CONCENTRIC TUBE HEAT EXCHANGER

1.0 INTRODUCTION

A heat exchanger is a device that allows heat from a fluid (a liquid or a gas) to pass to a second
fluid (another liquid or gas) without the two fluids having to mix together or come into direct
contact. The temperature of the dividing wall between the fluids also changes along the length of
the exchanger. Examples in practice in which flowing fluids exchange heat are air intercoolers and
pre heaters, condensers and boilers in steam plant and evaporators in refrigeration units, and many
other industrial process in which a liquid or gas is required to be either cooled or heated.

There are two flow arrangements of heat exchanger:

i. Parallel flow

The two fluids (hot and cold) enter the exchanger at the same end, and travel in parallel
to one another to the other side.

ii. Counter flow

The fluids enter the exchanger from opposite ends and travel parallel but opposite flow
to each other.

In this experiment we tested both the parallel flow and counter flow arrangements heat exchanger.

1.1 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

A heat exchanger is a device by which thermal energy is transferred from one fluid to another.
Convection occurred in this experiment. Convection is a mode of heat transfer that involves motion
of some fluids that either absorb heat from a source or gives heat to the material. The types of heat
exchangers to be tested in this experiment are called single-pass, parallel-flow and counter-flow
concentric tube heat exchangers. In a parallel-flow heat exchanger, the working fluids flow in the
same direction. In the counter flow exchanger, the fluids flow in parallel but opposite directions.
 Figure 1.1: Parallel Flow Heat Exchanger

Figure 1.2: Counter Flow Heat Exchanger

For a heat exchanger that flows parallel or counter flow, the coefficient of heat transfer is called
the overall coefficient of heat transfer. It is calculated using the log mean temperature difference.
The variables that affect the performance of a heat exchanger are the fluids’ mass flow rates, the
configuration and area of the heat transfer surfaces, the inlet temperature of the fluids, the physical
properties of the heat exchanger materials and the fluids’ physical properties.
1.2 THEORY

Below are the equations used to calculate the performance characteristics:

 The efficiency for the cold medium

Tc ,out  Tc ,in
c  100
Th,in  Tc ,in

 The efficiency for the hot medium

T T
h  h,in h,out 100
Th ,in  Tc ,in

 The mean temperature efficiency

 
 mean  c h
2

 The power emitted ( where the volumetric flow rate, Vh is the hot fluid)

Power Emitted = Vh hC ph (Th,in  Th ,out )

 The power absorbed ( The volumetric Flow Rate, Vc is the cold fluid)

Power Absorbed = Vc c C pc (Tc ,out  Tc ,in )

 The power lost

Power lost = Power Emitted - Power Absorbed

 The overall efficiency

PowerAbsorbed
 100
PowerEmitted
  The logarithmic mean temperature difference
T  T2
Tm  1
T
ln( 1 )
T2

For parallel flow

T1  (Th ,in  Tc ,in )
T2  (Th ,out  Tc ,out )

For counter flow

T1  (Th ,in  Tc ,out )
T2  (Th,out  Tc ,in )

 The overall heat transfer coefficient

PowerAbsorbed
U
As Tm

Where the surface area ( As ) for this heat exchanger is 0.067m 2 )

Figure 1.3: Graph of Parallel Flow

Figure 1.4: Graph of Counter Flow//

2.0 OBJECTIVE

The main objective for this experiment is to demonstrate the effect of the flow rate variation on
the performance characteristics of a counter-flow and parallel-flow concentric tube heat
exchanger. Besides that, there are a few other objectives that can be achieved which are:

i. To learn on how to operate the heat exchanger.

ii. To observe the difference between parallel-flow and counter flow operation of the heat
exchanger.

