Heat Exchanger Service Unit

Objective:

To perform a global energy balance across the heat exchangers and calculate the overall
efficiency of the heat exchangers along with the study of heat transfer in parallel and counter
flow conditions.

Theory:

A heat exchanger is an equipment in which heat exchange takes place between two fluids that
enter and exit at different temperatures and thus are devices for transfer of heat energy. Heat
exchangers work on the principle of the second law of thermodynamics which states that heat
energy flows from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration. Heat
exchangers can be used for different purposes either to remove heat from a hot water channel
or to add heat to a cold water channel. The main methods for transfer of this energy includes
convection and conduction.

Heat exchangers are essential components in all machines usually for controlling temperature
of the system. Different fluids can be used as medium namely water, air, refrigerant, oil and
steam etc. There are different forms of heat exchangers including:

Figure 1(a) Concentric Shell Tube Figure 1(b)-Shell and Tube Exchanger
Figure 1(c) Plate Heat Exchanger Figure 1(d) Fin tubed Exchanger

Heat exchangers can have different flow types such as:

 Parallel flow in which both fluids flow in the same direction.

 Counter flow in which fluids flow in opposite to each other.

 Cross flow in which fluid flows orthogonally to each other.

Figure 2-Types of flow in Exchangers

Concentric Tube Heat Exchanger:

An energy balance can be performed across the exchanger using certain assumptions such as
steady heat flow, perfectly insulated outer walls of the tubes and constant heat capacity of
water.

From the temperature sensors we find that for the case of parallel flow :
Applying the first law we get:

Q̇=mass flow rate x Specific Heat Capacity x Temperature Difference

Q̇= ṁC (∆ T )
Where the mass flow rate is given by:
ṁ=ρ V̇

Where the volume flow rate can be found using the flow meter attached along the device.
Thus for the hot water the heat exchange rate is:

Q̇ H =ṁ hot C p ¿
For hot water:
Q̇C =ṁCold C p ¿
The Net Heat Loss :

Q̇ net =Q̇ H −Q̇ C

Temperature Efficiency:

Temperature efficiency is a good measure of the performance of a heat exchanger. It is

basically the ratio of the temperature change of each fluid with the greatest difference
temperature between the two fluids. i-e

Greatest temperature difference=T H ,∈¿−T Cold ,∈¿¿ ¿

T Cold ,∈¿
ηCold =T Cold ,Out − ¿
T H ,∈¿−T Cold ,∈¿
¿ ¿
For hot water:

T Hot ,∈ ¿−T
η Hot = Hot,Out
¿
T H ,∈¿−T Cold ,∈¿ ¿
¿
The mean efficiency is then:
η Hot +ηCold
ηmean =
2

A concept of Logarithmic Mean Temperature Difference(LMTD) is a concept that is used to

find the temperature driving force for heat transfer in systems.  The LMTD is a logarithmic
average of the temperature difference between the hot and cold feeds at each end of the
exchanger.
To derive expressions, consider the temperature distribution diagrams for parallel and counter
flow heat exchangers:
LMDT is defined as:
 dtmax −dt min
LMDT =
dt
ln max
dt min

Figure 3-Temperature-Length Distribution

This can be written as from the graph:

LMDT =¿ ¿ ¿

The heat emitted from hot steam is then calculated by the following formula:

Q̇=U A s (LMDT )

Where Q̇ is heat emitted,

U =Overall Heat Transfer coefficient

As=Surface Area of Heat Exchanger

As can be calculated using the diameters of the tubes and the length i-e:

A=π D m L

d outer tube −dinside tube

Where Dm = =Mean Dia
2

And L=Heat transfer tube effective length

Apparatus:

 Edibon Heat Exchanger Training System (TICB)

 Edibon Base Service Unit (TIUSB)
 Edibon Shell & Tube Heat Exchanger (TICT)
 Edibon Concentric Heat Exchanger (TITC)

Concentric Heat Exchanger Base Service Unit

Edibon Heat Exchanger Training System (TICB)

This unit can work with one or several exchangers. It consists of the following components:

 Temperature sensors connectors.

 Digital display for the temperature sensors.
 Selector for temperature sensors.
 Heating element connector.
 Heating element control (temperature control).

Base Service Unit (TIUSB)

This unit performs the following tasks:

 Heating the water.

 Pumping of hot water.
 Change in the direction of cold-water flows
 Cold water flow-rate measure
 Hot water flow-rate measure
 Control of flow rates

Concentric Heat Exchanger (TITC)

This Concentric Tube Heat Exchanger allows the study of heat transfer between hot water
flowing through an internal tube and cold water flowing in the ring area lying between the
internal and the external tubes. This exchanger allows measuring hot and cold-water
temperatures at different points of the exchanger. The exchanger is formed by two concentric
copper tubes with hot water circulating through the interior tube and cold water circulating in
the ring space. This exchanger has two equal sections of 500 mm each one, where heat
transfer takes place. There are six temperature sensors (“J” type), for measuring cold and hot
water temperatures at different points (inlet, outlet, mid-position) of the exchanger.
Specifications of the equipment are as follows:

 Exchange length: L = 2 x 0.5 = 1 m.

 Internal tube:
 Internal diameter: Dint = 16 • 10-³ m.
 External diameter: Dext = 18 • 10-³ m.
 Thickness = 10-³ m.
 Heat transfer internal area: Ah = 0.0503 m².
 Heat transfer external area: Ac = 0.0565 m².
 External tube:
 Internal diameter: Dint = 26 • 10-³ m.
 External diameter: Dext = 28 • 10-³ m.
 Thickness = 10-³ m.

Shell & Tube Heat Exchanger (TICT)

It consists on a group of tubes inside the heat exchanger. The hot water flows through the
internal tubes and the cooling water circulates through the space between the internal tubes
and the shell. There are traverse baffles placed in the shell to guide the cold water to
maximize the heat transfer. There are seven temperature sensors (“J” type), for measuring
cold and hot water temperatures at different points of the exchanger. Specifications of the
equipment are as follows:

 Exchange length of the shell and each tube: L = 0.5 m.

 Internal tube (21 tubes):
 Internal diameter: Dint= 8 • 10-³ m.
 External diameter: Dext = 10 • 10-3 m.
 Thickness = 10-3 m.
 Internal heat transfer area: Ah= 0.0126 m².
 External heat transfer area: Ac= 0.0157m².
 Shell:
 Internal diameter: Dint, c= 0.148 m.
 External diameter: Dext, c= 0.160 m.
 Thickness = 6 • 10-3 m.

Experiments to Be Performed:

1. To perform an energy balance across a shell and tube exchanger and calculate the overall
efficiency at different fluid flow rates
2. To demonstrate the differences between counter-current flow (flows in opposing
directions) and co-current flows (flows in the same direction) and the effect on heat
 transferred, temperature efficiencies and temperature profiles through a shell and tube
heat exchanger.
3. To determine the overall heat transfer coefficient for a shell and tube heat exchanger
using the logarithmic mean temperature difference to perform the calculations (for
counter-current and co-current flows).
4. To investigate the effect of changes in hot fluid and cold fluid flow rate on the
temperature efficiencies and overall heat transfer coefficient.
5. To investigate the effect of driving force (difference between hot stream and cold stream
temperature) with counter-current and co-current flow
6. To determine the influence of flow on the heat transfer (Reynolds number calculation)