University of Technology and Applied Sciences, Nizwa COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGYM&I SECTION
Experiment · Virtual laboratory

Heat exchanger effectiveness

Compare parallel and counter-flow arrangements, record measurements, and calculate thermal performance in real time.

Start experimentReview theory

Specifications

Inner copper tube ID9.5 mm
Inner copper tube OD12.5 mm
Outer GI pipe ID28.5 mm
Outer GI tube OD32.5 mm
Heat-exchanger length1500 mm
Specific heat of water, cpw4187 J/kg·K
Volume of water collected1 litre
Flow configuration

Choose an arrangement

Same direction

Parallel-flow heat exchanger

Hot and cold fluids enter at the same end and travel in the same direction. The temperature difference is greatest at the inlet and decreases along the exchanger.

Animated parallel-flow heat exchanger apparatus with hot and cold fluids moving left to right T1-- °CT2-- °Ct1-- °Ct2-- °Cmh-- kg/smc-- kg/s
Hot fluid Cold fluid
Live calculations

Observation & calculation table

Edit any reading. Calculated values update immediately.

Parallel flowLMTD temperature pairs update automatically for the selected arrangement.
Heat exchanger observations and calculated performance
Run Collection time (s) Mass flow (kg/s) Temperature (°C) Heat transfer (W) LMTD
(K)		 U
(W/m²·K)		 Effectiveness
Hot th Cold tc mh mc T1
Hot in		 T2
Hot out		 t1
Cold in		 t2
Cold out		 Qh Qc
Average heat transfer—watts
Average overall coefficient—W/m²·K
Average effectiveness—dimensionless
Reference

Theory & method

Aim

Conduct heat-transfer tests in parallel- and counter-flow arrangements; determine heat-transfer rate, overall heat-transfer coefficient, and effectiveness.

Apparatus

  • Concentric-tube heat exchanger
  • Measuring flasks
  • Stopwatch and temperature indicators

Core equations

Mass flow ratesmh = ρV/th = 1/th  kg/s
mc = ρV/tc = 1/tc  kg/sFor water: ρ = 1000 kg/m³ and V = 1 litre = 0.001 m³, therefore ρV = 1 kg. Standard notation may also be written as ṁh and ṁc.
Hot-side heat transferQh = mh cp (T1 − T2)
Cold-side heat transferQc = mc cp (t2 − t1)
General LMTD equationΔTlm = (θ1 − θ2) / ln(θ1/θ2)The definitions of θ1 and θ2 depend on the flow arrangement, as shown below.
Overall coefficientU = Qavg / (A · ΔTlm)
Effectivenessε = Qavg / [Cmin(T1 − t1)]

Procedure

  1. Set valves for the selected flow arrangement.
  2. Switch on the heater and admit cold water.
  3. Adjust hot and cold flow rates to steady values.
  4. Allow temperatures to reach steady state.
  5. Record inlet/outlet temperatures and collection times.
  6. Repeat for several flow rates, then calculate performance.
Parallel-flow and counter-flow LMTD temperature diagrams showing terminal temperature differences and equations
Parallel-flow and counter-flow temperature profiles and their corresponding LMTD equations.

Arrangement comparison

Characteristic Parallel flow Counter flow
Fluid direction Same direction Opposite directions
Temperature difference Falls rapidly along length More uniform along length
Typical effectiveness Lower Higher
Cold outlet limit Below hot outlet Can exceed hot outlet
Student assessment

Heat exchanger quiz

Each student receives four questions selected randomly from the complete question bank.

0/ 30 students
4

Four questions · Four marks

Questions may cover parallel flow, counter flow, multiple choice, true or false, and fill in the blank.

Class mark register

Up to 30 completed student reports are retained on this device.

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