HYDRAULIC AND THERMAL STUDIES ON A CHEVRON TYPE PLATE HEAT EXCHANGER

The present work deals with the experimental study of a single pass U-type chevron plate heat exchanger using liquid-liquid combination in both the channels for the range of Reynolds numbers, 800-5900. The influence of Reynolds number, pumping power and number of plates on the hydraulic and thermal performance of plate heat exchager are presented. Results are predicted for a chevron angle of beta=60 degrees and fixed port size d(p) = 25.4 mm for a different set of plates, namely, 15, 21, and 27 under two different conditions viz. isothermal and non-isothermal. The present results of non-dimensional channel velocity and Nusselt number are compared with the analytical results of Bassiouny and Martin and Nusselt number correlation of Wang and Sunden, respectively. At a Reynolds numbers of 3900, enhancement in Nusselt number on increasing number of plates from 15-21 and 21-27, is found to be 56% and 19%, respectively. Based on experimental data, correlations for Nusselt number and friction factor are also developed.