Heat Exchangers

Plate Style

Solar Water Heating

Okotoks Solar Seasonal Storage and District Loop Simplified Schematic

Glycol / Water
Heat Exchanger

District Heating Loop

Central Plant Outline
Located on MR

Detached Garages with

Solar Collector roofs

Underground Thermal
Storage Located Beneath
MR

Two Story
Single Family
Homes

District Heating
Loop (Below Grade) Connects
to Homes in Community

Okotoks Energy Delivery

Bore Hole Storage

10

20

30

40

50

60
60
55

-10
50
45
-20

40
35
30

-30

25
20
-40

15
10

-50

-60

-70

-80

Energy Balance
the rate of heat transfer between
the two fluid streams in the heat
exchanger, Q, is,

m& c

m& s

Tci

Tso

& p ) s (Tso Tsi ) = (mc

& p ) c (Tci Tco )
Q = ( mc
Q
Q=0

Q=0
Q

& p is the heat

where mc
capacity rate of one of the fluid
streams.

m& c

m& s

Tco

Tsi

Simple Configurations

Heat transfer through a wall

Q = qx A
and
Q = UA (T)
U = (1/h1 + Rwall +1/h2)-1

Simple Configurations
for Tube & Shell

Q = UA (T)
Need to determine T.
This is not straightforward
as for the parallel flow case.

UA Value & LMTD

The units overall conductance or UA value is defined as
the product of the overall heat transfer coefficient and the
heat transfer area. For counter-flow applications, the heat
transfer rate is defined as the product of overall
conductance and the log-mean temperature difference,
LMTD, i.e.,

Q = UA LMTD

where the log-mean temperature difference is equal to,

LMTD =

Tout Tin
T
ln out
Tin

Parallel Flow
Q = UA LMTD
LMTD =

Tout Tin
T
ln out
Tin

Counter Flow
Q = UA LMTD
LMTD =

Tout Tin
T
ln out
Tin

From Heat Transfer,

By Y. Cengel

10

Effectiveness
The heat exchanger effectiveness, , is defined as the ratio
of the rate of heat transfer in the exchanger, Q, to the
maximum theoretical rate of heat transfer, Qmax , i.e.,

Q
Qmax

The maximum theoretical rate of heat transfer

is limited by the fluid stream with the smallest
heat capacity rate, i.e.

& p ) s (Tso Tsi )

(mc

& p ) min (Tci Tsi )

(mc

m& c

m& s

Tci

Tso

Q
Q=0

Q=0
Q

m& c

m& s

Tco

Tsi

& p ) min the is the smaller of (mc

& p )c .
& p ) s or (mc
where (mc

NTU
The number of transfer units (NTU) is an indicator
of the actual heat-transfer area or physical size of
the heat exchanger. The larger the value of NTU,
the closer the unit is to its thermodynamic limit. It is
defined as,

NTU =

UA
& p ) min
(mc

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Capacity Ratio
The capacity ratio, Cr, is representative of the operational
condition of a given heat exchanger and will vary
depending on the geometry and flow configuration (parallel
flow, counterflow, cross flow, etc.) of the exchanger. This
value is defined as the minimum heat capacity rate divided
by the maximum capacity rate, i.e.,

Cr =

& p ) min
(mc
& p ) max
(mc

It is important to note that the capacity ratio will be directly

proportional to the ratio of the mass flow rates if the specific
heats of the flows are fairly constant.

Effects of Capacity Ratio and NTU on Effectiveness

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Effectiveness Relations

13

NTU Relations

14

15

Refrigeration

Examples
Other Types
Heat Pipe
Rotary
ILC Enthalpy Wheel

16

Heat Pipe

Enthalpy Wheel
The heart of the Energy Recovery Ventilator is
the desiccant coated energy recovery wheel,
which slowly rotates between its two sections.
In one section, the stale, conditioned air is
passed through the wheel, and exhausted in
the atmosphere. During this process, the
wheel absorbs sensible and latent energy
from the conditioned air, which is used to
condition (cool / heat) the incoming Fresh Air
in the other section, during the second half of
its rotation cycle.

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