Dr. Senthilmurugan S.

Department of Chemical Engineering IIT Guwahati - CL204 - Part 20

Heat Exchangers
Effectiveness-NTU method

Need of Effectiveness - NTU method

The LMTD approach to heat-exchanger analysis is useful when the inlet and outlet
temperatures are known or are easily determined.
The LMTD is then easily calculated, and the heat flow, surface area, or overall heattransfer coefficient may be determined
When the inlet or exit temperatures are to be evaluated for a given heat exchanger,
the analysis frequently involves an iterative procedure because of the logarithmic
function in the LMTD
In these cases the analysis is performed more easily by utilizing a method based on
the effectiveness of the heat exchanger in transferring a given amount of heat
The effectiveness method also offers many advantages for analysis of problems in
which a comparison between various types of heat exchangers must be made for
purposes of selecting the type best suited to accomplish a particular heat-transfer
objective.
Effectiveness =

5/12/16 | Slide 2

Actual Heat transfer for Counter flow HX

Overall enthalpy balance

qh qc

q m&h c ph Tha Thb m&c c pc Tca Tcb

Tca

Tcb

Counter Flow HX
5/12/16 | Slide 3

For Counter Flow HX

where cpc = specific heat of cold fluid

cph = specific heat of warm fluid

Actual Heat transfer for parallel flow HX

For Counter Flow HX

q m&h c ph Tha Thb m&c c pc Tcb Tca

Maximum possible heat transfer is

expressed as

&p
qmax mc

Concurrent flow
5/12/16 | Slide 4

min

hinlet

TCinlet

The minimum fluid may be either the hot

or cold fluid, depending on the massflow rates and specific heats.

Effectiveness - NTU method

For parallel flow Heat Exchanger

If hot fluid is fluid then

m&h c ph Tha Thb Tha Thb

h

m&h c ph Tha Tca Tha Tca

If cold fluid is fluid then

m&c c pc Tcb Tca Tcb Tca

c

m&c c pc Tha Tca Tha Tca

5/12/16 | Slide 5

For counter flow Heat Exchanger

If hot fluid is fluid then

m&h c ph Tha Thb Tha Thb

h

m&h c ph Tha Tca Tha Tca

If cold fluid is fluid then

m&c c pc Tca Tcb

m&c c pc Tha Tca )

Tca Tcb

ha

Tca )

Effectiveness - NTU method

By Integration of heat flux across HX

1
Thb Tcb
1
ln

U o Ao

Tha Tca
m&c c pc m&h c ph

m&c c pc
U o Ao

m&c c pc
m&h c ph

U A
Thb Tcb
o o
exp
Tha Tca
m&c c pc

m&c c pc

&
mh c ph

Thb Tcb

Tha Tca
5/12/16 | Slide 6

For parallel flow Heat Exchanger

If cold fluid is fluid then

Tcb Tca

Tha Tca

Enthalpy balance

Thb

m&c c pc
Tha
Tca Tcb
m&h c ph

m&c c pc
Tha
Tca Tcb Tcb

m&h c ph
Tha Tca

Effectiveness - NTU method

Thb Tcb

Tha Tca

Thb Tcb

Tha Tca

m&c c pc
Tha
Tca Tcb Tcb

m&h c ph

Tcb Tca

Tha Tca

Tha Tca

m&c c pc
Tha Tca & Tca Tcb Tca Tcb
mh c ph
Tha Tca

U A

m&c c pc
m&c c pc
Thb Tcb
o o
1 1
exp

Tha Tca
m&h c ph
m&h c ph
m&c c pc

5/12/16 | Slide 7

m&c c pc
1

m&h c ph

Effectiveness - NTU method

U A
m&c c pc
m&c c pc
o o
1 1
exp

m&h c ph
m&h c ph
m&c c pc

If cold fluid is fluid then

U A
m&c c pc
o o
1 exp

m&h c ph
m&c c pc

m&c c pc
1

&
m
c
h ph

For counter flow Heat Exchanger; If hot fluid is fluid then term and are
interchanged As a consequence, the effectiveness is usually written

U o Ao
Cmin
1 exp
1

C
C
min
max

Cmin
1

C
max

5/12/16 | Slide 8

Effectiveness - NTU method

For counter flow Heat Exchanger

U o Ao
Cmin
1 exp
1

C
C
min
max

U o Ao
Cmin
Cmin
1
exp
1

Cmax
C
C
min
max

Capacity Ratio
Term is called as number of transfer
units (NTU) since it is indicative of the
size of the heat exchanger

5/12/16 | Slide 9

For Boling and condensation

Parallel flow Heat Exchanger

In boiling or condensation process the

fluid temperature stays essentially
constant, or the fluid acts as if it had
infinite specific heat.
In these cases Cmin/Cmax0 and all the
heat-exchanger effectiveness relations
approach a single simple equation,

U o Ao
Cmin
1 exp
1

C
C
min
max

Cmin
1

C
max

U o Ao
1 exp

min
5/12/16 | Slide 10

1 e NTU

Heat-exchanger effectiveness relations

5/12/16 | Slide 11

Effectiveness Vs Heat-Transfer Rates

High effectiveness at a certain flow

configuration does not mean that it will
have a higher heat-transfer rate than at
some low effectiveness condition.
High values of correspond to small
temperature differences between the hot
and cold fluid, while higher heat-transfer
rates result from larger temperature
differences that leads to higher driving
potential

5/12/16 | Slide 12

Performance Analysis and Sizing analysis

NTU method
Performance Analysis
Calculate the capacity ratio Cr = C /C
min
max and NTU = UA/Cmin from input data

Determine the effectiveness from the appropriate charts or e-NTU equations for the
given heat exchanger and specified flow arrangement.
When is known, calculate the total heat transfer rate
Calculate the outlet temperature.

Sizing Analysis
When the outlet and inlet temperatures are known, calculate .
Calculate the capacity ratio Cr = C /C
min
max

Calculate the overall heat transfer coefficient, U

When and C and the flow arrangement are known, determine NTU from the eNTU equations.
When NTU is known, calculate the total heat transfer surface area.

5/12/16 | Slide 13

Important factors to be considered

Design of heat exchanger

5/12/16 | Slide 14

Heat-transfer requirements
Cost
Physical size
Pressure-drop characteristics

Pressure Drop in Heat Exchangers

Correlation for tube side pressure drop
Due to frictional losses

where,
Pt,f = total pressure drop in the bundle of tube
f = friction factor (can be found out from Moodys chart)
gf = mass velocity of the fluid in the tube
L = tube length
n = no of tube passes
g = gravitational acceleration
t = density of the tube fluid
dt = inside diameter of the tube
m =0.14 for Re > 2100
0.25 for Re < 2100

5/12/16 | Slide 15

Pressure Drop in Heat Exchangers

Correlation for tube side pressure drop

Pressure losses due to the change in direction is called

return-loss

where

n = no of tube pass
vt = velocity of the tube fluid
t = density of the tube fluid

Therefore, the total tube side pressure drop will be,

pt= Pt,f+Pt,r

5/12/16 | Slide 16

Pressure Drop in Heat Exchangers

Correlation for shell side pressure drop

For an unbaffled shell,

For a baffled shell,

5/12/16 | Slide 17

where
L = shell length
ns = no of shell pass
nb = no of baffles
s = shell side fluid density
gs = shell side mass velocity
Dh = hydraulic diameter of the shell
Dsi = inside diameter of shell
fs = shell side friction factor
nt = number of tubes in the shell
do = outer diameter of the tube