Concentric Heat Exchanger
MOHD FIKRI BIN MOHD ASARI (2020897942)
FARAH SYAQIRAH BINTI SHAHRIL (2020828462)
LUQMAN HAKIM BIN JOHARUDDIN (2020495616)
NUR ANIS ASYIQIN BINTI SHAHRIZAL (2020489694)
NUR EMILIA EZZATIE BINTI MUSTAPAH (2020827918)
FITRI AINA AQILAH BINTI MOHD SALLEHUDDIN (2020897376)
Abstract— Concentric tube heat exchanger is a device
that is designed to allow heat to be transferred between
two fluids of different temperatures. The objective of this
experiment is to show how flow rate variation affects the
performance of the counter flow concentric tube heat
exchanger. From the experiment, two fluids from different
temperatures flow parallel to each other in opposite
direction in a counter flow. Based on the result that had
been done throughout the experiment, as the flow rate
increased from 2 L/min to 10L/min, the overall heat
transfer coefficient increased from 96.9W/m2. °C to
692.3W/m2. °C for constant hot flowrate and 83.1W/m2.
°C to 138.4W/m2. °C for constant cold-water flowrate. As
a result, we can conclude that the higher the flow rate of
the fluids moving through the heat exchanger, the greater
the rate of heat transfer. Hence, the efficiency and the
performance of the concentric tube heat exchanger is
increased since the heat transfer coefficient also increases.
I. INTRODUCTION
A heat exchanger is a device that is used to transfer heat
between two or more fluids that are at different temperatures
(Brogan, nd). Heat exchangers are used in a wide variety of
engineering applications including refrigeration, heating and
air conditioning systems, food processing systems, automobile
radiators and waste heat recovery units. In this industry, there
are numerous types of heat exchangers that use various types
of hardware and heat transfer equipment configurations. The
major types of heat exchangers are shell and tube heat
exchanger, plate and frame heat exchangers, finned tube, bare
tube and others. It has two basic flow configurations which are
counter flow and co-current flow.
In counter current flow, two fluids flow parallel to each
other but in opposite directions (Brogan, nd). With this flow
arrangement, it will allow the largest change in temperature of
both fluids and this ensures that heat is distributed evenly
across the heat exchanger. Hence, efficiency can be
maximized. In theory, the cold fluid can exit the heat
exchanger at a higher temperature than the hot fluid outlet,
however it is extremely difficult to achieve in practice
(Brogan, nd) .
The SOLTEQ HE104-PD Concentric Tube heat exchanger
is being used throughout this experiment which has been
specifically designed to demonstrate the working principles of
industrial heat exchanger. It has two tubes, one inside the
other. Each tube carries different temperatures of fluid. One
tube carries hot fluid while the other tube carries cold fluid.
This causes the process of heat transfer to occur. Based on the
working principle, concentric tube heat exchanger only
requires cold water supply, single electrical outlet and a bench
top as the apparatus and materials in order to obtain simple
measurement. From this experiment, calculations such as log
mean temperature difference, power emitted and absorbed,
heat loss, and heat transfer coefficient can be determined.
The apparatus and equipment are made out of a concentric
tube exchanger in the shaped of a U mounted on a support
frame. In order to accurately measure fluid temperatures, three
temperature measuring devices are installed in the inside and
the outside tubes of the heat exchanger. Hot water is fed
through the inner pipe while the cooling water is fed through
the outer annulus which helps to reduce the system losses. The
external outer surface is insulated to save energy, to maintain
steam quality and to prevent buildup of condensation on the
unit in warm and humid environments. To regulate the flow,
control valves are installed in each of the two streams and the
flow rates of hot and cold temperature are measured using
independent flow meters that had been installed in each line. A
pump that is provided will circulate to the heat exchanger and
hot water returns to the storage tank to be reheated. The
exchanger’s cold water is drawn from the laboratory’s main
supply. The valve arrangement allows for simple switching
between co–current flow and counter flow.
II. OBJECTIVES
To show how flow rate variation affects the performance of
a counter-flow concentric tube heat exchanger.
III. THEORY
A heat exchanger is a device that allows heat to be
transferred between two fluids of differing temperatures while
preventing them from mixing. (Yunus Cengel, 2007, p. 667)
Convection in each fluid and conduction through the wall
separating the two fluids are the most common methods of heat
transfer in a heat exchanger. The heat exchanger works when
the hot water and cold water enter the exchanger, this is when Here, the temperature differential between the two fluids at
the cold water absorbs some heat while the hot water on the the two ends is represented by and (inlet and outlet).
other hand, losing its temperature. What happens is that the hot (Yunus Cengel, 2007, p. 682)
water is also heated inside or outside the tube of the heat
exchanger, depending on the location of the flow. This process
occurs before both hot and cold water exit the heat exchanger.
A. Cengel (2007) state that, the only kind of heat exchanger Therefore, to find the overall heat transfer coefficient, U:
includes concentric tubes of various diameters, known as
double tube heat exchangers. With a double tube heat
exchanger, two types of flow arrangements, parallel flow and
countercurrent flow, are possible. In a parallel flow heat
exchanger, hot and cold water enter at the same end and flow
in the same direction. On the other hand, in countercurrent, hot The power emitted and power absorbed to obtain the value
and cold fluids enter the heat exchanger from the opposite ends of power lost is computed before determining the overall heat
and flow in opposite directions. (Yunus Cengel, 2007, p. 668) transfer coefficient, U. All the calculation is calculated by
The type of heat exchangers that is used in this experiment is using formula below:
counter flow concentric tube heat exchangers.
• Power emitted,

