Int. J. Exergy, Vol. 11, No.

1, 2012 35
Copyright 2012 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
Thermo-economic analysis of Heat Pipe Heat
Exchanger for waste heat recovery in thermal systems
Shanmuga Sundaram Anandan*
and Anirudh Bhaskaran
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Rajalakshmi Institute of Technology,
Chennai 600124, India
E-mail: speakdrss@gmail.com
E-mail: krrbanirudh@gmail.com
*Corresponding author
Abstract: Thermo-economic analysis of Heat Pipe Heat Exchanger (HPHE)
for waste heat recovery in thermal systems using the P1-P2 and NTU methods
is presented. The optimum effectiveness of a HPHE is given as a polynomial
equation, whereas the net savings and payback period are given in closed form to
enable the HPHE designer to determine the optimised values directly. In addition
to this, exergy analysis of HPHE for waste heat recovery in thermal systems is
formulated. The variation of exergy efciency with respect to change in inlet
temperature is also presented.
Keywords: HPHE; heat pipe heat exchanger; thermo-economics; P1-P2 method;
optimisation; heat recovery; effectiveness; exergy analysis.
Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Anandan, S.S. and Bhaskaran, A.
(2012) Thermo-economic analysis of Heat Pipe Heat Exchanger for waste heat
recovery in thermal systems, Int. J. Exergy, Vol. 11, No. 1, pp.3551.
Biographical notes: Shanmuga Sundaram Anandan is a Professor and Head of the
Mechanical Engineering at Rajalakshmi Institute of Technology, Chennai, India.
He received his PhD from Anna University, Chennai in 2009. He received a BE
Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Bharathiar University in 1999 and he
holds university rst rank in Thermal Engineering from the University of Madras
for his postgraduate degree. His research interests are thermal management of
electronics, thermal energy storage and heat transfer.
Anirudh Bhaskaran received his BE with a rst class honours in Mechanical
Engineering from Anna University, Chennai. He is currently pursuing his ME
in Energy Engineering at PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore, India. His
research interests are concerned primarily with energy conservation in thermal
systems, electronics cooling, exergy and exergo-economic analyses of various
types of energy systems.
36 S.S. Anandan and A. Bhaskaran
1 Introduction
The demand for energy is ever increasing due to exponential growth in the elds of industry,
agriculture, communication, transport and other sectors and to improving life standards.
Increasing access to energy in developing countries has proved to be a challenge and continuous
issue. Therefore, developing countries need to balance use of commercial energy from coal,
oil, gas and electricity to achieve their targeted Gross Domestic Product (GDP), since non-
renewable energy sources are limited and expensive. In addition, developing countries face the
enormous challenge of expanding demand for energy while simultaneously participating in a
global transition to clean, low-carbon energy systems. To successfully implement a sustainable
energy agenda, developing countries have to design and implement energy policies that will
bring down present energy consumption volumes through energy conservation practices.
Energy conservation in thermal systems can be achieved by utilising commercially available
waste heat recovery devices like recuperators, regenerators, thermal wheels, economisers and
heat pipe heat exchangers (HPHEs). HPHEs are lightweight compact systems that are cost
effective, require zero maintenance and do not require input power. The literature on application
of HPHEs for waste heat recovery is exhaustive. A few recent research works are citied. Lin
et al. (2005) investigated the performance of HPHEs in heat recovery systems. The study was
numerical, using FLOTHERM to determine the effectiveness of the system. Feng et al. (2003)
studied the feasibility of using HPHE for recovering waste heat from automobile exhaust gas.
The heat recovered is utilised to control temperature inside the automobile carriage. Noie and
Majidian (2000) designed and studied the performance of a HPHE for heat recovery in hospitals
and laboratories. However, the literature on thermo-economic analysis of HPHEs for waste
heat recovery applications is limited. Soylemez (2003) presented a thermo-economic analysis
of HPHEs for waste heat recovery using the P
1
P
2
method. The thermo-economic analysis
includes the calculation of optimum effectiveness of HPHE, optimum net savings from the heat
recovery and payback period.
