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The number of transfer units (NTU) method is used to calculate the rate of heat transfer in heat exchangers (especially parallel flow, counter current, and cross-flow exchangers) when there is insufficient information to calculate the log mean temperature difference (LMTD). Alternatively, this method is useful for determining the expected heat ...
Assume heat transfer [2] is occurring in a heat exchanger along an axis z, from generic coordinate A to B, between two fluids, identified as 1 and 2, whose temperatures along z are T 1 (z) and T 2 (z). The local exchanged heat flux at z is proportional to the temperature difference:
Temperature vs. heat load diagram of hot stream (H 2 O entering at 20 bar, 473.15 K, and 4 kg/s) and cold stream (R-11 entering at 18 bar, 303.15 K, and 5 kg/s) in a counter-flow heat exchanger. "Pinch" is the point of closest approach between the hot and cold streams in the T vs. H diagram.
A fourth type of heat exchanger uses an intermediate fluid or solid store to hold heat, which is then moved to the other side of the heat exchanger to be released. Two examples of this are adiabatic wheels, which consist of a large wheel with fine threads rotating through the hot and cold fluids, and fluid heat exchangers.
The overall heat transfer coefficient is a measure of the overall ability of a series of conductive and convective barriers to transfer heat. It is commonly applied to the calculation of heat transfer in heat exchangers, but can be applied equally well to other problems.
The total rate of heat transfer between the hot and cold fluids passing through a plate heat exchanger may be expressed as: Q = UA∆Tm where U is the Overall heat transfer coefficient, A is the total plate area, and ∆Tm is the Log mean temperature difference. U is dependent upon the heat transfer coefficients in the hot and cold streams. [2]
In fact, it is (loosely speaking) the simplest differential operator which has these symmetries. This can be taken as a significant (and purely mathematical) justification of the use of the Laplacian and of the heat equation in modeling any physical phenomena which are homogeneous and isotropic, of which heat diffusion is a principal example.
The amount of conduction, convection, or radiation of an object determines the amount of heat it transfers. Increasing the temperature gradient between the object and the environment, increasing the convection heat transfer coefficient, or increasing the surface area of the object increases the heat transfer.