Week 10 Lecture Note: MEC701 HEAT TRANSFER

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Heat Exchangers (HXs) (Sections 11-1 to 11-4)

Types of HXs:
Classified according to flow arrangement and type of construction. There are three basic types:
1. Concentric tube HXs

Figure 11-1: Different flow arrangement and associated temperature profiles in a doublepipe (or concentric tube) heat exchanger.
Note: It is practical to flow hot fluid inside:
1. concerning safety issue
2. minimizing heat loss to surroundings and hence maximizing heat exchange between the
fluids.
2. Cross-flow heat exchangers

Gas or air
Ti or T1

To or T2

ti
or
t1
to or t2

Liquid or water

Cross-flow finned-tube HX
with both fluids unmixed (Figure 11-4(a))

Symbol

Week 10 Lecture Note: MEC701 HEAT TRANSFER

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ti or t1
Ti or T1

To or T2
ti

to or t2

Symbol

Cross-flow unfinned-tube HX
with one fluid mixed and the other unmixed (Figure 11-4(b))
3. Shell-and-tube HXs

Shell-and-tube HX with one shell pass

and one tube pass (counter-flow) (Figure 11-5)
Note: The baffles on the shell side is to induce turbulence
and a cross-flow velocity component.

Shell-and-tube HX with one shell pass and two tube passes (Figure 11-6(a))

Shell-and-tube HX with two shell pass (or multiple shell passes)

and four tube passes (or multiple tube passes) (Figure 11-6(b))

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4. Plate HXs

Figure 11-7: A plate-and-frame liquid-to-liquid HX.

There are two methods used to analyze heat exchangers, namely: (1) LMTD and (2) effectiveness-NTU
methods. But we will only cover the LMTD method.
Heat Exchanger Analysis
The purpose of heat exchanger analysis can be two-fold:
Analysis #1: To analyze an existing HX for predicting the heat exchange ( Q ) and outlet
temperatures (Tc,o and Th,o). This type of problem is classified as a heat exchanger
performance analysis. An iteration procedure is required for the LMTD method, since
the outlet temperatures are unknown.
Note: FYI (not in final exam), the effectiveness-NTU method in section 11-5 is
preferable for analyzing this problem without the need of iteration.
Analysis #2: To design a new HX for performing a particular task, i.e. meeting a required Q with
specified inlet and outlet temperatures and obtaining the designed heat transfer
surface area A. This type of problem is classified as a heat exchanger design analysis.
Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient
The overall heat transfer coefficient (U) or the total thermal resistance (Rtotal) is an essential part of heat
exchanger analysis. Typically, a heat exchanger involves two flowing fluids separated by a solid wall
and the heat transfer is given by

Ti

Ts,i

Ts,o

Note: See Week 10 handout for more details about the overall heat transfer coefficient.

To