Plate Heat Exchangers: Calculation Methods for Singleand Two-Phase Flow

Plate heat exchangers were first developed about 100 years ago but have won increasing interest during the last two decades, primarily due to the development of methods of manufacturing brazed plate heat exchangers. This type of heat exchanger offers very good heat transfer performance in single-phase flow as well as in evaporation and condensation. Part of the reason is the small hydraulic diameters, typically being less than 5 mm. Other advantages of plate heat exchangers are the extremely compact design and the efficient use of the construction material. In spite of their long use, the calculation methods for predicting heat transfer and pressure drop are not widely known. It is the purpose of this article to present such calculation methods for single-phase flow and for flow boiling and to discuss some of the specifics of this type of heat exchangers.     

Extruded Microchannel-Structured Heat Exchangers

Abstract

In the search for more compact air/liquid heat exchangers, one possibility is to increase the heat transfer coefficient and surface area by a decrease of the size of the fluid channels. A practical example could be seen in the air/water cross-flow heat exchangers used in cars. For such exchangers, minimization of the total volume leads to a very thin structure, with a lot of small and short air channels. We have designed and patented a cross-flow heat transfer surface with microchannels that has such a structure and can be manufactured industrially at a reasonable cost by extrusion either in aluminum or in polymers. The thermo-hydraulic performance of the structure has been simulated using standard correlations and CFD codes, and prototypic structures are under investigation to validate simulations. Compared to classical heat exchangers, our design is superior in flexibility and compactness for air/liquid applications.     

Expanded Microchannel Heat Exchanger: Nondestructive Evaluation

Abstract

Recent theoretical developments in expanded microchannel polymer-based heat exchangers were promising, but the initial experiments underperformed simple theory. In order to understand this discrepancy, this article introduces a nondestructive methodology for characterizing polymer heat exchangers. A computerized tomography (X-ray) scan was performed to diagnose the problem. The method was tested on the expanded microchannel polymer heat exchanger to determine the variations in geometry between the theoretical and experimental heat exchanger. Channels were found to have variable heights causing flow maldistribution. The results are discussed to guide further technological development of this approach to heat exchanger design and fabrication and lays the groundwork for an advanced discretized modeling.     

Most Frequently Used Heat Exchangers from Pioneering Research to Worldwide Applications

Heat exchangers contribute significantly to many energy conversion processes. Applications range from power production, petroleum refining and chemicals, paper and pharmaceutical production, to aviation and transportation industries. A large percentage of world market for heat exchangers is served by the industry workhorse, the shell-and-tube heat exchanger. Recent developments in other exchanger geometries have penetrated in various industry applications; however, the shell-and-tube exchanger by far remains the industry choice where reliability and maintainability are vital. Over the years, significant research and development efforts are devoted to better understand the shell-side geometry. New geometries are introduced for performance enhancement and to improve reliability. The pioneering work published by J. Nemcansky et al. in the Trans. Institute of Chemical Engineers in May, 1990, on helical baffles paved the way to a major shift from a conventional understanding of baffles in a shell-and-tube heat exchanger. Helical baffles serve as guide vanes for shell-side flow as compared to creating flow channels with conventional segmented baffles. In the past decade, ABB Lummus Heat Transfer has extended the understanding of the helical baffle geometry through extensive testing and development. CFD flow simulation studies have further confirmed the helical baffle advantage. Industry feedback on operating Helixchanger® heat exchangers—the shell-and-tube heat exchangers with helical baffles—has demonstrated low fouling characteristics as well as a higher conversion of shell-side pressure drop to heat transfer. In this paper, the characteristics of this novel Helixchanger heat exchanger are discussed. Examples from early installations in the power industry to the major applications in the petro-chemical and refining industries are presented, illustrating the advantages in reducing fouling and increasing reliability while achieving lower total life cycle costs.     

Particulate Fouling and Challenges of Metal Foam Heat Exchangers

ABSTRACT

In recent years, open-cell metal foam has gained attention for utilization for exhaust gas recirculation coolers due to its large surface area and porous structure. Theoretically, the porous foam structure would have better transfer heat through conduction and convection processes. However, the exhaust gases that enter the cooler would carry particulate matter, which may deposit within the foam structure. The existing fouling studies cannot explain the underlying mechanisms of particulate deposition thoroughly within the foam structure. This study reviews the particulate fouling of heat exchangers, particularly in the exhaust gas recirculation system. Some past approaches to investigate fouling, particle transport, and deposition in the metal foam heat exchangers for many different applications are also included. In addition, this study also includes the challenges that lie ahead in implementing the metal foam heat exchangers in the industries.     

