Introduction

A heat exchanger is a device that is used to transfer thermal energy between two
or more fluids, between a solid surface and a fluid, or between solid particulates and a
fluid at different temperatures and in thermal contact. They are widely used in space
heating, refrigeration, air conditioning, power stations, chemical plants, petrochemical
plants, petroleum refineries, natural-gas processing, and sewage treatment
A shell and tube heat exchanger is a class of heat exchanger designs. It is the
most common type of heat exchanger in oil refineries and other large chemical
processes, and is suited for higher-pressure applications. Shell and tube heat
exchanger consists of a shell with a bundle of tubes inside it. One fluid runs through the
tubes, and another fluid flows over the tubes (shell) to transfer heat between the two
fluids. The baffles introduce some cross-flow to the air and such increasing the area of
heat exchange. Another advantage is that baffles reduce vibration due to the fluid
motion

Figure shows the geometry of shell and tube heat exchanger

A counter-flow heat exchanger is one in which the direction of the flow of one of
the working fluids is opposite to the direction to the flow of the other fluid. In a parallel
flow exchanger, both fluids in the heat exchanger flow in the same direction.
The counter-flow heat exchanger has three significant advantages over the
parallel flow design. First, the more uniform temperature difference between the two
fluids minimizes the thermal stresses throughout the exchanger. Second, the outlet
temperature of the cold fluid can approach the highest temperature of the hot fluid (the

inlet temperature). Third, the more uniform temperature difference produces a more
uniform rate of heat transfer throughout the heat exchanger.

Figure shows the counter current flow of heat exchanger

AIMS
THEORY
APPARATUS
PROCEDURE
RESULTS