MELab

Experiment Title: HEAT-EXCHANGE SURFACE AREA

Objectives:

a. To estimate the total heating surface area of a heat exchanger.

Introduction:

There are numerous situations where heat is to be transferred between a fluid and a
surface. In such cases the heat flow depends on three factors namely (i) area of the surface (b)
temperature difference and (c) the convective heat transfer coefficient.

The base surface area is limited by design of the system. The temperature difference
depends on the process and cannot be altered. The only choice appears to be the convection heat
transfer coefficient and this also cannot be increased beyond a certain value. Any such increase will
be at the expense of power for fans or pumps. Thus the possible option is depicted in increase in the
base area by the so called extended surfaces or fins.

The fins extend form the base surface and provide additional convection area for heat
conducted into the fin at the base. Fins are thus used whenever the available surface area is found
insufficient to transfer the required quantity of heat with the available temperature deep and heat
transfer coefficient. In the case of fins the direction of heat transfer by convection is perpendicular
to the direction of conduction flow.

Common examples of the use of extended surfaces are cylinder heads of air cooled engines
and compressors and on electric motor bodies. In air conditioners and radiator tubes with
circumferential fins are used to increase heat flow. Electronic chips cannot function without the use
of fins to dissipate the heat generated. Several shapes of fins are in use.

1 HEAT-EXCHANGE SURFACE AREA

DATA SHEET MELab

1. Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger

The area A is the total external tube area which for n tubes is:

Where: n = number of tubes; d = inside diameter of tubes; L = length of tubes.

2. Evaporators & Condensers

The heat-exchange surface of the condenser is the area of its fins minus the holes for the
tubes, plus the lateral surface of the same tubes.

2 HEAT-EXCHANGE SURFACE AREA

 DATA SHEET MELab
3. Scotch Marine Boiler

This type of fired heater the fuel is burned in a relatively small space containing very little
or no heat absorbing surface. The flame and hot flue gas flow through the tubes of the heat
exchanger section, with the process fluid being contained on the shell side.

Where: n = number of tubes; Di = inside diameter of the tubes; L = length of tubes.

References:

[1] Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transfer Revise Edition by CP Kothandaraman © 2006
New Age International (P) Ltd., Publishers.

[2] Introduction to Food Processing Engineering 2nd Edition by P.G. Smith © Springer Science +
Business Media, LLC 2011.

[3] Heat Transfer Design Methods edited by John J. McKetta © 1992 by Marcel Dekker, Inc.

3 HEAT-EXCHANGE SURFACE AREA