Polymer Heat Exchangers—History,Opportunities, and Challenges

For the past 40 years considerable attention has been devoted to the innovation, characterization, and implementation of polymer heat exchanger technology, driven by the corrosion resistance, low density, low cost, and ease of manufacture of many polymeric materials. Moreover, new polymer composites, with higher impact and yield strengths, higher temperature limits, and higher thermal conductivities, promise to bridge the performance gap that exists between polymers and corrosion-resistant metals. This paper begins by reviewing the history of polymer heat exchangers and the technical limitations that have motivated much of the research on this technology. The notable developments that have taken place in the last decade and primary potential applications for polymer heat exchangers are then discussed, including solar water heaters, heat recovery systems, and seawater heat exchangers, in particular, for the desalination industry. The paper closes with a review of compact polymer heat exchangers, with millimeter-sized passages, and thoughts on future applications of this most promising technology.     

Simple Formulas for Thermophysical Properties of Liquid Water for Heat Transfer Calculations (from 0°C to 150°C)

Abstract

In this communication, simple formulas (based on the latest experimental tabulated data) for 11 physical properties of liquid ordinary water substance at saturation state—saturation pressure, density, volumetric thermal expansion coefficient, specific volume of saturated vapor, specific enthalpy, specific heal, latent heal of vaporization, thermal conductivity, dynamic viscosity, Prandtl number, and surface tension as a function of temperature (from 0 to 150°C)—which are used in heat transfer calculations for heat exchangers in heating systems and also for many other technological applications, are presented. Also, the uncertainties of these formulas are given. In most practical cases the pressure of liquid water is within the range from 1 to 10 absolute bar, which makes it possible to neglect the effect of pressure. All properties of saturated liquid water calculated with the recommended formulas are tabulated with a temperature increment of 5°.     

A Review of Metal Foam and Metal Matrix Composites for Heat Exchangers and Heat Sinks

Recent advances in manufacturing methods open the possibility for broader use of metal foams and metal matrix composites (MMCs) for heat exchangers, and these materials can have tailored material properties. Metal foams in particular combine a number of interesting properties from a heat exchanger's point of view. In this paper, the material properties of metal foams and MMCs are surveyed, and the current state of the art is reviewed for heat exchanger applications. Four different applications are considered: liquid–liquid, liquid–gas, and gas–gas heat exchangers and heat sinks. Manufacturing and implementation issues are identified and discussed, and it is concluded that these materials hold promise both for heat exchangers and heat sinks, but that some key issues still need to be solved before broad-scale application is possible.     

Experimental Determination of the Heat Transfer Coefficient of a Plate-Fin Heat Exchanger

Heat transfer in compact plate-fin heat exchangers is augmented by the introduction of complex fin patterns in the channels. Kays and London presented a lot of experimental data for several types of fin configurations, and many authors followed their example with other types of fins. For some fin types, the heat transfer correlation for the Nusselt number cannot be found in literature. Most of the data are given for large scale model fins in good controlled laboratory environments—little data is available for real heat exchangers.

A test rig was constructed at Ghent University to verify the performance of several fin types. Measurements were done on a real heat exchanger and not on a large scale model in order to determine the performance under real operational conditions.

The measurement setup consists of a hot water circuit and an air circuit with a fan. In the heat exchanger, 40 thermocouples are introduced on the air side and the wall. This way, the convection coefficient of the fins can be determined for a broad range of Reynolds numbers.

In the paper the measurement set-up is discussed and the measurements are presented. An in depth error analysis is performed on the measurements. This way a heat transfer correlation is provided with a tight error margin for compact plate-fin air coolers.     

