SHELL-AND-TUBE HEAT EXCHANGER Objectives 1.

To investigate the overall, tube-side, and shell-side heat-transfer coefficients for a small heat exchanger. 2. To investigate the differences and similarities between counter-current and co-current operation. 3. To introduce the concept of computer-aided data acquisition and analysis. Introduction Many studies of heat-transfer coefficients in systems of simple or well-defined geometry have led to heat-transfer coefficient correlations [e.g., Perry et al., 1984]. However, real heat exchangers are often geometrically complex, leading to uncertainties in flow patterns and local heat-transfer coefficients. It is often necessary to determine coefficients on real exchangers after they have been fabricated. In this project, a small heat exchanger will be studied in order to determine correlations for various heat-transfer parameters. Principles and Theory TC Shell mt TA Fig. 1 Shell-and-tube heat exchanger. The notation for the counter-current operation of a shell-and-tube heat exchanger is introduced in Fig. 1, for which the symbols and others are fully defined in Table 1. For our heat exchanger, the tube-side liquid (water) always enters from the left. Thus, for co-current operation, the shell-side liquid would then also flow from left to right, and the temperatures at the locations shown in Fig. 1 still remain valid. The rate of heat transfer (BTU/hr) from the tube side (that is, heat lost by the tube-side liquid) is Qt = mtc p (TA TB ). (1) Tube TD ms

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It is convenient to think in terms of hot water flowing through the tube side, in which case Qt will be positive. However, the theory holds equally well for the hot water entering the shell side, which case Qt will be negative. Table 1 Notation Meaning Tube-side mass flow rate Shell-side mass flow rate Temperature entering tubes Temperature leaving tubes Shell temperature opposite TA Shell temperature opposite TB Mean specific heat of liquid Total tube inside area Overall heat-transfer coefficient based on inside tube area Cross-flow factor Logarithmic mean temperature difference

Symbol mt ms TA TB TC TD cp Ai Ui Y Tlm

Units lb/hr lb/hr F F F F BTU/lb F sq ft BTU/hr sq ft F F

Likewise, the rate of heat transfer from the shell side is Qs = m sc p(Tc TD ), (2)

in which the plus sign holds for counter-current flow and the minus sign for co-current flow. Theoretically, Qt should equal Qs , but for various reasons (what are they?) they may be slightly different, and we choose to define a mean rate of heat transfer as 1 Q = ( Qt + Qs ). (3) 2 and note that this obeys the relation Q = Ui AiYTlm . (4) Since we are not dealing with a cross-flow or multi-pass exchanger, the factor Y will be taken as unity. The logarithmic mean temperature difference is defined by Tlm =

(TA TC ) (TB TD )
T TC ln A TB TD

(5)

Note that for (TB - T D) approximately equal to (TA - T C), it may be shown by means of L'Hospital's rule that

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1 (6) [(T TC ) + ( TB TD )]. 2 A Another way of deriving Eqn. (6) is to substitute TB T D = and TA T C = + (where <<) into Eqn. (5) and then to use a standard Taylor's expansion for the ln (1 + /) term that appears in the denominator. The overall resistance to heat transfer, 1/Ui , based on the inside area of the tubes, is the sum of four resistances in series: 1 1 D D D 1 = + i ln o + i + F. (7) Ui ht 2 kw Di Do hs Tlm with further definitions included in Table 2. Table 2 Additional Notation Symbol ht hs kw Di Do F L Nu Pr Re u k Meaning Tube-side heat-transfer coefficient Shell-side heat-transfer coefficient Conductivity of tube walls Inside tube diameter Outside tube diameter Fouling factor Length of tube Nusselt number, hD/k Prandtl number, cp /k Reynolds number, uD/ Velocity Liquid density Liquid thermal conductivity Liquid viscosity Units BTU/hr sq ft F BTU/hr sq ft F BTU/hr ft F ft ft hr sq ft F /BTU ft ft/hr lb/cu ft BTU/hr ft F lb/ft hr

Since, in general use of the exchanger, both the inside and outside coefficients must be predicted, as well as the fouling factor if possible, further analysis is necessary. One approach to measure these coefficients is the Wilson method [Bennett and Myers, 1982]. For highly turbulent flow inside tubes, an equation of the Dittus-Boelter form [Bennett and Myers, 1982] is often used: Nu = 0.023Re 0.8 Pr 0.3 . (8) The exponent on Pr depends slightly upon whose correlation is chosen (DittusBoelter, Colburn, Sieder-Tate. etc.). A different correlation must be used for laminar flow.

