Heat transfer, exergy, and cost: A sustainable analysis of concentric tube heat exchangers
This study investigates the heat transfer, exergetic performance, and overall cost of counter-flow concentric tube heat exchangers under various geometric and flow conditions. A systematic parametric analysis is performed using 2700 two-dimensional axisymmetric computational fluid dynamics simulatio...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-04-01
|
| Series: | Case Studies in Thermal Engineering |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214157X25000930 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850252578452930560 |
|---|---|
| author | Samer Ali Chadi Nohra Georges El Achkar Jalal Faraj Mahmoud Khaled |
| author_facet | Samer Ali Chadi Nohra Georges El Achkar Jalal Faraj Mahmoud Khaled |
| author_sort | Samer Ali |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study investigates the heat transfer, exergetic performance, and overall cost of counter-flow concentric tube heat exchangers under various geometric and flow conditions. A systematic parametric analysis is performed using 2700 two-dimensional axisymmetric computational fluid dynamics simulations. The analysis spans Reynolds numbers from 1000 to 20000, covering both laminar and turbulent regimes, and considers four fluid combinations (air–air, air–water, water–air, water–water) with temperature-dependent properties. Geometric variations include three inner diameters (0.01 m, 0.02 m, 0.05 m), three diameter ratios (1.25, 1.5, 3), and three lengths (0.4 m, 0.6 m, 4 m). Results show that increasing Reynolds number enhances the heat transfer rate and overall heat transfer coefficient. For instance, the heat transfer coefficient remains below 60 W/m2⋅K for air–air configurations, rises to 100–150 W/m2⋅K for air–water and water–air cases, and reaches up to 2000 W/m2⋅K for water–water setups. Smaller inner diameters, lower diameter ratios, and longer heat exchangers achieve high effectiveness and exergetic efficiencies up to 0.8, indicating superior thermodynamic performance. However, these configurations often incur higher operating costs, exceeding 10,000–12,000 USD over a 10-year period for long, small-diameter units, compared to 2,000–2,600 USD for shorter or larger-diameter designs. This research provides a comprehensive framework to balance heat transfer enhancement, exergy utilization, and cost-effectiveness in designing sustainable heat exchanger systems. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b13b91d3b12a4af391b6c8f3255bef38 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2214-157X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Case Studies in Thermal Engineering |
| spelling | doaj-art-b13b91d3b12a4af391b6c8f3255bef382025-08-20T01:57:36ZengElsevierCase Studies in Thermal Engineering2214-157X2025-04-016810583310.1016/j.csite.2025.105833Heat transfer, exergy, and cost: A sustainable analysis of concentric tube heat exchangersSamer Ali0Chadi Nohra1Georges El Achkar2Jalal Faraj3Mahmoud Khaled4Univ. Lille, Institut Mines-Télécom, Univ. Artois, Junia, ULR 4515 – LGCgE, Laboratoire de Génie Civil et géo-Environnement, F-59000 Lille, France; Corresponding author.Beirut Arab University, BAU, LebanonInternational Center in Fundamental and Engineering Thermophysics, Tianjin University of Commerce, Tianjin, China; Energy and Thermo-Fluid Group, Lebanese International University LIU, Bekaa, LebanonEnergy and Thermo-Fluid Group, Lebanese International University LIU, Bekaa, Lebanon; Energy and Thermo-Fluid Group, The International University of Beirut BIU, Beirut, LebanonEnergy and Thermo-Fluid Group, Lebanese International University LIU, Bekaa, Lebanon; GUST Center for Sustainable Development, Gulf University for Science and Technology, Kuwait; Correspondence to: Lebanese International University (LIU), Beirut Campus, Mouseitbeh, PO Box 146404 Mazraa, Lebanon.This study investigates the heat transfer, exergetic performance, and overall cost of counter-flow concentric tube heat exchangers under various geometric and flow conditions. A systematic parametric analysis is performed using 2700 two-dimensional axisymmetric computational fluid dynamics simulations. The analysis spans Reynolds numbers from 1000 to 20000, covering both laminar and turbulent regimes, and considers four fluid combinations (air–air, air–water, water–air, water–water) with temperature-dependent properties. Geometric variations include three inner diameters (0.01 m, 0.02 m, 0.05 m), three diameter ratios (1.25, 1.5, 3), and three lengths (0.4 m, 0.6 m, 4 m). Results show that increasing Reynolds number enhances the heat transfer rate and overall heat transfer coefficient. For instance, the heat transfer coefficient remains below 60 W/m2⋅K for air–air configurations, rises to 100–150 W/m2⋅K for air–water and water–air cases, and reaches up to 2000 W/m2⋅K for water–water setups. Smaller inner diameters, lower diameter ratios, and longer heat exchangers achieve high effectiveness and exergetic efficiencies up to 0.8, indicating superior thermodynamic performance. However, these configurations often incur higher operating costs, exceeding 10,000–12,000 USD over a 10-year period for long, small-diameter units, compared to 2,000–2,600 USD for shorter or larger-diameter designs. This research provides a comprehensive framework to balance heat transfer enhancement, exergy utilization, and cost-effectiveness in designing sustainable heat exchanger systems.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214157X25000930Parametric studyHeat exchangersConcentric tubeOverall heat transfer coefficientLaminar flowTurbulent flow |
| spellingShingle | Samer Ali Chadi Nohra Georges El Achkar Jalal Faraj Mahmoud Khaled Heat transfer, exergy, and cost: A sustainable analysis of concentric tube heat exchangers Case Studies in Thermal Engineering Parametric study Heat exchangers Concentric tube Overall heat transfer coefficient Laminar flow Turbulent flow |
| title | Heat transfer, exergy, and cost: A sustainable analysis of concentric tube heat exchangers |
| title_full | Heat transfer, exergy, and cost: A sustainable analysis of concentric tube heat exchangers |
| title_fullStr | Heat transfer, exergy, and cost: A sustainable analysis of concentric tube heat exchangers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Heat transfer, exergy, and cost: A sustainable analysis of concentric tube heat exchangers |
| title_short | Heat transfer, exergy, and cost: A sustainable analysis of concentric tube heat exchangers |
| title_sort | heat transfer exergy and cost a sustainable analysis of concentric tube heat exchangers |
| topic | Parametric study Heat exchangers Concentric tube Overall heat transfer coefficient Laminar flow Turbulent flow |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214157X25000930 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT samerali heattransferexergyandcostasustainableanalysisofconcentrictubeheatexchangers AT chadinohra heattransferexergyandcostasustainableanalysisofconcentrictubeheatexchangers AT georgeselachkar heattransferexergyandcostasustainableanalysisofconcentrictubeheatexchangers AT jalalfaraj heattransferexergyandcostasustainableanalysisofconcentrictubeheatexchangers AT mahmoudkhaled heattransferexergyandcostasustainableanalysisofconcentrictubeheatexchangers |