Problem Set 3 – Solutions Dr.

André McDonald
Winter 2022

Problem Set 3 - Solutions

4.4 A superheater is a counterflow heat exchanger used in power plant systems to

transfer heat from hot exhaust flue gases to saturated steam to increase its
temperature before entrance to a steam turbine. The tubes containing saturated
steam are usually arranged in-line and may be fabricated from low carbon steel,
chrome-moly, stainless steel, super-alloys or other types of heat-resistant alloys.
The tubes tend to be devoid of extended surfaces. A superheater will be required to
produce steam at a rate of 1,000,000 lb/hr at 1900 psia and 1000oF. The hot exhaust
flue gas enters the superheater at 2000oF at a rate of 1,230,000 lb/hr. Estimate the
superheater size. In other words, estimate the heat transfer surface area, the number
of tubes, and the number of tube rows for the following design conditions:

Tube nominal diameter 2½ in

Tube center to center spacing 7 in
Typical superheater length 12 ft
Typical superheater width variable
Estimated overall heat
transfer coefficient 8.8 Btu/hr-ft2-oF

Further Information: A consideration of enthalpies may be useful

Solution:
All the design conditions have been given for this problem. Also presented in the
problem preamble is an estimate of the overall heat transfer coefficient. Therefore, an
analysis will be conducted to estimate the heat transfer surface area, the number of tubes,
and the number of tube rows for the superheater. Appropriate assumptions will be made
during the analysis.

Determine the heat transfer surface area.

Find the total surface area of the tubes by using the ε-NTU method.

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Problem Set 3 – Solutions Dr. André McDonald
Winter 2022

UA
NTU =
C min

C min NTU
A=
U

To find the heat capacities, assume that the exhaust flue gases have properties of air. This
assumption becomes more valid as the air-to-fuel ratio increases for complete combustion
of the fuel to produce the exhaust flue gas mixture.

Therefore, for air at 2000oF,

( )
C g = m! g c pg = (1,230,000 lb/hr ) 0.2855 Btu/lb - o F = 351,165 Btu/hr- o F = C h .

The average temperature of the exhaust flue gases should be used to determine the
specific heat capacity. A check will be conducted to determine the error introduced by the
assumption of 2000oF temperature.

For steam, sufficient information is available to determine the average temperature. At

the inlet to the superheater, the steam is saturated and is at 1900 psia. Hence, Tc,in =
Tsteam,sat. 1900 psia = 629oF, and Tc,out = 1000oF. It was assumed that there was no pressure
drop in the steam between the inlet and outlet of the superheater.

The average temperature of the steam (for properties) is:

Ts =
Ts,in + Ts,out
=
(629 + 1000 ) F
o
= 815 o F .
2 2

( )
C s = m! s c ps = (1,000,000 lb/hr ) ¥ Btu/lb - o F » ¥ = C c .

Note that for high temperature steam, the specific heat is very large.

Therefore, Cg = Ch = Cmin and Cs = Cc = Cmax.

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Problem Set 3 – Solutions Dr. André McDonald
Winter 2022

The capacity ratio is:

C min 351,165 Btu/hr- o F
c= = » 0.
C max ¥

The actual heat transferred between the exhaust flue gases and steam will be used to find
the effectiveness.
Therefore,
Q! = m! s (hs,out - hs,in ) = eQ! max = eC min (Th,in - Tc,in ) = eC g (Tg,in - Ts,in ) .

Then,
m! s (hs,out - hs,in )
e= .
C g (Tg,in - Ts,in )

Thus,

e=
(1,000,000 lb/hr )(1478 - 1144) Btu/lb = 0.694 .
(351,165 Btu/hr- o F)(2000 - 629)o F

With the capacity ratio and the effectiveness known, the NTU can be determined directly
from Figure 4.12 for a counterflow exchanger configuration. Hence,
NTU ≈ 1.2.

The total surface area is:

A=
(
C min NTU 351,165 Btu/hr- o F (1.2)
=
)
U 8.8 Btu/hr-ft 2 - o F

A = 47,886 ft2.

