Calculating Heat Removal

I will discuss how to calculate the amount of heat that can be removed by the water. To do so, it
first must be known that the specific heat of water is 1 and its specific gravity is 1.
It must then be known how much heat - in BTUs - are needed to raise or lower the temperature of
water.
Start with the basic equation for heat in terms of BTUs:
BTUs = mass x t
To heat one pound of water by 1F becomes:
BTUs = mass (I lb.) x t (1F)
=1
Similarly, to cool 50 pounds of water from 65F to 50F, the amount of heat to be removed is:
BTUs = mass (50 lb.) x t ( 65 - 50)F
= 50 x 15
= 750
Rate
Measuring water in terms of gallons per minute (gpm) flow. A time factor is introduced to
determine the rate of heat removed rather than just the total heat removed.
For practical purposes, it is helpful to determine the amount of heat to be removed from a process
within a specific time frame (one hour, for example) so that appropriate equipment can be
selected.
It must also be noted that all process cooling equipment has a rated capacity.
It is capable of removing a specific amount of heat within a specific time frame, usually one hour.
Rate Examples
A 5 ton chiller will remove 60,000 BTUs of heat (12,000 BTUs equal one refrigeration ton) per hour.
A 50 ton cooling tower system will remove 750,000 BTUs per hour (15,000 BTUs equal one tower
ton).
Heat Flow Equation
The standard heat flow equation for water then becomes:
BTUs per hour = gpm x t x 500
The constant 500 simply converts gpm of water flow rate into pounds per hour (one gallon of water
equals 8.345 pounds).

Example:
Based on these equations, a flow rate of 2.4 gpm is required for the removal of 1 ton of heat in
cooling a mold with refrigerated water, and allowing a residence time for water in the mold until
the water rises in temperature by 10F.
Mathematically, this is derived by:
BTUhr = gpm x t x 500
12,000 BTU/hr (1 ton) =
gpm x 10F x 500
gpm = 12000 (10 x 500)
gpm = 2.4
For every one ton of heat removed, a 2.4 gpm flow of water is required if the exit temperature is
10F higher than the entering temperature
Temperature Changes
Temperature of the mold also governs to some extent the quality of the part being molded. When
cooling water is allowed to rise in temperature by 10F as it flows through the mold, the mold
section that first comes in contact with the entering water will be at a colder temperature than the
section that is at the exiting water.
It is important to minimize the waters temperature change across the mold as uneven
temperatures will cause the plastic to cool at an uneven rate and may result in shrinkage, surface
blemishes, dimensional instability, and other undesirable plastic attributes.
The principle implemented to ensure the least temperature change (t) is water flow rate. An
increase in flow rate will increase the amount of heat picked up by the coolant. As such, it is
important to increase the flow rate through a mold until the temperature spread between entering
and exiting points is close to 4-5F.
Heat Rejection
Just as we calculated the amount of heat removed by water based on its flow rate and the
temperature rise, we also calculate heat rejected by plastic in cooling from its molten state to
solidified state.
The formula for cooling plastic is:
Q = lb. x specific heat x t
where Q = heat removed in BTUs, or
BTU / hr =lb. / hr x specific heat x t
Determine the thermal characteristics of the plastic you will be using.

Example
Assume a machine is processing 440 lb. per hour of high density polyethylene.
Specific heat of HDPE is 1
Melt temperature is 450F
Exit temperature (of molded part) is 115F
The result:
BTU/hr = lb./hr x specific heat x t
= 440 x 1 x(450-115F)
= 147,400
or Load = 12.28 tons
Chiller Size
It is a good practice to allow a 25% factor of safety for such extraneous sources of heat inputs as a
circulating pump, exposed and uninsulated pipes and hoses, etc.
In the above case, a chiller should be selected for (12.28 x 1.25) or 15 tons capacity.
Based on the above, some rules of thumb are established to make quick estimates of the process
load.
Remember the fundamentals and you can estimate thermal load for almost any situation.