Chapter 5

Applications of Heat Transfer

Heat Transfer, BME III/I

Course outline
Applications of Heat Transfer [6 hours]
üFins
Types of Fins
Heat Dissipation from Fins
Fin Performance
üHeat exchanger
Types of Heat Exchangers
LMTD Method of Heat Exchanger Analysis
Effectiveness
NTU Method of Heat Exchanger Analysis
Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient
Fouling Factors
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 FINS
Newton’s law of cooling: The rate of heat transfer from a surface to the surrounding
medium

When Ts and T¥ are fixed, two ways to

increase the rate of heat transfer are
• To increase the convection heat transfer
coefficient h. This may require the installation
of a pump or fan, or replacing the existing one
with a larger one, but this approach may or may
not be practical. Besides, it may not be
adequate.
• To increase the surface area As by attaching to
the surface extended surfaces called fins made
of highly conductive materials such as
aluminum.
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1. TYPES OF FINS

The thin plate fins of a car

radiator greatly increase the rate
of heat transfer to the air.

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 2. HEAT DISSIPATION FROM FINS

Consider a volume element of a fin at location x having a

length of Dx, cross-sectional area of Ac, and perimeter of p
as shown in figure.
Under steady conditions

In special case of constant cross section and

thermal conductivity, the differential equation
reduces to

Temperature excess
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The general solution of the differential equation

Boundary condition at fin base

I. Infinitely Long Fin (Tfin tip = T¥)

Boundary condition at fin tip
Boundary conditions at the fin
base and the fin tip.
The variation of temperature along the fin

The steady rate of heat transfer from the entire fin

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 Under steady conditions, heat transfer from
the exposed surfaces of the fin is equal to
heat conduction to the fin at the base.
The rate of heat transfer from the fin could also
be determined by considering heat transfer from
a differential volume element of the fin and
integrating it over the entire surface of the fin:

A long circular fin of uniform cross

section and the variation of temperature
along it.
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II. Negligible Heat Loss from the Fin Tip (Adiabatic fin tip, Qfin tip = 0)
Fins are not likely to be so long that their temperature approaches the surrounding
temperature at the tip. A more realistic assumption is for heat transfer from the fin tip to
be negligible since the surface area of the fin tip is usually a negligible fraction of the total
fin area.
Boundary condition at fin tip

The variation of temperature along the fin

Heat transfer from the entire fin

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III. Specified Temperature (Tfin,tip = TL)

In this case the temperature at the end of the fin (the fin tip) is fixed at a specified
temperature TL.
This case could be considered as a generalization of the case of Infinitely Long Fin where
the fin tip temperature was fixed at T¥.

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IV. Convection from Fin Tip

The fin tips, in practice, are exposed to the surroundings, and thus the proper boundary
condition for the fin tip is convection that may also include the effects of radiation.
Consider the case of convection only at the tip. The condition at the fin tip can be obtained
from an energy balance at the fin tip.

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A practical way of accounting for the heat loss from the fin tip is to replace the fin length
L in the relation for the insulated tip case by a corrected length defined as

t the thickness of the rectangular fins

D the diameter of the cylindrical fins

Corrected fin length Lc is defined such that heat transfer from a fin of length Lc with
insulated tip is equal to heat transfer from the actual fin of length L with convection at
the fin tip.
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3. FIN PERFORMANCE
Fin Efficiency
In reality, the temperature of the fin will drop along the fin, and thus the heat transfer from
the fin will be less because of the decreasing temperature T(x) - T∞ towards the fin tip as
shown in the figure.

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To account for this effect of this decrease in temperature on heat transfer, we define a
fin efficiency as

Zero thermal resistance or infinite thermal

conductivity (Tfin = Tb)

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Efficiency of straight fins of rectangular, triangular, and parabolic profiles.

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Efficiency of annular fins of constant thickness t.

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• Fins with triangular and parabolic profiles contain less material and are more efficient than
the ones with rectangular profiles.
• The fin efficiency decreases with increasing fin length. Why?
• How to choose fin length? Increasing the length of the fin beyond a certain value cannot be
justified unless the added benefits outweigh the added cost.
• Fin lengths that cause the fin efficiency to drop below 60 percent usually cannot be justified
economically.
• The efficiency of most fins used in practice is above 90 percent. 17
Fin Effectiveness
The performance of the fins is judged on the basis of the
enhancement in heat transfer in the heat transfer relative to the
no-fin case. The performance of fins expressed in terms of the
fin effectiveness εfin is defined as

The effectiveness of a fin

• The thermal conductivity k of the fin should be as high as possible. Use aluminum,
copper, iron.
• The ratio of the perimeter to the cross-sectional area of the fin p/Ac should be as high
as possible. Use slender pin fins.
• Low convection heat transfer coefficient h. Place fins on gas (air) side.
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The total rate of heat transfer from a finned surface

