Chapter 4

HEAT EXCHANGERS
 Instructional Objectives
 Introduce different types of heat exchange
equipment and their working principles.
 Carry out performance calculations for
simple heat exchangers.
 Carry out design calculations for simple
heat exchangers.
 1. INTRODUCTION
• A heat exchanger is a device that
facilitates exchange of heat between two
fluids that are at different temperatures
and separated by a solid wall.
• Specific applications: space heating and
air conditioning, power production, waste
heat recovery, food and chemical
processing, oil refining, and in vehicles.
 2. Types of Heat Exchangers
• Heat exchangers are classified according
to flow arrangement and type of
construction.
 2.1. Concentric Tube Heat
Exchanger
• Also called double-pipe heat exchanger or
co-axial flow heat exchanger.
• One fluid flows through inside tube and the
other fluid flows through the annulus.
• In parallel-flow heat exchangers, the two
fluids enter the exchanger at the same end,
and travel in parallel to exit at the other side.
• In counter-flow heat exchangers the fluids
enter the exchanger from opposite ends.
• Counter current design is more efficient, in
that it can transfer more heat.
Concentric-tube (Double-pipe) heat exchangers [Ref 1]

(a) Parallel flow (b) Counterflow

T1  T2
q  UATm , Tm  Tlm 
ln  T1 / T2 
 Concentric-tube …

[Ref 2]

• May consist of several passes arranged in a vertical stack.

• Useful when 100 to 150 ft2 (10 to 15 m2) of surface is
required, and for small flow rates.
• For larger capacities, shell-and-tube heat exchangers,
providing up to thousands of square feet of area are used.
2.2. Shell-and-Tube Heat Exchangers
• Tubular HEs consisting a tube bank enclosed
by a shell. One fluid flows inside the tubes
and the other flows inside the shell.

One-shell pass One-tube pass

(1-1) (cross-counter flow) [Ref 1]
• Baffles increase the convection coefficient of the shell-side fluid by
inducing turbulence and a cross-flow velocity component.

(a) One shell pass-

two tube passes
(1-2) [Ref 1]

(b) Two shell

passes-four
tube passes
(2-4) [Ref 1]
Temperature patterns in multipass exchangers

(a) 1-2 exchanger (b) 2-4 exchanger

[Ref 2]

T1  T2 (Thi  Tco )  (Tho  Tci )

Tm  FT Tlm  FT  FT
ln T1 / T2  ln (Thi  Tco ) /(Tho  Tci )
Correction of LMTD for multipass exchangers
Thi  Tho m c c pc Tco  Tci
Z  , H 
Tco  Tci m h c ph Thi  Tci

(a) 1-N exchanger, where

N = an even number

[Ref 2]

(b) 2-4 exchanger

 Choice of tube-side fluid [Ref 2]
• If one of the fluids is quite corrosive, it should be put in the
corrosion-resistant tube, rather than in the shell which would
require both shell & tube corrosion-resistant  expensive.
• If corrosion is not a problem, but one of the fluid is dirty and likely
to form deposits on the wall, that fluid should be inside the tubes to
make cleaning easier.
• Very hot fluids are placed inside the tubes for safety and heat
economy.
• Decision can be based on which arrangement gives higher overall
heat transfer coefficient or lower pressure drop.
• Very viscous liquids are often placed in shell side to induce
turbulence by flow across tubes, giving better heat transfer.
 2.3. Cross-Flow Heat Exchangers
• In a cross-flow heat exchanger, the fluids travel
roughly perpendicular to one another through
the exchanger.
• In finned tubular heat exchangers, the fin-side
fluid is unmixed because the fins confine the
flow to one direction. Example: automobile
radiator
• In unfinned tubular heat exchangers, the fin-
side fluid is mixed because the flow in
transverse direction is possible.
• The use of fins improve the convection
coefficient of fin-side fluid by increasing the
outside surface area.
 Cross-flow heat exchangers [Ref 1]

(a) Finned with both fluids (b) Unfinned with shell fluid
unmixed mixed and the other unmixed
Correction of LMTD for crossflow exchangers
(both fluids unmixed)

[Ref 2]

T1  T2 (Thi  Tco )  (Tho  Tci )

