4:1

The theory behind

heat transfer
The following pages will help you gain a
better understanding of how heat
exchangers work.
The basic principles of heat transfer will
be clearly and simply illustrated.
The natural laws of physics always allow
the driving energy in a system to flow
until equilibrium is reached. Heat leaves
the warmer body or the hottest fluid, as
long as there is a temperature difference,
and will be transferred to the cold
medium.
A heat exchanger follows this principle in
its endeavour to reach equalization. With
a plate type heat exchanger, the heat
penetrates the surface, which separates
the hot medium from the cold one very
easily. It is therefore possible to heat or
cool fluids or gases which have minimal
energy levels.
The difference in temperature is the heat
exchangers driving energy.
4:2
The theory of heat transfer from one
media to another, or from one uid to
another, is determined by several basic
rules.
Heat w||| a|ways be transferred from
a hot medium to a cold medium.
There must a|ways be a tempera-
ture d|fferenoe between the med|a.
The heat |ost by the hot med|um |s
equal to the amount of heat gained by
the oo|d med|um, exoept for |osses to
the surroundings.
Heat exchangers
A heat exohanger |s a p|eoe of equ|p-
ment that continually transfers heat
from one medium to another.
There are two ma|n types of heat
exchangers.
D|reot heat exohanger, where both
med|a are |n d|reot oontaot w|th eaoh
other. It is taken for granted that the
media are not mixed together.
An examp|e of th|s type of heat
exohanger |s a ooo||ng tower, where
water |s ooo|ed through d|reot oontaot
w|th a|r.
lnd|reot heat exohanger, where the
two med|a are separated by a wa||
through wh|oh heat |s transferred.
Heat transfer theory
Heat oan be transferred by three
methods.
Radiation Energy is transferred
by electromag netic radiation. One
examp|e |s the heat|ng of the earth by
the sun.
Conduction Energy is transferred
between so||ds or stat|onary fu|ds by
the movement of atoms or molecules.
Convection Energy is transferred
by m|x|ng part of a med|um w|th
another part.
a} Natura| oonveot|on, where the
movement of the med|a depends
ent|re|y upon dens|ty d|fferenoe, and
temperature d|fferenoes are evened
out.
b} Foroed oonveot|on, where the
movement of the med|a depends
ent|re|y or part|y upon the resu|ts of
an outs|de |nfuenoe. One examp|e of
th|s |s a pump oaus|ng movement |n
a uid.
Heat exchanger types
In this context only indirect heat
exchangers are discussed, i.e. those
where the med|a are not m|xed, but
where the heat |s transferred through
heat-transfer surfaces.
Temperature |osses through rad|at|on
oan be d|sregarded when oons|der|ng
heat exchangers in this context.
Indirect heat exchangers are available
|n severa| ma|n types p|ate, she||-and-
tube, sp|ra| eto.} ln most oases the
Heat transfer theory
Radiation
4:3
Convection Conduction
p|ate type |s the most effo|ent heat
exchanger. Generally it offers the best
so|ut|on to therma| prob|ems, g|v|ng the
w|dest pressure and temperature ||m|ts
w|th|n the oonstra|nt of ourrent equ|pment.
The most notable advantages of a
p|ate heat exohanger are:
Takes up muoh |ess spaoe than a
traditional shell-and-tube heat
exchanger.
Th|n mater|a| for the heat transfer
surfaoe th|s g|ves opt|mum heat
transfer, since the heat only has to
penetrate th|n mater|a|.
H|gh turbu|enoe |n the med|um
this gives a higher convection,
wh|oh resu|ts |n effo|ent heat transfer
between the med|a. The oonsequenoe
of th|s h|gher heat transfer ooeffo|ent
per un|t area |s not on|y a sma||er sur-
face area requirement but also a more
effo|ent operat|on.
The high turbulence also gives a
se|f-o|ean|ng effeot. Therefore, when
oompared to the trad|t|ona| she||-and-
tube heat exchanger, the fouling of the
heat transfer surfaces is considerably
reduoed. Th|s means that the p|ate
heat exchanger can remain in service
far |onger between o|ean|ng |nterva|s.
F|ex|b|||ty the p|ate heat exohanger
oons|sts of a framework oonta|n|ng
severa| heat transfer p|ates. lt oan eas||y
be extended to |norease oapao|ty.
Furthermore, |t |s easy to open for the
purpose of o|ean|ng. Th|s on|y app||es
to gasketed heat exchangers, and not
to brazed or fusion-bonded units.)
var|ab|e therma| |ength most of the
p|ate heat exohangers manufaotured
by A|fa |ava| are ava||ab|e w|th two
d|fferent press|ng patterns. When the
p|ate has a narrow pattern, the pres-
sure drop |s h|gher and the heat
exohanger |s more effeot|ve. Th|s type
of heat exchanger has a long thermal
channel.
When the p|ate has a w|de pattern,
the pressure drop |s sma||er and the
heat transfer ooeffo|ent |s aooord|ng|y
