What type of heat exchanger flow path has tube side and shell side fluids flow parallel and in same direction?

What type of heat exchanger flow path has tube side and shell side fluids flow parallel and in same direction?

• A. Parallel Flow
• B. Crossflow
• C. Counterflow
• D. Direct Contact

Answer: (A)

The main idea is the way the two fluids move through the exchanger. In a parallel flow arrangement, the hot and cold streams enter from the same end and travel in the same direction. As they flow, the hot fluid cools and the cold fluid heats, so their temperatures move toward each other along the length, and the temperature difference driving the heat transfer is largest at the entrance and decreases downstream. This setup makes the average driving force smaller than in counterflow, so for the same exchanger area you typically get less total heat transfer, but it’s simpler to construct and can be adequate for certain duty ranges. It also means the cold outlet temperature cannot exceed the hot inlet temperature, since the hot stream only cools down to some value and the cold stream warms up to at most that same point. Compared to the other flow schemes, parallel flow uses streams moving in the same direction; crossflow has one stream moving perpendicular to the other, and direct contact involves mixing of the two fluids rather than transferring heat through a wall.

The main idea is the way the two fluids move through the exchanger. In a parallel flow arrangement, the hot and cold streams enter from the same end and travel in the same direction. As they flow, the hot fluid cools and the cold fluid heats, so their temperatures move toward each other along the length, and the temperature difference driving the heat transfer is largest at the entrance and decreases downstream.

This setup makes the average driving force smaller than in counterflow, so for the same exchanger area you typically get less total heat transfer, but it’s simpler to construct and can be adequate for certain duty ranges. It also means the cold outlet temperature cannot exceed the hot inlet temperature, since the hot stream only cools down to some value and the cold stream warms up to at most that same point.

Compared to the other flow schemes, parallel flow uses streams moving in the same direction; crossflow has one stream moving perpendicular to the other, and direct contact involves mixing of the two fluids rather than transferring heat through a wall.