Heat Exchanger Sizing

Heat exchangers are an efficient device used to transfer heat from a liquid to another liquid without having the two fluids being in contact. Heat exchanger sizing is important in order for the procedure to work effectively. They generally work based on the laws of thermodynamics.

One of those laws states that when an object is heated, the heat energy contained within that object will diffuse outward to the surrounding environment, until the heat energy in the object and in the environment have reached equilibrium.

Applications of this device in many manufacturing companies are in refrigeration, conditioning, and space heating and chemical processing. There are mainly two types of heat exchangers for solar water heating systems and these are liquid-to-liquid and air-to-liquid. When it comes to designs there are currently about three options and these are coil-in-tank, shell-and-tube and tube-in-tube.

In order for it to perform at its best, proper heat exchanger sizing must be performed. Factors to consider in this process includes the type of exchanger, flow rate, inlet and outlet temperatures for each fluid, characteristics of the heat-transfer fluid such as specific heat, viscosity, and density.  

The size of a heat exchanger's surface area affects its speed and efficiency. Usually a large surface area transfers heat faster and more efficiently.

Therefore, aside from choosing the right design, easy installation of a unit, you need to make you that you get the right heat exchanger sizing. It is more likely for the device to foul up faster and the small size makes mechanical cleaning of the fouling difficult. Therefore, it is advisable to take on a large unit then have it customized or resized according to your specific requirements. Having a larger unit will allow you to change the sizing later on unlike the small unit wherein you have no other choice to expand or resize it but just accept its limited capacity. 

© 2009 theheatexchangers.com: heat exchanger sizing