The study is limited to best operating conditions (C C
min
/C
max
l,). Effectiveness on the
hot side and the cold side are assumed to be the same, an occurrence that is limited practically.
Generally, the performance of any thermal system is evaluated through energetic analysis based
on the rst law of thermodynamics. In recent decades, exergetic analyses based on the second
law of thermodynamics along with energetic analyses have been found to be the best method in
design, valuation, optimisation and improvement of thermal systems. George (2008) presented
an advanced exergy analysis, according to which the exergy destruction within a component
of a thermal system can be split into avoidable/unavoidable exergy destruction and exogenous
energy destruction. Sabine and Nico (2010) presented a broad view in understanding of the
exergy of cold by discussing the theory and stating two practical case studies. Meehdi and Cirus
(2008) presented an analytical solution with introduction of the mixed convection parameter
and coefcient of porosity for a heat pipe over a permeable vertical thin cylinder in a porous
medium. Various forms of ow were examined for exergy analysis. Guiyin and Xu (2010)
developed an analytical model to calculate exergy loss in each component of an ice storage air
conditioning system with heat pipes. Behrooz and Ahad (2010) reported that integration of the
heat pipe with an ejector refrigeration cycle can be widely used in many areas in renewable
energy utilisation, such as solar energy. The second law efciency of heat pipe/ejector
refrigeration increases with increasing evaporation temperature and decreasing condenser
temperature. Behrooz and Hadi (2010) performed exergy analysis of long two-phase closed
thermosyphon components for different refrigerants and showed that increasing the ambient
heat transfer coefcient causes decreases in the condenser and total exergy destruction rates.
Thermo-economic analysis of Heat Pipe Heat Exchanger 37
In this paper, thermo-economic optimisation of the HPHE used in an air conditioning system
and an industrial boiler to pre-heat the air is presented. The optimisation is carried out using
the P
r
P
2
method with the condition that the effectiveness on the hot side and on the cold side is
different. The present study is on thermo-economic analysis of HPHE by using the -NTU and
P
1
P
2
methods. The technical life of the HPHE system, annual operating time, annual operating
cost, overall heat transfer coefcient, effectiveness of cold and hot uids, annual energy price
rate, resale value and instalment cost are the parameters used in this analysis. The expressions
in closed form for optimum effectiveness, net savings from the heat recovery and payback
period are formulated and their dependency is studied. In addition to that, the exergy analysis
of HPHE for waste heat recovery in thermal systems is formulated.
2 Problem denition-waste heat recovery in an air conditioning system
HPHE is used between two streams of fresh air from ambient and return cold air from the air
conditioning system. The HPHE arrangement is shown in Figure l. The evaporator section
of the HPHE is inserted into the fresh air duct and the condenser section into the return air
duct. The fresh incoming air at ambient temperature is pre-cooled before it enters the air
conditioning system and the supply air is re-heated to regulate the room temperature. The
schematic diagram is shown in Figure l. The pre-cooling of ambient air allows the systems
cooling coil to operate at a lower temperature, thereby increasing the systems latent cooling
capability. The re-heating of supply air eliminates the need for a dedicated reheat coil to
control the room temperature.
3 Problem denition-waste heat recovery in industrial boiler
HPHE is used between two streams of fresh air from ambient and exhaust air from the boiler.
The evaporator section of the HPHE is inserted into the supply air duct and the condenser
section into the exhaust duct. The incoming air at ambient temperature is pre-heated before it
enters the combustion chamber by recovering heat from the exhaust. The schematic diagram
is shown in Figure 1.
Figure l Schematic sketch of heat recovery in thermal systems using HPHE
4 Mathematical formulation
The mathematical formulation for thermo-economic analysis and exergy analysis of HPHE
is presented separately.
38 S.S. Anandan and A. Bhaskaran
4.1 Thermo-economic analysis of heat pipe heat exchanger
The amount of heat transfer through the HPHE shown in Figure 1 can be expressed as:
( ) ( )
1 2 e e p h h
h
Q mC T T

