Gio Papio

FABE 3130- Heat

and Mass Transfer
Dr. Heldman
14 February 2017
Summary of Results:

Using 15 active thermal plates, the temperature of hot and cold water was

measured as it went through the heat exchanger. As expected, the conduction of

heat both cooled the hot water, while also heating the cold water. The temperature

difference between input and output relied on several different factors, including the

flow rate of each of the water streams, the type of flow, and the temperature

difference between the hot and cold water.

Introduction:

The design of a heat exchanger focuses on maximizing surface area, while

minimizing the gap between the two flows of water. By using highly conductive

metal plates, the hot and cold water can easily exchange thermal energy. With 15 of

these active plates, there is plenty of surface area to give maximum effect to the

water temperature. With each plate, there is an air tight seal, which ensures that

there is no mixing of water. With the assurance of no mixing, heat exchangers can

successfully test the way conduction works.

Experimental Procedures:

This relatively simple experiment began by turning on both hot and cold water to

flow into a heat exchanger. Both streams of water needed to flow at specific flow

rates, so the faucet was adjusted accordingly based on the parameters given. First,

parallel flow was tested. After allowing the water to run for a little in order for the

temperature to become constant, both the inlet and outlet temperatures were

recorded. The faucets were then both turned off and the inlet and outlet tubes for

cold water were switched. This allowed to test for countercurrent flow. The process

was then repeated for countercurrent flow.

Data and Results:

A B C
Paralle Count Paralle Count Paralle Count
l er l er l er
Flow Rate Hot 0.0946 0.0946 0.1577 0.1577 0.2208 0.2208
Liquid (kg/s) 37 37 29 29 2 2
Flow Rate Cold 0.1577 0.1577 0.1577 0.1577 0.1577 0.1577
Liquid (kg/s) 29 29 29 29 29 29
Temp Hot Inlet (C ) 64.1 63.8 62.4 61.8 63.5 63.6
Temp Hot Outlet
(C ) 30.6 17.2 33.4 23.7 39.6 31.7
Temp Cold Inlet (C ) 6.9 7.7 7.1 7.9 7.1 7.9
Temp Cold Outlet (C
) 24.6 31.7 31.6 40.9 38.6 50.3
13.271 18.460 19.147 25.155 22.092 29.486
Qhot (kJ/s) 07 66 32 62 04 87
11.686 15.846 16.176 21.788 20.797 27.994
Qcold (kJ/s) 47 06 18 33 95 7
delta T1 57.2 32.1 55.3 20.9 56.4 13.3
delta T2 6 9.5 1.8 15.8 1 23.8
22.707 18.561 15.620 18.231 13.738 18.043
LMTD 17 65 5 27 48 67
1.3680 2.2692 2.7527 3.1767 4.0240 4.1241
U 48 68 22 88 47 28
1.9430 1.1713 0.9656 0.8367 0.6605 0.6445
Resistance 31 73 48 45 69 39
0.9713 0.5855 0.4826 0.4182 0.3301 0.3221
Rh 49 21 58 06 18 03
1.0294 1.7078 2.0718 2.3911 3.0292 3.1045
h kW/m^2K 96 82 61 65 16 95

E G H
Paralle Count Paralle Count Paralle Count
l er l er l er
Flow Rate Hot 0.1577 0.1577 0.1577 0.1577 0.0946 0.0946
Liquid (kg/s) 29 29 29 29 37 37
Flow Rate Cold 0.2839 0.2839 0.0946 0.0946 0.0946 0.0946
Liquid (kg/s) 12 12 37 37 37 37
Temp Hot Inlet (C ) 61.9 63 62.4 61.5 61.4 60.7
Temp Hot Outlet
(C ) 27.3 17.1 27.4 17.2 25.1 14.1
Temp Cold Inlet (C ) 6.8 7.6 6.7 7.5 6.7 7.4
Temp Cold Outlet (C
) 25.5 31.1 25.9 30.2 19.2 21.5
22.844 30.305 23.108 29.249 14.380 18.460
Qhot (kJ/s) 73 58 83 18 3 66
22.224 27.928 7.6061 8.9926 4.9518 5.5857
Qcold (kJ/s) 09 68 07 37 93 35
delta T1 55.1 31.9 55.7 31.3 54.7 39.2
delta T2 1.8 9.5 1.5 9.7 5.9 6.7
15.578 18.492 14.995 18.438 21.913 18.397
LMTD 59 31 1 02 76 24
3.7920 4.0145 1.3483 1.2964 0.6006 0.8070
U 78 82 24 45 69 66
0.7009 0.6621 1.9714 2.0503 4.4253 3.2936
Resistance 77 26 55 47 3 12
0.3503 0.3308 0.9855 1.0250 2.2124 1.6466
Rh 23 97 61 07 99 4
2.8545 3.0220 1.0146 0.9756 0.4519 0.6072
h kW/m^2K 12 88 5 03 78 97

Analysis of Data:

Q=Cp*Hot Flow Rate*deltaT

LMTD=(deltaT1-deltaT2)/ln(deltaT1/deltaT2)
U= Q/(LMTD*A)
Resistance=1/(U*A)
Rh=(Resistance-Rp)/2
h=1/Rh

Discussion of Results:

1) Several conclusions can be drawn from the results shown above. Thermal

energy exchange seems directly influenced by several factors. First, it can be

seen that more thermal energy is transferred in counter current flow than in

parallel flow. For flow rates A, parallel thermal energy was 11.7kJ, while

countercurrent thermal energy was 15.8kJ Another observed pattern shows that

as the flow rates of the water decrease, more thermal energy can be transferred

between the two streams. It was also apparent that differences in flow rates

lead to larger thermal energy transfer. From B, the two flow rates were the same
 and countercurrent flow led to 21.8kJ, while in E, there was a clear difference in

flow rate and countercurrent flow led to 27.9kJ.

2) Naturally, the total thermal resistance was a fairly low number for all flow types.

However, patterns involving the thermal resistance were evident. First, parallel

resistance was always higher than countercurrent resistance. With flow type A,

parallel resistance was 1.94, while countercurrent resistance was only 1.17.

Next, it seemed that resistance was lower when there was a difference in flow

rates. For instance, with flow rate E, resistance for parallel and countercurrent

flow were 0.70 and 0,66 respectively. However, with flow rate H, both flow rates

were the same, and resistance was 4.43 and 3.29. With overall heat transfer

coefficients, U, all patterns seemed the opposite of resistance. This makes

logical sense because resistance has an inverse relationship with overall heat

transfer coefficient.
3) The convective heat transfer coefficient value was varying in the thousands

range. These values were obtained by first finding the overall heat transfer

coefficient using the total energy transferred, the area, and the log mean

temperature difference (LMTD). With the total resistance, Rp was then

subtracted from it, which was equal to the thermal conductivity of stainless steel

over the thickness of 1 plate. The remaining resistance value is Rcc + Rh, and

these can be assumed to be equivalent. Therefore, the remaining Rtot=2Rh, and

Rh can be set equal to 1/h.

Conclusions

With the experiment performed as expected, the data from each group was then

compiled and analyzed. This experiment allowed students to develop more

understanding with heat exchangers. This lab showed many relationships regarding
heat exchangers, including the flow rates, temperatures, energy, resistance, and

heat coefficients.

References

"Engineering ToolBox." Engineering ToolBox. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2017.