Heat Transfer Characteristics of a Quadratic Koch Island Fractal Heat Exchanger

Heat exchangers are widely used in the air conditioning and refrigeration industries, and any increase in their efficiency will have a positive effect on the industry as well. A new design of heat exchanger is proposed that will increase the heat transfer area significantly. The heat transfer area was increased by the use of fractals. Three techniques were used to investigate the heat transfer increase; analytical, numerical, and experimental methods. The results showed that the fractal heat exchanger has a higher heat transfer to overall volume ratio than a conventional tube-in-tube heat exchanger.     

Impact of Nonuniform Fouling on Operating Temperatures in Heat Exchanger Networks

ABSTRACT

Investigations of fouling in heat exchangers are mainly focused on two factors: commercial impact due to energy losses, and environmental impact manifested through higher CO₂ emissions. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a third factor relating to safety in operations. This paper presents two case studies, one for a hydroprocessing unit with feed/effluent heat exchangers and another for preheat train exchangers installed upstream of the atmospheric furnace in a refinery crude unit. Due to a wide range of process temperatures examined in both case studies, the heat exchangers in the network are subject to various fouling mechanisms. As illustrated in the pictures of actual tube bundles, some of the exchangers within the network are heavily fouled, while the other exchangers operate in nearly clean conditions. Detailed simulations indicate that nonuniform fouling results in heat exchanger operating temperatures that are significantly higher than those predicted by conventional analyses using uniform fouling. Higher than anticipated process fluid temperatures may result in exceeding the threshold limits for certain corrosion mechanisms and/or significantly higher than expected rates of corrosion.     

Steady-State and Transient Behavior of Two Heat Exchangers Coupled by a Circulating Flowstream

Systems consisting of two heat exchangers coupled by a circulating flowstream are studied. The systems differ in the flow configurations of the single heat exchangers. For steady-state operation, there exists a heat capacity rate of the circulating flowstream that maximizes the temperature changes of the external flowstreams. Until now, this optimum has been calculated assuming that the overall heat transfer coefficients of the heat exchangers do not depend on the mass flow rate of the circulating flowstream. In this paper, the dependence of the overall heat transfer coefficient on the mass flow rate of the circulating flowstream is taken into account. For transient operating conditions, the system response to perturbations of inlet temperatures and mass flow rates is calculated by the method of Laplace Transforms and an explicit finite difference method. The most significant features of the coupled system become apparent by considering outlet temperature transients induced by perturbations of the mass flow rate of the circulating flowstream.     

Effects of Distributor Configuration on Flow Maldistribution in Plate-Fin Heat Exchangers

In this paper, an original concept of a design that adds a complementary fluid cavity in the distributor is presented. The experimental investigation of the effects of distributor configuration parameter on the fluid flow maldistribution in the plate-fin heat exchanger is completed. The correlation of the dimensionless flow maldistribution parameter and the Reynolds number is obtained under different distributor configuration parameters. The experimental studies prove that the performance of flow distribution in heat exchangers can be effectively improved by the optimum design of the distributor's configuration parameter. The ratio of the maximum velocity and the minimum velocity in the channels of the plate-fin heat exchanger can drop from 2.57–3.66 to 2.08–2.81 for various Reynolds numbers. The conclusions are of great significance on the optimum structure design of the plate-fin heat exchangers and can effectively improve the performance of the heat exchangers.     

High temperature heat exchangers for power plants: Performance of advanced metallic recuperators

An overview is given of recent high temperature heat exchangers technology developments, both in the thermal-fluid dynamic innovative solutions and in the materials. Gas turbine recuperative cycles, microturbine systems, indirectly fired cycles and high temperature gas cooled nuclear reactors are the investigated fields where this kind of heat exchangers is used. Some common technological features join all of them, namely: new surface geometry design and burdensome material requirements. The most important difficulties arising from the specific conditions of each heat exchange system are pointed out, together with their possible solutions. A comparison among them is presented and some suggestions are proposed about expanding the boundaries of the individual research fields, to get a wider understanding of common critical issues. Finally, the paper focuses on the main current challenges to be faced in the near future in order to get a competitive development of such systems.     

