Counter Flow Heat Exchanger Design

Parallel and counter flow designs heat exchangers although ordinary heat exchangers may be extremely different in design and construction and may be of the single or two phase type their modes of operation and effectiveness are largely determined by the direction of the fluid flow within the exchanger.

Counter flow heat exchanger design.

In the counter flow setup the fluids are travelling along. In counter flow heat exchangers the fluids enter the exchanger from opposite ends. The counter current design is the most efficient in that it can transfer the most heat from the heat transfer medium per unit mass due to the fact that the average temperature difference along any unit length is higher. Each of the three types of heat exchangers parallel cross and counter flow has advantages and disadvantages.

A primary surface recuperator psr is a counter flow heat exchanger with a core manufactured from thin corrugated metallic foils. Counter flow heat exchanger the diagram above shows a shell and tube heat exchanger. But of the three the counter flow heat exchanger design is the most efficient when comparing heat transfer rate per unit surface area. A primary surface heat exchanger is one which does not involve any secondary surfaces such as fins ribs dimples etc.