x^0.86467798111371

Nusselt 100.0 R² = 0.997954188877836
number,
Nu

10.0
1000 10000 100000

Reynolds number, Re

Figure 3: Log-log plot of Nusselt number vs. Reynolds number at 10 psig steam pressure.

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 1000.0

100.0 f(x) = 0.0240871195597356 x^0.848349591956999

Nusselt R² = 0.999692203040895
number,
Nu

10.0
1000 10000 100000

Reynolds number, Re

Figure 4: Log-log plot of Nusselt number vs. Reynolds number at 15 psig steam pressure.

10000

f(x) = 3921.43367095068 x^0.755527390082875

R² = 0.998496785319785

Water side
heat transfer 1000
coefficient
hi (W/m2 K)

100
0.10 1.00

Velocity, v (m/s)

Figure 5: Log-log plot of water side heat transfer coefficient vs. velocity at 5 psig steam
pressure.

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 10000

f(x) = 3884.83485281702 x^0.716707082246525

R² = 0.996819593292318

Water side
heat transfer
coefficient 1000
hi (W/m2 K)

100
0.10 1.00

Velocity, v (m/s)

Figure 6: Log-log plot of water side heat transfer coefficient vs. velocity at 10 psig steam
pressure.

10000

f(x) = 3931.26492525545 x^0.738051170760072

R² = 0.999523773795214
Water side
heat transfer
coefficient 1000
hi (W/m2 K)

100
0.10 1.00

Velocity, v (m/s)

Figure 7: Log-log plot of water side heat transfer coefficient vs. velocity at 15 psig steam
pressure.

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 0.00100

0.00090
f(x) = 0.000275350960889302 x + 0.000368250030504478
0.00080 R² = 0.93237995888987
0.00070
f(x) = 0.000292982275505292 x + 0.000156451773701435
0.00060 R² = 0.9983527211828

1/U (m2K/W) 0.00050

0.00040

0.00030

0.00020 The
oret
0.00010 ical

0.00000
1.10 1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 1.60 1.70 1.80 1.90

(1/v)0.8 (s/m)0.8

Figure 8: Plot of (1/U) vs. (1/v)0.8 for both theoretical and experimental heat transfer
coefficient at 5 psig steam pressure.

0.00100

0.00090 f(x) = 0.000206798031353557 x + 0.000501880314963235

R² = 0.912844316682566
0.00080
f(x) = 0.00028155304612982 x + 0.000169624527648194
0.00070
R² = 0.999628105064667
0.00060

1/U (m2K/W) 0.00050

0.00040

0.00030

0.00020 The
oret
0.00010 ical

0.00000
1.20 1.30 1.40 1.50 1.60 1.70 1.80 1.90 2.00 2.10 2.20

(1/v)0.8 (s/m)0.8

Figure 9: Plot of (1/U) vs. (1/v)0.8 for both theoretical and experimental heat transfer
coefficient at 10 psig steam pressure.

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 0.00090

0.00080
f(x) = 9.83310650580682E-05 x + 0.000653890742944773
0.00070 R² = 0.200162652276176

0.00060
f(x) = 0.00027686678133072 x + 0.000176837472758526
0.00050 R² = 0.995571527581224
1/U (m2K/W)
0.00040

0.00030

0.00020 The
oret
0.00010 ical

0.00000
1.15 1.20 1.25 1.30 1.35 1.40 1.45 1.50

(1/v)0.8 (s/m)0.8

Figure 10: Plot of (1/U) vs. (1/v)0.8 for both theoretical and experimental heat transfer
coefficient at 15 psig steam pressure.

Table 6: Comparison of experimental and theoretical overall heat transfer coefficient.

