Thermodynamics and Propulsion

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Subsections

18.5.1 Simplified Counterflow Heat Exchanger (With Uniform Wall Temperature)

18.5.2 General Counterflow Heat Exchanger

18.5.3 Efficiency of a Counterflow Heat Exchanger

18.5 Heat Exchangers

The general function of a heat exchanger is to transfer heat from one fluid to another. The
basic component of a heat exchanger can be viewed as a tube with one fluid running
through it and another fluid flowing by on the outside. There are thus three heat transfer
operations that need to be described:
1. Convective heat transfer from fluid to the inner wall of the tube,
2. Conductive heat transfer through the tube wall, and
3. Convective heat transfer from the outer tube wall to the outside fluid.
Heat exchangers are typically classified according to flow arrangement and type of
construction. The simplest heat exchanger is one for which the hot and cold fluids move in
the same or opposite directions in a concentric tube (or double-pipe) construction. In the
parallel-flow arrangement of Figure 18.8(a), the hot and cold fluids enter at the same end,
flow in the same direction, and leave at the same end. In the counterflow arrangement of
Figure 18.8(b), the fluids enter at opposite ends, flow in opposite directions, and leave at
opposite ends.

[Parallel flow]

[Counterflow]

Figure 18.8: Concentric tubes heat exchangers

[Finned with both fluids unmixed.]

[Unfinned with one

fluid mixed and the other unmixed]

Figure 18.9: Cross-flow heat exchangers.
Alternatively, the fluids may be in cross flow (perpendicular to each other), as shown by the
finned and unfinned tubular heat exchangers of Figure 18.9. The two configurations differ
according to whether the fluid moving over the tubes is unmixed or mixed. In
Figure 18.9(a), the fluid is said to be unmixed because the fins prevent motion in a direction
(

) that is transverse to the main flow direction (

). In this case the fluid temperature

varies with and . In contrast, for the unfinned tube bundle of Figure 18.9(b), fluid
motion, hence mixing, in the transverse direction is possible, and temperature variations are
primarily in the main flow direction. Since the tube flow is unmixed, both fluids are
unmixed in the finned exchanger, while one fluid is mixed and the other unmixed in the
unfinned exchanger.

To develop the methodology for heat exchanger analysis and design, we look at the problem
of heat transfer from a fluid inside a tube to another fluid outside.

Figure 18.10: Geometry for heat transfer between two fluids

We examined this problem before in Section 17.2 and found that the heat transfer rate per
unit length is given by

(18..21)

Here we have taken into account one additional thermal resistance than in Section 17.2, the
resistance due to convection on the interior, and include in our expression for heat transfer
the bulk temperature of the fluid,

, rather than the interior wall temperature,

It is useful to define an overall heat transfer coefficient

per unit length as

(18..22)

From (18.21) and (18.22) the overall heat transfer coefficient,

, is
(18..23)

We will make use of this in what follows.

Figure 18.11: Counterflow heat exchanger

A schematic of a counterflow heat exchanger is shown in Figure 18.11. We wish to know
the temperature distribution along the tube and the amount of heat transferred.

18.5.1 Simplified Counterflow Heat Exchanger (With

Uniform Wall Temperature)
To address this we start by considering the general case of axial variation of temperature in
a tube with wall at uniform temperature
(Figure 18.12).

and a fluid flowing inside the tube

Figure 18.12: Fluid temperature distribution along the tube with uniform wall temperature

The objective is to find the mean temperature of the fluid at

, in the case where

fluid comes in at
with temperature
and leaves at
with temperature
The expected distribution for heating and cooling are sketched in Figure 18.12.

For heating (

where
by

), the heat flow from the pipe wall in a length

is

is the pipe diameter. The heat given to the fluid (the change in enthalpy) is given

where is the density of the fluid,

is the mean velocity of the fluid, is the specific
heat of the fluid and is the mass flow rate of the fluid. Setting the last two expressions
equal and integrating from the start of the pipe, we find

Carrying out the integration,

i.e.,
(18..24)

Equation (18.24) can be written as

where

This is the temperature distribution along the pipe. The exit temperature at

is

(18..25)

The total heat transfer to the wall all along the pipe is
(18..26)

From Equation (18.25),

The total rate of heat transfer is therefore

or

(18..27)

where

is the logarithmic mean temperature difference, defined as

(18..28)

The concept of a logarithmic mean temperature difference is useful in the analysis of heat
exchangers. We will define a logarithmic mean temperature difference for the general
counterflow heat exchanger below.

18.5.2 General Counterflow Heat Exchanger

We return to our original problem, to Figure 18.11, and write an overall heat balance
between the two counterflowing streams as

From a local heat balance, the heat given up by stream

(There is a negative sign since

in length

x is

decreases). The heat taken up by stream is

. (There is a negative sign because

decreases as

increases). The local heat balance is

(18..29)

Solving (18.29) for

where
can then say

Integrating from

and

. Also,

to

, we find

where

is the overall heat transfer coefficient. We

gives
(18..30)

Equation (18.30) can also be written as

(18..31)

where

We know that
(18..32)

Thus

Solving for the total heat transfer:

(18..33)

Rearranging (18.30) allows us to express

in terms of other parameters as

(18..34)

Substituting (18.34) into (18.33) we obtain a final expression for the total heat transfer for a
counterflow heat exchanger:

(18..35)

or

(18..36)

This is the generalization (for non-uniform wall temperature) of our result from
Section 18.5.1.

18.5.3 Efficiency of a Counterflow Heat Exchanger

Suppose we know only the two inlet temperatures
temperatures. From (18.31),

, and we need to find the outlet

or, rearranging,

(18..37)

Eliminating

from (18.32),

(18..38)

We now have two equations, (18.37) and (18.38), and two unknowns,
first for

and

. Solving

or
(18..39)

where

is the efficiency of a counterflow heat exchanger:

(18..40)

Equation 18.39 gives

find

in terms of known quantities. We can use this result in (18.38) to

We examine three examples.

1.

can approach zero at cold end.

as

, surface area,

Maximum value of ratio

Maximum value of ratio

2.

is negative,

as

Maximum value of ratio

Maximum value of ratio

3.

temperature difference remains uniform,

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