Performance of Plate Heat Exchangers Under Single and Two-Phase Flow Conditions - Experimental Results

Abstract

This paper outlines the procedures and methods adopted and the results obtained from experimental research conducted to evaluate the performance of plate heat exchangers. The experiment was conducted in the Thermodynamics Laboratory of the School of Engineering at Auckland University. Generator in the Laboratory was used to supply hot fluid while the mains water supply was used as the cooling load. Tests were conducted at single and two-phase flow conditions. Measurement of terminal temperatures, pressure drops and flow rate on both the cold and hot fluid streams were made to evaluate the hydraulic and heat transfer performance of the exchangers. Correlations reported in literature for calculating pressure drop and heat transfer evaluated and compared with the experimental results. The method gave a good approximation for prediction of pressure drop for the condensing steam flow. Deviation of up to 15%between the measured and calculated pressure drop was obtained while the corresponding deviation for the heat transfer was about 20%.