Heat exchangers are essentially the backbone of so many industries out there. Since you may need to transfer heat from medium to another for all kinds of processes, having the right heat exchanger is highly important.
But since there are so many types of heat exchangers out there, choosing the right one can be confusing. Thus, we are here with a complete guide on heat exchangers, the working principles of heat exchanger, and most importantly, all of the important types of heat exchangers that you should know.
Before going through the different types of heat exchangers given down below, you should know how a heat exchanger works and what is the principle of heat exchanger.
Most types of heat exchangers available out there rely on the principle of convection and conduction for moving heat from one place to another. Thanks to the use of these principles, you are able to transfer heat without mixing different mediums together.
While we have covered the key working principle of heat exchangers, the exact working of a given heat exchanger depends on the type you are using. More importantly, even if you want to know how to clean a heat exchanger or how to maintain it, you should know the type of heat exchanger you are using.
Thus, here are some of the most common types of heat exchangers available out there:
Out of all the various heat exchangers available out there, the spiral heat exchanger is one of the most common ones. To understand its functioning, you should first understand the spiral heat exchanger design.
In a spiral heat exchanger, you will find two long metal plates that are curved into two concentric spiral flow passages. These plates are welded to be completely closed, which avoids total mixing of fluids.
As for heat exchange, the hot fluid moves from the outer edge to the center and the cold liquid enters at the center and moves outwards for the heat exchange.
Coming to the advantages of spiral heat exchangers, these are primarily used in industries because of the following factors:
Self-cleaning design
High heat transfer efficiency
Low maintenance design
Low-pressure drop
In case you are wondering about the difference between spiral heat exchanger vs shell and tube heat exchangers, you can also learn that later on in this guide.
Similar to spiral heat exchangers, there are other types of heat exchangers as well that may use a certain design or construction to offer the desired result:
When talking about shell and tube exchangers, these have an outer shell with multiple tubes inside. While one fluid flows inside the outer shell, the other one flows inside the tubes, resulting in an exchange of heat.
With these heat exchangers, you will find large plates with fluids inside them. Because these plates have large surface areas, you get high-efficiency heat transfer.
Another great way to increase surface area for increased efficiency is to have a large number of tubes with small fins on them. With these fins, you get improved heat transfer. You can find such fins inside an air conditioner unit.
Apart from having specific constructions, different types of heat exchangers can also differ in terms of the fluid flow arrangement used by them:
Here, both the cold and hot fluids enter the heat exchanger from the same side and exit the same side. As a result, the fluids exchange heat as they go further inside the exchanger.
Unlike the previous one, here the hot and cold liquids enter the system from either ends. Because the fluids have a higher temperature difference, this leads to improved efficiency.
A crossflow heat exchanger will have a perpendicular flow of the medium, which is common in air conditioners. This type is also known for its high heat transfer efficiency.
Lastly, various types of heat exchangers will use various types of heat transfer mechanisms as required for a certain application:
In a conduction heat exchanger, the heat transfer is done using a conductive material like metals. Here, the heat is transferred through a solid material.
With this type, the fluids are moving and the heat exchange happens by natural convection as the fluids move around each other in a system.
Lastly, this method relies on heat transfer without any physical contact as it instead uses electromagnetic waves for heat transfer, which is useful for high-temperature applications.
Now that we have covered the most common types of heat exchangers, you might be wondering about the actual benefits that you get by using a heat exchanger. In that case, you should check these key benefits of using heat exchangers:
Efficient Design: By using the right heat exchanger, you can get high efficiency for heat transfer.
Temperature Control: You can precisely control the temperature change or the amount of heat you want to transfer.
Compact Design: Depending on the type of heat exchanger you are using, these can be quite compact.
Cost Savings: Since you are using an efficient way of heat transfer, it will eventually lead to cost savings as well.
Depending on the benefits that seem the best for your industry, you may pick a certain heat exchanger out of a large number of heat exchanger designs and types available out there:
HVAC Systems: Whether it’s heating or cooling your homes and offices, heat exchangers are used in all HVAC systems.
Power Generation: Most power plant types rely on some sort of heat exchanger for making steam and power.
Refrigeration: The food industry also depends on heat exchangers since they are also used for refrigeration.
Chemicals and Processing: All kinds of chemical manufacturing and processing industries also rely on heat exchangers for their industrial processes.
As there are so many types of heat exchangers available for industries, choosing the right one can be tricky. Thus, we hope this guide has helped you learn more about heat exchangers and even select the best heat exchanger for your needs. Since we have also covered the benefits and applications of heat exchangers, you can be assured that you are going with the right type of heat exchanger as needed by you and your industry.
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