The Laminar/Viscous Flow Heat Transfer Apparatus is a unit at laboratory scale, designed to study heat transfer between hot oil flowing in laminar flow through an internal tube and cold water that flows through the annulus. Oil circuit (hot fluid): The hot oil flows along of a closed circuit. An electric heater, placed into to the heater tank, heating the oil. The oil goes out of the tank and is pumped by the pump. In the inlet of the tank there is a regulation valve for the hot oil. The oil is cooled along of the exchanger and then return to the heater tank, starting a new cycle. Water circuit (cold fluid): The cold water comes from the lab water supply. In the water circuit there is a regulation valve and a flow meter. The water comes in to the exchanger, and it increases its temperature. The cold water can come in to the exchanger by both extreme (co-current or counter-current). This depends of the valves position (open or close). Heat Exchanger: Hot oil flows through the internal tube and cooling water flows through the annulus between the internal and external tube.
Experiments
- Demonstration of a concentric tube heat exchanger with co-current and counter-current.
- Energy balance for the heat exchanger.
- Determination of surface heat transfer coefficients on the oil and water sides and determination of the overall heat transfer coefficient.
- Relationship between Nusselt Number and Graetz Number for and counter-current flow in laminar/viscous flow and Reynolds Numbers.
Specifications
- Bench-top unit:
* aluminum structure and panels in HDF.
* Water Contact Parts are either Copper, Plastic or Stainless Steel. - Electronic Console:
* Sensor digital display for temperature sensors.
* Selector switch for heater range selector. - Pump Controller.
- Heater Controller.
- Cables and accessories, for normal operation.
- Heat exchanger constituted by two concentric tubes with hot oil flowing through the internal tube and cold water flowing through the ringshaped area.
- Control valves to control cold water and oil flow.
- Ball valves that may provide co-current or countercurrent flow in the exchanger, according to how they may be set (control of direction of control water flow).
- Exchanger length = 0.92 m