Heat exchanger

A device that transfers thermal energy between fluids at different temperatures, usually through a solid wall that keeps them physically separate.

Heat transfer: The movement of thermal energy between bodies or regions because of a temperature difference. Heat exchangers are engineered devices for directing heat transfer between flowing fluids.
Overall heat transfer coefficient: A coefficient that combines the thermal resistances between two fluids into one measure of heat-transfer capability. It summarizes convection, wall conduction, and fouling resistance in exchanger calculations.
Radiator: A heat exchanger that transfers heat from a circulating fluid to the surrounding air. Vehicle radiators reject engine-coolant heat to ambient air.
Shell-and-tube heat exchanger: A heat exchanger with tubes enclosed in a shell, with one fluid inside the tubes and another outside them. Its robust, serviceable construction suits high pressures and demanding industrial duties.
Robert Stirling: A Scottish clergyman and inventor who patented the Stirling engine in 1816. His engine’s regenerator made repeated internal heat storage central to a practical cycle.
Logarithmic mean temperature difference: A logarithmic average of temperature differences used to calculate heat-transfer rates in exchangers. It accounts for changing temperature differences along an exchanger’s length.
Heat capacity rate: The product of a fluid’s mass flow rate and its specific heat capacity. The smaller stream heat-capacity rate often determines the maximum possible heat transfer.
Condenser: A heat exchanger that removes heat from a vapor, causing some or all of it to condense. Power plants and refrigeration systems use condensers to liquefy working-fluid vapor.
Plate heat exchanger: A heat exchanger that routes fluids through alternating channels formed by thin plates. Its compact, high-area design contrasts with the larger tube bundles of shell-and-tube units.
Stirling engine: A closed-cycle heat engine that uses cyclic compression and expansion of a working gas at different temperatures. Its operation depends on a regenerator that transfers heat between successive gas flows.

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