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Heat interchargers
Joaquin Zarco Diaz
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Joaqun Zarco Daz

HEAT INTERCHANGERS
Introduction

Fig 1. Cast aluminium heat interchanger.

The use of heat interchangers, either as an aid to performance or a solution to
a problem, has been custom and practice in the commercial refrigeration
industry for many years, often with virtually no consideration of both
theoretical or practical concepts.
They can be found applied in refrigerant systems in many different ways for
many different reasons. Here we cover the most common uses these
refrigerant heat interchangers.
Conventional application.
The most common application and original concept is to install the heat
interchanger adjacent to the evaporator and thermostatic expansion valve as
shown in Fig 2, below:

Fig 2. The conventional heat interchanger application.

Virtually all refrigeration systems will benefit from a heat interchanger

providing it is not undersized so that the suction side pressure drop nullifies the
advantages or, on low temperature applications, is oversized so that the
suction superheat and consequently the discharge temperature, is too high.

In this application the heat interchanger has two effect: increasing the gas
temperature (superheat) as it enters the compressor suction and increasing the
degree of liquid subcooling as it enters the expansion valve.
Increasing the suction gas temperature (superheat)
Most refrigeration compressors are rated at suction gas temperatures
considerably above freezing point and to achieve this rating this heat must he
extracted from the evaporator.
In most instances this is difficult to obtain from the evaporator in low
temperature applications it is impossible, so consequently there can easily be a
shortfall of 5% in the compressor rating and therefore the system capacity.
The only way that this superheat can be achieved, albeit indirectly, is from a
heat interchanger which can be sized to restore and, sometimes, slightly
increase the system evaporator capacity. This is achieved by superheating the
suction gas and subcooling the refrigerant liquid in an exchange of heat, this
sub heating then being usefully employed in the evaporator and fulfilling the
requirements stated in the first paragraph.
The temperature interchange between the refrigerant vapour and the liquid is
approximately equal too:
? t subcooled liquid = 'C' x ? t superheated vapour.

Refrigerant type

Factor C

R12

0.6

R22

0.5

R502

0.55

Liquid refrigerant entering the compressor can do considerable mechanical

damage which a heat interchanger, selected for its normal duty, can prevent by
boiling off or breaking up slugs of liquid refrigerant providing this is only an
intermittent occurrence.
This is especially a problem on any close approach application, such as a low
temperature cold store, which must operate at low TEV superheats, conditions
at which instability is always likely to occur.
If "wet" refrigerant vapour continually enters the compressor it will have a
detrimental effect on the lubricating system by diluting the oil and causing
foaming. This can lead to excessive wear and even seizure of the moving parts.
This condition also has a de-rating effect on the pumping rate on the
compressor, i.e. the system evaporator capacity, and continually washes the oil
of the cylinder walls to increase the wear rate.
A heat interchanger sized for a normal duty will "dry" the refrigerant vapour
and benefit the system with the related subcooling.
This arrangement utilises the cooling effect of the suction gas, which without a
heat interchanger would probably be lost to the ambient in the suction line. In
the heat interchanger this cooling effect is used to subcool the liquir refrigerant
entering the expansion valve.
Increasing the degree of liquid subcooling as it enters the
expansion valve.
The effective performance of the TEV and refrigeration system can only he
achieved if vapour-free liquid refrigerant is available at the inlet to the TEV.
Flash gas in the liquid line, resulting from either the evaporator being mounted
above the condenser and/or pressure losses in the pipelines, can be eliminated
by the use of a heat interchanger.

Fig 3. Heat interchanger application to compensate for elevation pressure loss

in liquid line.
Based on refrigeration liquid at 32 C (90 F) the amount of subcooling required
to compensate for these losses is:
SI & METRIC UNITS

R12

R22

R502

1 bar pressure drop

4.9K

3.1K

2.9K

10m elevation difference*

6.2K

3.5K

3.4K

IMPERIAL UNITS

R12

R22

R502

10 psi pressure drop

6.1 F

3.8 F

3.6 F

10ft elevation difference*

3.4 F

1.9 F

1.8 F

*not applicable when the evaporator is below the condensers.

Minimum heat interchanger superheats
subcooling for nominal selection are: -

and

the

approximate

related

APPLICATION

SUPERHEAT

SUBCOOLING

High temperature, room above O C (32 F)

10 K (18 F)

5.5 K (10 F)

Commercial temperature, room below O C (32

F)

15 K (27 F)

8 K (14 F)

Low temperature, room below 20 C (-5 F)

20K (36F)

11 K (20 F)

The total system superheat is the above plus the TEV superheat and the
subcooling is the above plus the condenser subcooling which for a condenser
without a special subcooling section is about YK (5 F)
A realistic appraisal of heat interchanger usage would be:
APPLICATION

USAGE

High temperature

Recommended

Commercial temperature

Essential

Low temperature

Essential

Evaporator booster.