Assessment of the Superheater Ash Fouling Using a Numerical Model of the Superheater

ABSTRACT

Superheaters are high-temperature cross-flow heat exchangers. Steam flows inside the tubes, and the flue gas outside in a direction perpendicular to the axes of the tubes. However, they differ very substantially from the other heat exchangers operating at low temperatures. Superheaters are characterized by complex flow system and high tube walls temperature. Superheaters are among the most exposed to damaging pressure elements of steam boilers. Damage to the superheater causes about 40% of emergency shutdowns of boilers. The paper presents the boiler superheater model with distributed parameters, which is used to determine on-line the degree of superheater fouling by ash.     

A review on reduction method for heat and mass transfer characteristics of fin-and-tube heat exchangers under dehumidifying conditions

This paper presents a review of data reduction method for heat and mass transfer characteristics of fin-and-tube heat exchangers with dehumidification. There are many reduction methods for fin-and-tube heat exchangers under dehumidifying conditions. The data reduction methods being reviewed includes the original Threlkeld method, direct method, the equivalent dry-bulb method, tube by tube method, the fully wet and fully dry tiny circular fin method, and the finite circular fin method. Among these methods, the original Threlkeld method, direct method, the equivalent dry-bulb method are lumped method while others can divide the fin-and-tube heat exchangers into small segments for more accuracy in handling the surfaces to be fully dry, fully wet, or partially wet. In addition, the mass transfer characteristics can be obtained from the modified process line equation incorporated with the preceding methods. It should be noted that the conventional assumption of constant ratio (h_c,o/h_d,oC_p,a ≈ constant) is actually incorrect. This present paper can be used as the first guideline for the researcher for reducing the experimental data for fin-and-tube heat exchangers under dehumidifying conditions.     

Effect of drag reducing polymers on the rate of mass transfer controlled corrosion in pipelines under developing turbulent flow

The diffusion controlled corrosion of pipeline in the entrance region where the flow is developing was studied using the chemical dissolution of copper tubes in acidified FeCl₃ solution. Variables studied were solution velocity and pipe length. In addition, the effect of polyox drag reducing polymer on the rate of corrosion under turbulent flow conditions was tested. Dimensionless correlations were reached which can used to predict the rate of diffusion controlled corrosion under developing flow conditions which prevail in industrial equipment such as tubular reactors and heat exchangers. Drag reducing polymers were found to decrease the rate of corrosion by an amount ranging from 5 to 27% depending on polymer concentration and Reynolds number. Industrial implications of the present results were highlighted.     

An Investigation on Cooling Performance of Air-Cooled Heat Exchangers Used in Coal Seam Gas Production

ABSTRACT

This paper reports an investigation into a practical cooling issue on a type of fan-forced finned-tube heat exchangers used in Queensland's coal seam gas (CSG) industry. CSG compression facilities in some production sites suffered underproduction in recent summers because of frequent automatic engine shutdowns. The problem is not expected by the manufacturer's design. However, it is suspected of being related to the control systems on the compression facilities triggering the overheating-protection shutdowns due to possible deficiencies in one or some water/gas cooling loops in the facilities’ air-cooled heat exchangers. Therefore, to understand which heat exchangers and what exact reasons cause the unexpected cooling issue, an investigation has been carried out on the cooler units of the gas compression facilities. A field instrumentation measurement on one operating cooler unit has been done, followed by an analysis using a one-dimensional analytical model and a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics model. The experimental results are used to validate both the models. Then the cooling performance of the cooler unit under the summer peak condition is predicted by the verified models. The prediction suggests that the water inlet temperature in one particular cooler section is higher than its upper limit defined by the manufacturer, due to poor cooling at high ambient temperatures. The lower cooling performance is caused by large reductions in the cooler air speed and total heat transfer coefficient, which are related to less efficiency of the cooler fans, more airflow resistance, and fouling on both sides of the finned tubes.     

Exergy—Economic Criteria for Evaluating Heat Exchanger Performance

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Synthesis of Cost-Optimal Shell-and-Tube Heat Exchangers

Abstract

Synthesis of cost-optimal shell-and-tube heat exchangers is a difficult task since it involves a large number of parameters. An attempt is made in this article to simplify the process of choosing the parameter values that will minimize the cost of any heat exchanger satisfying a given heat duty and a particular set of constraints. The simplification is based on decoupling of the geometric and the thermal aspects of the problem. The concept of curves for cost-optimal design is introduced and is shown to simplify the synthesis process for shell-and-tube heat exchangers.