(1)
( ) ( )
2 1
.
c e p c c
c
Q mC T T

(2)
The HPHEs effectiveness can be dened as the ratio of the actual heat transfer rate to
the maximum possible heat transfer rate. Before we determine the maximum possible
heat transfer rate, we recognise that the maximum temperature difference in a HPHE is
the difference between the inlet temperatures of the hot and cold streams. Therefore, the
effectiveness of the HPHE for the evaporator and the condenser side is given as
( )
( )
1 2
min 1 2
e h h
e
h c
C T T
C T T

( )
( )
2 1
min 1 1
c c c
c
h c
C T T
C T T

where the heat capacities of uid in the evaporator and condenser sections of a HPHE are C
e

and c
c
respectively. The effectiveness of HPHE for the evaporator section with n number of
pipe rows is given below, as formulated by Azad and Geoola (1984),

1
1
1
.
1
1
n
e
e
L
e
en n
e
e
e L
e L
C
C
C
C C
C

j \

, (
, (

, (
, (
( ,

j \

, (
, (

, (
, (
( ,

The effectiveness of HPHE for the condenser section with n number of pipe rows is given
below, as formulated by Azad and Geoola (1984),
1
1
1
1
1
n
c
c
L
c
en n
c
c
c L
c L
C
C
C
C C
C

j \

, (
, (

, (
, (
( ,

j \

, (
, (

, (
, (
( ,

Thermo-economic analysis of Heat Pipe Heat Exchanger 39
Due to phase change process, the maximum heat capacity is several orders of magnitude
larger than the minimum heat capacity. Therefore, the heat capacity ratios between
minimum and maximum heat capacities are equal to zero. Therefore, the above equations
reduce to

en
1(1
e
)
n
(3)

cn
1(1
c
)
n.
. (4)
The total effectiveness of HPHE can be written as
If C
e
> C
c
1
1
t
c
e
cn en
c
c

j \
, (
, (
, (

, (
, (
, (
+
, (
( ,

If c
c
> C
e
1
.
1
t
e
c
en cn
c
c

j \
, (
, (
, (

, (
, (
, (
+
, (
( ,
The air outlet temperatures of the evaporator and condenser sections were obtained as
( )
min
2 1 1 1 h h t h c
e
C
T T T T
C
(5)
( )
min
2 1 1 1
.
c c t h c
c
C
T T T T
C

(6)
Heat recovered from the condenser side for the best operating condition is calculated as
( ) ( )
min
min 2 1 min 1 1 1 1
.
c c c t h c c
c
C
Q C T T C T T T T
C

, ]
+
, ]
]

(7)
Equation (9) can be written as,
min t
Q C A

where,
( )
min min
1 1 max
.
h c
c c
C C
A T T T
C C

40 S.S. Anandan and A. Bhaskaran
The initial cost of the HPHE can be determined by using the expression formulated in
Stoecker (1989):
C
HPHE
C
A
A
HPHE
. (8)
where the heat transfer can be calculated as,
( )
min
HPHE
.
1
t
NTUC
A
U

(9)
For C 0, the number of transfer units of a HPHE is given by
NTU= In(1
t
).
By substituting the expressions for A
HPHE
and NTU in equation (8), we get,
( )
min
HPHE
( In(1 ))
.
(1 )
A t
t
C C
C
U

The net energy recovery savings function for a typical HPHE can be calculated using two
important economical parameters P
1
and P
2
, as formulated by Stoecker (1989)
1 2 HPHE
.
E A F
S PC HQ PC A C
(10)
where
1 1
.
EL W W EL a a
F
m p m f
PC P V H PC PV H
C




By substituting equation (9) in equation (10) and rearranging, we get
( )
2
1
ln 1
( ) min (1 ) ( ) min
t F
t
p t p
A C s
A
mc mc

+

(11)
where constants A
1
and A
2
are,
A
1
P
1
C
E
HA
2
2
.
A
PC
A
U

By taking the derivative of equation (11) with respect to total effectiveness
t
, the equation
becomes,
( )
( )
( )
min
1 2 2
1 1
0.
1
p
t
t
t
S
mC
In
A A

j \
, (

, (
j \

( ,
, ( +
, (

( ,

(12)
If we equate equation (12) to zero, we can get the total effectiveness of the HPHE from the
following relation:
( ) ( ) ( )
4 3 2
2 2
1 2 1 2 1 2
2 2 0.
4 3 2
t t t
t
A A
A A A A A A

+ + + +
(13)
Thermo-economic analysis of Heat Pipe Heat Exchanger 41
The above quartic equation can be solved by Newton-Raphsons method to get the total
effectiveness value. The payback period N
P
of the HPHE for waste heat recovery can be
evaluated by equating the net savings function to zero.
S P
1
C
E
HQ P
2
C
A
A
HPHE
C
F
0 (14)
For, i d, the economic parameters P
1
and P
2
and the payback period are evaluated as
1
1
N
P
i

+

P
2
1 + P
1
M
s
R
v
(1+d)
N
( )
( ) ( )( )
2
min
min
1
1
.
1
t p
P F
t E p t
A In mC
i
N C
C H mC A


