Adapted from the 2006-07 HT&PI Exam Paper 3.

A 1:2 pass shell-and-tube heat exchanger is used for the heating of 10000 kg h1 of boiler feed water at a pressure of 2 bar (Tsat = 120.2C) from 16C to 84C. Hot oil enters the shell side of the exchanger at 160C and leaves at 94C. An identical exchanger is available on the site and is to be used in series with the existing exchanger in order to recover more enthalpy from the hot oil stream. After the completion of the installation of the second exchanger in series with the first one, the outlet temperatures of both the oil and the water are measured to be 89.3C and 88.7C respectively. On the assumption that both the exchangers are performing identically, have the two exchangers been connected in series counter-current or co-current flow? Calculate the temperatures of the intermediate hot and cold streams, and the amount of heat transfer occurring in each heat exchanger. Is the amount of heat transfer in each exchanger the same or different? Why? Answer Consider the performance of the single heat exchanger:
Hot in, Th1 = 160C Cold in, Tc1 = 16C Cold out, Tc2 = 84C

Hot out, Th2 = 94C

Q
Q

=
= = = =

(mc ) (T
p c

c2

Tc1 )
Tc1 )

(mc ) (T
p h

h1

Th 2 )

(mc p )min (Th1 Tc1 )

(mc ) (T
p c

c2

10000 4181 (84 16 ) 3600 789744 W

(mc ) (T
p h

h1

Th 2 )

Therefore

(mc )

p h

= =

789744 (160 94 ) 11966 W/K

(mc )

p c

= =

10000 4181 3600 11614 W/K

Therefore (mc p )c = Cmin and

C* = Cmin Cmax = 11614 11966 = 0.97

From above,
Q 789744 = = =

(mc p )min (Th1 Tc1 ) 11614 (160 16 )

0.472

Now, consider the two possible connection arrangements:

Hot in, Th1 = 160C Cold in, Tc1 = 16C Tc,int = 84C Tc,int = ?

Hot in, Th1 = 160C Tc,int = 84C

Th,int = 94C Th,int = 94C Tc,int = 84C Cold out, Tc2 = 88.7C Cold in, Tc1 = 16C Hot out, Th2 = 89.3C Series co-current

Th,int = ?

Th,int = ? Tc,int = ?

Hot out, Th2 = 89.3C Series counter-current

The question is: Which of these two arrangements would result in outlet temperatures of 89.3 and 88.7C, given an effectiveness of 0.472 for each heat exchanger individually? In the first case, for series co-current flow, the outlet temperatures from the first heat exchanger are known, as they are the same as above for the single heat exchanger. So, if we put those temperatures as the inlet temperatures for the second heat exchanger, do we get the same value of ?