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Steady and unsteady state thermal behaviour of triple concentric-tube heat exchanger

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Abstract

This paper presents a numerical analysis by using the finite difference method to describe the steady and unsteady state thermal behavior of triple concentric-tube heat exchanger with parallel flow and counter flow arrangements. One gives the temperature variations of the three fluids and three walls with time along the triple concentric-tube heat exchanger. The fluids have a time lag and the response of triple concentric-tube heat exchanger in parallel flow configuration is faster than those of a counterflow arrangement, its performances are always lower than those of a counterflow triple concentric-tube heat exchanger. The heat transfer coefficients by convection of the three fluids vary with time in addition to the temperature and the heat exchanger performances are lower in unsteady state than the steady state case.

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Abbreviations

TTHE:

Triple concentric tube heat exchanger

DTHE:

Double concentric tube heat exchanger

A :

Matrix

B :

Matrix

Cp :

Specific heat at constant pressure (J/kg K)

D :

Diameter (m)

\(D_{h}\) :

Hydraulic diameter (m)

G :

Mass velocity (kg/m2s)

H :

Specific enthalpy (J/kg)

h :

Heat transfer coefficient (W/m2K)

L :

Length (m)

m :

Mass (kg)

\(\dot{m}\) :

Flowrate (kg/s)

n :

Number of nodes

Nu :

Nusselt number

Pr :

Prandtl number

R′, R :

Radii (m)

Re :

Reynolds number

S :

Heat exchange surface (m2)

S c :

Cross section area (m2)

Sp :

Pass area (m2)

t :

Time (s)

T :

Temperature (°C)

V :

Volume (m3)

x :

Coordinate

y :

Coordinate

α :

Dimensionless group

β :

Dimensionless group

γ :

Dimensionless group

\(\rho\) :

Density (kg/m3)

λ :

Thermal conductivity (W/m K)

μ :

Dynamic viscosity (Pa s)

\(\Delta t\) :

Temporal discretization step (s)

\(\Delta x\) :

Axial discretization step (m)

Φ :

Heat flux (W)

1:

Cold fluid 1

2:

Cold wall 2

3:

Hot fluid 3

4:

Hot wall 4

5:

Cold fluid 5

6:

Cold wall 6

e :

External

exp :

Experimental

H :

Horizontal

i :

Inlet, inside

num :

Numerical

o:

Exit

V :

Vertical

w :

Wall

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. LGEM, Mechanical Engineering Department – Faculty of Technology, University of Biskra, B.P. 145, 07000, Biskra, Algeria

    Nora Boultif

  2. LESEI, Mechanical Engineering Department – Faculty of Technology, University of Batna 2, rue, M. Boukhlouf, 05000, Batna, Algeria

    Cherif Bougriou

Authors
  1. Nora Boultif
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  2. Cherif Bougriou
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Correspondence to Cherif Bougriou.

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Boultif, N., Bougriou, C. Steady and unsteady state thermal behaviour of triple concentric-tube heat exchanger. Heat Mass Transfer 53, 849–863 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-016-1859-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-016-1859-5

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