, ]

+
, ] +
, ]
]

(15)
For, i d.
1
1 1
1
( ) 1
N
i
P
d i d

+ , ]


, ]
+
]


2 1
1 (1 )
N
s v
P PM R d

+ +

( ) ( )
( )
( )
2
min
1
1
1
.
1
1
t
F
E t t p
P
A In
C d i
In
C H A mC
N
i
In
d

, ] j \

+
, ] , (
+
, ( , ]
( , ]

+ , ]
, ]
+
]

(16)
5 Results and discussion
The optimisation of HPHE for waste heat recovery in an air conditioning system and from the
exhaust of an industrial boiler is carried out based on the above mathematical formulations
and results are presented separately. The exergy analysis of HPHE for waste heat recovery
in thermal systems is formulated and presented.
5.1 Waste heat recovery in an air conditioning system
The mass ow rates and temperatures of fresh air and cold air entering the air ducts and
specications of the HPHE for a typical HPHE application illustrated by Mostafa and Mousa
(2007) are given in Table 1 and Table 2.The economical parameters of a typical HPHE formulated
by Stoecker (1989) are illustrated in Table 3. A computational program is developed to calculate
the optimum total effectiveness and payback period of a HPHE. The net savings computed for
effectiveness ranging from 0.1 to 0.95 is shown in Table 4. The optimum effectiveness is found to
be 0.793 and the corresponding net savings per unit heat capacity rate is 80.22 $/(W/K). However,
the calculated effectiveness of a HPHE will not be cost-effective beyond the optimum value, as
shown in Figure 2, since the xed operational cost of the HPHE will override the net savings
parameter beyond this value. It shows clearly that the net savings obtained for the optimum
effectiveness is high. The payback period obtained for this effectiveness is found to be 6.39 years,
which is quite acceptable, since the average life span of HPHEs is estimated to be about 20 years.
42 S.S. Anandan and A. Bhaskaran
Table 1 Mass ow rates and temperatures of fresh air and cold air entering the air ducts
Parameters Values
Mass ow rate of fresh air,
f
m 0.4 kg/s
Mass ow rate of cold return air,
r
m 0.4 kg/s, 0.6 kg/s, 0.933 kg/s
Fresh air inlet temperature, T
h1
32C to 40C
Fresh air outlet temperature, T
h2
34C
Cold return air inlet temperature, T
c1
19.6C
Cold return air outlet temperature, T
c2
26C
Table 2 Specications of the HPHE-air conditioning system
Heat pipe heat exchanger
Parameters Values
Number of tubes, n 25
Inner diameter, d
i
10.2 mm
Outer diameter, d
0
12.77 mm
Total length, L 500 mm
Evaporator length, L
e
200 mm
Adiabatic length, L
a
100 mm
Condenser length, L
c
200 mm
Working uid R-ll (P
sat
0.127MPa&T
sat
30C
Number of aluminium ns 50
Thickness 0.5 mm
Area 0.29 0.29 m
2
Air Duct
Area 0.3 0.22 m
2
Length 1000 mm
Thickness 0.5 mm
Material Galvanised steel sheets
Table 3 Economical parameters for a typical HPHE air conditioning system
Parameters Values
i d 0.085
C
E
10
4
$/W-h
C
A
100 $/m
2
C
F
10000 $
H 4000 h/yr
N 20 yr
M
s
0
R
v
0
U 29 W/m
2
K
Q
avg
50 W/pipe
C
min
C
max
1000 W/K
Thermo-economic analysis of Heat Pipe Heat Exchanger 43
Table 4 Net life cycle savings per unit heat capacity rate and payback period air conditioning
system
Effectiveness, Net life cycle savings ($/(W/K)) Payback period, N
P
(Years)
0.1 4.342864 14.10999
0.2 18.53126 7.433488
0.3 32.48261 5.315153
0.4 46.0504 4.386038
0.5 58.95239 4.009163
0.6 70.5802 4.045933
0.7 79.38704 4.618761
0.8 80.22342 6.399623
0.9 43.31941 13.47201
0.95 76.5101 30.92282
Figure 2 Net savings vs. effectiveness air conditioning system
5.2 Waste heat recovery in an industrial boiler
The mass ow rates and temperatures of fresh air and exhaust air entering the air ducts and
specications of the HPHE for a typical HPHE application illustrated by Noie et al. (2004) are
given in Tables 57. The economical parameters of a typical HPHE formulated by Stoecker
(1989) are illustrated in Table 8. A computational program is developed to calculate the optimum
total effectiveness and payback period of a HPHE. The net savings computed for effectiveness
ranging from 0.1 to 0.95 is shown in Table 9. The optimum effectiveness calculated is found to be
0.7 and the corresponding net savings per unit heat capacity rate is 140.9145 $/(W/K). However,
the calculated effectiveness of a HPHE will not be cost-effective beyond the optimum value, as
shown in Figure 3, since the xed operational cost of the HPHE will override the net savings
parameter beyond this value. It shows clearly that the net savings obtained for the optimum
effectiveness is high. The payback period obtained for this effectiveness is found to be 3.5years,
which is quite acceptable since the average life span of HPHEs is estimated to be about 20 years.
44 S.S. Anandan and A. Bhaskaran
Table 5 Mass ow rates and temperatures of exhaust gas and cold air entering the HPHE
Parameters Values
Mass ow rate of exhaust gas,
e
m 1.156 kg/s
Mass ow rate of cold air,
c
m 1.362 kg/s
Exhaust gas inlet temperature, T
h1
220C
Exhaust gas outlet temperature, T
h2
140C
Cold air inlet temperature, T
cl
25C
Cold air outlet temperature, T
c2
100C
Table 6 Specications of the HPHE-Industrial boiler
Heat pipe Aluminium plate ns
Parameters Values Parameters Values
Number of tubes, n (staggered) 105 Thickness, t 0.4 mm
Number of longitudinal rows, n
L
7 Number of ns, n
f
96/m
Number of transverse rows, n
T
15 Fin pitch, S
f
10 mm
Longitudinal pitch, S
L
50 mm Fin Area, A
f
830 430 mm
2
Transverse pitch, S
T
55 mm
Inner diameter, d
t
23.4 mm
Outer diameter, d
0
25.4 mm
Total length, L 1200 mm
Working uid& material water& copper
Heat Exchanger
Height, H 1300 mm
Length, L 830 mm
Width, W 430 mm
Table 7 Operating data for the boiler
Boiler specications
Parameters Values
Size 7 tons
Electric power 26 KW
Efciency 85%
Chimney height 12 m
Duct size 535 mm
Properties of exhaust gas
Volumetric ow rate 1.15 m
3
/s
Density 0.732 kg/m
3
SO
x
<2PPM
Output steam pressure 10 kg/cm
2
Properties of incoming ambient air
Volumetric ow rate 1.58 m
3
/s
Density 0.862 kg/m
3
Properties of fuel used
Fuel type Natural gas
Fuel consumption rate 580 m
3
/hr
Caloric value 8200 Kcal
Thermo-economic analysis of Heat Pipe Heat Exchanger 45
Table 8 Economical parameters for a typical HPHE-industrial boiler
Parameters Values
i d 0.085
C
E
1.18 l0
4
$/W-h
c
A
461.337 $/m
2
c
F
7000 $
H 7280 h/yr
N 10 yr
T
max
20.4 K
M
s
0
R
v
0
U 35 W/m
2
K
R
Q

