Thermodynamics

242 | Thermodynamics50°CFluid B70°CHeatHeat35°CFluid A20°CFIGURE 5–35A heat exchanger can be as simple astwo concentric pipes.4bHeat ExchangersAs the name implies, heat exchangers are devices where two moving fluidstreams exchange heat without mixing. Heat exchangers are widely used invarious industries, and they come in various designs.The simplest form of a heat exchanger is a double-tube (also called tubeand-shell)heat exchanger, shown in Fig. 5–35. It is composed of two concentricpipes of different diameters. One fluid flows in the inner pipe, andthe other in the annular space between the two pipes. Heat is transferredfrom the hot fluid to the cold one through the wall separating them. Sometimesthe inner tube makes a couple of turns inside the shell to increase theheat transfer area, and thus the rate of heat transfer. The mixing chambersdiscussed earlier are sometimes classified as direct-contact heat exchangers.The conservation of mass principle for a heat exchanger in steady operationrequires that the sum of the inbound mass flow rates equal the sum ofthe outbound mass flow rates. This principle can also be expressed as follows:Under steady operation, the mass flow rate of each fluid stream flowingthrough a heat exchanger remains constant.Heat exchangers typically involve no work interactions (w 0) and negligiblekinetic and potential energy changes (ke 0, pe 0) for eachfluid stream. The heat transfer rate associated with heat exchangers dependson how the control volume is selected. Heat exchangers are intended forheat transfer between two fluids within the device, and the outer shell isusually well insulated to prevent any heat loss to the surrounding medium.When the entire heat exchanger is selected as the control volume,Q . becomes zero, since the boundary for this case lies just beneath the insulationand little or no heat crosses the boundary (Fig. 5–36). If, however,only one of the fluids is selected as the control volume, then heat will crossthis boundary as it flows from one fluid to the other and Q . will not bezero. In fact, Q . in this case will be the rate of heat transfer between the twofluids.EXAMPLE 5–10Cooling of Refrigerant-134a by WaterRefrigerant-134a is to be cooled by water in a condenser. The refrigerantenters the condenser with a mass flow rate of 6 kg/min at 1 MPa and 70°Cand leaves at 35°C. The cooling water enters at 300 kPa and 15°C and leavesFluid BCV boundaryFluid BCV boundaryFluid AHeatFluid AFIGURE 5–36The heat transfer associated witha heat exchanger may be zero ornonzero depending on how the controlvolume is selected.Heat(a) System: Entire heatexchanger (Q CV = 0)(b) System: Fluid A (Q CV ≠ 0)