SHELL & TUBE HEAT EXCHANGER

Aim: To determine the following for a shell & tube heat exchangers:

i. LMTD
ii. Effectiveness
iii. Overall heat transfer coefficients

Apparatus:
The apparatus consists of a shell & tube type heat exchanger (two pass-tube side). The tube
side is supplied with hot water while the cold side with cold water. Thermocouples are provided at
the entry & exit of both the water circuits. There is provision of a measuring flask & a stop-watch to
measure flow rate for the hot water and a rotameter is used to measure the flow rate of the cold
water. The water is heated with the help of two geysers. Water is continuously supplied to both the
circuits.

Specifications-
Heat exchanger – a) Inner tube = Ф 20mm Outer diameter
Ф 18 mm Inner Diameter Mild Steel tube
No. of inner tubes = 06
b) Outer tube = Ф 160 mm Mild Steel tube.
1) Length of heat exchanger = 700 mm.
2) Thermometers to measure temperatures 10 O C to 110 O C = 4 Nos.
3) Rotameter for measuring cold stream in Litres per minute (LPM) or Litres per hour (LPH).
Theory:
A device used to transfer heat between fluids that are at different temperatures and
separated by a solid wall is termed a heat exchanger. Common uses for heat exchangers are found
in waste heat removal, air-conditioning, power production and chemical processing. Heat
exchangers may be constructed in different fashions. Common designs incorporate concentric
tubes, also known as double-pipe arrangement. This consists of one pipe placed concentrically
inside another of larger diameter. This design can have parallel or counter flow configurations. This
is largely used for sensible heating or cooling process fluids where small heat transfer rates are
required. Other designs incorporate a shell-in-tube construction.

Shell and Tube Heat Exchangers

They are built of round tubes mounted in large cylindrical shells with the tube axis parallel
to the shell. They are widely used as oil coolers, power condensers, preheaters in power plants and
steam generators in nuclear power plants. Specific shell and tube designs differ by the number of
shell and tube passes. Baffles are commonly used in heat exchangers to increase the convection
coefficient.

Resistance to Heat Transfer

The ability to transfer heat from one fluid to another through some form of solid wall is
dependent on a variety of factors:
i. Surface area between the two fluids.
ii. Rate of heat transfer through a dividing wall which separates the two fluids.
iii. Rate of heat transfer from one layer to the next (if more than one layer is present) in the
dividing wall.
iv. Rate of heat transfer from the hot fluid to the dividing wall.
v. Rate of heat transfer from the dividing wall to the cold fluid.

Surface Area
Increasing a common surface area between two fluids will increase overall heat transfer
rate between the fluids. This could be accomplished by incorporating more tubes in a shell and
tube heat exchanger.

The general parameters needed for analysis of the heat exchanger are:
U = Overall heat transfer coefficient Wm -2 K -1
A = Heat Exchanger Surface Area m2
h1 = Heat transfer coefficient-hot side (Wm -2 K -1)
h2 = Heat transfer coefficient-cold side (Wm -2 K -1)
T = Temperature ( o C)
θ = Temperature difference ( o C)

Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient

For a hollow cylinder exposed to a convection environment on its inner and outer surfaces,
the electrical resistance analogy would appear as in the following figure, where, again TA and TB
are the two fluid temperatures. Note that the area for convection is not the same in both fluids
in this case, these areas depending on the inside tube diameter and the wall thickness. In this
case, the overall heat transfer would be expressed by

𝑇𝐴 − 𝑇𝐵
𝑞̇ = 𝑟
ln ( 𝑜 )
1 𝑟𝑖 1
( + + )
ℎ𝑖 𝐴𝑖 2𝜋𝑘𝐿 ℎ𝑜 𝐴𝑜
In accordance with the thermal network shown in
the figure, the terms Ai and Ao represent the inside and
outside surface areas of the inner tube. The overall heat
transfer coefficient may be based on either the inside or
the outside area of the tube. Accordingly,
1
𝑈𝑖 = 𝑟
𝐴𝑖 ln( 𝑜 )
1 𝑟𝑖 𝐴 1
( + + 𝑖∗ )
ℎ𝑖 2𝜋𝑘𝐿 𝐴 𝑜 ℎ𝑜

Alternatively
𝑞̇ ℎ = 𝑈𝑖 . ∆𝑇𝑚 . 𝐴𝑖
𝑈𝑖 = 𝑞̇ ℎ / (∆𝑇𝑚 . 𝐴𝑖 ) W/m2 oC
And
1
𝑈𝑜 = 𝑟
𝐴𝑖 ln ( 𝑜 )
𝐴 1 𝑟 1
( 𝐴𝑜 ∗ℎ + 2𝜋𝑘𝐿 𝑖 + ℎ )
𝑖 𝑖 𝑜