Check the outlet exhaust gas temperature and the error in the total surface area.
C h (Tg,in - Tg,out ) (Tg,in - Tg,out )
e= =
C min (Tg,in - Ts,in ) (Tg,in - Ts,in )
Tg,out = Tg,in - e (Tg,in - Ts,in )

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Problem Set 3 – Solutions Dr. André McDonald
Winter 2022

Tg,out = 2000 o F - 0.694(2000 - 629 ) F = 1049 o F .

o

Therefore, the average exhaust flue gas temperature is

Tg =
Tg,in + Tg,out
=
(2000 + 1049)o F = 1524 o F .
2 2

Use of this average temperature to find the properties of the flue gas will yield a total
surface area of 46,310 ft2, representing a 3.4% deviation from the value estimated above.
Since the value above is larger, it will be chosen as the accepted value.

Determine the number of tubes and tube rows

The surface area can be used directly to estimate the number of tubes and tube rows that
will be needed. It will be assumed that there will be a large supply and return header
attached to the inline bank of tubes.
Therefore, the total length of tubes required is:
A 47,886 ft 2 12 in
L= = x = 63,621 ft .
pDo p (2.875 in ) 1 ft

The typical length of the superheater is specified as 12 ft. Therefore, 5,302 tubes should
be installed. Since the other dimensions are variable, a decision could be made to make
the tube bank square in geometry. This would result in 73 rows with 73 tubes per row.
However, the total number of tubes would be 5,329 tubes, which is greater than required.
So, choose 50 rows with 106 tubes per row. This will give 5,300 tubes, which is close
to the desired amount.

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Problem Set 3 – Solutions Dr. André McDonald
Winter 2022

4.6 Fuel oils such as #2 fuel oil may be used in boiler burners to provide energy to the
working fluid in the boiler tubes. Due to the high viscosity of the fuel oil, a heater is
usually needed in the oil storage tank to warm the oil to facilitate pumping. Heating
the oil to at least 150oF will maintain good combustion in the burner. A design
engineer wishes to reduce the total power required by the oil storage tank heater.
They have devised a system in which hot exhaust gases from the boiler burner will
be directed through an 18 in. x 20 in. rectangular ductwork to a heat exchanger for
the purposes of providing additional energy to heat the oil. The average flue gas
temperature from the burner is on the order of 650oF, and to avoid metal corrosion
and proper operation of pollution control equipment, the temperature can never be
lower than 480oF. The oil pumping system available to the engineer will fail if the
oil temperature is lower than 50oF. Design a heat exchanger that could be used in
the engineer’s system.
Properties of #2 fuel oil are: Tfreezing = -22oF; Tboiling = 374 – 689oF; SG = 0.86; ν =
3.66 x 10-5 ft2/s; cp = 0.44 Btu/lb-oF; k = 0.0797 Btu/hr-ft-oF.

Possible Solution:

Definition
Design a heat exchanger to heat #2 fuel oil.

Preliminary Specifications and Constraints

i. Heat #2 oil with exhaust flue gases from a boiler burner.
ii. Minimum temperature of oil should be 150oF.
iii. Exhaust flue gas temperature must never be lower than 480oF.
iv. The oil temperature should never be lower than 50oF.

Detailed Design
Objective
To determine the coil configuration, number of coils, size, and performance of a heat
exchanger.

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Problem Set 3 – Solutions Dr. André McDonald
Winter 2022

Data Given or Known

i. Fuel is #2 fuel oil.
ii. Oil should exit heat exchanger at 150oF or higher.
iii. Oil will enter the heat exchanger at 50oF.
iv. External fluid will be exhaust flue gas from a boiler burner.
v. The flue gas will enter the heat exchanger at 650oF.
vi. The flue gas cannot exit at temperatures lower than 480oF.
vii. Properties of #2 fuel oil are presented in the problem preamble.