100 KW
C
min
277.57 W/K
C
max
1369.56 W/K
Table 9 Net life cycle savings per unit heat capacity rate and payback period industrial boiler
Effectiveness, Net life cycle savings ($/(W/K)) Payback period, N
P
(Years)
0.1 4.528366 8.552789
0.2 33.68515 4.617317
0.3 61.93582 3.402022
0.4 88.7203 2.911517
0.5 112.9598 2.779883
0.6 132.3287 2.951557
0.7 140.9145 3.566493
0.8 119.0331 5.24481
0.9 47.1112 11.67291
0.95 517.699 27.41584
Figure 3 Net savings vs. effectiveness industrial boiler
46 S.S. Anandan and A. Bhaskaran
5.3 Exergy analysis of HPHE waste heat recovery in thermal systems
Under steady state operation, when heat Q
e
is supplied, the liquid in the evaporator section is
evaporated at an average evaporator temperature T
e
and leaves at temperature T
2
(saturated
vapour) or TV (superheated vapour) as shown in Fig. 4. This generates vapour which in turn
ows through the circuit. Thermal energy of the uid thus converted may be considered
as mechanical energy producing a pressure difference between the evaporator and the
condenser sections. Due to this pressure difference, the vapour ows through the vapour
channel from evaporator section to condenser section. The vapour enters the condenser
section as a saturated vapour or mixture. The condensate formed by dissipating Q
c
to the
sink enters the adiabatic section at temperature T
4
and nally, the liquid leaves the adiabatic
section to enter the evaporator section at Ti to complete the cycle. The equivalent work
produced inside the thermosyphon during the cycle is utilised to maintain the ow and to
overcome the hydrodynamic losses of the system.
Figure 4 Adiabatic and Isentropic gas expansion
The exergy of the uid passing through an open thermodynamic system can be determined
by considering isentropic expansion and isothermal expansion. For simplication, the
working uid in the condenser section is taken in the initial state as 1 and in the nal state
as 3.The surrounding environment is considered as state 0. In the condenser section of
the thermosyphon, the working uid expands from state 1 to the state of the surrounding
temperature, state 0. During isentropic expansion, the temperature drops to T
0
, while pressure
P
2
> P
0
is reached. During the subsequent reversible isothermal expansion with simultaneous
heating, the uid pressure drops to P
3
P
0
. In this case, exergy is equal to the work carried
out between initial and nal states. Therefore, by the rst law of thermodynamics it is
expressed as
dw dqdh. (17)
Integrating the above equation between state points 1 and 3
w
13
q
13
(h
3
h
1
). (18)
Thermo-economic analysis of Heat Pipe Heat Exchanger 47
Since process 12 is reversible adiabatic expansion dq 0, the following applies to
transferred heat
q
13
q
23
T
0
(s
3
s
2
) T
0
(s
2
s
3
). (19)
Rewriting equation (18), we get
W
13
(h
x
h
3
) T
0
(s
2
s
3
). (20)
This maximum work between reversible processes is equal to exergy and therefore, exergy
is expressed as
( ) ( )
1 3 0 2 3
.
x
E m h h T s s

