24-01-2013, 12:21 PM
HEAT EXCHANGERS
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What are heat exchangers?
Heat exchangers are devices used to transfer heat energy from one fluid to another. Typical heat exchangers experienced by us in our daily lives include condensers and evaporators used in air conditioning units and refrigerators. Boilers and condensers in thermal power plants are examples of large industrial heat exchangers. There are heat exchangers in our automobiles in the form of radiators and oil coolers. Heat exchangers are also abundant in chemical and process industries.
There is a wide variety of heat exchangers for diverse kinds of uses, hence the construction also would differ widely. However, in spite of the variety, most heat exchangers can be classified into some common types based on some fundamental design concepts. We will consider only the more common types here for discussing some analysis and design methodologies.
Heat Transfer Considerations
The energy flow between hot and cold streams, with hot stream in the bigger diameter tube, is as shown in Figure 7.1. Heat transfer mode is by convection on the inside as well as outside of the inner tube and by conduction across the tube. Since the heat transfer occurs across the smaller tube, it is this internal surface which controls the heat transfer process. By convention, it is the outer surface, termed Ao, of this central tube which is referred to in describing heat exchanger area. Applying the principles of thermal resistance,
Basic Heat Exchanger Flow Arrangements
Two basic flow arrangements are as shown in Figure 7.2. Parallel and counter flow provide alternative arrangements for certain specialized applications. In parallel flow both the hot and cold streams enter the heat exchanger at the same end and travel to the opposite end in parallel streams. Energy is transferred along the length from the hot to the cold fluid so the outlet temperatures asymptotically approach each other. In a counter flow arrangement, the two streams enter at opposite ends of the heat exchanger and flow in parallel but opposite directions. Temperatures within the two streams tend to approach one another in a nearly linearly fashion resulting in a much more uniform heating pattern. Shown below the heat exchangers are representations of the axial temperature profiles for each. Parallel flow results in rapid initial rates of heat exchange near the entrance, but heat transfer rates rapidly decrease as the temperatures of the two streams approach one another. This leads to higher exergy loss during heat exchange. Counter flow provides for relatively uniform temperature differences and, consequently, lead toward relatively uniform heat rates throughout the length of the unit.
Applications for Counter and Parallel Flows
We have seen two advantages for counter flow, (a) larger effective LMTD and (b) greater potential energy recovery. The advantage of the larger LMTD, as seen from the heat exchanger equation, is that a larger LMTD permits a smaller heat exchanger area, Ao, for a given heat transfer, Q. This would normally be expected to result in smaller, less expensive equipment for a given application.
Sometimes, however, parallel flows are desirable (a) where the high initial heating rate may be used to advantage and (b) where it is required the temperatures developed at the tube walls are moderate. In heating very viscous fluids, parallel flow provides for rapid initial heating and consequent decrease in fluid viscosity and reduction in pumping requirement. In applications where moderation of tube wall temperatures is required, parallel flow results in cooler walls. This is especially beneficial in cases where the tubes are sensitive to fouling effects which are aggravated by high temperature.
Multipass Flow Arrangements
In order to increase the surface area for convection relative to the fluid volume, it is common to design for multiple tubes within a single heat exchanger. With multiple tubes it is possible to arrange to flow so that one region will be in parallel and another portion in counter flow. An arrangement where the tube side fluid passes through once in parallel and once in counter flow is shown in the Figure 7.4. Normal terminology would refer to this arrangement as a 1-2 pass heat exchanger, indicating that the shell side fluid passes through the unit once, the tube side twice. By convention the number of shell side passes is always listed first.