Assumptions/Limitations/Constraints
i. Let the exhaust gas velocity over the tubes be 900 fpm. This is a low-velocity
system, which keeps losses over the heat exchanger tubes low. Further, without
knowledge of the fan or blower size on the boiler package, it will be safer to design
for lower gas velocities to accommodate the possibility of a smaller fan or blower
on the boiler exhaust stack.
ii. Let the pipe material be Type L copper. Copper has high heat transfer properties
and availability.
iii. Let the flow velocity of water in the tubes be about 4 fps. For #2 fuel oil, the
erosion limit for copper is:
r water r water 1 1
Voil = Vwater = Vwater = Vwater = (6 ft/s ) = 7 ft/s . In this case,
r oil SG * r water SG 0.86

the assumed oil velocity does not exceed the erosion limits of copper.
iv. The tubes are arranged in a staggered fashion. This will enhance heat transfer.
v. The 180o return bends (regular) will be soldered to make the tube connections.
vi. Let the tube outer diameter be ⅜ in.
vii. The tube wall thickness (0.06 in.) is small compared to the tube outer diameter.
viii. Negligible elevation head. Assume that all components are on the same level.
ix. This will be a counter-flow arrangement.
x. Entrance/exit losses of the air over the coils will be neglected. Other losses will be
much larger.

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Problem Set 3 – Solutions Dr. André McDonald
Winter 2022

xi. Assume that the properties of the exhaust flue gas are those of air. For complete
combustion of the #2 fuel oil, an excess of air will be used such that the air-to-fuel
ratio will be high.
xii. Bare tubes will be used to mitigate pressure losses in the exhaust flue gas flow.
xiii. The exhaust flue gases will exit the heat exchanger at 500oF, well above the 480oF
constraint.

Sketch
A full drawing will be provided at the end of the design analysis.

Analysis
Determine the overall heat transfer coefficient (U)
The ε-NTU method will be used in this design. To determine the effectiveness and NTU,
the overall heat transfer coefficient (U) must be determined first. The overall heat transfer
coefficient is:
1 1 1
= + Rfi + Rwall A + Rfo + .
U hi ho

The tube wall resistance is:

1 ær ö
Rwall = ln çç o ÷÷ .
2pkL è ri ø

It was assumed that the wall thickness is small. Therefore, ro ≈ ri. Thus, Rwall ≈ 0. So,
1 1 1
= + Rfi + Rfo + .
U hi ho

Determine the heat transfer coefficient inside the tube (hi). The average temperature of
the #2 fuel oil is:

Toil =
(50 + 150 ) F
o
= 100 o F .
2

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Problem Set 3 – Solutions Dr. André McDonald
Winter 2022

The Reynolds and Prandtl numbers are:

Re Di =
SG * r waterV Di
=
V Di
=
(4 ft/s )(0.315 in ) x 1 ft
= 2,869
µ n -5
3.66 x 10 ft /s 2
12 in

Pr =
cp µ
=
c p rn
=
c p * SG * r watern
=
(0.44 Btu/lb - F)(0.86)(62 lb/ft )(3.66 x 10
o 3 -5
ft 2 /s ) x 3600 s
o
k k k 0.0797 Btu/hr-ft- F 1 hr

Pr = 38.8

Note that for ⅜ in. outer diameter Type L copper, the inside diameter is 0.315 in. (Table
A.6).

The heat transfer coefficient for flow in the tube is found from the Gnielinski correlation
equation. Application of this correlation requires that 2300 < Re Di < 5 x 10 6 and

0.5 < Pr < 2000 , which is satisfied in this problem.

æf ö
ç ÷(Re D - 1000 )Pr é æ D ö2/ 3 ù
8
Nu = è ø 0.5 ê1 + ç ÷ ú
êë è L ø úû
æf ö
1.0 + 12.7ç ÷ Pr 2 / 3 - 1 ( )
è8ø
D
For fully developed flow - » 0 . Therefore,
L
æf ö
ç ÷(Re D - 1000 )Pr
hi Di è8ø
Nu = = 0.5
.
k æf ö
1.0 + 12.7ç ÷ Pr - 1
2/3
( )
è8ø

The friction factor, f can be estimated from the Moody chart. For copper, the relative
e 0.000005 ft
roughness is = = 0.00019 . Thus, f ≈ 0.042.
Di 0.02625 ft

Therefore,

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Problem Set 3 – Solutions Dr. André McDonald
Winter 2022

æf ö
ç ÷(Re D - 1000 )Pr
k è8ø
hi = 0.5
Di æf ö
(
1.0 + 12.7ç ÷ Pr 2 / 3 - 1 )
è8ø
æ 0.042 ö
ç ÷(2869 - 1000 )(38.8)
hi =
( o
0.0797 Btu/hr-ft- F è 8 ø )
0.5
0.02625 ft æ 0.042 ö
1.0 + 12.7ç (
÷ 38.8 - 1
2/3
)
è 8 ø
hi = 109 Btu/hr-ft- o F .