Alternatively
𝑞̇ 𝑐 = 𝑈𝑜 . ∆𝑇𝑚 . 𝐴𝑜
𝑈𝑜 = 𝑞̇ 𝑐 / (∆𝑇𝑚 . 𝐴𝑜 ) W/m2 oC
Typical Values for Overall Heat Transfer ‘U’ are-
• Plate Heat Exchanger, liquid to liquid U range 1000 - 4000 Wm -2 K -1
• Shell and tube, liquid inside and outside tubes U range 150 -1200 Wm -2 K -1
• Spiral Heat Exchanger, liquid to liquid U range 700 – 2500 Wm -2 K -1

The Effectiveness–NTU Method

The heat transfer effectiveness ε, defined as:

The actual heat transfer rate in a heat exchanger can be determined from an energy balance
on the hot or cold fluids and can be expressed as

Where 𝐶𝑐 = 𝑚̇ 𝑐 𝐶𝑝𝑐 and 𝐶ℎ = 𝑚̇ ℎ 𝐶 𝑝ℎ are the heat capacity rates of the cold and the hot
fluids, respectively. To determine the maximum possible heat transfer rate in a heat exchanger,
we first recognize that the maximum temperature difference in a heat exchanger is the
difference between the inlet temperatures of the hot and cold fluids. That is,

The heat transfer in a heat exchanger will reach its maximum value when
(1) the cold fluid is heated to the inlet temperature of the hot fluid or
(2) the hot fluid is cooled to the inlet temperature of the cold fluid.
These two limiting conditions will not be reached simultaneously unless the heat capacity
rates of the hot and cold fluids are identical (i.e., Cc = Ch). When Cc = Ch , which is usually the
case, the fluid with the smaller heat capacity rate will experience a larger temperature change,
and thus it will be the first to experience the maximum temperature, at which point the heat
transfer will come to a halt. Therefore, the maximum possible heat transfer rate in a heat
exchanger is

Where, 𝐶𝑚𝑖𝑛 is the smaller of 𝐶ℎ = 𝑚̇ℎ 𝐶𝑝ℎ and 𝐶𝑐 = 𝑚̇𝑐 𝐶 𝑝𝑐

Experimental Procedure –
i. Start the water supply. Adjust the water supply on hot and cold sides.
ii. Switch ‘ON’ the geyser. Temperature of water will start rising. After temperature become
steady, note down the readings and fill up the observation table.
iii. Take the reading of cold water stream using the rotameter.
iv. The flowrate of hot stream is measured using the beaker and stopwatch arrangement.
Observation Table
Hot Water Cold Water

Inlet Outlet Inlet Outlet

Mass flow Mass flow
Temperature Temperature Temperature Temperature
oC oC
rate of water oC oC
rate of water

Calculations –
1) Hot water inlet temp. T hi = ………..0 C
Hot water outlet temp. T ho = ………… 0 C

2) Heat given by hot water (inside heat transfer rate)

𝑞ℎ̇ = 𝑚̇ℎ . 𝑐𝑝 . (𝑇ℎ𝑖 – 𝑇ℎ𝑜 ) 𝑊atts
Where 𝑐𝑝 = Specific heat of water = 4200 J/kg . K

3) Heat gained by cold water (outside heat transfer rate)

𝑞̇𝑐 = 𝑚̇𝑐 . 𝑐𝑝 . (𝑇𝑐𝑜 – 𝑇𝑐𝑖 ) 𝑊atts

4) Logarithmic mean temperature different (LMTD)

Where,
Ti = Thi – Tci
To = Tho – Tco

5) Overall heat transfer coefficient, U –

a) Inside overall heat transfer coefficient, Ui –
Inside diameter of tube = 18 mm
Inside surface area of the tube, Ai = π . di. L x (no. of tubes)
Now, 𝑞̇ ℎ = 𝑈𝑖 . ∆𝑇𝑚 . 𝐴𝑖
𝑈𝑖 = 𝑞̇ ℎ / (∆𝑇𝑚 . 𝐴𝑖 ) W/m2 0C
 b) Outside overall heat transfer coefficient, Uo –
Outside diameter of tube = 20 mm
Outside surface area of the tube, Ao = π . do. L x (no. of tubes)
Similarly, 𝑞̇ 𝑐 = 𝑈𝑜 . ∆𝑇𝑚 . 𝐴𝑜
𝑈𝑜 = 𝑞̇ 𝑐 / (∆𝑇𝑚 . 𝐴𝑜 ) W/m2 0C

6) Effectiveness of heat exchanger –

Where, 𝐶𝑚𝑖𝑛 is the smaller of 𝐶 ℎ = 𝑚̇ℎ 𝐶𝑝ℎ and 𝐶𝑐 = 𝑚̇𝑐 𝐶 𝑝𝑐

Result –
HEAT TRANSFER RATE LMTD Overall heat transfer coefficient
Inside (Watts) Outside (Watts) oC Ui Uo
W/m2 oC W/m2 oC

Precautions –
1) Never switch on the geyser unless there is water supply through it.
2) If the red indicator on geyser goes off during operation, increase the water supply,
because it indicates that water temperature exceeds the set limit.
3) Ensure steady water flow rate and temperature before noting down the readings, as
fluctuating water supply can give erratic results.