Types of heat exchangers

A heat exchanger is a device that allows heat to be transferred between two or more fluids (vapor, liquid or gas) at different temperatures. The heat transfer process can be liquid-to-gas, gas-to-gas, or liquid-to-liquid, and it can occur through solids separators or direct fluid contact, depending on the type of heat exchanger used. Other design features, such as construction materials and components, heat transfer processes, and flow configurations, help categorize and categorize the various types of heat exchangers that are accessible. Heat exchanger manufacturers offer a wide range of heat exchange equipment, designed and manufactured for cooling and heating processes and find applications in a wide range of industries.

This article explores the numerous types and designs of heat exchangers, as well as their functions and mechanics. The article also discusses factors to consider when selecting a heat exchanger and the most popular applications for each factor.

How does a heat exchanger work?

As mentioned earlier, heat exchangers come in many shapes and sizes, and their sole purpose is to transfer and transfer heat in a variety of processes and scenarios, such as applications in space heating, refrigeration, cooling, power plants, chemical plants, and more. But how do these machines work?

Heat is transferred from one place to another through a heat exchanger. The heat exchanger receives and transmits the combustion produced by the natural gas or propane fuel burned in the furnace. The metal is heated by the hot fumes as it enters the furnace exhaust. The air flowing outside the heat exchanger is heated by the hot metal. It is important to note that this is only one type of heat transfer that occurs in many types of heat exchangers, but it is really the whole point of all heat transfer equipment.

Brewery equipment with heat exchanger

Various types of heat exchangers

Depending on the design features, there are many different types of heat exchangers to choose from. Here are some versions commonly used in the industry:

• Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger

• Double tube heat exchanger

• Plate Heat Exchanger

• Evaporators, boilers and condensers

Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger

Shell and tube heat exchangers are made of a single tube or a series of parallel tubes enclosed in a sealed cylindrical pressure vessel and are the most popular type of heat exchanger. One fluid passes through the smaller tubes, while the other fluid flows around and between them within the sealed enclosure. Finned tubes, single-phase or two-phase heat transfer, counter-flow, cross-flow or co-flow arrangements, and single-pass, two-pass, or multi-pass configurations are some of the other design features available for such heat exchangers.

Double tube heat exchanger

A double-tube heat exchanger, a shell-and-tube heat exchanger of the simplest design and construction, consists of two or more concentric cylindrical tubes or tubes (one larger tube and one or more smaller tubes) small tubes). According to the shell and tube heat exchanger design, one fluid flows through the smaller tubes while the other fluid circulates around it within the larger tubes.

Since the fluids remain separated and flow through their own channels throughout the heat transfer process, the design requirements for a double tube heat exchanger include the recuperative and indirect contact features described earlier. On the other hand, double-tube heat exchangers can be constructed in co-current or counter-current arrangements and used modularly within the system in series, parallel, or series-parallel configurations, allowing for some flexibility in design.

Plate Heat Exchanger

The plate heat exchanger, also known as the plate heat exchanger, is composed of multiple corrugated sheets stacked together. Each pair of plates forms a channel for one fluid to flow through, and these pairs are stacked and connected by brazing, bolting or welding to create a second route for the other fluid to flow through.

Plate-fin or pillow-type plate heat exchangers are examples of modifications to traditional plate designs. Fins or gaskets between the plates in a plate-fin heat exchanger allow for different flow configurations and more than two fluid flows through the device. Pillow plate heat exchangers provide pressure to the plates to improve heat transfer across the surface of the plates. Plate and frame, spiral plate and plate and shell heat exchangers are among the options.

Evaporators, boilers and condensers

Two-phase heat transfer mechanisms are used in boilers, condensers and evaporators. As previously mentioned, one or more fluids in a two-phase heat exchanger undergo a phase change throughout the heat transfer process, from liquid to gas or from gas to liquid.

A condenser is a heat exchange device that cools heated gas or vapor to the point of condensation, converting it into a liquid. On the other hand, heat transfer processes in evaporators and boilers convert liquids into gas or steam.

Other variants

Heat exchangers are used in a variety of applications in a wide variety of industries. As a result, heat exchangers are available in a variety of configurations, each tailored to the needs and specifications of a specific application. In addition to those listed above, fan-cooled heat exchangers, air-cooled heat exchangers, and adiabatic wheel heat exchangers are some of the available types.