The fouling resistances can be found from Table C.3.

Assume fuel oil: Rfi = 0.0051 hr-ft2-oF/Btu.
Assume compressed air: Rfo = 0.00199 hr-ft2-oF/Btu.

The average heat transfer coefficient for exhaust flue gas flow over the staggered bare
tube bank is found from charts and appropriate correlation equations:
jG m c p
ho = ,
Pr 2 / 3
and the Chilton-Colburn j-factor is:
ho
j= Pr 2 / 3 .
Gm c p

The following j-factor versus Re Gm chart (Figure C.2e) will be used since the tube outer

diameter is ⅜ in. The ratio of the free-flow area to the frontal area (σ) is large. This will
ensure that the pressure drop across the bank is low. However, the heat transfer
performance of the heat exchanger may be compromised because the mass flow rate per
unit minimum flow area between the tubes (Gm) will be small, resulting in a lower ho .

Consult Figure C.2 for additional charts.

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Problem Set 3 – Solutions Dr. André McDonald
Winter 2022

For properties, the average temperature of the exhaust flue gas is:

Tg =
(650 + 500)o F = 575 o F
2
The mass flow rate per unit minimum flow area between the tubes, Gm is:
r gVg (0.03841 lb/ft 3 )(900 ft/min ) 1 min
Gm = = x = 1.39 lb/s-ft 2 .
s 0.414 60 s

The Reynolds number based on Gm is:

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Problem Set 3 – Solutions Dr. André McDonald
Winter 2022

Re Gm =
G m Dh
=
(1.39 lb/s-ft )(0.0327 ft ) = 2301 » 2.3 x 10
2
3

µg -5
1.975 x 10 lb/ft-s

From the chart, j ≈ 0.0185.

Therefore,

ho =
jGm c p,g
=
(0.0185)(1.39 lb/s-ft 2 )(0.2495 Btu/lb - o F) x 3600 s
Prg
2/3
(0.6936)2 / 3 1 hr

ho = 29.5 Btu/hr-ft 2 - o F .

As expected, the heat transfer coefficient of the liquid oil is higher than that of exhaust
flue gas.

The overall heat transfer coefficient is:

1 1 1
= o
+ 0.0051 hr-ft 2 - o F/Btu + 0.00199 hr-ft 2 - o F/Btu +
U 109 Btu/hr-ft- F 29.5 hr-ft 2 - o F/Btu

1
= 0.0502 hr-ft 2 - o F/Btu
U
U = 20 Btu/hr-ft2-oF

Determine the configuration, number of coils, and dimensions of the heat exchanger.
Find the total surface area of the tubes by using the ε-NTU method.
UA
NTU =
C min

C min NTU
A=
U

The minimum heat capacity is needed. For the exhaust flue gas,
2

( ) ( ) æ 1 ft ö
C g = m! g c pg = r gVg Aduct c pg = 0.03841 lb/ft 3 (900 ft/min )(18 in )(20 in ) 0.2495 Btu/lb- o F x ç ÷
è 12 in ø

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Problem Set 3 – Solutions Dr. André McDonald
Winter 2022

C g = 21.6 Btu/min- o F = C h

For fuel oil, the law of conservation of energy can be used,

Tg,i - Tg,o é 650 o F - 500 o F ù

C oil = C c = C h
Toil,o - Toil,i
( )
= 21.6 Btu/min- o F ê o o ú = 32.4 Btu/min- F
o

ë 150 F - 50 F û

Therefore, Cg = Ch = Cmin and Coil = Cc = Cmax.

The capacity ratio is:

C min 21.6 Btu/min- o F
c= =
C max 32.4 Btu/min- o F
c = 0.67.

The effectiveness is:

C h (Tg,i - Tg,o ) (Tg,i - Tg,o ) 650 o F - 500 o F
e= = =
C min (Tg,i - Toil,i ) (Tg,i - Toil,i ) 650 o F - 50 o F

ε = 0.25.