Tm  FT Tlm  FT  FT
ln T1 / T2  ln (Thi  Tco ) /(Tho  Tci )
(LMTD for counterflow)
2.4. Cross-counter Flow (Coil) Heat Exchangers [Ref 4]

(a) Two-pass (b) Four-pass

 2.5. Plate-Type Heat Exchangers
• Gasketed plate exchanger, alternative to shell-and-tube
exchangers for applications at moderate temperature and
pressure.
• Consists of many corrugated stainless steel sheets
separated by polymer gaskets and clamped in a steel frame.
• Inlet portals in the gaskets direct the hot and cold fluid to
alternate spaces between plates.
• Adjoining plates have different pattern or angle of
corrugation. Corrugations induce turbulence for improved
heat transfer.
• Widely used in dairy and food processing.
 Plate-type heat exchanger [Ref 2]

(a) General layout (b) Detail of plate design

 2.6. Compact Heat Exchangers
• Used to achieve very large heat transfer area
per unit volume.
• Have dense arrays of finned tubes or plates.
• Typically used when at least one of the fluids is
a gas, characterized by small convection
coefficient.
• The tubes may be flat or circular, and the fins
may be plate or circular.
• Parallel plates may be finned or corrugated and
may be used in single-pass or multi-pass mode.
 Compact heat exchanger cores [Ref 1]

(a) Fin-tube (flat tubes, plate fins; (b) Fin-tube (circular tubes, plate fins);
(c) Fin-tube (circular tubes, circular fins); (d) Plate-fin (single pass);
(e) Plate-fin (multi-pass)
3. Fluid Temperature Behavior
 4. Overall Heat Transfer
Coefficient
• The heat transfer between the two fluids across the
solid wall involves convection of fluid films adjacent
to the wall and conduction across the wall.
• The rate of heat transfer can be expressed by a
single equation like Newton’s law of cooling, with
the overall heat transfer coefficient U incorporating
convection and conduction terms:
q  UATm

where Tm = mean temperature difference between

the two fluids along the exchanger length
• For the unfinned tubular heat exchanger, U can be
calculated as follows:
1 1 1
 
UA U i Ai U o Ao
1 R fi ln( Do / Di ) R fo 1
     (1)
hi Ai Ai 2 k L Ao ho Ao
where Ai , Ao  inside and outside heat transfer areas
U i ,U o  overall heat transfer coefficients based on
inside and outside surface areas
hi , ho  inside (tube - side) convection coefficient and
outside (shell - side) convection coefficient
R fi , R fo  fouling resistances at inside and outside surfaces
Di , Do  inside and outside diameters of the tube
K  thermal conductivity of the tube wall
L  tube length of heat exchanger
 Fouling factors [Ref 2]
• In actual service, heat transfer surfaces do not remain clean. Scale,
dirt, and other deposits form on one or both sides of tubes, provide
additional resistance to heat flow, reducing the overall coefficient.
• The fouling resistances Rfi and Rfo in the Eq (1) take into account the
effect of such deposits.
• Rf = 1/hd, where hd is called the fouling factor.
• Fouling factors range ~ 600 to 11,000 W/m2∙K.
• Fouling factors are usually set at values to provide safety factor for
design.
 Example (Example 11.1/McCabe)
Methanol, flowing in the inner pipe of a double-pipe exchanger
is cooled with water flowing in the jacket. The inner pipe is
made from 1-in. schedule 40 steel pipe. The thermal
conductivity of steel is 45 W/m∙K. What is the overall
coefficient based on the outside area of the inner pipe?
Data
Alcohol coefficient, hi: 1,020 W/m2∙°C
Water coefficient, ho: 1,700 W/m2∙°C
Inside fouling factor, hdi: 5,680 W/m2∙°C
Outside fouling factor, hdo: 2,840 W/m2∙°C
Solution: From appendix, Di = , Do = ,  Ai = DiL, Ao = DoL
Rfi= 1/hdi = , Rfo = 1/hdo =
1 1 R fi ln(Do / Di ) R fo 1
Eq (1)        Uo
U oDo L hiDi L Di L 2 k L Do L hoDo L
 5. Heat Exchanger Analysis
• Step 1
– To design or predict the performance of a heat
exchanger, write down the overall energy
balances between heat gain of cold fluid, heat
loss of hot fluid, and overall heat transfer across
the wall separating the two fluids:
 
q  m c H c  m h H h  UATlm (2)