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The Sieder-Tate equation for laminar flow in a cylindrical tube [Perry's, 1984] is of the form: RePr Di Nu = 1.86 L
1/3

w
b

0.14

(9)

We often find that correlations that hold for tube side flow do not hold for shell side flow. Therefore, care should be exercised in their application. Other correlations are available for estimation of the shell side heat transfer coefficients [Perrys, 1984; Donohue, 1949]. The Wilson method uses the exponent of the Reynolds number from these correlations to determine the leading coefficient in a correlation of the form of (8), to estimate the inside and outside coefficients. Once the film coefficients are determined, the value of F can be estimated for a heat exchanger of known geometry. (The flow regime should be determined before the appropriate correlations can be used. For example, equation 8 implies that for turbulent flow in cylindrical tubes, ht = mt 0.8 where a is function of the physical properties of the liquid ( cp, k) and can be considered constant if the conditions of the liquid do not change significantly. Similarly, equation 9 implies that for laminar flow in cylindrical tubes, ht = mt 0.33 . If correlations such as equations 8 or 9 are known (or can be developed) for the shell side as well as the tube side, then, it follows from (7) that 1 1 1 = + F. (10) nt + c + Ui mt m sns in which c= Di D ln o , 2 kw Di = Do . Di (11)

and nt and ns are the exponents derived from the respective heat transfer correlations. By suitable plots (what are they?), first with mt constant and then with ms constant, it is therefore possible to estimate , , and F. Equipment One Exergy brand single-pass shell-and-tube heat exchanger (model no. 23-406-2.4-316), covered with a detachable foam insulating jacket (a detailed description can be found at the end of this section). Four platinum resistance temperature detectors or RTDs (Omega Engineering model PR11-2-100-1/4-6E) to monitor the inlet and outlet temperatures from both sides of the heat exchanger. (Note that the RTDs are removable and may be placed in different relative locations by the various groups using this equipment). Two turbine flowmeters Model FT6-8-NEOO LEG-1, (manufactured by E G & G Flow Technology). These flow meters have a nominal flow range of 0 to 5 gpm. and are equipped with flow transmitters model TWA-C-3-00 (also from E G & G Flow Technology). A 15-kW auxiliary electric water heater equipped with a water recirculation pump. This heater is controlled by an Omega model CN9000 temperature controller. Also provided are various runs of piping and valves (including those for switching the hot water into the shell side or the tube side, and for counter- or co-current operation), a

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pail and a weighing scale, and a computer equipped with LABTECH CONTROL dataacquisition software (see below for instructions). There are two safety switches that can prevent the auxiliary heater from being turned on. The flow switch, located in the hot-water recirculation loop, will shut the heater off if the water flow rate is too low. The temperature switch, located to the left of the electric box (red case), will turn off the heater when the temperature of the water leaving the heater exceeds 160F. If the temperature switch is triggered and the heater is turned off, the switch must be reset manually by pressing the reset button. The main power supply to the system is located in the electric box to the right of the heat exchanger. The heater can be turned off independently by using the electric switch located below the electric box. The heater cannot be turned on if the main power is off. The water supply enters the system through a pressure regulator, intended to produce a water supply of constant pressure, which is helpful when trying to maintain a constant flow rate through one of the flow meters. The water is then divided into two streams one is directed to the heat exchanger, and the other is directed to the auxiliary heater before passing on to the exchanger. The flows of hot or cold water can be directed to the shell or tube side of the heat exchanger by appropriate positioning of 2 three-way switching valves (Figure 2). The water flow direction in the heat exchanger can be either co-current or counter-current by the positioning of 2 additional three-way switching valves. The temperature of the water leaving the auxiliary heater is controlled at the desired setpoint by the controller, unless the capacity of the heater is exceeded. The recirculating pump must be on in order to provide sufficient water flow trough the heater. The temperature setpoint in the controller can be checked by pressing the " * " button on the controller panel, and can be changed by pressing and holding the "* " button and the up or down arrows simultaneously