Overall effectiveness for a finned surface

The overall fin effectiveness depends on the fin

density (number of fins per unit length) as well as
the effectiveness of the individual fins.
Various surface areas associated with
The overall effectiveness is a better measure of the
a rectangular surface with three fins.
performance of a finned surface than the
effectiveness of the individual fins.
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Proper Length of a Fin

mL = 5 ® an infinitely long fin

mL = 1 offer a good compromise
between heat transfer performance
and the fin size.
Because of the gradual temperature drop along the fin, the region near the fin tip makes
little or no contribution to heat transfer.
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A common approximation used in the analysis of fins is to assume the fin temperature to
vary in one direction only (along the fin length) and the temperature variation along other
directions is negligible.
Perhaps you are wondering if this one-dimensional approximation is a reasonable one.
This is certainly the case for fins made of thin metal sheets such as the fins on a car
radiator, but we wouldn’t be so sure for fins made of thick materials.
Studies have shown that the error involved in one-dimensional fin analysis is negligible
(less than about 1 percent) when

where d is the characteristic thickness of the fin, which is taken to be the plate
thickness t for rectangular fins and the diameter D for cylindrical ones.

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• Heat sinks: Specially designed
finned surfaces which are commonly
used in the cooling of electronic
equipment, and involve one-of-a-
kind complex geometries.
• The heat transfer performance of
heat sinks is usually expressed in
terms of their thermal resistances R.
• A small value of thermal resistance
indicates a small temperature drop
across the heat sink, and thus a high
fin efficiency.

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HEAT TRANSFER IN COMMON CONFIGURATIONS
So far, we have considered heat transfer in simple geometries such as large plane walls,
long cylinders, and spheres. This is because heat transfer in such geometries can be
approximated as one-dimensional.
But many problems encountered in practice are two- or three-dimensional and involve
rather complicated geometries for which no simple solutions are available. An important
class of heat transfer problems for which simple solutions are obtained encompasses
those involving two surfaces maintained at constant temperatures T1 and T2.
The steady rate of heat transfer between these two surfaces is expressed as
S: conduction shape factor
k: the thermal conductivity of the medium between the surfaces
The conduction shape factor depends on the geometry of the system only. Conduction
shape factors are applicable only when heat transfer between the two surfaces is by
conduction.
Relationship between the conduction shape factor and the thermal resistance

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Once the value of the shape factor is known for a specific geometry, the total steady heat
transfer rate can be determined from the following equation using the specified two
constant temperatures of the two surfaces and the thermal conductivity of the medium
between them.

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HEAT EXCHANGERS
Heat exchangers are devices that facilitate the exchange of heat between two fluids that
are at different temperatures. Heat exchangers are commonly used in practice in a wide
range of applications, from heating and air-conditioning systems in a household, to
chemical processing and power production in large plants.
The transfer of heat in an exchanger between two fluids could be carried out either by
direct contact of the fluids or by transmission through a wall separating the fluids.
The former types are called direct contact heat exchangers while the latter are
regenerators, recuperators or surface exchangers.

Heat exchangers are generally classified according to the directions of flow of the hot
and cold fluids with respect to each other, or according to the temperature distribution
of the two fluids along the exchanger length. Thus we may have the following types of
heat exchangers:
• Parallel-flow heat exchanger
• Counter-flow exchanger
• Cross-flow exchanger
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1. TYPES OF HEAT EXCHANGERS

I. Parallel-flow heat exchanger

In this type of heat exchanger the hot and
cold fluids flow in the same direction, hence
the name parallel-flow.
In a parallel-flow exchanger, the temperature
difference between the hot and cold fluids
goes on decreasing from inlet to exit Many
devices, such as water heaters, oil heaters
and oil coolers, etc, belong to this class.

Figure: Parallel-flow heat exchanger

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1. TYPES OF HEAT EXCHANGERS

II. Counter-Flow Heat Exchanger

In this case, the two fluids flow through the
exchangers in opposite directions hence the
name counter flow.
It can be seen that the temperature difference
between the two fluids remains more nearly
constant as compared to the parallel-flow
type. Counter-flow heat exchangers are the
most favorable devices for heating and
cooling of fluids because, for a given surface
area, these exchangers give the maximum
heat transfer rate.

Figure: Counter-Flow Heat Exchanger

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 1. TYPES OF HEAT EXCHANGERS

Cross-Flow Heat Exchanger

In cross flow heat exchanger, the two fluids
flow at right angles to each other.