At this point the thermal capacity or heat exchanged in the heat exchanger can be
determined.
( )(
Q! = eC min (Tg,i - Toil,i ) = 0.25 21.6 Btu/min- o F 650 o F - 50 o F )
Q! = 3240 Btu/min = 194,400 Btu/hr

The system will be designed to approach a counter-flow heat exchanger. With c and ε
known, the NTU value can be read directly from Figure 4.12. Therefore,
NTU ≈ 0.40.

The total heat transfer surface area of the tubes is:

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Problem Set 3 – Solutions Dr. André McDonald
Winter 2022

A=
C min NTU
=
( x
)
21.6 Btu/min- o F (0.40) 60 min
U 20 Btu/hr-ft 2 - o F 1 hr
A = 26 ft2.

The total heat transfer volume is found from the ratio of the heat transfer area to the total
volume:
A
a= .
W
Therefore,
A 26 ft 2
W= = = 0.52 ft 3 .
a 50.3 ft 2 /ft 3

A decision will be made to recommend the fabrication of a rectangular heat exchanger for
this application.

The depth of the heat exchanger (dimension in the direction of flue gas flow) is:
W
W= .
Af
Af is the face area of the heat exchanger box normal to the air flow direction. Let the face
area of the heat exchanger be equal to the size of the 18 in. x 20 in. ductwork.

Therefore,
2
0.52 ft 3 æ 12 in ö 12 in
W = xç ÷ x
(18 in )(20 in ) è 1 ft ø 1 ft
W = 2.50 in. ≈ 3 in.

From the j-factor versus Re Gm chart, the longitudinal tube pitch is 0.375 in. The number

of tube rows is
W 2.50 in
Nr = =
x L 0.375 in

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Problem Set 3 – Solutions Dr. André McDonald
Winter 2022

Nr = 6.7 ≈ 7 tube rows.

Determine the number of tubes per row. The cross-sectional area for the tube can be
found from the mass flow rate equation (for the #2 fuel oil):
m! oil = r oilVoil Atube = SG * r waterVoil Atube .

pDi2
The tube area is Atube = N tube . The mass flow rate can be determined from the
4
definition of the heat capacity rate, C c = m! oil c p,oil .

Therefore,
Cc pDi2
= SG * r waterVoil N tube
c p,oil 4

4C c
N tube =
c p,oil * SG * r waterVoilpDi2

N tube =
(
4 32.4 Btu/min- o F ) 2
æ 12 in ö
xç ÷ x
1 min
(0.44 Btu/lb- F)(0.86)(62 lb/ft )(4 ft/s )p (0.315 in )
o 3 2
è 1 ft ø 60 sec

Ntube = 10.6 tubes per row ≈ 11 tubes per row

The total number of tubes along the length of the heat exchanger will be 77 tubes (7 rows
x 11 tubes per row). If each row has 11 tubes, the height of the heat exchanger is:
H = Ntubext = (11)(0.750 in)

H = 8.25 in ≈ 9 in.

The length of the heat exchanger is found by considering an alternate definition of the
face area normal to the direction of air flow:
Af = LH.

The heat exchanger length is:

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Problem Set 3 – Solutions Dr. André McDonald
Winter 2022

Af (18 in )(20 in )
L= =
H 8.25 in

L = 43.6 in ≈ 44 in.

The total length of the tubes in the heat exchanger is 283 ft (44 in. per tube x 77 tubes).
Pressure loss of air across the tube coils

The pressure drop of the exhaust flue gas across the tube coil bank is given by
é A r g,i ù
)çç rr
Gm2 æ ö
ΔPbank =
2 r g,i
(
ê 1+s
2 g,i
- 1÷ + f T
÷ A r
ú.
êë è g,o ø c g, mean úû

Remember: Gm = 1.39 lb/s-ft 2 and Re Gm = 2301 » 2.3 x 10 3 .

From the j-factor versus Re Gm chart, the friction factor (f) is:

f ≈ 0.13.

