A heat exchanger transfers heat between fluids, with some designs using a solid wall to separate them. Fins or corrugations can increase surface area and induce turbulence. Common appliances containing a heat exchanger include air conditioners, refrigerators, and stoves. There are three primary flow arrangements and four different designs of heat exchangers, with the shell and tube and plate designs being the most common. The regenerative and intermediate fluid or solid designs are also used in specific processes.
A heat exchanger is a specialized device that aids in the transfer of heat from one fluid to another. In some cases, a solid wall can separate fluids and prevent them from mixing. In other designs, the fluids may be in direct contact with each other. In the most efficient heat exchangers, the surface area of the wall between the fluids is maximized while simultaneously minimizing the resistance to fluid flow. Fins or corrugations are sometimes used with the wall to increase surface area and induce turbulence.
Common appliances containing a heat exchanger include air conditioners, refrigerators, and stoves. These devices are also used in chemical processing and power generation. Perhaps the most commonly known heat exchanger is an automobile radiator, which cools hot radiator fluid by using the airflow over the radiator surface.
There are three primary flow arrangements with heat exchangers: counterflow, parallel and crossflow. In the counterflow exchanger the fluids enter the exchanger from opposite sides. This is the most efficient design because it transfers the most heat. In the parallel flow version, fluids enter at the same end and move parallel to each other as they flow out the other end. The cross flow heat exchanger moves fluids perpendicularly.
There are also four different designs of heat exchangers: shell and tube, plate, regenerative, and fluid or intermediate solid. The most typical type is the shell and tube design. This one has more fin tubes. One of the fluids flows through the pipes while the other fluid flows over them, causing them to heat up or cool down. In the plate heat exchanger, the fluid flows through the baffles. This causes fluids to be separated by plates with a large surface area. This type of exchanger is typically more efficient than the shell and tube design.
The regenerative heat exchanger uses the heat of a specific process to heat the fluid used in the process. These can be made in the shell and tube design or the plate design. Intermediate fluid or solid heat exchanger uses the fluids or solids inside it to hold heat and move it to the other side to be released. This method is commonly used to cool gases while removing impurities.
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