• Power absorbed,

• Power lost

IV. PROCEDURES
General start up
1. A brief inspection was carried out to ensure that the
equipment is in a proper working condition.
2. The hot water tank is filled through a water supply
hose connected to hot water inlet valve. The valve is
closed once the tank is full.
3. Cold water tank is then filled until the tank is full.
4. The power supply is switched on and the heater is
Figure 1: Fluid Flow Direction opened.
In thermodynamics and fluid mechanics, the heat transfer 5. The temperature controller is then set to 50 ℃ and the
coefficient, also known as the film coefficient or film hot water tank is left until the water reached the set
effectiveness, is the proportionality constant between the heat point.
flux and the thermodynamic driving force for heat flow.
(Wikipedia Contributors, 2019) In the case of combination
modes, the overall heat transfer rate is commonly represented Counter-current Concentric Heat Exchanger
in terms of an overall conductance or heat transfer coefficient, Experiment
U. The heat transmission rate in this situation is:
1. Hot water pump and cold-water pump are switched
on.
where, 2. All the valves connected to the concentric heat
exchanger are opened to allow both hot water and
cold water to enter the heat exchanger
3. The counter current valves are opened.
LMTD is the log mean temperature difference, which is
used in the analysis of heat exchangers that is suit the form of 4. Adjust the hot water flowrate to 10 USGPM and cold-
the average temperature difference. (Yunus Cengel, 2007, p. water flowrate to 2 USGPM
681)
 5. The reading of FT1, FT2, TT1, TT2, TT3, TT4 and Hot Water Power emitted, Qe Power absorbed, Heat Loss (W)
Flowrate (W) Qa
TT5 are then collected after 10 minutes to ensure the (L/min) (W)
reading is stabilized. 2 2271.9 83.1 2188.8
4 1376.9 124.6 1252.3
6. Repeat the experiment with cold water flowrate of 4 6 826.2 138.4 687.8
8 757.3 138.4 618.9
USGPM, 6 USGPM, 8 USGPM and 10 USGPM. 10 550.8 138.4 412.4
7. Another set of experiments is conducted by keeping
the cold-water flowrate constant at 10 USGPM and Table 5 . Log mean temperature and overall heat transfer coefficient for the
changing the hot water flowrate to 2 USGPM, 4 constant hot volume flow rate.
USGPM, 6 USGPM, 8 USGPM and 10 USGPM. Cold Water ∆𝑻𝟏(℃) ∆𝑻𝟐(℃) ∆𝑻𝒎(℃) Overall heat
Flowrate transfer
(L/min) coefficient, U
(𝑾/𝒎𝟐 , ℃)
General shutdown 2 14.8 14.8 0 0
4 15.6 15.8 15.7 650.98
6 16.8 16.6 16.7 786.82
1. The heater is switched off and the water is let to cool 8 16.1 16.2 16.1 906.81
down until the temperature drops below 40 ℃. 10 16.4 16.5 16.4 801.21