For double-pipe HE
– Determine any unknown that can be directly
calculated from the above relations.
Overall Energy Balances of the Hot and Cold Fluids
of a Two-fluid Heat Exchanger [Ref 1]

T1
T2

 
q  m c H c  m h H h  UATlm

Specific enthalpy gain Specific enthalpy loss

of cold fluid (Hco – Hci) of hot fluid (Hhi – Hho)
 q  rate of heat transfer
m c , m h  mass flow rate of cold fluid and hot fluid
Tci , Tco , Tc  inlet, outlet, and mean temperature of cold fluid
Thi , Tho , Th  inlet, outlet, and mean temperature of hot fluid
H c , H h  specific enthalpies of cold fluid and hot fluid
U  overall heat ransfer coefficient
A  heat transfer surface area
ΔT1 , ΔT2  temperature approaches at the two ends of HE
Tlm  log mean temperature difference (LMTD)
ΔT1  ΔT2 ΔT2  ΔT1
 
ln ΔT1 ΔT2  ln ΔT2 ΔT1 
• Step 2
– Enthalpies and LMTD depends on fluid
temperature behavior:
For parallel flow with no phase change,
Ĥh = Cph(Thi-Tho), Ĥc = Cpc(Tco-Tci)

(Thi  Tci )  (Tho  Tco )

Tlm 
ln [(Thi  Tci ) (Tho  Tco )]
(a) Parallel flow

For counterflow with no phase change,

Ĥh = Cph(Thi-Tho), Ĥc = Cpc(Tco-Tci)

(Tho  Tci )  (Thi  Tco )

Tlm 
ln [(Tho  Tci ) (Thi  Tco )]
(b) Counter flow
 For condensers, Ĥh = h, Ĥc = Cpc(Tco-Tci)

Tco  Tci
Tlm 
ln [(Th  Tci ) (Th  Tco )]
(d) Condenser

For evaporators, Ĥc = c, Ĥh = Cph(Thi-Tho)

Thi  Tho
Tlm 
ln [(Thi  Tc ) (Tho  Tc )]
(d) Evaporator

where  = latent heat of vaporization

• Miscellaneous
– Overall heat transfer coefficient (U), if not
known, can be determined from Eq (1).
– hi and ho in Eq (1), if not known, can be
determined from correlations already given .
– Heat transfer area (A) is related to tube length
as A = 2r L = D L.

• Step 3+
– Determine any other unknowns from the overall
energy balances (Eq 2).
– Determine the HE effectiveness and number of
transfer units.
6. Heat Exchanger Effectiveness
and Number of Transfer Units
6.1. The effectiveness
 The effectiveness () of a HE is defined as:

Actual rate of heat transfer


Maximum possible rate of heat transfer
q

qmax
where qmax  min  m hC ph , m c C pc   Thi  Tci 
 Cmin  Thi  Tci 
 qmax is the rate of heat transfer that a HE of
infinite area would transfer with given inlet
temperatures, flow rates, and specific heat.

 qmax occurs when the fluid with minimum

product of flow rate and specific heat
changes temperature to the entering
temperature of the other fluid.
6.2. Number of Transfer Units (NTU)
 NTU is a dimensionless parameter that is
widely used for heat exchanger analysis.
 It is defined as:

UA
NTU 
Cmin

6.3. Effectiveness-NTU Relationship

 Cmin 
  f  NTU, 
 Cmax 
Effectiveness-NTU Relations of HEs [Ref 1]

Effectiveness-NTU of Effectiveness-NTU of
a parallel flow HE a counterflow HE
 REFERENCES
1. F. P. Incropera, D. P. Dewitt, T. L. Bergman, A.
S. Lavine. Fundamentals of Heat and Mass
Transfer, 6th Edition. John Wiley & Sons, 2007.
2. W. L. McCabe, J. C. Smith, P. Harriott. Unit
Operations of Chemical Engineering, 7th
Edition. McGraw-Hill, 2005.
3. Geankoplis, C. J. Transport Processes and Unit
Operations, 4th Edition. Prentice-Hall, 2003.
4. A. F. Mills. Basic Heat and Mass Transfer, 2nd
Edition. Prentice Hall, 1999.