Industrial Process Control

Heat Exchanger
 Heat exchanger
• Heat exchanger is a unit where heat is transferred
between two fluids.
• Flow sheet symbol:

• Heat transfer is classified into various mechanisms,

such as thermal conduction, thermal convection,
thermal radiation, and transfer of energy by phase
changes.
Heat is transferred via solid material (conduction), liquids and gases
(convection), and electromagnetical waves (radiation).
• The essential principle of a heat exchanger is that it
transfers the heat without transferring the fluid that
carries the heat.

• Heat is exchanged by the fluids: the hot fluid cools down

and the cold fluid warms up, without them actually
coming into contact and mixing.

• Heat exchanger is used in both cooling and heating

processes.

• Fluids may be separated through solid walls or they may

be in direct contact.
 Construction
• Heat exchangers are devices that transfer energy between fluids at
different temperatures by heat transfer.

• These devices can be used widely both in daily life and industrial
applications such as steam generators in thermal power plants,
distillers in chemical industry, evaporators and condensers in
HVAC applications and refrigeration process, heat sinks,
automobile radiators and regenerators in gas turbine engines.

• This chapter discusses the basic design methods for two fluid heat
exchangers.
 Heat exchangers classified
according to different criteria.
 Type based on fluid flow arrangement:
• Three types of flow arrangement are possible in a double-pipe heat
exchanger:
• Parallel flow(cocurrent), Counter flow and Cross flow.
• Cocurrent flow heat exchangers, also referred to as parallel flow
heat exchangers, are heat exchanging devices in which the fluids
move parallel to and in the same direction as each other. Although
this configuration typically results in lower efficiencies than a counter
flow arrangement, it also allows for the greatest thermal uniformity
across the walls of the heat exchanger.
• In parallel flow, both the hot and cold fluids enter the heat exchanger
at the same end and move in the same direction, as shown in Figure
1.
• Countercurrent Flow
• Countercurrent flow heat exchangers, also known as counter flow
heat exchangers, are designed such that the fluids move antiparallel
(i.e., parallel but in opposite directions) to each other within the heat
exchanger. The most commonly employed of the flow configurations,
a counter flow arrangement typically exhibits the highest efficiencies
as it allows for the greatest amount of heat transference between
fluids and, consequently, the greatest change in temperature.

• In counter flow, the hot and cold fluids enter the heat exchanger at
opposite end and flow in opposite direction, as shown in Figure 2.
• Crossflow