Overall heat transfer coefficient Dart factor

Observation Steam pressure 2
UO (W/m K) Rd
number (psig)
Experimental Theoretical (m2K/W)
1 1135 1439
2 1339 1727
0.0002
3 5 1392 1948
4 1306 1770
5 1377 1800
1 1287 1725
2 1316 1939
0.0005
3 10 1287 1974
4 1314 1985
5 1213 1807
1 15 1051 1299 0.0003
2 1222 1585
3 1334 1857
4 1257 1838

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 5 1257 1836

In this experiment, three different types of graphs were plotted to study the variation
of heat transfer coefficients with Reynolds number and fluid velocity. In Figure 2,
Figure 3, and Figure 4, the relationship between the Nusselt number and Reynolds
number was shown. Each of these graphs indicated an increase of Nusselt number
with an increasing Reynolds number indicating that the heat transfer coefficient,
proportional to Nusselt number, increased with increasing Reynolds number, i.e.,
rising velocity. The variation trend of the heat transfer coefficient of water with the
velocity of water was illustrated in Figure 5, Figure 6, and Figure 7. Although the
variation of heat transfer coefficient with Reynolds number and velocity was in
agreement with the theory, the amount of heat that was transferred from the hot steam
to the cold water, i.e., from the annulus section to the tubular section, was not in line
with the theoretical concept. The heat gain of water was larger than the heat loss of
steam, which clearly indicated fouling in the experiment. To analyze this discrepancy,
the fouling factor, i.e., dart factor, of the double pipe heat exchanger was calculated at
each pressure as shown in Figure 8, Figure 9, and Figure 10. The values of the dart
factor were 0.0002 m2K/W, 0.0005 m2K/W, and 0.0003 m2K/W for 5 psig, 10 psig,
and 15 psig steam pressure, respectively. These values indicate that the equipment had
considerable fouling.
Despite high precaution in minimizing the experiment's errors, some discrepancies
were observed in the experimental results. The unavoidable reasons behind these
discrepancies might be as follow:
 The fluctuation of steam pressure throughout the experiment might be the
primary reason for inaccurate data. The steam was coming from a central
pipeline. Some other groups of persons were using the steam sometimes from
the same pipeline, which occasionally reduced the steam pressure. Again, the
steam pressure dropped when the steam trap opened to eliminate the
condensate.
 The steam trap was opening and closing unpredictably. The collected
condensate might not represent the actual condensate formed during the
measurement period.

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  The water temperature was measured using an analog thermometer, which
might be inaccurate due to human error.
 The flow rate of inlet water might not be steady, or the flow meter might be
inaccurate in measurement.

Appendices
Appendix A: Sample Calculation
Nominal diameter of tube = 1"
Schedule No. = 40
Length of tube = 7’4” = 2.2352 m
Outer tube diameter, Do = 33.4 mm = 0.0334 m
Inner tube diameter, Di = 26.6 mm = 0.0266 m
(Reference: J. P. Holman. 'Heat Transfer'. McGraw – Hill. 10th Edition. Table A-11,
page 665)
Outside area of inner tube available for heat transfer, Ao = πDoL
= (π×0.0334×2.2352) m2
= 0.2345 m2
2 2
π Di π × 0.0266 2
Internal cross-sectional area of inner tube, Ai = = m = 5.57×10-4 m2
4 4
For observation no. 05 at 5 psig steam pressure
Water flow rate, ṁ = 38.05×10-2 L/s
Inlet water temperature, T1 = 25℃
Outlet water temperature, T2 = 40℃
Temperature difference, ∆T = T2 – T1 = 40 – 25 = 15℃ = 15 K
T 1 +T 2 25+ 40
Mean temperature of water, T m= = =32.5 ℃
2 2
At, 32.5℃ mean temperature,
Density of water, ρm = 994.81kg/m3
Specific heat capacity of water, CPm = 4178.1 J/kg℃
Thermal conductivity, km = 0.620 Wm-1K-1
Dynamic viscosity, μm = 0.00076 Pa s
−2
38.05× 10 ×994.8
Mass flow rate of water, Mw = = 0.379 kg/s
1000
Collected mass of condensate = 1.35 kg

15
Time of collection = 120 s
1.35
Mass flow rate of condensate, Mc = = 0.011 kg/s
120
Rate of heat taken up by water, Qw = MwCpm(T2-T1)
= 0.379 × 4174 × 15
= 23699 W
At 5 psig steam pressure,
Saturation temperature of steam, TS = 108.37℃
Latent heat of vaporization, λS = 2234.3 kJ/kg
Rate of heat given up by steam, Qs = Mcλs= 0.011 × 2234.3 × 1000 = 25136 W
Qw +Qs 23699+25136
Mean rate of heat flow, Qm = = =24418 W
2 2

