Objective

• Discuss Expansion Valves and Refrigerants

• Heat Exchangers
• Learn about different types
• Define Heat Exchanger Effectiveness (ε)
 AEV
• Maintains constant
evaporator pressure
by increasing flow as
load decreases
Thermostatic Expansion Valve (TXV)
• Variable refrigerant flow to maintain desired
superheat
Refrigerants
What are desirable properties of refrigerants?

• Pressure and boiling point

• Critical temperature
• Latent heat of vaporization
• Heat transfer properties
• Viscosity
• Stability
 In Addition….
• Toxicity
• Flammability
• Ozone-depletion
• Greenhouse potential
• Cost
• Leak detection
• Oil solubility
• Water solubility
 Refrigerants
• What does R-12 mean?
• ASHRAE classifications
• From right to left ←
• # fluorine atoms
• # hydrogen atoms +1
• # C atoms – 1 (omit if zero)
• # C=C double bonds (omit if zero)
• B at end means bromine instead of chlorine
• a or b at end means different isomer
 Heat exchangers

Air-liquid Tube heat exchanger

Air-air Plate heat exchanger

 Some Heat Exchanger Facts
• All of the energy that leaves the hot fluid enters the
cold fluid

• If a heat exchanger surface is not below the dew point

of the air, you will not get any dehumidification
• Water takes time to drain off of the coil

• Heat exchanger effectivness varies greatly

 Example:
What is the saving with the residential heat recovery system?

Outdoor Air

32ºF 72ºF

Combustion 72ºF
products

52ºF
Exhaust Furnace
Fresh Air
Gas

For ε=0.5 and if mass flow rate for outdoor and exhaust air are the same
50% of heating energy for ventilation is recovered!

For ε=1 → free ventilation! (or maybe not)

 Heat Exchanger Effectivness (ε)

C=mcp
Mass flow rate Specific capacity of fluid

THin
Heat exchanged

Maximum posible heat exchange
TCout

THout
TCin

Location B Location A
 Air-Liquid Heat Exchangers
Coil Extended Surfaces Compact Heat Exchangers

• Fins added to refrigerant tubes

• Important parameters for heat exchange?
What about compact heat exchangers?
• Geometry is very complex
• Assume flat circular-plate fin
 Overall Heat Transfer
Q = U0A0Δtm
Mean temperature
Overall Heat
difference
Transfer Coefficient
 Heat Exchangers
• Parallel flow
• Counterflow
• Crossflow

Ref: Incropera & Dewitt (2002)

Heat Exchanger Analysis - Δtm
 Heat Exchanger Analysis - Δtm

Counterflow

tm 
  t h, o  tc , i    t h,i  t c , o  
  t h, o  t c ,i  
ln  For parallel flow is the same
 th,i  tc,o  
or
t m 
 t B  t A 
t m 
 t B  t A   t B 
 t B  ln 
ln   t A 
 t A 
 Counterflow Heat Exchangers
tm 
  t h, o  t c ,i    t h,i  t c , o  
t 
  tc,o  tc,i  R  1 
  t h, o  tc,i   m
 1  P  
ln   ln 
  t h,i  tc,o    1  RP  
 
Important parameters:

R
 th ,i  t h ,o 
 Cc old / Ch oth
 t  t c ,i 
P c ,o
 t cold / t max
t c ,o  t c ,i  t h ,i  t c ,i 
 What about crossflow heat
exchangers?
Δtm= F·Δtm,cf
Correction Δt for
factor counterflow

Derivation of F is in the book:

………
Example:
Calculate Δtm for the residential heat recovery system if : mcp,hot= 0.8· mc p,cold

th,i=72 ºF, tc,i=32 ºF

For ε = 0.5 → th,o=52 ºF, th,i=48 ºF → R=1.25, P=0.4 → F=0.89
Δtm,cf=(20-16)/ln(20/16)=17.9 ºF, Δtm=17.9 ·0.89=15.9 ºF
 Overall Heat Transfer

Q = U0A0Δtm
Need to find this

1 1
U0  
Ro RInternal  Rcond  Pipe  RPipe _ fin  Rsurface air
 Heat Transfer

From the pipe and fins we will find

Q  hc ,o , P AP ,o (t P,o  t )  hc ,o , F AFin (t F,m  t )

t
for : hc ,o , P  hc ,o , F  hc ,o tF,m tP,o

Q  hc ,o  AP ,o  A fin (t P,o  t )

 Resistance model
• Q = U0A0Δtm

1
U0  Ao x p 1
Ao
AP ,i hi  AP ,m k p   hc ,o
1
hc ,o  AP ,o  
A
 f 

• Often neglect conduction through tube walls

• Often add fouling coefficients
 Heat exchanger performance
(Book section 11.3)
• NTU – absolute sizing (# of transfer units)
• ε – relative sizing (effectiveness)
Criteria m c c p,c  m h c p, h m c c p ,c  m h c p, h

NTU U o Ao U o Ao
m c c p,c m h c p, h

ε P RP

cr m c c p,c m h c p, h
m h c p, h m c c p,c
 Fin Efficiency
• Assume entire fin is at fin base temperature
• Maximum possible heat transfer
• Perfect fin
• Efficiency is ratio of actual heat transfer to
perfect case
• Non-dimensional parameter
 Summary
• Calculate efficiency of extended surface
• Add thermal resistances in series
• If you know temperatures
• Calculate R and P to get F, ε, NTU
• Might be iterative
• If you know ε, NTU
• Calculate R,P and get F, temps