2. The hot water pump and cold-water pump are Table 6 . Log mean temperature and the overall heat transfer coefficient for
switched off followed by the main switch. the constant cold volume flow rate.
3. All the water in the process line is drained off. Hot Water ∆𝑻𝟏(℃) ∆𝑻𝟐(℃) ∆𝑻𝒎(℃) Overall heat
Flowrate transfer
4. All the valves are closed. (L/min) coefficient, U
(𝑾/𝒎𝟐 , ℃)
2 17.4 14.7 16.0 2898.3
4 17.7 16.6 17.1 1551.5
6 16.0 15.8 15.9 916.4
8 16.5 16.4 16.4 799.5
10 15.9 16.1 15.9 549.5

V. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

RESULT
Table 1 – Experiment 1.
HOT COLD TT1 TT2 TT3 TT4 TT5 DPT1 DPT2
USPGM USPGM °C °C °C °C °C mmH2O mmH2O
10 2 33.4 32.7 47.5 48.2 50.0 121 80
10 4 32.4 31.5 47.3 48.0 50.1 119 76
10 6 32.3 31.1 47.7 48.6 50.3 121 81
10 8 32.1 31.0 47.2 48.2 50.8 121 95
10 10 32.1 31.1 47.6 48.5 50.3 121 107

Table 2 – Experiment 2.
HOT COLD TT1 TT2 TT3 TT4 TT5 DPT1 DPT2
USPGM USPGM °C °C °C °C °C mmH2O mmH2O
2 10 31.7 31.1 45.8 49.1 51.7 121 108
4 10 32.0 31.1 47.7 49.7 51.2 121 107
6 10 32.1 31.1 46.9 48.1 49.9 121 106
8 10 32.2 31.2 47.6 48.7 50.4 121 106
Figure 2 : Graph of Overall Heat Transfer vs Water Flowrate.
10 10 32.3 31.3 47.4 48.2 50.0 121 107