(21)
Since s
3
s
0
and h
3
h
0
( ) ( )
1 0 0 2 0
.
x
E m h h T s s

(22)
The non-utilised specic exergy is anergy and it is expressed as
a
x
h
0
+ T
0
(s
1
s
0
). (23)
Equation (22) in differential form is
0
.
x
dE dH T dS

(24)
The condensation of the working uid in the condenser takes place as an isobaric process to transfer
heat to the surrounding environment. Therefore dh dq. Using this, equation (24) is rearranged as
0
1 .
x
T
dE dQ
T
j \

, (
( ,

(25)
Similarly, equation (23) is rearranged as
0
.
T
dA dQ
T


(26)
Using equation (25), the exergies of hot and cold uid are expressed as
0
1
c
c
T
dE dQ
T
j \

, (
( ,

0
1
h
h
T
dE dQ
T
j \

, (
( ,

The exergy of the losing heat ow dE can be expressed as
h c
dE dE dE

(27)
0
.
h c
h c
T T
dE T dQ
T T
, ]

, ]

]

(28)
48 S.S. Anandan and A. Bhaskaran
The exergy balance of exchanger heat ows is expressed as
2 2 1 1
.
h c h c
E E E E E + + +

(29)
Exergies of heat ows are calculated using the following equation formulated by Adamovsky
et al. (2005):
( )
1
1
1 .
(1 )
c
x c
T m
E h h
T
j \

, (
+
( ,

(30)
Exergy efciency of the heat transfer from cooled air to heated air is expressed as
2 1
1 2
.
c c
ex
h h
E E
E E

(31)
Exergy efciency of the utilisation of the heat from cooled air is
1 2
,
1
.
h h
ex h
h
E E
E

(32)
Total exergy is expressed as
2 1
,
1
.
c c
ex T
h
E E
E

(33)
Thermal efciency of the exchanger can be given by
2 1
,
1 2
.
c c
ex t
h h
T T
T T