In crossflow heat exchangers, fluids flow

perpendicularly to one another. The efficiencies of
heat exchangers which employ this flow configuration
fall between that of countercurrent and cocurrent heat
exchangers.
Figure 3 – Heat Exchanger Flow Configurations
 Type based on construction/design:
• Tubular/Shell and tube HE
-single pass
-multi pass- 1:1, 1:2, 2:4………
• Plate type HE
• Extended surface HE
 IPC_L5
• Heat exchanger design criterion:
Factors to be considered are-
✔ Tube diameter
✔ Tube wall thickness
✔ Tube length
✔ Tube material( thermal conductivity)(carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminum,
titanium, etc.)
✔ Heat transfer coefficient of fluid/material
✔ Fluid flow rate
✔ Fluid velocity and pressure drop
✔ Residance time
✔ Shell area
✔ Number of tubes
✔ Tube arrangement/pitch
✔ Shell fluid distribution (number of baffles, baffle pitch)
• Main basic heat exchanger equation is:
Q=U×A×ΔTm
Q-overall heat transfer rate (Kj/h)
U-overall heat transfer coefficient (Kj/h.m2.°C)
A- heat transfer area (m2)(ft2)
ΔTm-log mean temperature difference (°C)
 Heat transfer depends on velocity of fluid
• Velocity is, a function of the flow rate of the fluid and the volume of the
path that the fluid must follow.
• Probably the most common error in heat exchanger design is to allow too
low a fluid velocity. It turns out that this can create multiple issues with
system performance.
• The first problem with reduced velocity is settling in the fluid itself. Most
dispensed fluids (paints and coatings are a great example) are a mixture
of liquids and solids.
• Higher the velocity through the heat exchanger, the higher the turbulence
— and the higher the turbulence, the more efficient the thermal transfer.
You may be wondering how that can be. The answer lies in the turbulence of
the flow.
• Turbulent flow creates a great deal of disturbance along the flow path.
This turbulence forces the fluid against the walls of the heat exchanger
and increases the friction between the fluid and the surface. The
turbulence constantly pushes fresh fluid against the metal wall, and the
greater the volume of fluid in contact with the walls of the heat exchanger,
the greater the thermal transfer.
Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger
https://youtu.be/OwEwsRVa_hU
 Types based on
construction/design:
•
Plate type HE:-
A plate heat exchanger is a type of heat exchanger that uses metal plates to
transfer heat between two fluids.
• The plate heat exchanger (PHE) is a specialized design well suited to transferring heat between
medium- and low-pressure fluids.
• The plates produce an extremely large surface area, which allows for the fastest possible transfer.
• Stainless steel is a commonly used metal for the plates because of its ability to withstand high
temperatures, its strength, and its corrosion resistance.
• The plates are often spaced by rubber sealing gaskets which are cemented into a section around
the edge of the plates.
• The plates are compressed together in a rigid frame to form an arrangement of parallel flow
channels with alternating hot and cold fluids.
• A high degree of turbulence can be obtained at low flow rates and high heat transfer coefficient
can then be achieved.
• For the same amount of heat exchanged, the size of the plate heat exchanger is smaller, because
of the large heat transfer area afforded by the plates.
• Two important factors namely amount of heat transfer and pressure drop have to be considered
such that amount of heat transfer needs to be increased and pressure drops need to be
decreased.
• In plate heat exchangers due to presence of corrugated plate, there is a significant resistance to
flow with high friction loss. Thus to design plate heat exchangers, one should consider both
factors.
• In the corrugated plate heat exchangers, because of narrow path between the plates, there is a
large pressure capacity and the flow becomes turbulent along the path. Therefore, it requires
more pumping power than the other types of heat exchangers.
• Applications : In many heavy duty applications for HVAC as well as industrial
and process engineering applications,
•
Plate type heat exchanger:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv5p7o-7Pms
Spiral Heat Exchanger:
 Extended surface HE:
• Extended surfaces have fins attached to the primary surface on one side
of a two-fluid or a multifluid heat exchanger. ...
• Fins are primarily used to increase the surface area (when the heat
transfer coefficient on that fluid side is relatively low) and consequently to
increase the total rate of heat transfer ...
 LMTD
Log Mean Temperature Difference
The LMTD is a logarithmic average of the temperature difference between the hot and
cold streams at each end of the exchanger.
The larger the LMTD, the more heat is transferred.
The use of the LMTD arises, straightforwardly, from the analysis of a heat exchanger with
constant flow rate and fluid thermal properties.
It is calculated using the following equation -

ΔT1 → the temperature difference between hot and cold fluids at one end of the
heat exchanger
ΔT2 → the temperature difference between hot and cold fluids at the other end of
the heat exchanger
 The deposition of any undesired material on heat transfer surfaces is called fouling. Fouling
may significantly impact the thermal and mechanical performance of heat exchangers.
Fouling is a dynamic phenomenon which changes with time.
Fouling increases the overall thermal resistance and lowers the overall heat transfer
coefficient of heat exchangers. Fouling also impedes fluid flow, accelerates corrosion and
increases pressure drop across heat exchangers.
Different types of fouling mechanisms have been identified. They can occur individually but
often occur simultaneously.
Fouling Factors in Heat Exchangers. ...
The fouling factor represents the theoretical resistance to heat flow due to a build-up
of a layer of dirt or other fouling substance on the tube surfaces of the heat exchanger, but
they are often overstated by the end user in an attempt to minimize the frequency of cleaning.
Common causes of fouling in HE is Chemical fouling: when chemical changes within the
fluid cause a fouling layer to be deposited onto the tube surface. A common example of this
phenomenon is scaling in a kettle or boiler caused by “hardness” salts depositing onto
the heating elements as the solubility of the salts reduce with increasing temperature. There
may be biological fouling, sedimentation fouling, corrosion fouling etc……
Disadvantages of fouling- 1 energy losses due to thermal inefficiency, 2. Aditional cost
associated with periodic cleaning in heat exchanger,3. Loss of production during shutdown for
cleaning, 4. Higher capital cost due to over
 Fouling effects