somewhat sma||er. Th|s type of heat
exchanger has a short thermal
channel.
When two p|ates of d|fferent press|ng
patterns are p|aoed next to eaoh other,
the resu|t |s a oomprom|se between
|ong and short ohanne|s as we|| as
between pressure drop and
effectiveness.
4:4
To so|ve a therma| prob|em, we must
know severa| parameters. Further data
can then be determined. The six most
|mportant parameters are the fo||ow|ng:
The amount of heat to be trans-
ferred heat |oad}.
The |n|et and out|et temperatures on
the pr|mary and seoondary s|des.
The max|mum a||owab|e pressure
drop on the pr|mary and seoondary
sides.
The max|mum operat|ng tempera-
ture.
The max|mum operat|ng pressure.
The fow rate on the pr|mary and
secondary sides.
lf the fow rate, speo|fo heat and
temperature d|fferenoe on one s|de are
known, the heat |oad oan be oa|ou|ated.
See a|so page 4:6.
Temperature program
This means the inlet and outlet
temperatures of both med|a |n the heat
exchanger.
T1 = ln|et temperature - hot s|de
T2 = Out|et temperature - hot s|de
T3 = ln|et temperature - oo|d s|de
T4 = Out|et temperature - oo|d s|de
Heat load
D|sregard|ng heat |osses to the
atmosphere, wh|oh are neg||g|b|e, the
heat |ost heat |oad} by one s|de of a
p|ate heat exohanger |s equa| to the
heat gained by the other. The heat
|oad P} |s expressed |n kW or koa|/h.
Logarithmic mean
temperature difference
|ogar|thm|o mean temperature d|ffer-
enoe |MTD} |s the effeot|ve dr|v|ng foroe
in the heat exchanger. See diagram to
the left.
Thermal length
Therma| |ength } |s the re|at|onsh|p
between temperature d|fferenoe t on
one s|de and |MTD.
=
Therma| |ength desor|bes how d|ffou|t
a duty |s from a therma| perspeot|ve.
Density
Dens|ty } |s the mass per un|t vo|ume
and |s expressed |n kg/m
3
or kg/dm
3
.
Calculation method
Temperature Temperature
T2
T3
T2
T1 - T2
|MTD =
T1
T2
In
T1
T4
T1
The temperature program is shown in the
diagram below.
t
|MTD
4:5
T1 in
T2 out
1
T1 out
T2 in
2
|ower
Temperature Temperature
The diagram shows that large temperature dif-
ferences result in low theta.
T1 in
T2 out
1
T1 out
T2 in
2
H|gher
Temperature Temperature
The diagram shows that small temperature dif-
ferences result in high theta.
Cooling
For some dut|es, ooo||ng app||oat|ons
for examp|e, the temperature program
|s very t|ght w|th o|ose approaohes on
the d|fferent temperatures. Th|s g|ves
what we refer to as h|gh theta dut|es
and requ|res h|gh theta un|ts. H|gh
theta duties are duties that have > 1
and are characterized by:
|ong p|ate, |onger t|me for the fu|d
to be cooled
|ow press|ng depth that g|ves |ess
fu|d per p|ate to be ooo|ed
P|ate heat exohangers are super|or
oompared to she||-and-tube heat
exohangers when |t oomes to theta
values. Shell-and-tube heat exchangers
oan go up to a max|mum va|ue of theta
~1 wh||e p|ate heat exohangers reaoh
theta values of 10 and more. For a
shell-and-tube to climb over theta
value of 1 or more, several units need
to be installed in a series.
Flow rate
Th|s oan be expressed |n two d|fferent
terms, e|ther by we|ght or by vo|ume.
The un|ts of fow by we|ght are |n kg/s
or kg/h, the un|ts of fow by vo|ume
in m
3
/h or |/m|n. To oonvert un|ts of
vo|ume |nto un|ts of we|ght, |t |s neoes-
sary to mu|t|p|y the vo|ume fow by the
density.
The max|mum fow rate usua||y deter-
m|nes wh|oh type of heat exohanger |s
the appropr|ate one for a speo|fo pur-
pose. A|fa |ava| p|ate heat exohangers
oan be used for fow rates from 0.05
kg/s to 1,400 kg/s. ln terms of vo|ume,
this equates 0.18 m
3
/h to 5,000 m
3
/h
|n a water app||oat|on. lf the fow rate |s
|n exoess of th|s, p|ease oonsu|t your
|ooa| A|fa |ava| representat|ve.
Pressure drop
Pressure drop p} |s |n d|reot re|at|on-
sh|p to the s|ze of the p|ate heat
exohanger. lf |t |s poss|b|e to |norease
the a||owab|e pressure drop, and |no|-
denta||y aooept h|gher pump|ng oosts,
then the heat exohanger w||| be sma||er
and |ess expens|ve. As a gu|de, a||ow-
ab|e pressure drops between 20 and
100 kPa are aooepted as norma| for
water/water dut|es.
Specic heat
Speo|fo heat o
p
) is the amount of
energy required to raise 1 kg of a
substance by one degree centigrade.
The speo|fo heat of water at 20O |s
4.182 kJ/kg O or 1.0 koa|/kg O.
Viscosity
v|soos|ty |s a measure of the ease of
fow of a ||qu|d. The |ower the v|soos|ty,
the more eas||y |t fows.
v|soos|ty |s expressed |n oent|Po|se oP}
or oent|Stoke oSt}.
Overall heat transfer coefcient
Overa|| heat transfer ooeffo|ent k} |s a
measure of the res|stanoe to heat fow,
made up of the res|stanoes oaused by
the p|ate mater|a|, amount of fou||ng,
nature of the fu|ds and type of
exchanger used.
Overa|| heat transfer ooeffo|ent |s
expressed as W/m
2
O or koa|/h,
m
2
O.