B A
Side View

A C B
Top View Side View

B A C Ports B and C connected for flow C B

Top View

C Ports A and C connected for flow

B A
Side View

B C
Top View

All ports closed to flow

Figure 2: Three-way Valve for Switching Service

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Experimental Procedures A. Data Acquisition with LABTECH CONTROL LABTECH CONTROL operates under Microsoft WINDOWS 95 operating system. To start the program, turn the computer on. The computer is not connected to the network, so click "Cancel" in the "Enter network password" dialog box. Once the Windows screen is displayed, double-click on the HEAT EXCHANGER folder if it is not open already. This folder contains icons for the control setup, six calibration files, and a folder for the storage of data files created during the experimental runs. To start the data acquisition program, double click on the HEATEX icon. A product Identification screen will appear temporarily and the LABTECH CONTROL setup will start the data acquisition functions. The setup produces a display screen with the values for all the sensor outputs on the right-hand side of the screen, and analog traces for the sensor outputs on the left-hand side of the screen. A file named HEATXnnn.XLS is generated every time the data acquisition program is invoked. The nnn indicate the numerical order of the file and it is incremented by one each time a new file is saved. All the temperature, flow rate, and time values are stored in this file every 10 seconds. Note that the time, temperature and flow rate data written to the file are not the actual readings at every 10-second mark; instead, they are the calculated average of the values read over the previous 10 seconds. To stop the data acquisition program, simply select Exit from the application File menu. If a faster rate of data acquisition is desired, click-hold on the FAST ACQUISITION toggle-switch located on the lower-right corner of the screen until it changes status from the OFF to the ON position. While this switch is in the ON position, all values are recorded every second. It is recommended that this is used only when necessary since it will create very large data files in a relatively short period of time. Data files from each run are stored in the "DATA" folder of the HEAT EXCHANGE folder. Your files can be recognized by their creation date and time. When you are done with the computer, please select the "Shut down computer?" from the "Start" menu at the lower left corner of the screen. B. Sensor Calibration The electronic signals produced by the flow meters and the RTDs are converted to a standard voltage signal and sent to the computer. The sensor calibration is done by means of a regression (either linear or non-linear) between the variable measured (flow rate or temperature) and the voltage signal produced by the sensor. These calibrations can be implemented with the computer by means of a polynomial fit. For sensors with a linear response, a 1st. order polynomial is sufficient for the calibration. For sensors with a non-linear response, a higher order polynomial will be required. The software implements polynomial fits using: y = a0 + a1V + a2V 2 + a3V 3 + a4V 4 + ..... + an Vn where: y = V = Variable being monitored (temperature, flow, etc.) Volts produced by the measuring instrument (flow meter, RTDs, etc.) (12)

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ao, a1, a2, ... , an =

correlation constants

All calibrations can be implemented in this manner. For example, an instrument that has a linear relationship between the monitored variable and the voltage produced, can be calibrated with: y = a0 + a1V (13) this has the same form as equation 12 where: a2 = a3 = a4 = ..... = an = 0. Similarly for any ith. order polynomial (i 10 in the current data acquisition setup) can be implemented by setting aj = 0 (where j>i). The parameters ai for each instrument calibration are located in text files with the same name as the instrument, and can be edited by double-clicking on the file icon. These files consist of 11 numbers in a column where a0 is at the top, and a10 is at the bottom. The default value for the parameters are: a1 = 1, a0 = a2 = a3 = a4 = ..... = a10 = 0 . This set of parameters produce a value for the monitored variable y equal to the volts output from the measuring instrument. Procedure: 1. Turn the computer ON and double-click on each one of the calibration files icons (located in the HEAT EXCHANGER folder) to ascertain that the parameter values are a1 = 1, and a0 = a2 = a3 = a4 = ..... = a10 = 0 (edit the files if they are not) 2. Double-click on the HEATEX icon (located in HEAT EXCHANGER folder). If conditions shown in step 1 are met, then all the values displayed and saved to the file by this setup represent the direct instruments output and have units of VOLTS. 3. Remove the 4 RTDs from the heat exchanger by slightly loosening (NOT REMOVING) the packing nut on each RTD and sliding the RTD out of the fitting. 4. Place the RTDs in a constant temperature water bath. Make sure that the water in the beaker is well above the junction between the coiled heater and the support tube. If this is not done, the exposed area of the heater will overheat and the heater will burn-out. (Use DI water to fill the beaker) 5. Expose the RTDs with several known temperatures and generate a table correlating the instrument voltage with the temperature. 6. Replace the RTDs in their original fittings and tighten the packing nuts (finger tight firmly) 7. Open the main water supply valve; direct the water from the flow meter to be calibrated to the tube side of the heat exchanger. 8. Produce several known flow rates through the flow meter and generate another table correlating meter voltage with flow rate (use an appropriate container and a stop watch to measure flow) 9. Plot the temperature ( oC) or flow rate (l/min) against the voltage and conduct an appropriate curve fit, using either your calculator, Delta-Graph, Excel or other programs, or graph paper, pencil and ruler. Calculate the parameters ai in equation 12 (or equation 13 for linear relationships) for each one of the RTDs and flow meters .