•
Flow sheet symbol:
 Degree of freedom:
• The control loop function on the basis of controlling one variable by manipulating the same or the
other process variables.
• The maximum number of independently acting automatic controllers that can be placed on a
process is called the degree of freedom of that process.
• Steam heater with its variables and defining parameters.

Temp. and flow are variables

Specific and latent heat are parameters.
Degree of freedom = (number of variables)-(number of
equations)
 Steam heater DOF:

• In this steam heater there are 4 variables (T1,W,Ws,T2) and only 0ne
equation.
• Law of thermodynamics stating equation of conservation of energy is:

• So DOF=4-1
=3
i.e. system has maximum of three independent controller.
Control scheme :- Feedback control scheme
• Dead time of heat exchanger = residence time.
• Residence time = volume/flow
• As process flow increases, process dead time is lowered & loop gain decreases.
• Flow rate increases - residence time decreases - dead time decreases - gain decreases
• As the process flow drop i.e. less demand (low load), the same amount of valve adjustment by TIC will
have more effect, process fluid spend more time in exchanger & exchanger becomes relatively oversized
therefore faster & more effective, means loop becomes excessively sensitive and prone to cycling. So equal
percentage valve is used to compensate for variable gain.
• Controller (TIC) tunned for lower load i.e. high process gain.
Feedback control by throttling heating media outlet (8.20c)
Feedback Control for a Steam Heater (8.20j)
Temperature – Pressure Cascade Loop on Steam Heater (8.20y)
Condensate throttling (8.20k)
Bypass control scheme using 3-way valve (8.20g)
Bypass control scheme using two 2-way valves (8.20h)
Bypass for steam heater (8.20p)
Feedforward control scheme (8.20bb)
Logarithmic Mean Temperature Difference (LMTD)
Fouling
1. Exchanger  A device used to transfer heat from one fluid to another without direct contact of the fluids.  Heat exchangers usually maximize the
transfer of heat by maximizing the contact surface area between the fluids.
2.4. Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger  A shell and tube exchanger consists of a number of tubes mounted inside a cylindrical shell.  It is most
efficient and economical type of heat exchanger but is costly.
3.5. Classification Shell and tube heat exchanger On the basis of Flow pattern On the basis of No of passes Parallel flow H.Ex Counter flow H.Ex
Cross flow H.Ex 1-1 shell and tube H.Ex 1-2 shell and tube H.Ex 2-4 shell and tube H.Ex
4.6. Parallel Flow shell and tube H. Ex  In this type of shell and tube heat exchanger the cold and hot fluids have same inlet and exit points.
5.7. Co-current Flow shell and tube H. Ex  In this type of shell and tube heat exchanger the cold and hot fluids have opposite inlet and exit points.
 This more efficient then parallel flow heat exchanger.
6.8. Cross Flow shell and tube H. Ex  In this type of heat exchanger the inlet and outlet of hot and cold fluid make an angle of 90° with each other.
 This type of heat exchanger is used when there are more then two hot and cold fluids. Hot fluid inlet Hot fluid outlet Cold fluid outlet Cold fluid
inlet
7.9. 1-1 shell and tube heat exchanger  The type of shell and tube heat exchanger in which the number of passes of shell and tube are 1-1.  In
this type less heat exchange occurs.
8.10. 1-2 shell and tube heat exchanger  The type of heat exchanger in which the number of passes of shell is one and tube is two.  This is more
efficient than 1-1 heat exchanger.
9.11. 2-4 shell and tube heat exchanger  The type of heat exchanger in which the number of passes of shell are two and number of passes of tube
are four.  This is used in order to transfer more heat than 1- 1-and 1-2 shell and tube heat exchangers.