2.1 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

1. The experiment for counter-flow heat exchanger operation was configured. The required
hot water inlet temperature was set to Th,in = 60°C with the decade switch. The temperature
is maintained at 60°C. The cold water volumetric flow rate ( Vc ) was set to run at a constant
2,000 cm3/min.
2. The hot fluid volumetric flow rate ( Vh ) was set to 1000 cm3/min. The six temperature
readings in the following table were recorded after 5 minutes. This step was repeated for
volumetric flow rates of 2000, 3000, and 4000 cm3/min.
3. Values for density (ρc and ρh) and constant pressure specific heat (Cpc and Cph) for the cold
fluids at a temperature of Tc,in and for the hot fluids at a temperature of Th,in were found
from table A-3 of Property Tables and Charts.
4. From this data, the following heat exchanger performance factors: power emitted, power
absorbed, power lost, efficiency (), logarithmic mean temperature difference (Tm), and
overall heat transfer coefficient (U) were calculated and recorded in the following table.
5. Steps 1 to 4 were repeated for parallel flow.
6. The effects of changing the volumetric flow rate of the hot fluid on each of these heat
exchanger performance factors were discussed in the discussion section.
2.3 APPARATUS

1. Concentric Tube Heat Exchanger

Figure 2.1: Concentric Tube Heat Exchanger

2. Stopwatch

Figure 2.2: Stopwatch

 3.0 RESULT AND SAMPLE CALCULATION

3.1 Counter Flow

𝑉̇ℎ Power Power Power Efficiency Δ𝑇1 Δ𝑇2 Δ𝑇𝑚 U
Emitted Absorbed Lost (W) (𝜂)
(W)
(W) (%)
(cm³/min) (ºC) (ºC) (ºC) W/(m². ºC)

1,000 1167.41 487.42 679.99 41.75 29 19 23.65 307.64

2,000 1917.86 1249.61 668.25 65.16 26 21 23.41 796.67

3,000 2466.15 2082.98 383.17 84.46 25 23 23.99 1296.14

4,000 2743.92 2777.69 -33.17 101.23 22 22 - -

Table 3.1: Counter Flow Result

Value density (ρc and ρh) and constant pressure specific heat (Cpc and Cph) for the temperature of
(from table A-3 saturated water):
T = 61℃ , ρh= 982.28 kg/m³ , Cph = 4.184 kJ/kg.K
T = 60℃ , ρh= 982.80 kg/m³ , Cph = 4.1840 kJ/kg.K
T = 59℃ , ρh= 983.32 kg/m³ , Cph = 4.1836 kJ/kg.K
T = 27℃ ρc =996.28 kg/m³ , Cpc = 4.1800kJ/kg.K
T = 26℃ ρc =996.64 kg/m³ , Cpc = 4.1800kJ/kg.K
T = 24℃ ρc =997.12 kg/m³ , Cpc = 4.1816kJ/kg.K
3.2 Sample Calculation for Counter Flow

By refer to the table of saturated water properties:

At T= 60℃
ρh = 982.80 kg/m³
Cph = 4.1840 kJ/kg.K

At T= 60℃
We need to do interpolation to find ρh and Cph .
At T= 50℃, ρ = 988 kg/m³
At T= 75℃, ρ = 975 kg/m³

(60 – 50) / (75 – 50) = (  c – 988) / (975 – 988)

 c = 982.80 kg/m³
At T= 50℃ , Cp = 4.1800 kJ/kg.K
At T= 75℃ , Cp = 4.1900 kJ/kg.K

(60 – 50) / (75 – 50) = (Cp – 4.18) / (4.19 – 4.18)

Cpc = 4.1840 kJ/kg.K
Power Emitted = 𝑉̇ℎ 𝜌ℎ 𝐶𝑝ℎ (𝑇ℎ,𝑖𝑛 - 𝑇ℎ,𝑜𝑢𝑡 )
= (1000 x 1/60 x 1/106 ) m³/s x 982.8 kg/m³ x 4.1840 kJ/kg.K x (60 – 43) ℃
= 1167.41W
Power Absorbed = 𝑉𝑐̇ 𝜌𝑐 𝐶𝑝𝑐 (𝑇𝑐,𝑜𝑢𝑡 - 𝑇𝑐,𝑖𝑛 )
= (1000 x 1/60 x 1/106 ) m³/s x 997.12 kg/m³ x 4.1816 kJ/kg.K x (31-24) ℃
= 487.42W

Power lost = Power Emitted – Power Absorbed

= 1167.41 – 487.42
= 679.99 W
The overall efficiency (η) is:
 η = (Power Absorbed/Power Emitted) x 100
= (487.42/1167.41) x 100
= 41.75%
The logarithmic mean temperature difference (Δ𝑇𝑚 ) is:

Δ𝑇
Δ𝑇𝑚 = (Δ𝑇1 - Δ𝑇2 ) / ln( Δ𝑇1 )
2

Δ𝑇1 = (𝑇ℎ,𝑖𝑛 - 𝑇𝑐,𝑜𝑢𝑡 )

= (60 - 31)
= 29 ºC

Δ𝑇2 = (𝑇ℎ,𝑜𝑢𝑡 - 𝑇𝑐,𝑖𝑛 )

= (43 – 24)
= 19 ºC

Δ𝑇
Δ𝑇𝑚 = (Δ𝑇1 - Δ𝑇2 ) / ln( Δ𝑇1 )
2

= (29 –19) / ln (29/19)

= 23.65 ºC
The overall heat transfer coefficient (U) is:

U = Power Absorbed / 𝐴𝑠 Δ𝑇𝑚

U = 487.42 / (0.067×23.65)
= 307.64 W/m². ºC
 3.3 Parallel Flow

𝑉̇ℎ Power Power Power Efficiency ΔT1 ΔT2 ΔTm U

Emitted Absorbed Lost (W) ( )
(cm³/min) (W) (W) (%) (ºC) (ºC) (ºC) W/(m². ºC)

1,000 1028.01 277.53 750.48 27.00 28 17 22.04 187.94

2,000 1781.88 971.35 810.53 54.51 25 19 21.86 663.21

3,000 2261.62 1665.18 596.44 73.63 24 21 22.47 1106.07

4,000 2741.36 2497.77 243.59 91.11 23 22 22.50 1656.90

Table 3.2: Parallel Flow Result

Value density (ρc and ρh) and constant pressure specific heat (Cpc and Cph) for the temperature
of(from table A-3 saturated water):

T = 60 ρh= 982.8 kg/m³ , Cph = 4.184 kJ/kg.K

T = 60 ρh= 982.8 kg/m³ , Cph = 4.184 kJ/kg.K
T = 60 ρh= 982.8 kg/m³ , Cph = 4.184 kJ/kg.K
T = 60 ρc =982.8kg/m³ , Cpc = 4.184kJ/kg.K
T = 28 ρc =995.92 kg/m³ , Cpc = 4.180kJ/kg.K
T = 28 ρc =995.92kg/m³ , Cpc = 4.180kJ/kg.K
T = 28 ρc =995.92 kg/m³ , Cpc = 4.180kJ/kg.K
T = 28 ρc =995.92 kg/m³ , Cpc = 4.180kJ/kg.K
3.4 Sample Calculation for Parallel Flow

Power Emitted =𝑉̇ℎ 𝜌ℎ 𝐶𝑝ℎ (𝑇ℎ,𝑖𝑛 - 𝑇ℎ,𝑜𝑢𝑡 )

= (1000 x 1/60 x 1/106 ) m³/s x 982.8 kg/m³ x 4.184 kJ/kg.K x (60 – 45) ℃
= 1028.01W
Power Absorbed =𝑉𝑐̇ 𝜌𝑐 𝐶𝑝𝑐 (𝑇𝑐,𝑜𝑢𝑡 - 𝑇𝑐,𝑖𝑛 )
= (1000 x 1/60 x 1/106 ) m³/s x 995.92kg/m³ x 4.180 kJ/kg.K x (32-28) ℃
= 277.53W
Power lost = Power Emitted – Power Absorbed
= 1028.01– 277.53
= 750.48W

The overall efficiency (η) is:

η = (Power Absorbed/Power Emitted) x 100

= (277.53/1028.01) x 100
= 27.0%

The logarithmic mean temperature difference (Δ) is:

Δ𝑇
Δ𝑇𝑚 = (Δ𝑇1 - Δ𝑇2 ) / ln( Δ𝑇1 )
2

Δ𝑇1 = (𝑇ℎ,𝑖𝑛 - 𝑇𝑐,𝑜𝑢𝑡 )

= (60– 32)
= 28ºC

Δ𝑇2 = (𝑇ℎ,𝑜𝑢𝑡 - 𝑇𝑐,𝑖𝑛 )