Figure: Cross-Flow Heat Exchanger

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1. TYPES OF HEAT EXCHANGERS

According to Construction

Double-pipe heat exchanger

Shell-and-tube heat exchanger

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2. LMTD METHOD OF HEAT EXCHANGERS ANALYSIS

Heat exchangers are analyzed

• to determine the heat transfer rate for a given temperature change in a fluid stream
of known mass flow rate, or
• to predict the outlet temperatures of the hot and cold fluid streams in a specified
heat exchanger.

The log mean temperature difference (or LMTD) method is best suited for the first
task and the effectiveness–NTU method for the second task.

LMTD for Parallel Flow Heat Exchanger

The temperature difference between the hot and cold fluids varies along the heat
exchanger, and therefore, it is convenient to have a mean temperature difference Tm for
use in the relation

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An energy balance on each fluid in a differential
section of the heat exchanger can be expressed as
….. (1)
….. (2)

Rearranging the above equations for dTh and dTc

gives

….. (3)

….. (4)

Taking their difference,

….. (5)

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The rate of heat transfer in the differential section of the heat exchanger can also be
expressed as
….. (6)

Substituting this equation into Equation (5)

….. (7)

Integrating from the inlet of the heat exchanger to its outlet

….. (8)

….. (9)

….. (10)

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Rearranging for heat transfer

Which can be expressed as

where,

is the log mean temperature difference, which is the suitable form of the average
temperature difference for use in the analysis of heat exchangers.

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Here DT1 and DT2 represent the temperature difference between the two fluids at the
two ends (inlet and outlet) of the heat exchanger.
It makes no difference which end of the heat exchanger is designated as the inlet or
the outlet.
The temperature difference between the two fluids decreases from DT1 at the inlet to
DT2 at the outlet.

The logarithmic mean temperature difference DTlm is obtained by tracing the actual
temperature profile of the fluids along the heat exchanger and is an exact representation
of the average temperature difference between the hot and cold fluids. It truly reflects
the exponential decay of the local temperature difference.
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LMTD for Counter Flow Heat Exchanger
The hot and cold fluids enter the heat exchanger
from opposite ends, and the outlet temperature of
the cold fluid in this case may exceed the outlet
temperature of the hot fluid.
In the limiting case, the cold fluid will be heated
to the inlet temperature of the hot fluid.
The log mean temperature difference developed
for a parallel-flow heat exchanger, is also
applicable to counter-flow heat exchangers.
But this time, DT1 and DT2 are expressed as
shown in Figure.

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For specified inlet and outlet temperatures, the log mean temperature difference for a
counter-flow heat exchanger is always greater than that for a parallel-flow heat
exchanger. Thus a smaller surface area (and thus a smaller heat exchanger) is needed to
achieve a specified heat transfer rate in a counter-flow heat exchanger.
Therefore, it is common practice to use counter-flow arrangements in heat exchangers.

Multi-pass and Cross-Flow Heat Exchangers

The log mean temperature difference DTlm relation developed earlier is limited to
parallel-flow and counter-flow heat exchangers only.

Similar relations are also developed for cross-flow and multi-pass shell-and-tube heat
exchangers, but the resulting expressions are too complicated because of the complex
flow conditions.

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In such cases, it is convenient to relate the equivalent temperature difference to the
log mean temperature difference relation for the counter-flow case as

where F is the correction factor, which depends on the geometry of the heat exchanger
and the inlet and outlet temperatures of the hot and cold fluid streams.

The correction factor F for common cross-flow and shell-and-tube heat exchanger
configurations is given in Figure versus two temperature ratios P and R defined as

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3. EFFECTIVENESS
Kays and London came up with a method in 1955 called effectiveness-NTU method,
which greatly simplified heat exchanger analysis. This method is based on a
dimensionless parameter called the heat transfer effectiveness ϵ, defined as

The actual heat transfer rate in a heat exchanger can be determined from an energy
balance on the hot or cold fluids and can be expressed as

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4. NTU METHOD OF HEAT EXCHANGERS ANALYSIS
NTU Method is used for the determination of the heat transfer rate and the outlet
temperatures of the hot and cold fluids for prescribed fluid mass flow rates and inlet
temperatures when the type and size of the heat exchanger are specified.
To determine the maximum possible heat transfer rate in a heat exchanger, we first
recognize that the maximum temperature difference in a heat exchanger is the
difference between the inlet temperatures of the hot and cold fluids. That is,

The fluid with the smaller heat capacity rate will experience a larger temperature
change and therefore the maximum possible heat transfer rate in a heat exchanger is

The actual heat transfer rate can be determined from

The effectiveness of a heat exchanger depends on the geometry of the heat exchanger
as well as the flow arrangement. Therefore, different types of heat exchangers have
different effectiveness relations. 43
Equation for a parallel-flow heat exchanger can be rearranged as

Solving for Th,out

Substituting this relation into above equation

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We now manipulate the definition of effectiveness to obtain

Substituting this result into the above and

Solving for e gives the following relation for the effectiveness of a parallel-flow heat
exchanger

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Taking either Cc or Ch to be Cmin, the relation above can be expressed more
conveniently as

Cmin is the smaller heat capacity ratio and Cmax is the larger one, and it makes no
difference whether Cmin belongs to the hot or cold fluid.