Any direct expansion evaporator will perform at its best when the suction gas
superheat is low and it is possible to achieve this if the major part of the TEV
superheat is obtained from the heat interchanger.
When a heat interchanger is used in this manner the majority of the
advantages listed are not applicable and it is possible on systems where the
TEV is set far too low that the system will become very unstable due to the
erratic temperature of the sub-cooled liquid.
This can he overcome by increasing the superheat to a more reasonable level
which will achieve the objective of increasing the evaporator performance
without any undue instability.
A heat interchanger selected for this type of application can be chosen for its
superheating ability or the suction side pressure drop when this data is
available.
Air cooled condenser booster.

Only the cast aluminum type of heat interchanger can be used on this
application. Air cooled condensers suffer from the fact that when their
maximum performance is required the ambient air temperature is high.
However, as this may only occur on a few days a year, it could be
uneconomical to size the condenser for this temperature.
The use of a heat interchanger in the refrigerant discharge line between the
compressor and condenser with water connected UP to the smaller connections
will be capable of boosting the condenser capacity to that of a water cooled
type while still retaining the advantages of the former.
For maximum utilisation of the water a refrigeration condenser pressure
operated water valve should be fitted to allow water to flow through the heat
interchanger when the pressure rises above a pre-set value
Installation
Most heat interchangers can be fitted in any location except that the larger
steel type with the offset suction connection should be fitted with this
connection below the centreline when fitting horizontally to prevent excessive
oil trapping.
To eliminate any possibility of hydraulic damage from ice build up during pump
down the liquid line solenoid valve should be fitted between the heat
interchanger and the TEV as shown on the appropriate sketches.

Types of Heat Exchangers

Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger

Shell and tube heat exchangers are comprised of multiple tubes through which
liquid flows. The tubes are divided into two sets: the first set contains the liquid
to be heated or cooled. The second set contains the liquid responsible for
triggering the heat exchange, and either removes heat from the first set of
tubes by absorbing and transmitting heat awayin essence, cooling the liquid
or warms the set by transmitting its own heat to the liquid inside. When
designing this type of exchanger, care must be taken in determining the correct
tube wall thickness as well as tube diameter, to allow optimum heat exchange.
In terms of flow, shell and tube heat exchangers can assume any of three flow
path patterns.

Plate Heat Exchanger

Plate heat exchangers consist of thin plates joined together, with a small
amount of space between each plate, typically maintained by a small rubber
gasket. The surface area is large, and the corners of each rectangular plate
feature an opening through which fluid can flow between plates, extracting

heat from the plates as it flows. The fluid channels themselves alternate hot
and cold fluids, meaning that heat exchangers can effectively cool as well as
heat fluidthey are often used in refrigeration applications. Because plate heat
exchangers have such a large surface area, they are often more effective than
shell and tube heat exchangers.

Regenerative Heat Exchanger

In a regenerative heat exchanger, the same fluid is passed along both sides of
the exchanger, which can be either a plate heat exchanger or a shell and tube
heat exchanger. Because the fluid can get very hot, the exiting fluid is used to
warm the incoming fluid, maintaining a near constant temperature. A large
amount of energy is saved in a regenerative heat exchanger because the
process is cyclical, with almost all relative heat being transferred from the
exiting fluid to the incoming fluid. To maintain a constant temperature, only a
little extra energy is need to raise and lower the overall fluid temperature.

Adiabatic Wheel Heat Exchanger

In this type of heat exchanger, an intermediate fluid is used to store heat,

which is then transferred to the opposite side of the exchanger unit. An
adiabatic wheel consists of a large wheel with threads that rotate through the
fluidsboth hot and coldto extract or transfer heat.

Another division of types

Shell & tube heat exchangers
Baffle types
Segmental baffles
Double segmental baffles
No-tube-in-window (NTIW) baffles
Rod baffles
EM baffles
Helical baffles
Tube Enhancements
Twisted tubes
Low finned tubes

Tubes inserts (twisted tapes, Cal Gavin)

Compact type heat exchangers
Plate & frame heat exchangers (gasketed, semi-welded, welded)
Spiral
Blazed plate & frame
Plate-fin heat exchanger
Printed circuits
Air-cooled heat exchangers