A Simple Solution for Heat Transfer in a Triple Tube Heat Exchanger

Abstract

Triple tube heat exchangers in general perform better when compared to double tube heat exchangers, mainly because they improve the heat transfer due to the passage of additional fluid and also of its larger heat transfer area per length unit. Nevertheless, for triple tube heat exchangers, the analytical solutions available in the literature are limited to specific boundary conditions or are cumbersome. Therefore, this work aims to obtain a compact form of the analytical solution, suitable for co-current and counter-current flow arrangements. The solution form is developed based on a solution from literature for a co-current moving bed heat exchanger model, through analogies with triple tube heat exchangers. From the solution form, explicit expressions for the crossover points are also obtained. For a better understanding of the underlying physics, a scale analysis is performed. When compared to experimental data and more complicated solutions from literature, the obtained results presented good agreement.

Acknowledgements

The authors appreciate the support from the Regional University of Blumenau (FURB). This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Brasil (CAPES) – Finance code 001, and received support from the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Brasil (CNPq) and the Regional University of Blumenau (FURB).

Declaration of interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sávio L. Bertoli

Sávio Leandro Bertoli has a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Federal University of Santa Catarina. He is currently a professor at the University of Blumenau (FURB) and has experience in physics and mathematics, with emphasis on transport phenomena, heat transfer, thermal and thermodynamic processes, acting mainly on the following topics: heat transfer in particulate systems, analytical solutions to problems in transport phenomena, stokes flow, and advanced oxidation processes.

Richard Tribess

Richard Tribess has a bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering from the University of Blumenau (FURB) and is currently a MSc. student in the Laboratório de Fluidodinâmica Computacional & Laboratório de Verificação e Validação (LFC&LVV) at the same university, studying pipe grids and the effects of the gas distribution systems in the fluidization parameters of fluid catalytic cracking processes. He has experience in the development and implementation of analytical and numerical solutions.

Natalia de Souza

Natalia de Souza is a last year undergraduate student of Chemical Engineering at the University of Blumenau (FURB), acting in scientific initiation in the areas of heat transfer, analysis of organic micropollutants and the influence of organizations participating in the Comitê de Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio Itajaí e Bacias Contíguas (Comitê Itajaí).

Carolina K. de Souza

Carolina Krebs de Souza has a Ph.D. in Chemistry and Toxicology of Foods (University of Perugia) and post-doctorate in Biochemical Engineering (predictive microbiology).  She is currently a professor at the University of Blumenau (FURB). She has experience in food science with emphasis on food chemistry and functional foods. Operates in product development research lines, food preservation and food safety. Her expertise is in experimental planning and statistical analysis of results using the Statistica software.

Mercedes G. R. Reiter

Mercedes Gabriela Ratto Reiter has a Ph.D. in Food Science and Technology from the Facultad de Veterinária, Universidad de Córdoba/Spain (2003), with a specialization in Business and Strategic Management by INPG (Business School). She is currently a professor at the University of Blumenau (FURB), as well as a microbiology quality and food sensorial analysis researcher, with emphasis in human breast milk, breast-feeding, and weaning.

Marcel Jefferson Gonçalves

Marcel Jefferson Gonçalves is a Ph.D. student in Environmental Engineering at the University of Blumenau (FURB) and also a professor of Chemical Engineering at the same university, developing research in the areas of textile processing (dyeing with natural dyes) and textile wastewater treatment (electrolytic processes and biodegradation by fungi and bacteria).