Calculation of experimental overall heat transfer coefficient, UOE

Temperature difference at inlet, ∆T1 = TS – T1 = (108.37 – 25) ℃= 83.37 ℃
Temperature difference at outlet, ∆T2 = TS – T2 = (108.37 – 40) ℃ = 68.37 ℃
Logarithmic mean temperature difference,
∆T 1−∆ T 2 83.37−68.37
LMTD= = =75.6 ℃

( )
∆ T1 83.37
ln ln
∆ T2 68.37

Qm 24418
Experimental overall heat transfer coefficient, U OE = = W m-2
A o ∆ T lm 0.2345 ×75.6
K-1
= 1377 W m-2 K-1

Calculation of velocity (v), Reynolds number (Re) and Prandtl umber (Pr)
T s +T m 108.37+ 32.5
Tube wall temperature, Tw = = =70.4 ℃
2 2
Mw 0.379
Velocity, v = = =0.68 m/s
ρm A i 994.8× 5.57 ×10−4
Di v ρ m 0.0266 × 0.68 ×994.8
Reynolds Number, Re = = =23809
μm 0.00076
μ m C pm 0.000753× 4174
Prandtl Number, Pr = = =5.12
km 0.62

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Calculation of water side heat transfer coefficient (hi) and Nusselt number (Nu)
For turbulent flow, according to Dittus-Boelter equation,
1 1
0.8 3 0.8
hi = 0.023 ×km × ℜ × Pr = 0.023 ×0.62 ×23809 × 5.12 =2932 Wm−2 K−1
3

Di 0.0266
hi D i 2932 ×0.0266
Nusselt Number, Nu = = =125.8
km 0.62

Calculation of steam side heat transfer coefficient (h o) and theoretical overall

heat transfer coefficient (UOT):
Film temperature, Tf = TS – 0.75(TS-TW) = 108.37 – 0.75 × (108.37 – 70.4) = 79.9℃
At 89.9℃ film temperature,
Density of water, ρf =971.8 kg/m3
Thermal conductivity, kf = 0.670 W/m K
Dynamic viscosity, μf = 0.00035 Pa s

( )
k 3 ρ2f gλ s 1/ 4
f
D0 (T s−T w ) μf
Nusselt equation for film type condensation, ho = 0.725
= 0.725 ×

( )
1 /4
0.6703 ×971.8 2 × 9.81× 2234.3× 1000
0.0334 × (108.37−70.4 ) × 0.00035
= 7864 W m-2 K-1

( )
−1
1 Do xW Do
Theoretical overall heat transfer coefficient, UOT = + +
ho D 1 h1 k M Dlm

The term for conduction can be neglected, then it can be presented as

1 1 −2 −1
= =1800 W m K
UOT = 1 Do 1
+
0.0334
+
h o D i hi 7864 0.0266 × 2932

Calculation of dirt factor, Rd

From the graph of Wilson plot i.e., 1/U vs (1/v) 0.8

For 5 psig steam pressure in Figure 8,

The intercept for dirty tube (from experimental values) = 0.0004 m2K/W
The intercept for clean tube (from theoretical values) = 0.0002 m2K/W

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Dirt factor, Rd = 0.0004 – 0.0002 = 0.0002 m2 K/W

For 10 psig steam pressure in Figure 9,

The intercept for dirty tube (from experimental values) = 0.0007 m2 K/W
The intercept for clean tube (from theoretical values) = 0.0002 m2 K/W
Dirt factor, Rd = 0.0007 – 0.0002 = 0.0005 m2 K/W

For 15 psig steam pressure in Figure 10,

The intercept for dirty tube (from experimental values) = 0.0005 m2K/W
The intercept for clean tube (from theoretical values) = 0.0002 m2K/W
Dirt factor, Rd = 0.0005 – 0.0002 = 0.0003 m2 K/W

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