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Finite element analysis for co‐current and counter‐current parallel flow three‐fluid heat exchanger

Finite element analysis for co‐current and counter‐current parallel flow three‐fluid heat exchanger Purpose – To study the thermal performance of both co‐current and counter‐current parallel flow heat exchangers. The hot stream is assumed to flow in the middle of two cold streams and exchange heat with them. Design/methodology/approach – The dimensionless governing equations are derived based on the conservation of energy principle and solved using FEM based on subdomain collocation method and Galerkin's method. The results show that the subdomain collocation method is more accurate than the Galerkin's method, as observed when the results obtained are compared with the analytical results for the classical two‐fluid heat exchangers. Findings – The results are presented in terms of effectiveness and number of transfer units (Ntu) for different values of the governing parameters. The governing parameters are the Ntu, the heat capacity ratios, the overall heat transfer coefficient ratio, and the inlet temperatures parameter. The results show that the effectiveness of the three‐fluid heat exchanger is always higher than that of classical two‐fluid flow heat exchanger for fixed values of the governing parameters. The results also show that for fixed values of the governing parameters, the effectiveness of the counter‐current is higher than the co‐current parallel flow three‐fluid heat exchangers. Research limitations/implications – One‐dimensional governing equations are derived based on the conservation of energy principle. The ranges of the governing parameters are: Ntu (0:5), the heat capacity ratios (0:1,000), the overall heat transfer coefficient ratio (0:2), and the inlet temperatures parameter (0:1). Practical implications – Both co‐current and counter‐current parallel flow heat exchangers are used in the thermal engineering applications. The design and performance analysis of these heat exchangers are of practical importance. Originality/value – This paper provides the details of the performance analysis of co‐current and counter‐current parallel flow heat exchangers, which can be used in thermal design. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat and Fluid Flow Emerald Publishing

Finite element analysis for co‐current and counter‐current parallel flow three‐fluid heat exchanger

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References (15)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2006 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
ISSN
0961-5539
DOI
10.1108/09615530610649744
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Purpose – To study the thermal performance of both co‐current and counter‐current parallel flow heat exchangers. The hot stream is assumed to flow in the middle of two cold streams and exchange heat with them. Design/methodology/approach – The dimensionless governing equations are derived based on the conservation of energy principle and solved using FEM based on subdomain collocation method and Galerkin's method. The results show that the subdomain collocation method is more accurate than the Galerkin's method, as observed when the results obtained are compared with the analytical results for the classical two‐fluid heat exchangers. Findings – The results are presented in terms of effectiveness and number of transfer units (Ntu) for different values of the governing parameters. The governing parameters are the Ntu, the heat capacity ratios, the overall heat transfer coefficient ratio, and the inlet temperatures parameter. The results show that the effectiveness of the three‐fluid heat exchanger is always higher than that of classical two‐fluid flow heat exchanger for fixed values of the governing parameters. The results also show that for fixed values of the governing parameters, the effectiveness of the counter‐current is higher than the co‐current parallel flow three‐fluid heat exchangers. Research limitations/implications – One‐dimensional governing equations are derived based on the conservation of energy principle. The ranges of the governing parameters are: Ntu (0:5), the heat capacity ratios (0:1,000), the overall heat transfer coefficient ratio (0:2), and the inlet temperatures parameter (0:1). Practical implications – Both co‐current and counter‐current parallel flow heat exchangers are used in the thermal engineering applications. The design and performance analysis of these heat exchangers are of practical importance. Originality/value – This paper provides the details of the performance analysis of co‐current and counter‐current parallel flow heat exchangers, which can be used in thermal design.

Journal

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat and Fluid FlowEmerald Publishing

Published: Apr 1, 2006

Keywords: Heat exchangers; Fluid mechanics; Finite element analysis

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