Where;
P = Heat load (kW)
m = Mass flow (kg/s)
c
p
= Specific heat (KJ/kg C)
t = Difference between inlet and
outlet temperatures on one side (C)
4:6
2. Heat transfer coefficient and design margin
The total overall heat transfer coefficient k is defined as:
Where:

The des|gn marg|n M} |s oa|ou|ated as: M =

1
= The heat transfer ooeff|o|ent between the warm med|um and the heat transfer surfaoe W/m
2
O}

2
= The heat transfer ooeff|o|ent between the heat transfer surfaoe and the oo|d med|um W/m
2
O}
= The th|okness of the heat transfer surfaoe m}
R
f
= The fou||ng faotor m
2
O/W}
= The therma| oonduot|v|ty of the mater|a| separat|ng the med|as W/m O}
k
c
= O|ean heat transfer ooeff|o|ent R
f
=0} W/m
2
O}
k = Des|gn heat transfer ooeff|o|ent W/m
2
O}
M = Des|gn Marg|n %}
Oomb|nat|on of these two formu|as g|ves: M = k
c
R
f
i.e the higher k
c
va|ue, the |ower R
f
-value to achieve the same design margin.
1. Heat load, Theta and LMTD calculation
P = m o
p
t m = , t = )
P = k A |MTD
Where:
P = heat |oad kW}
m = mass f|ow rate kg/s}
c
p
= speo|f|o heat kJ/kg O}
t = temperature d|fferenoe between |n|et and out|et on one s|de O}
k = heat transfer ooeff|o|ent W/m
2
O}
A = heat transfer area m
2
)
|MTD = |og mean temperature d|fferenoe
= Theta-value = =
T1 = Temperature |n|et - hot s|de
T2 = Temperature out|et - hot s|de
T3 = Temperature |n|et - oo|d s|de
T4 = Temperature out|et - oo|d s|de
|MTD oan be oa|ou|ated by us|ng the fo||ow|ng formu|a, where T1 = T1T4 and T2 = T2T3
P
c
p
t
P
m c
p
t
|MTD
k A
m c
p
Calculation method
The heat |oad of a heat exohanger oan be der|ved from the fo||ow|ng two formu|as:
T1 - T2
|MTD =
T1
T2
In
1
k
1