Effectiveness relations of the heat exchangers typically involve the dimensionless group
UAs /Cmin. This quantity is called the number of transfer units NTU and is expressed as

NTU is proportional to As. For specified values of U and Cmin, the value of NTU is a
measure of the heat transfer surface area As. The larger the NTU, the larger the heat
exchanger.
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In heat exchanger analysis, it is also convenient to define another dimensionless
quantity called the capacity ratio c as

The effectiveness of a heat exchanger is a function of the number of transfer units NTU
and the capacity ratio c. That is,
e = function (UAs /Cmin, Cmin /Cmax) = function (NTU, c)

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The value of the effectiveness ranges from 0 to 1. It increases rapidly with NTU for
small values (up to about NTU 1.5) but rather slowly for larger values. Therefore, the
use of a heat exchanger with a large NTU (usually larger than 3) and thus a large size
cannot be justified economically, since a large increase in NTU in this case
corresponds to a small increase in effectiveness. Thus, a heat exchanger with a very
high effectiveness may be highly desirable from a heat transfer point of view but
rather undesirable from an economical point of view.

For a given NTU and capacity ratio c, the

counter-flow heat exchanger has the highest
effectiveness, followed closely by the cross-flow
heat exchangers with both fluids unmixed
The effectiveness of a heat exchanger is
independent of the capacity ratio c for NTU
values of less than about 0.3.

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5. OVERALL HEAT TRANSFER COEFFICIENT
A heat exchanger typically involves two flowing
fluids separated by a solid wall.
Heat is transferred from the heat fluid to the wall
by convection, through the wall by conduction,
and from the wall to the cold fluid again by
convection. Any radiation effects are usually
included in the convection heat transfer
coefficients.
The thermal resistance network associated with
this heat transfer process involves two
convection and one conduction resistances, as
shown in figure.
Here the subscripts i and o represent the inner
and outer surfaces of the tubes.

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For a double-pipe heat exchanger, the thermal resistance of the tube wall in this case is

Then, the total thermal resistance becomes,

Ai and Ao are surface areas of the separating wall

wetted by the inner and the outer fluids,
respectively.
In the analysis of heat exchangers, it is
convenient to combine all the thermal resistance
in the path of heat flow form the hot fluid to the
cold one into a single resistance R, and to express
the rate of heat transfer between the two fluids as

Where, U is overall heat transfer coefficient.

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The above equation reduces to

There are two overall heat transfer coefficients Ui and Uo for a heat exchanger. The
reason is that every heat exchanger has two heat transfer surface areas Ai and Ao,
which, in general, are not equal to each other.
Therefore, the overall heat transfer coefficient U of a heat exchanger is meaningless
unless the area on which it is based is specified.
When the wall thickness of the tube is small and the thermal conductivity of the tube
material is high, the thermal resistance (Rwall) of the tube is negligible and the inner
and outer surfaces of the tube are almost identical. Then the overall heat transfer
coefficient simplifies to

The individual convection heat transfer coefficient inside and outside the tube hi and
ho, are determined by using the convection relations discussed earlier.
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6. FOULING FACTOR
After a period of operation the heat-transfer surfaces for a heat exchanger may
become coated with various deposits present in the flow systems, or the surfaces may
become corroded as result of the interaction between the fluids and the material used
for construction of the heat exchanger.
In either event, this coating represents an additional resistance to the heat flow, and
thus results in decreased performance.
The overall effect is usually represented by a fouling factor or fouling resistance,
which must be included along with the other thermal resistances making up the
overall heat transfer coefficient.
Fouling factors must be obtained experimentally by determining the values of U for both
clean and dirty conditions in the heat exchanger. The fouling factor is thus defined as

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The fouling factor is obviously zero for a new heat exchanger and increases with time
as the solid deposits build up on the heat exchanger surface.
The fouling factor depends on the operating temperature and the velocity of the fluids,
as well as the length of service.
Fouling increases with increasing temperature and decreasing velocity. The overall
heat transfer coefficient relation can be expressed as

Where Rf,i and Rf,o are the fouling factors at those surfaces.

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 Selection of Heat Exchangers
The proper selection depends on several factors.

• Heat Transfer Rate

• Cost
• Pumping Power
• Size and Weight
• Type
• Materials
• Ease of servicing, low maintenance cost, and safety and reliability

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