Heat Exchangers

So Many Heat Exchangers,

So Little Time
W hen selecting a heat exchanger to
solve heating or cooling process
needs, there are many options and variables
Selecting a heat exchanger can be a
daunting task, but knowing what to
to consider. Determining the heat exchang-
er style and material that are optimal for consider can simplify the process.
an application should be the first and most
important step. In the course of this process, By Michael Maletta, GF Piping Systems
the fluid, thermal performance, temperature
and pressure limits, pressure drop, fluid flow Maintenance and repair considerations.
capacity, maintenance issues and expansion Ability and ease of future expansion.
plans must all be considered.
Style Selection. Before looking into Common materials of construction for
the proper material to select for your heat the various styles of heat exchangers are
exchanger, you must determine what heat displayed in table 1. The list includes vari-
exchanger style will best fit the processing ous thermoplastics as well as common and
needs. The two types of heat exchangers avail- exotic metals.
able are internal/immersion and external. Process Fluid. Depending on the process
Common immersion-style heat exchangers fluid to be used in the application, possible
include serpentine coils, grid coils, pipe coils, heat exchanger materials can be eliminated
plate-style coils and electric heaters. If space is
available in the process tank, these exchang-
ers are the simplest and most economical
choice. Most immersion heat exchanger
manufacturers design the heat exchangers
specifically for customer applications.
External heat exchangers usually are
chosen when in-tank space is limited.
These units require one pump to circulate
the heating or cooling media and another
pump to recirculate the process solution.
Common external-style heat exchangers
include shell-and-tube style, tube-plate,
and plate-and-frame heat exchangers.
Material Choice. Once a suitable heat
exchanger type is selected, the best mate-
rial and required surface area must be
determined. In order to select the appro-
priate heat exchanger for a process heating
application, the following selection criteria
must be evaluated:

Process fluid characteristics.

Desired thermal performance.
Pressure and temperature limits.
Some plastic immersion-style heat
Pressure drops across heat exchanger. exchangers can be custom designed while
Fluid flow capacity. configured from modular elements.

22 | Fe b r u a r y 2 0 0 9 Process Heating
 Heat Exchangers

Heat Exchanger Material Options

Polyethylene and Fluoropolymers Carbon Steel
Polypropylene (PVDF, PFA and PTFE) Stainless Steel
Titanium Nickel Alloys Aluminum Alloys
Zirconium Graphite Niobium
Tantalum

Comparing Thermal Conductivity Values

Material Thermal Conductivity (BTU/hr-ft2-F-ft)
Copper 225
Graphite 87
Tantalum 31
Carbon Steel 27
Stainless Steel 9.4
Titanium 9.2
High Density Polyethylene 0.25
Polypropylene 0.127
PFA 0.127
PVDF 0.104

right from the beginning of the design pro-
cess. For example, hard chromic, chromic
acid with fluorides, and plating applications
are known to cause titanium immersion
coils to fall apart. However, polyvinylidene
fluoride (PVDF) is an excellent material for
applications such as these, and PVDF coils
will perform well in them for years. PVDF
also is a good material for hydrochloric acid
and sulfuric acid pickling, sulfuric anodizing
and nitric acid applications. Likewise, each
material type is more or less suited to specif-
ic materials and applications. For instance,
stainless steel is a good material for alkaline
cleaning and caustic applications.
Thermal Performance. A heat exchanger
must be designed to take advantage of the
physical properties of the materials of con-
struction, but at the same time, minimize
any insulating effects of the materials. The
thermal conductivity of the heat exchanger
material plays a major role in determining the
thermal performance of the heat exchanger.
For instance, the low thermal conductiv-
ity of plastic means that heat exchangers
constructed of plastics are almost universally
designed with a limited range of wall thick-
nesses. For practical purposes, to fabricate
any plastic heat exchanger, it is necessary to
use smaller diameter tubing to allow for an
acceptable pressure rating and counteract
the negative effect of the material, which has
a low thermal conductivity. This requires a
design approach that is different from tradi-
tional metal heat exchanger design where,
due to the relatively high thermal conduc-
tivity of most metals, the material thickness
is not as major of a factor in heat exchanger
design. Table 2 displays the thermal conduc-
tivity values of materials commonly used for
heat exchanger construction.
Pressure and Temperature Limits. Each
heat exchanger, depending on material and
construction, will have its own pressure and
temperature limits. Should you favor a plastic
heat exchanger in terms of materials of con-
struction, remember that the general design
criteria to consider when specifying a plastic
heat exchanger are no different than that of
a metallic unit. However, due to the specific
limitations of pressure and temperature, it
is imperative that when using a plastic heat
exchanger, the proper thermoplastic mate-
rial be chosen for a given application. The
temperature/pressure range of thermoplastics
is wide. For example, PVDF is rated for 230
psig at 68F (20C) and derates to 35 psig
at 281F (138C). In applications where
the temperatures and pressures required are
greater than the above, metal heat exchangers
would need to be considered.
Pressure Drops. The pressure drop
through a heat exchanger is a function of
the heating or cooling media flow rate,
On this heat exchanger, the heat transfer
surface consists of a number of stan-
dardized tube-plates that are welded to
each other.
surface smoothness and fouling character-
istics. Fouling reduces the cross-sectional
area for heat to be transferred and causes
an increase in the resistance to heat transfer
across the heat exchanger. Heat exchangers
with smooth tubes are less likely to have
fouling issues. However, process solutions
with particulates can abrade the tube sur-
faces, causing them to become rough and
increasing pressure drop.
One method used to determine the
abrasion resistance of materials is the Taber
CS17 abrasion test. In this test, an abrasive
wheel, weighing one kilogram, is cycled
over the face of a solid plate of the material
being tested, and the resultant weight loss