= (45– 28)
= 17ºC
 Δ𝑇
Δ𝑇𝑚 = (Δ𝑇1 - Δ𝑇2 ) / ln( Δ𝑇1 )
2

= (28 –17) / ln (28 / 17)

= 22.04 ºC

The overall heat transfer coefficient (U) is:

U = Power Absorbed / 𝐴𝑠 Δ𝑇𝑚

U = 277.53/ (0.067 x22.04)

= 187.94 W/m². ºC
4.0 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

The objective which is to be achieved in this experiment is to demonstrate the effect of flow rate
variation on the performance of a concentric tube heat exchanger for both parallel flow and
counterflow. In the experiment for both flow, we conducted with constant hot water inlet
temperature, Th,in = 60oC with varying hot fluid volumetric flow rates. However, the cold fluid
flow rate is maintained constant at 2000 cm3/min.

In counter-flow heat exchanger, the efficiency when applying hot fluid volumetric flow
rate, V̇h = 1000 cm3/min is 41.75%, and increasing when increasing the volume flow rate, which
is 65.16% for 2000 cm3/min, 84.46% for 3000 cm3/min and 101.23% for 4000 cm3/min. Plus, the
overall heat transfer coefficient when applying 1000 cm3/min is 307.64 W/m2.oC, and also
increasing when the volume flow rate is increase which is 796.67 W/m2.oC, 1296.14 W/m2.oC for
2000 cm3/min and 3000 cm3/min respectively.

In parallel-flow heat exchanger, the efficiency when applying hot fluid volumetric flow
rate, V̇h = 1000 cm3/min is 27.00%, and increasing when increasing the volume flow rate, which
is 54.51% for 2000 cm3/min, 73.63% for 3000 cm3/min and 91.11% for 4000 cm3/min. Plus, the
overall heat transfer coefficient when applying 1000 cm3/min is 187.94 W/m2.oC, and also
increasing when the volume flow rate is increase which is 663.21 W/m2.oC, 1106.07 W/m2.oC,
1656.90 W/m2.oC for 2000 cm3/min, 3000 cm3/min and 4000 cm3/min respectively.

Notice that for both experiments, the counter flow produce greater efficiency than parallel
flow. This result follows thetheoretical conclusion where counter flow heat exchanger is more
efficient than parallel flow. However, there are a lot of errors and mistakes that may have affected
the results obtained. The very common error occurs during conducting the experiments are careless
way of reading the level when taking the reading of the cold water volumetric flow rate. The eye
of an observer must be parallel to the level meniscus to avoid parallax error. Next, when setting
the hot water inlet temperature which is 60oC with the decade switch, the reading of decade switch
and the temperature shown at the hot water inlet sensor is different, thus there is slack differences
in temperature Th,in. Callibration is needed to ensure the accuracy of the result that will be obtained.

In a parallel design heat exchanger, the temperature of the cold stream outlet, Tc,out is always
lesser than that of the hot stream outlet, Th,out. Therefore, the heat transfer is restricted by the cold
stream's outlet temperature, Tc,out. On the other hand, in a counter-flow design, the restriction is
relaxed and Tc,out can exceed Th,out. Hence in this design, the heat transfer is restricted by the cold
stream's inlet temperature, Tc,in.

Therefore, to achieve greater heat recovery, a counter-flow design is preferred to that of a

parallel design. However, there are some special cases where a parallel heat exchanger design
might still be adopted. Some of these are:

 Maximum cold fluid temperature - If we want to ensure that the temperature of the cold
fluid never exceeds a particular temperature, then parallel heat exchanger designs are
advantageous due to their inbuilt restriction to this effect.
 Fast heat transfer - Let's inspect the temperatures at location A. The temperature difference
between the hot and cold streams at this location is very large in the parallel design. In fact,
it's the largest possible temperature difference achievable. Since the heat transfer rate is
directly proportional to the temperature difference, the heat transfer rate will also be
maximum here. Therefore, to achieve fast heat transfer away from thermal equilibrium
conditions, parallel flow configurations will perform better.
5.0 REFERENCES

1.