HEAT EXCHANGER:

Summary and Tutorials 8 & 9

Dr Agus Saptoro
agus.saptoro@curtin.edu.my
Why do we need to learn how to design and analyse a heat exchanger?

Heat exchangers can be found anywhere throughout a process plant

Why do we need to learn how to design and analyse a heat exchanger?

Heat exchangers can be found anywhere throughout a process plant

 Condenser (it is a heat exchanger)

Reboiler (it is a heat exchanger)

www.rccostello.com
Distillation column condenser reboiler
 Heat exchangers
Purpose:
To exchange heat between a hot stream and a cold stream
The cold stream gets heated; the hot stream gets cooled

There are many different types of heat exchangers (you

should be familiar with them and their functions!)
 A heat exchanger family tree
Plate and compact
Plate & frame HX Evaporators condensers

Compact HX Steam Reboilers Shell & tube

generators condensers Air cooled
condensers
Air cooled HX

Shell & tube HX HX with HX with

vaporisation condensation
Double pipe HX

Single phase With phase change

Cooling towers Direct contact Indirect contact

HX (transmural) HX
Direct contact
condensers Recuperators Regenerators

HX for gases & liquids HX for solids

(Alternative scheme: eg Kuppan p1-20) Heat exchangers (Adapted from: HSB p4-8)
Types of flow in Heat Exchanger
 Overview of HX selection and design
What are the requirements that HXs need to fulfil?
That is, how do you know if youve designed the exchanger properly?
There are many heat exchanger types Which should you use?
Initial selection based on feasibility, then
Narrowing down the feasible types on the basis of cost

Methods in the following lectures are suitable for smaller HXs

Larger S&T HXs are more difficult because of variable OHTC, and uncertain shell
side HTC and p, so more sophisticated analysis and proprietary codes are needed

Design is not just required area

But also, size and number of tubes / plates, number of passes, shell type and
baffle configuration (S&T), augmentation with fins, pressure drop estimation,

(See L&L p126-129; Kuppan; HSB; etc)

 Requirements for heat exchangers
The two key requirements are:
Meeting the required heat transfer duty (high thermal effectiveness)
Acceptable pressure drop (as low as possible)
But also:
Low sensitivity to off-design conditions (temperature, flowrate, fouling)
Material compatibility with process fluids (corrosion, fouling)
Compatibility with operating conditions (P, thermal stress, vibration)
Ease of maintenance (cleaning, parts replacement, modification)
Convenient size and shape for proposed location, low weight
Availability from manufacturer and for spares
The ultimate decider is Cost (capital versus operating optimisation)
(adapted from Kuppan p25 & HSB p197)
 Selection of HX type
Aim of initial selection is to eliminate infeasible types from further
consideration and is based on:
Experience / corporate knowledge
Manufacturer
Selection guides, such as the following

Then approximate designs are performed for the most promising

types, and then the very costly ones are eliminated
Finally, the most competitive designs are optimised for cost, and a
final selection is made
 Design versus rating problems
There are two common situations: Two analysis methods

(1) The DESIGN PROBLEM: You know the desired

inlet and outlet temperatures and flowrates and LMTD method
want to find the required heat transfer AREA.

(2) The RATING PROBLEM: You know the inlet

temperatures, flowrates and exchanger area and -NTU method
want to predict the OUTLET TEMPERATURES.

Both analysis methods give the same answers

LMTD is more intuitive, but requires iteration for rating problems
 LMTD method: a summary
Key equations:
You need to q m h c p , h (T h , i T h , o ) (for sensible heat
remember this! transfer)
q m c c p , c (T c , o T c ,i )

Tm F Tlm F: geometry correction factor

(from figures)

T2 T1
Tlm
ln T2 / T1

T1 T h ,1 T c ,1 T h , i T c , i

T2 Th , 2 Tc , 2 Th ,o Tc ,o T 2 T h , 2 T c , 2 T h ,o T c ,i

CO-CURRENT FLOW COUNTER-CURRENT FLOW

 A typical design problem solution using LMTD
You know typically Th ,i, Tc ,i and either Th ,o , Tc ,oor both

If necessary, calculate the missing temperature from:

q m c c p , c (T c , o T c , i ) m h c p , h (T h , i T h , o )

If HX is pure CF or PF, or if one stream doesnt change T, then calculate

the LMTD: T T
Tlm 2 1
Tm
ln T2 / T1

Otherwise calculate P and R F then T m F Tlm ,CF

q
Finally, work out the area: A
U Tm
 -NTU Method: a summary
For any heat exchanger, expressions can be developed of the form:

f N TU , C r , configurat ion

q

q max UA C min
NTU Cr CF, PF, mixed-
C min C max unmixed crossflow,
C c (Tc ,o Tc ,i ) 1-2 shell & tube,
Heat capacity
C min (Th ,i Tc ,i ) rate ratio
C h (Th ,i Th ,o )

C min (Th ,i Tc ,i ) q q max C min ( T h , i T c , i )
The effectiveness is dimensionless
and 0 1
 -NTU method:
Parallel flow and counterflow exchangers

PF HX CF HX

1 exp[ NTU (1 C r )] 1 exp[ NTU (1 C r )]

1 Cr 1 C r exp[ NTU (1 C r )]
One of the Main Problems in Heat Exchanger Operation: Fouling

1 1 R f ,i r R f , o 1
Rt
UA hi Ai Ai kAlm Ao ho Ao (Cengel p619)
Let learn how to analyse HX through
Tutorials 8 & 9
(You are going to perform more detailed design of HX in Design Project)
Relevant Tables and Figures
 Shell and tube exchangers

Note: T = shell side; t = tube side

One shell pass; 2,4,6, tube passes

Two shell passes; 4,8,12, tube passes

 Shell and tube exchangers
F equation for one shell pass, two tube passes

to ti Ti To
P R
Ti t i to ti
Big T = shell
Little t = tube

1 P
R 2 1 ln
1 PR
F
2 P[ R 1 R 2 1 ]
( R 1) ln
2 P[ R 1 R 2 1 ]

(e.g. HSB p175)

 Crossflow exchangers

Crossflow with both fluids unmixed Crossflow with one fluid mixed,
the other unmixed
 Figures for -NTU method:
Parallel flow and counterflow exchangers

PF HX CF HX

1 exp[ NTU (1 C r )] 1 exp[ NTU (1 C r )]

1 Cr 1 C r exp[ NTU (1 C r )]