The area ratio is:

AT 4W 4(3 in ) 1 ft
= = x = 30.6 .
Ac Dh 0.0327 ft 12 in

The mean density (ρg,mean) is:

r g,mean =
r g,i + r g,o
=
(0.03582 + 0.04134) lb/ft 3 = 0.03858 lb/ft 3 .
2 2
Therefore,

ΔPbank =
(1.39 lb/s-ft ) é(1 + 0.414 )æç 0.03582 lb/ft
2 2
2
3
ö
- 1÷÷ + (0.13)(30.6 )
0.03582 lb/ft 3 ù
ê ú
2(0.03582 lb/ft ) ë 3 ç 0.04134 lb/ft
è
3
ø 0.03858 lb/ft 3 û

1 lbf
ΔPbank = 95.4 lb/ft-s 2 x 2
= 2.96 lbf/ft 2 = 2.96 psf .
32.2 lb-ft/s

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Problem Set 3 – Solutions Dr. André McDonald
Winter 2022

In practice, the pressure drop is reported in inches of water. So,

1 1
ΔPbank = 95.4 lb/ft-s 2 x x = 76.8 ft of flue gas
0.03858 lb/ft 32.2 ft/s 2
3

0.03841 lb/ft 3 12 in
ΔPbank = 76.8 ft of gas x SGgas,575o F = 76.8 ft of gas x x
44.14 lb/ft 3 1 ft

∆Pbank = 0.8 in. of water = 0.8 in. wg.

Note: The pressure drop across the tube bank is small, and on the order of 1 in. wg.

Pressure loss of fuel oil in the tubes

The total head loss in the heat exchanger is:
æ Ltube ö Voil2
H lT = çç f + K ÷÷ .
è Di ø 2g

It was found earlier from the Moody chart that the friction factor is f ≈ 0.042.

For the primary piping circuitry through the heat exchanger, there are 8 tube rows,
including 1 supply run and 1 return run, each 44 in. long. In this case, there will be
multiple tubes connected to supply and return headers.
Thus,
Ltube = (7 rows)(44 in per row) = 308 in. = 25.7 ft.

For the minor losses, K = 2.0 for the soldered/brazed 180o regular return bends. Note that
the K value for soldered/brazed 180o regular return bends is probably lower than 2.0, and
more on the order of the value for flanged 180o regular return bends.
Therefore,

ö (4 ft/s )
2
æ 308 in
H lT = ç (0.042 ) + (6 )(2.0 )÷
è 0.315 in (
ø 2 32.2 ft/s
2
)

HlT = 13.2 ft. wg.

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Problem Set 3 – Solutions Dr. André McDonald
Winter 2022

Drawing

Conclusions
A heat exchanger with a bare-tube bank has been designed to preheat #2 fuel oil by using
hot exhaust flue gases from a boiler burner. The following points should be noted:
i. The pressure drop of the gas across the tube bank was small. The heat transfer
performance could have been improved by increasing the Gm at the expense of
pressure drop across the bank. This is a reasonable design compromise that could
have been made.
ii. It may be necessary to increase the size of the heat exchanger to accommodate
flanges for installation of the heat exchanger.

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Problem Set 3 – Solutions Dr. André McDonald
Winter 2022

A heat exchanger design data sheet is shown below.

HEAT EXCHANGER DESIGN DATA SHEET
TYPE COUNTER-FLOW
SECTION: TUBE BANK
WORKING FLUID EXHAUST FLUE GAS
VOLUME FLOW RATE 2250 CFM
INLET TEMPERATURE 650oF
OUTLET TEMPERATURE 500oF
PRESSURE DROP 0.8 in wg
SECTION: TUBE
TUBE MATERIAL COPPER
WORKING FLUID # 2 FUEL OIL
VELOCITY 4 ft/s
TUBE INNER DIAMETER 0.315 in
TUBE OUTER DIAMETER 0.375 in
NUMBER OF TUBE ROWS 8
NUMBER OF TUBES PER ROW 11
TUBE SPACING (xt x xL) 0.750 in x 0.375 in
TOTAL TUBE LENGTH 323 ft
INLET TEMPERATURE 50oF
OUTLET TEMPERATURE 150oF
HEAD LOSS 15.1 ft wg
HEAT EXCHANGER PARAMETERS
THERMAL CAPACITY 194,400 Btu/hr
EFFECTIVENESS 0.25
CAPACITY RATIO 0.67
OVERALL HEAT TRANSFER COEFFICIENT 20 Btu/hr-ft2-oF
NUMBER OF TRANSFER UNITS (NTU) 0.40
HEAT EXCHANGER DIMENSIONS (LxHxW ) 44 in x 9 in x 3 in

18