Heat Exchanger

Heat exchanger is a system used to transfer heat between a source and a working fluid.
Heat exchangers are used in both cooling and heating processes.

The fluids may be separated by a solid wall to prevent mixing or they may be in direct
contact.

They are widely used in space heating, refrigeration, air conditioning, power stations,
chemical plants, petrochemical plants, petroleum refineries, natural-gas processing, and
sewage treatment. The classic example of a heat exchanger is found in an internal
combustion engine in which a circulating fluid known as engine coolant flows through
radiator coils and air flows past the coils, which cools the coolant and heats the incoming
air. Another example is the heat sink, which is a passive heat exchanger that transfers the
heat generated by an electronic or a mechanical device to a fluid medium, often air or a
liquid coolant.
Classification of Heat Exchangers by Construction
In this section heat exchangers are classified mainly by their construction, Garland (1990),
The first level of classification is to divide heat exchanger types into recuperative or
regenerative. A Recuperative Heat Exchanger has separate flow paths for each fluid and
fluids flow simultaneously through the exchanger exchanging heat across the wall
separating the flow paths. A Regenerative Heat Exchanger has a single flow path, which the
hot and cold fluids alternately pass through.

Regenerative heat exchangers

In a regenerative heat exchanger, the flow path normally consists of a matrix, which is
heated when the hot fluid passes through it (this is known as the “hot blow”). This heat is
then released to the cold fluid when this flows through the matrix (the “cold blow”).
Regenerative Heat Exchangers are sometimes known as Capacitive Heat Exchangers. A
good overview of regenerators is provided by Walker (1982).

Regenerators are mainly used in gas/gas heat recovery applications in power stations and
other energy intensive industries. The two main types of regenerator are Static and
Dynamic. Both types of regenerator are transient in operation and unless great care is taken
in their design there is normally cross contamination of the hot and cold streams. However,
the use of regenerators is likely to increase in the future as attempts are made to improve
energy efficiency and recover more low grade heat. However, because regenerative heat
exchangers tend to be used for specialist applications recuperative heat exchangers are
more common.

Recuperative heat exchangers

There are many types of recuperative exchangers, which can broadly be grouped into
indirect contact, direct contact and specials. Indirect contact heat exchangers keep the
fluids exchanging heat separate by the use of tubes or plates etc.. Direct contact
exchangers do not separate the fluids exchanging heat and in fact rely on the fluids being in
close contact.

Heat Exchanger Types

This section briefly describes some of the more common types of heat exchanger and is
arranged according to the classification given in Figure 5.

Indirect heat exchangers

In this type, the steams are separated by a wall, usually metal. Examples of these are
tubular exchangers, see Figure 6, and plate exchangers, see Figure 7.

Tubular heat exchangers are very popular due to the flexibility the designer has to allow for
a wide range of pressures and temperatures. Tubular heat exchangers can be subdivided
into a number of categories, of which the shell and tube exchanger is the most common.

A Shell and Tube Exchanger consists of a number of tubes mounted inside a cylindrical
shell. Figure 8 illustrates a typical unit that may be found in a petrochemical plant. Two
fluids can exchange heat, one fluid flows over the outside of the tubes while the second
fluid flows through the tubes. The fluids can be single or two phase and can flow in a
parallel or a cross/counter flow arrangement.
Different types of heat exchanger
EXTENDED SURFACE HEAT TRANSFER
Introduction

Extended surfaces have fins attached to the primary surface on one side of a two-fluid or a
multifluid heat exchanger. Fins can be of a variety of geometry—plain, wavy or
interrupted—and can be attached to the inside, outside or to both sides of circular, flat or
oval tubes, or parting sheets. Pins are primarily used to increase the surface area (when the
heat transfer coefficient on that fluid side is relatively low) and consequently to increase
the total rate of heat transfer. In addition, enhanced fin geometries also increase the heat
transfer coefficient compared to that for a plain fin. Fins may also be used on the high heat
transfer coefficient fluid side in a heat exchanger primarily for structural strength (for
example, for high pressure water flow through a flat tube) or to provide a thorough mixing of
a highly-viscous liquid (such as for laminar oil flow in a flat or a round tube). Fins are
attached to the primary surface by brazing, soldering, welding, adhesive bonding or
mechanical expansion, or extruded or integrally connected to tubes. Major categories of
extended surface heat exchangers are Tube-fin Tube , and Tube-fin individually finned
tubes and flat fins on an array of tubes – exchangers. Note that shell-and-tube exchangers
sometimes employ individually finned tubes—low finned tubing (similar to a but with low
height fins) [Shah (1985)].
Basic heat transfer and pressure drop analysis methods for extended and other heat
exchangers have been described by Shah (1985). An overall design methodology for heat
exchangers has also been presented by Shah (1992). Detailed step-by-step procedures for
designing extended surface plate-fin and tube-fin type counterflow, crossflow, parallelflow
and two-pass cross-counterflow heat exchangers have been outlined by Shah (1988).