1
1

1
k
c
= + + + R
f
= + R
f
k
k
c
- k
4:7
Every parameter |n the equat|on above
can inuence the choice of heat
exchanger. The choice of materials
does not norma||y |nfuenoe the eff-
ciency, only the strength and corrosion
propert|es of the un|t.
ln a p|ate heat exohanger, we have
the advantages of sma|| temperature
d|fferenoes and p|ate th|oknesses of
between 0.3 and 0.6 mm. The a|pha
va|ues are produots of the very h|gh
turbulence, and the fouling factor is
usually very small. This gives a k-value
wh|oh under favourab|e o|roumstanoes
oan be |n the order of 8,000 W/m
2
O.
W|th trad|t|ona| she||-and-tube heat
exohangers, the k-va|ue w||| be be|ow
2,500 W/m
2
O.
lmportant faotors to m|n|m|ze the heat
exchanger cost:
1. Pressure drop
The |arger a||owed pressure drop, the
smaller the heat exchanger.
2. |MTD
The |arger the temperature d|fferenoe
between the med|a, the sma||er the
heat exchanger.
Manufacturing materials
H|gh-qua||ty AlSl 316 sta|n|ess stee|
p|ates are used |n most A|fa |ava| heat
exohangers for water/water app||oa-
t|ons. When the oh|or|de oontent does
not requ|re AlSl 316, the |ess expens|ve
stainless steel material AISI 304 may
sometimes be used. Several other
p|ate mater|a|s are a|so ava||ab|e for
var|ous app||oat|ons. For A|fa |ava|
brazed and fus|on bonded p|ate heat
exohangers AlSl 316 |s a|ways used.
For sa|t and braok|sh water on|y t|tan|um
should be used.
Pressure and temperature
limitations
The max|mum a||owed temperature
and pressure |nfuenoe the oost of the
heat exchanger. As a general rule, the
|ower the max|mum temperature and
max|mum pressure are, the |ower the
oost of the heat exohanger w||| be.
Fouling and fouling factors
Fou||ng a||owanoe oan be expressed
e|ther as a des|gn marg|n M}, |.e. an
add|t|ona| peroentage of heat transfer
area, or as a fou||ng faotor R
f
} expressed
in the units m

O/W or mh

O/koa|.
R
f
shou|d be muoh |ower for a p|ate
heat exchanger than for a shell-and-
tube exohanger. There are two ma|n
reasons for this.
Higher k-values means
lower fouling factors
The des|gn of p|ate heat exohangers
gives much higher turbulence, and
thereby thermal effeciency, than a
she||-and-tube exohanger. A typ|oa|
k-va|ue water/water} for a p|ate heat
exohanger |s 6,000-7,500 W/m O
wh||e a typ|oa| she||-and-tube exohanger
on|y g|ves 2,000-2,500 W/m O. A
typ|oa| R
f
-value used for shell-and-tube
exchangers is 1 x 10
-4
m O/W. W|th
k-va|ues 2,000-2,500 W/m O th|s
g|ve a Marg|n of 20-25%. M = k
c
x R
f
).
To aoh|eve M = 20-25% |n the p|ate
heat exohanger w|th 6,000-7,500 W/
m O the R
f
-value should only be
0.33 x 10
-4
m O/W.
Difference in how margin is added
In a shell-and-tube heat exchanger
margin is often added by increasing
the tube |ength, keep|ng the same fow
through eaoh tube. ln a p|ate heat
exohanger however, marg|n |s added
by add|ng para||e|| ohanne|s, |.e. |ower-
|ng the fow per ohanne|. Th|s resu|ts |n
|ower turbu|enoe/effo|enoy, |noreas|ng
the risk for fouling. A too high fouling
factor can result in increased fouling!
For a p|ate heat exohanger |n a
water/water duty a Marg|n of 0-15%
depend|ng on water qua||ty |s norma||y
enough.