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10. Enter the values for the parameters ai in each of the calibration files. To do this, double-click on the file icon and enter the ai numbers in the appropriate positions (note that each one of these files has to have 11 numbers in a single column or an error message will be generated during data acquisition). Save each file by selecting Save from the File menu, and exit the text editor by selecting Exit from the File menu. Once this is done for all calibration files, the computer will display and store the sensor data in the appropriate engineering units (such as l/min, 0C, etc.). C. Heat Exchanger Characterization 1. Turn the computer ON and edit each one of the calibration files (double-click on the appropriate icons located in the HEAT EXCHANGER folder) to enter the calibration parameters ai. for each of the RTDs and Flow meters (see explanation of calibrations in the previous section) 2. Double-click on the HEATEX icon (located in HEAT EXCHANGER folder). This starts the data acquisition program. This setup produces a display screen with readings for all the temperatures and flows on the right-hand side of the screen, and analog traces for the temperatures and flows in the left-hand side of the screen. you will see the following displays: The metered readings for the time, the four RTDs, and the two flow rates; a graph of temperature vs. time for the RTDs; and a graph of the flow rates vs. time. Each of the graphs as well as the metered readings will be updated every second. All the values displayed and saved to a file by this setup represent the input from the instruments converted to engineering units by the calibration parameters. 3. Start with the "base case" of counter-current operation, heated water on the tube side, and insulation on the exchanger. You may need to adjust the pressure regulator in order to stabilize the water flow rates. Note the locations of the temperature sensors in the heat exchanger to avoid problems later during data analysis. 4. With water flowing through both shell and tube sides, turn on the electric heater. Assuming that the power of the heater is larger than that required by the particular water flow rate, the temperature controller will maintain a constant hot-water temperature. 5. Note that you should never have the heater on without water flowing through it. 6. Choose a set of values of mt and ms for the experimental design; each flow rate should be varied over a range while the other one is held constant. Then perform your measurements, always waiting for thermal equilibrium to be reached in each case. Make sure that you investigate thoroughly the "base case" you will need to make a minimum of six or seven runs with one of the flow rates held constant and the other varied, and another six or seven runs the other way round. This procedure may occupy most of the first laboratory session, but will hopefully insure that you get an adequate number of points for satisfactory Wilson plots. 7. As usual, you are expected to repeat a few runs to determine the reproducibility of your observations. 8. Also plan and conduct a properly planned investigation into the operation of the exchanger in co-current flow, with the heated water on the shell side, and without insulation. Don't try varying everything at once, because you should attempt to isolate the effect of each variable in turn.

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9. Turn off the electric heater before shutting off the water flows. Data Analysis Your investigations should include, but not necessarily be limited to the following: 1. For each run, determine Qt , Qs , and Ui . 2. Construct appropriate plots to determine, as far as possible, the individual correlations for the shell- and tube-side coefficients, and the value for the fouling factor. Use least-squares linear regression to fit straight lines in the Wilson plots. 3. Conduct further analyses to investigate co-current operation, heated water on the shell side, and no insulation. 4. Prove the validity of equation (6). For simplicity, start by defining TB T D = and TA T C = + , where is small compared with . Then expand the logarithm of the ratio (+ )/. 5. In your report, make sure you compare the values of the shell- and tube-side heattransfer coefficients with each other, and also with the correlations used for their prediction Questions for Consideration 1. Under what conditions is the Dittus-Boelter equation valid? 2. How can the heat losses be estimated? How can they be reduced? 3. Mean temperatures on the shell and tube sides will not be identical for different flow conditions. Is this an important source of error in determining the final correlations? Can their effect be included and compensated for? 4. How can you obtain two estimates for F, implying that its value may be overdetermined? Can anything be done about it, or any advantage taken of the fact (for example, to determine some assumed parameter, in exchange for getting only one estimate of F)? 5. Is the wall resistance important in any likely operation of the exchanger? 6. What safety hazard(s) are inherent in the conduct of the experiment, and how can they be eliminated or minimized? 7. Why is equation (6) sometimes important? 8. What safety devices will insure the water supply on the hot side from overheating? 9. How can you change the temperature setpoint on the controller? 10. Would you expect the presence or absence of insulation to make a significant difference to either the tube side or shell side heat-transfer coefficients? Literature Cited Bennett, C.O., and Myers, J.E., Momentum, Heat, and Mass Transfer, 3rd ed., Wiley, New York (1982).

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Perry, R.H., and Chilton, C.H., eds, Chemical Engineers' Handbook, 6th ed., McGraw-Hill, New York (1984). Daniel. A. Donohue, Heat Transfer and Pressure Drop in Heat Exchangers, Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, Vol. 41, No. 11. (1949) P.P. LaValle, J.O. Wilkes, July 17, 2000

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