CALCULATION DISCUSSION
The purpose of the experiment is to analyze the
Table 3. Calculation of power emitted, power absorbed and heat loss for the performance of a heat exchanger with a counter-current flow
constant hot volume flow rate.
and to investigate the routine of the heat exchanger at various
Cold Water Power emitted, Qe Power absorbed, Qa Heat Loss (W) flow rates using a concentric tube heat exchanger or a simple
Flowrate (W) (W)
(L/min) twin pipe heat exchanger. There were two sections to the
2 482.4 96.9 385.5 experiment. The hot water volume flowrate was kept constant
4 482.4 249.2 233.2
6 620.2 498.5 121.7 at 10L/min in the first half, while the cold-water flowrates
8 689.1 609.2 79.9 were varied between 2L/min, 4L/min, 6L/min, 8L/min, and
10 620.2 692.3 -72.1
10L/min in the second portion. The cold-water volume
Table 4 . Calculation of power emitted, power absorbed and heat loss for the flowrate was kept constant in the second portion, while the hot
constant cold volume flow rate. water volume flowrates were changed. Every 10 minutes,
TT1, TT2, TT3, and TT4 were recorded.
 According to the data, the hot fluid's departure
temperature is higher than the cold fluid's exit temperature.
This demonstrates that heat must be transferred from a hot to a
cold body. It is impossible for heat to be transferred from a
cold to a heated body. According to Yunus A. Cengel and
Afshin J. Ghajar (2015), the cold fluid's exit temperature can
never exceed the hot fluid's entrance temperature, as this
would be a violation of the second rule of thermodynamics. As
a result, the acquired results are correct.
The overall heat transfer coefficient increases as the
temperature of the hot water rises. As the overall heat transfer
coefficient improves, the rate of heat transfer increases as
well. This is because, as shown in the equation below, the rate
of heat transmission is impacted by both temperature and the
overall heat transfer coefficient. The performance of a heat
exchanger will improve as the rate of heat transfer increases.
Temperature has a minor effect on the overall heat transfer
coefficient. The degree to which the overall heat transfer
coefficient is influenced as the temperature of the fluids
changes is determined by the viscosity of the fluids'
temperature sensitivity.
The higher the flow rate of the fluids moving through
the heat exchanger, the greater the rate of heat transfer and, as
a result, the better the heat exchanger's performance. The
overall heat transfer coefficient increased from 96.9W/m2.°C
to 692.3W/m2.°C for constant hot flowrate and 83.1W/m2.°C
to 138.4W/m2.°C for constant cold water flowrate as the flow
rate was increased from 2 L/min to 10L/min. The increase in
heat transfer coefficient indicates an increase in heat transfer
rate, which translates to an increase in heat exchanger
performance.
However, as the flow rate increases, the pressure loss
increases, necessitating a larger pump to circulate the water.
Aside from that, a low flow rate means a low velocity, which
helps to avoid erosion, tube vibration and sounds, as well as
pressure drop; thus, a standard velocity is set in heat
exchangers. Despite this, the heat exchanger's efficiency is
meant to increase as the heat transfer coefficient increases by
16, yet the predicted efficiency decreases as the flowrate
increases. This drop in efficiency could be due to the fact that
the temperature was taken before it was stabilized.
The experiment met its main objectives based on the
computed results; nevertheless, some errors may have
happened during the experiment. The water flow rate may not
have been steady during the experiment, resulting in
inaccuracies in recording the data every 10 minutes. Finally,
fouling in the pipe may cause inaccuracies in the heat
exchanger's heat loss calculations.
Fouling, which can occur within the inside of a tube wall and
reduce performance and even harm the heat exchanger in the
long term, is the most common heat exchanger problem for
many chemical engineers. Fouling is a term used to describe
material that accumulates on the inside of a tube wall within
heat exchangers, affecting the heat exchanger's effectiveness.
Material or fluids that gather on the side wall of your heat
exchanger will build up over time and, if not removed, will
limit heat transmission and increase pressure drop, causing
extra problems in your heat exchanger.
The heat exchanger's performance can be improved
in a variety of ways. One of them is to raise the overall heat
transfer coefficient, U, by boosting turbulence in the flowing
fluids on the tube, reducing fouling rates through pretreatment
of the fluids or increasing cleaning schedules, and intelligent
design to eliminate stagnant areas inside the exchanger.
CONCLUSION
The objective of the experiment is to uncover the mysteries of
the effects of different flow rates on counter current flow
concentric heat exchanger. What can be concluded is that, in
the concentric tube heat exchanger, as the value of overall heat
transfer coefficient is high, supposedly, the rate of heat
transfer inside the heat exchanger would be high. This would
also indicate that the performance of the very heat exchanger
would also be high. The same can be said when correlating the
flow rates of water with the concentric tube heat exchanger,
higher flow rates would result in higher rate of heat transfer
which would also equates to a higher performance of the heat
exchanger and vice versa. Therefore, the objective of this
experiment is met, and the experiment is a success.
RECOMMENDATIONS
It is advisable to tighten the nut hoses that are connected from
the two respective water tanks with different temperatures to
the concentric heat exchanger so that no water leakage could
occur which may be able to interrupt with pressure drop and
flow rate of water in the heat exchanger. Then, it is highly
recommended to close other heat exchanger’s bypass valve so
that pressure interference will not occur, if it occurs, pressure
drop reading on the indicator will be a negative value. Other
than that, make sure that specific valves are correctly opened
for co-current or counter current flow to occur in accordance
with the laboratory experiment. Lastly, during the collection
of data, when adjusting the flow rate of water by turning the
knob either left or right, make sure that the indicator in the
tube is perpendicular to the eye level to ensure for a more
accurate flow rate adjustment.
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APPENDIX

Fig.3 Raw data of experiment 1 and experiment 2 during lab

session.