HEAT EXCHANGER

A heat exchanger is a specialized device that assists in the transfer of heat from one fluid to the other. In some cases, a solid wall may separate the fluids and prevent them from mixing. In other designs, the fluids may be in direct contact with each other. In the most efficient heat exchangers, the surface area of the wall between the fluids is maximized while simultaneously minimizing the fluid flow resistance. Fins or corrugations are sometimes used with the wall in order to increase the surface area and to induce turbulence.

Applications
Common appliances containing a heat exchanger include air conditioners, refrigerators, and space heaters. Heat exchangers are also used in chemical processing and power production. Perhaps the most commonly known heat exchanger is a car radiator, which cools the hot radiator fluid by taking advantage of airflow over the surface of the radiator.

Flow Arrangements
There are three primary flow arrangements with heat exchangers: counter-flow, parallel-flow, and cross-flow. In the counter-flow heat exchanger, the fluids enter the exchanger from opposite sides. This is the most efficient design because it transfers the greatest amount of heat. In the parallel-flow heat exchanger, the fluids come in from the same end and move parallel to each other as they flow to the other side. The cross-flow heat exchanger moves the fluids in a perpendicular fashion.

Design Criteria Of Heat Exchanger

There are also four different designs of heat exchangers: shell and tube, plate, regenerative, and intermediate fluid or solid. The most typical type of heat exchanger is the shell and tube design. This heat exchanger has multiple finned tubes. One of the fluids runs through the tubes while the other fluid runs over them, causing it to be heated or cooled. In the plate heat exchanger, the fluid flows through baffles. This causes the fluids to be separated by plates with a large surface area. This type of heat exchanger is typically more efficient than the shell and tube design.

Material Selection
Selection of tube material
To be able to transfer heat well, the tube material should have good thermal conductivity. Because heat is transferred from a hot to a cold side through the tubes, there is a temperature difference through the width of the tubes. Because of the tendency of the tube material to thermally expand differently at various temperatures, thermal stresses occur during operation. This is in addition to any stress from high pressures from the fluids themselves. The tube

material also should be compatible with both the shell and tube side fluids for long periods under the operating conditions (temperatures, pressures, pH, etc.) to minimize deterioration such as corrosion. All of these requirements call for careful selection of strong, thermally-conductive, corrosion-resistant, high quality tube materials, typically metals, including copper alloy, stainless steel, carbon steel, non-ferrous copper alloy, Inconel, nickel, Hastelloy and titanium[3]. Poor choice of tube material could result in a leak through a tube between the shell and tube sides causing fluid cross-contamination and possibly loss of pressure.

Heat Exchangers
Heat exchangers are commonly used to transfer heat from steam, water, or gases, to gases, or liquids. Some of the criteria for selecting materials used for heat exchangers are corrosion resistance, strength, heat conduction, and cost. Corrosion resistance is frequently a difficult criterion to meet. Damage to heat exchangers is frequently difficult to avoid.
The tubes in a heat exchanger transfer heat from the fluid on the inside of the tube to fluid on the shell side (or vice versa). Some heat exchanger designs use fins to provide greater thermal conductivity. To meet corrosion requirements, tubing must be resistant to general corrosion, pitting, stress-corrosion cracking (SCC), selective leaching or dealloying, and oxygen cell attack in service.