Parallel flow heat exchanger
parallel flow heat exchanger
parallel flow heat exchanger
What is parallel flow heat exchanger?
A direct transfer type of heat exchanger in which both hot fluid and cold fluid flow in the same direction to exchange heat energy between them without transfer of any energy from the ambient.
Parallel flow heat exchanger
Heat exchanger is defined as a steady flow adiabatic open system. Flow of both fluids (hot fluid and cold fluid) are in the same direction to exchange heat between. It is a categorized as direct transfer type heat exchanger in which fluids do not have any physical contact between them. The pressure of both hot and cold fluid remains constant.
The Enthalpy loss of hot fluid is equal to the Enthalpy gain by cold liquid. The variation of temperature between hot fluid and cold fluid in the direction of the flow always decreases.
Advantages of parallel flow heat exchanger
Loss of pressure is very low
It is simple in construction and cheap to build.
Parallel flow plate heat exchanger
A cluster of plates are placed in a systematic manner one above the other for the formation of a series of channels for fluid flow to exchange heat energy between them. The increase in surface area by the plates allows more heat transfer between the two fluids.
The variation of temperature between hot fluid and cold fluid with respect to the flow direction is more pronounced in parallel flow heat exchanger. The entropy of parallel flow type heat exchanger is higher as compared to counter type heat exchanger. Counter flow heat exchanger is more efficient than parallel flow heat exchanger. Hence for the same heat transfer rate required in both cases, counter flow heat exchanger occupies lesser heat transfer area or more compact in size than parallel flow heat exchanger.
‘The effectiveness (ϵ) of a heat exchanger is defined as the ratio of the actual heat transfer to the maximum possible heat transfer.’