In this entry, the theoretical and experimental/analytical nondimensional heat transfer

coefficients (Nusselt Number, Nu, or Colburn factor, j) and the Fanning Friction Factor for
some important extended surface geometries are summarized and a table of fin
efficiencies for some important extended surfaces is provided.
Fin efficiency and extended surface efficiency

The concept of fin efficiency accounts for the reduction in temperature potential between
the fin and the ambient fluid due to conduction along the fin and convection from or to the
fin surface, depending on fin cooling or heating situation. The fin temperature effectiveness
or fin efficiency is defined as the ratio of the actual heat transfer rate through the fin base
divided by the maximum possible heat transfer rate through the fin base, which can be
obtained if the entire fin is at base temperature (i.e., its material thermal conductivity is
infinite). Since most real fins are “thin,” they are treated as one-dimensional (1-D), with
standard idealizations used for analysis [Huang and Shah (1992)]. This 1-D fin efficiency is
a function of fin geometry, fin material thermal conductivity, heat transfer coefficient at the
fin surface and fin tip boundary condition; it is not a function of the fin base or fin tip
temperature, ambient temperature or heat flux at the fin base or fin tip. Fin efficiency
formulas for some common plate-fin and tube-fin geometries of uniform fin thickness are
presented in Table 1 [Shah (1985)]. These results are not valid when the fin is thick or is
subject to variable heat transfer coefficients or variable ambient fluid temperature, nor for
fins with temperature depression at the base [see Huang and Shah (1992) for specific
modifications to the basic formula or for specific results]. In an extended surface heat
exchanger, heat transfer takes place from both the fins (ηf < 100%) and the primary surface
(ηf = 100%). In this case, the total heat transfer rate is evaluated through a concept of total
surface effectiveness or surface efficiency ηo defined as:

Where Af is the fin surface area, Ap is the primary surface area and A = Af + Ap. In Eq. (1),
the heat transfer coefficients of finned and unfinned surfaces are idealized to be equal.
Note that ηo is always required for the determination of thermal resistances for heat
exchanger analysis
Scraped surface heat exchangers
A scraped surface heat exchanger is a type of heat transfer equipment that is used to
efficiently transfer heat between two fluids. It consists of a cylindrical shell that contains a
rotating shaft with blades or paddles attached to it. The blades scrape the inner walls of the
shell as they rotate, effectively removing any buildup or fouling that may occur on the heat
transfer surfaces. This scraping action helps to maintain a high heat transfer rate by
preventing fouling, which can reduce the heat transfer coefficient and increase energy
consumption. The scraped surface heat exchanger is commonly used in the food and
chemical industries, where viscous or fouling fluids are processed, such as chocolate,
margarine, or polymer melts. The design of scraped surface heat exchangers can vary
depending on the application, and may include multiple tubes, internal or external heating
or cooling, and different materials of construction to meet specific process requirements.

Heat transfer to highly viscous or sticky materials is needed in certain applications. A

scraped surface heat exchanger is the best option for providing efficient heat transfer in
such applications because the scraping blades prevent the product from accumulating on
the internal surfaces. Hence, in this article at Linquip, we aim to explain the scraped
surface heat exchanger, its construction, principle, and the uses in different areas.
Scraped surface heat exchanger is made up of a jacketed cylinder with a spinning dasher
that holds rows of scraper blades. When the product is being pumped into the cylinder, the
heating or cooling medium is being circulated between the cylinder and the jacket. Steam,
vapor, or a refrigerant such as ammonia or freon may be used as the medium.

Scraped surface heat exchanger is widely used for heat transfer, crystallization, and other
continuous processes in the dairy, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries. It is suitable
for viscous, sticky, or particulate-containing materials that need some degree of
crystallization. Since these features characterize the vast majority of processed foods, the
scraped surface heat exchanger is particularly well suited for pumpable food items. During
operation, the substance comes into contact with a heat transfer surface that is quickly
and constantly scraped, exposing the surface to untreated product passage. The scraper
blades provide simultaneous mixing and agitation in addition to ensuring high and uniform
heat exchange.

Only a scraped surface heat exchanger allows for heat exchange in sticky and viscous
foods such as strong salad dressings, margarine, chocolate, peanut butter, fondant, ice
cream, and shortenings. Since the boundary layer is constantly replaced by new material,
high heat transfer coefficients are obtained.

Scraped surface heat exchanger in the food industry

Scraped surface heat exchanger is a double pipe component with a coolant in the annulus
that runs countercurrent to the process fluid flow. Briefly mentioned at first, now let’s learn
more about scraped surface heat exchanger in food industry. Scraped surface heat
exchanger used in the food and chemical industries can vary greatly in terms of
construction materials and application. It has been used for decades to replace inefficient
batching operations with more uniform, controllable, and continuous processing.

Cheese sauce, desserts, caramel, deboned beef, pet food, and fruit products are examples
of typical applications. Food Grade Scraped Surface Heat Exchangers are commonly used
in the food industry. These Scraped Surface Heat Exchangers are typically constructed of
stainless steel and polished internally so that they can be washed and primed for other
items to be handled without leaving any residue of either the materials of production or the
process fluids that were previously processed by the Scraped Surface Heat Exchangers.
Typical applications for a scraped surface heat exchanger in food industry include:
Ketchup, mayonnaise, hummus, peanut butter, puddings, salad dressings, bread dough,
gelatine, baby formula, skin lotions, and shampoos are examples of “viscous goods”. Egg
products, fruit purées, cream cheeses, and fishmeal are examples of “heat-sensitive
products”.

Products that crystallize and change process include coffee/tea extracts, icings and
frostings, sugar concentrates, margarine, shortening, spreads, gelatine broth, lard,
fondant, and beer and wine. Meats, eggs, pet foods, jams and preserves, and rice puddings
are examples of “particulate products”. Caramel, cheese sauces, powdered cheese, gums,
gelatine, perfume, and toothpaste are examples of “sticky goods”.