1

5. Condensers and Evaporators

Example No. 1
Compute the heat-transfer coefficient for water flow inside the tubes (8 mm ID) of an evaporator if
the water temperature is 10 C and its velocity is 2 m/s.
Given:
D = 8 mm = 0.008 m
Water temperature = 10 C
V = 2 m/s
Required:
h = heat-transfer coefficient
Solution:
The properties of water at 10 C are
= 0.00131 Pa.s
= 1000 kg/m
3

k = 0.573 W/m-K
c
p
= 4190 J/kg-K
The Reynolds number is

( )( )( )
214 , 12
00131 . 0
1000 008 . 0 2
Re
3
=

= =
s Pa
m kg m s m VD

This value of the Reynolds number indicates that the flow is turbulent, so Equation 9 applies. The
Prandtl number is

( )( )
6 . 9
573 . 0
00131 . 0 4190
Pr =

=
K m W
s Pa K kg J

The Nusselt number can now be computed from Equation 9.
( ) ( ) 106 6 . 9 214 , 12 023 . 0
4 . 0 8 . 0
= = Nu
From which the heat-transfer coefficient can be computed as
( ) K m W
m
K m W
h =

=
2
7592 106
008 . 0
573 . 0


Example No. 2
What is the fin effectiveness of a rectangular plate fin made of aluminum 0.3 mm thick mounted on
a 16-mm-OD tube if the vertical tube spacing is 50 mm and the horizontal spacing is 40 mm? The air-
side heat-transfer coefficient is 65 W/m
2
-K, and the conductivity of aluminum is 202 W/m-K.
Given:
2y = 0.3 mm = 0.00030 m or y = 0.00015 m
16-mm-OD tube, vertical tube spacing is 50 mm, horizontal spacing is 40 mm.
h
f
= 65 W/m
2
.K, k = 202 W/m.K.
Required:
Fin effectiveness,
Solution:
The annular fin having the same area as the plate fin (Figure 9) has an external radius of 25.2 mm.
2




The half-thickness of the fin y = 0.15 mm = 0.00015 m.

( )
1
3 . 46
00015 . 0 202
65

= = m M
( ) ( )( ) 8 . 0 3 . 46 008 . 0 0252 . 0 = = M r r
i e

From Figure 8 for (r
e
r
i
)M = 0.8 and r
e
/r
i
= 25.2/8 = 3.15 the fin effectiveness is 0.72.

Example No. 3
The condensing area is to be specified for a refrigerant 22 condenser of a refrigerating system that
provides a capacity of 80 kW for air conditioning. The evaporating temperature is 5 C and the
condensing temperature is 45 C at design conditions. Water from a cooling tower enters the
condenser at 30 C and leaves at 35 C.
A two-pass condenser with 42 tubes, arranged as shown in Figure 15, will be used, and the
length of tubes is to be specified to provide the necessary area. The tubes are copper and are 14
mm ID and 16 mm OD.
3








Given:
Refrigerant 22
80 kW refrigerating capacity
5 C evaporating temperature
45 C condensing temperature
30 C to 35 C water
Two pass condenser with 42 tubes as shown.
ID = 14 mm
OD = 16 mm
Required:
Area and tube length
Solution:
The steps in the solution of this design are as follows: calculate the required rate of heat
transfer, the individual heat-transfer coefficients, and the overall heat-transfer coefficient; then
compute the required area and tube length.
Rate of heat transfer:
From Figure 12, assuming the compressor to be a hermetic one, the heat-rejection ratio at a
condensing temperature of 45 C and an evaporating temperature of 5 C is 1.27. The rate of heat
rejected at the condenser q is
( )( ) kW kW q 6 101 27 1 80 . . = =
Condensing coefficient:
From Equation 24.
4


4 1
3 2
725 0
|
|

\
|

=
tND
k h g
h
fg
cond

.
The density and latent heat of vaporization h
fg
at 45 C are available from Tables.

3
1109 109 1
90203 0
1
m kg L kg
kg L
= = = .
.

kg J h
fg
900 160, =
The conductivity k and viscosity of the liquid refrigerant at 45 C are available from Tables.
K m W k = 0779 0.
s Pa = 000180 0.
The average number of tubes in a vertical row N is
23 3
13
2 3 4 3 4 3 4 3 4 3 4 3 2
. =
+ + + + + + + + + + + +
= N
The temperature difference between the vapor and the tube is unknown at this point; therefore t
will be assumed to be 5 K and the value adjusted later if necessary.

( ) ( )( )
( )( )( )
4 1
3 2
016 0 23 3 5 000180 0
0779 0 900 160 1109 81 9
725 0
(

=
. . .
. , .
.
cond
h
K m W h
cond
=
2
1528

Resistance of metal:
The conductivity of copper is 390 W/m.K, and the resistance of the tube is

( )
( )
W K m
kA
xA
m
o
=
+

=
2
000002735 0
2 16 14
16
390
2 014 0 016 0
.
. .

a value that will prove to be negligible in comparison to the other resistances.
Fouling factor:
From Sec. 10
W K m
h
ff
=
2
000176 0
1
.

Water-side coefficient:
The flow rate of water needed to carry the heat away from the condenser with a temperature
rise from 30 to 35 C is

( )( )
s kg
K K kg kJ
kW
85 4
0 30 0 35 19 4
6 101
.
. . .
.
=


and the volume flow rate is
s m
m kg
s kg
3
3
00485 0
1000
85 4
.
.
=
The water velocity through the tubes V is

( )( )( )
s m
m pass tubes
s m
V 5 1
014 0 4 21
00485 0
2
3
.
.
.
= =

Equation 9 can be used to calculate the water-side heat-transfer coefficient h
w
using the water
properties at 32 C

3
995 m kg = s Pa = 000773 0.
5

K kg J c
p
= 4190 K m W k = 617 0.

4 . 0 8 . 0
023 . 0
|
|

\
|
|
|

\
|
=
k
c
VD
k
hD
p

( ) ( )( ) ( )
4 0 8 0
617 0
000773 0 4190
000773 0
995 014 0 5 1
014 0
023 0 617 0
. .
.
.
.
. .
.
. .
(

=
w
h
( ) ( ) K m W h
w
= =
2 4 0 8 0
6910 25 5 030 27 014 1
. .
. , .

Required area:
i i
o
i ff
o
m
o
o o
A h
A
A h
A
kA
xA
h U
+ + + =
1 1

( ) 001023 0
6910
1
014 0
016 0
000176 0
014 0
016 0
000002735 0
1528
1 1
.
.
.
.
.
.
. = + + + =
o
U

K m W U
o
=
2
977

The LMTD is
( ) ( )
( ) ( ) [ ]
o c i c
o c i c
t t t t
t t t t
LMTD


=
ln

( ) ( )
( )
( )
C LMTD 33 12
35 45
30 45
35 45 30 45
.
ln
=

=

( )( )
2
2
43 8
33 12 977
600 101
m
K K m W
W
LMTD U
q
A
o
o
.
.
,
=

= =
Length of tubes:

( )( )
m
tubes
m
L 0 4
016 0 42
43 8
2
.
.
.
= =

A recheck should now be made of the assumption of the 5-K temperature difference used in
calculating the condensing coefficient. A recalculation may be necessary.
The designer would also check the water-pressure drop in the condenser to see that it does not
exceed a reasonable value (perhaps of the order of 70 kPa).












6