www.process-heating.com Fe b r u a r y 2 0 0 9 | 23
 Heat Exchangers
of the plate is measured after 1,000 cycles.
Table 3 displays the abrasion resistance of
common heat exchanger materials.
Many thermoplastics are extremely abra-
sion resistant. For instance, PVDF is five to
10 times more abrasion resistant than stain-
less steel and 10 to 30 times more abrasion
resistant than carbon steel. Polypropylene
(PP) and polyethylene (PE) are approximate-
ly twice as abrasion resistant as stainless steel.
Fluid Flow Capacity. The fluid flow
capacity of a heat exchanger is dependent
on exchanger material type and thickness,
operating pressure and cross-sectional area
available for fluid flow. Heat exchangers
with small fluid flow areas, used to increase
surface area, will have a lower fluid flow
capacity. Multiple heat exchangers operat-
ing in parallel may be required to meet the
fluid flow demands.
Maintenance and Repair. For applications
where fouling of the heat exchanger surface is
an issue, the ability to clean and maintain the
heat exchanger at optimal performance will
be part of the selection process. Common
24 | Fe b r u a r y 2 0 0 9 s Process Heating
methods to remove scale or solution buildup
are to chemically clean or use a pressur-
ized water jet. Because only the outside of
the exchanger is exposed to the chemicals,
immersion heat exchangers may be easier to
maintain than external exchangers. External
exchangers must be flushed with a chemical
solution to remove buildup.
With all-welded plastic heat exchangers,
should dirt accumulate on the heat exchang-
er, chemical cleaning or cleaning with a
pressurized water jet can take place, typi-
cally without damage to the heat exchanger.
Damaged plastic heat exchangers can be
repaired with a hot air welding gun.
Ability and Ease for Future Expansion.
The ability to expand the surface area of
the heat exchanger may be important if it is
anticipated that the heating or cooling needs
of the process are going to change over time.
Several types of heat exchangers lend them-
selves very well to expansion. Some grid-
style immersion heat exchangers are made
with modular panels; if more surface area is
necessary, additional panels can be added to
Abrasion Loss Values
Material Weight Loss (mg)
PVDF 7 to 10
High Density Polyethylene 25
Polypropylene 18 to 24
PTFE 500 to 1,000
Stainless Steel 50
Carbon Steel 100 to 300
the existing unit. Likewise, additional plates
can be added to most plate-and-frame style
heat exchangers to increase the surface area.
Many manufacturers provide data sheets
with the important information required
to assist you in the heat exchanger selec-
tion and design process. At the same time,
understanding the options available and
required information upfront will lead
to a smoother and more efficient heat
exchanger design process. 0(
Michael Maletta is a project engineer for heat
exchangers with GF Piping Systems, Tustin,
Calif., a manufacturer of plastic heat exchangers.
For more information from GF Piping Systems,
call (800) 854-4090; e-mail michael.maletta@
georgefischer.com or visit www.gfpiping.com.