(34)
Figure 5 implies the variation of exergetic efciency with the change in inlet temperatures.
The graph shows the exergy efciency of the heat transfer from cooled air to heated air
reduces by 0.34 with 4C increase in inlet temperature difference. This behaviour is conrmed
by equations (30) and (31). With increase in cold air outlet temperature T
c2
, the exergy E
c2
at
that section also increases by equation (30). Similarly, the difference in exergy E
h1
E
h2
also
increases with increase in T
h1
and T
h2
. By equation (31), the exergy difference inuences more
than the outlet heated air exergy in the condenser section and therefore, the exergy efciency
decreases with increase in inlet temperature difference. The exergy efciency of the utilisation
of the heat from cooled air decreases by 0.19 with an increase of 4C in inlet temperature
difference. From equation (30), it is evident that with increase in hot side inlet temperature
T
h1
, the inlet cooled air heat ow exergy E
h1
, also increases. Similarly, with an increase in
the hot side outlet temperature T
h2
, the outlet cooled air heat ow exergy also increases. The
inlet cooled air heat ow exergy increases more than the outlet cooled air heat ow exergy
and therefore, the exergy efciency also decreases. A similar effect is seen in the case of
total exergy efciency, which reduces by 0.29 with an increase of 4C in inlet temperature
difference, as conrmed by equation (33). The thermal efciency of the exchanger shows a
different trend than the other three, where the efciency increases by 0.074 with an increase
of 4C in inlet temperature difference, which is evident from equation (34).
Thermo-economic analysis of Heat Pipe Heat Exchanger 49
Figure 5 Change in exergetic efciency with the difference in inlet temperatures
6 Conclusion
A comprehensive approach to optimise the HPHE for waste heat recovery from thermal
systems is presented. A systematic exploration of thermo-economic analyses accommodates
a polynomial equation to calculate the optimum effectiveness. The equations for net savings
function and payback period are derived in closed form. The validity of the optimisation
formulation is checked by two practical applications taken from the literature. The
formulation is applied to optimise effectiveness of HPHE utilised in the HVAC application
to regulate the indoor temperature. It is also applied to optimise effectiveness of the HPHE
utilised in an industrial boiler. The present formulation may seem to be helpful for HPHE
designers and manufactures.
The calculations of total exergetic efciency and thermal efciency imply a good quality
of thermal processes and exergy transformation in the exchanger. The transformation of
exergy can be improved by optimising the shapes of heat exchanging surfaces, which applies
primarily to the evaporator section of the heat pipe and by the selection of an appropriate
working medium. Another way is to decrease the hydraulic friction between the working
medium vapour and condensate. The purpose of these measures is to reduce the length of the
heat pipe evaporator section to speed up the process of thermodynamic changes in progress.
References
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Behrooz, M.Z. and Ahad, A. (2010) First and second laws analysis of the heat pipe/ejector refrigeration
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Behrooz, M.Z. and Hadi, S. (2010) Exergetic analysis of a long two-phase closed thermosyphon
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50 S.S. Anandan and A. Bhaskaran
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New York.
Nomenclature
A
HPHE
Area of HPHE (m
2
)
C Heat capacity rate (W/K)
C
A
Area dependent rst cost of HPHE ($/m
2
)
C
E
Cost of energy recovered by HPHE ($/Wh)
C
EL
Cost of electricity [$ /(Wh)]
C
F
Fixed operational costs of fan and pump ($)
C
HPHE
First Cost of HPHE ($)
Cp Specic heat of owing uid (J/kg K)
d Market discount rate in fraction
E

Exergy heat ows (W)

1 c
E Inlet heated air heat ow exergy (W)
2 c
E

Outlet heated air heat ow exergy (W)

1 h
E

Inlet cooled air heat ow exergy (W)

2 h
E

Outlet cooled air heat ow exergy (W)

H Annual time of operation (h/yr)
i Energy price rate in fraction
M
s
Ratio of annual maintenance and operation cost
into rst original cost
N Technical life of the HPHE (yr)
N
p
Payback period (yr)
Thermo-economic analysis of Heat Pipe Heat Exchanger 51
P
1
Ratio of life cycle energy cost savings to rst year
energy cost savings
P
2
Ratio of life cycle expenditures incurred because of
additional capital investment to initial investment
Q

Heat recovered by HPHE (W)

R
v
Ratio of resale value into rst original cost
S Savings gained from waste heat recovery ($)
T
c1
Outlet temperature of cold uid (K)
T
c2
Inlet temperature of cold uid (K)
T
h1
Inlet temperature of hot uid (K)
T
h2
Outlet temperature of hot uid (K)
T
max
Maximum temperature (K)
U Overall heat transfer coefcient (W/m
2
K)
Greek symbols
Effectiveness

en
Evaporator effectiveness for n of tubes

cn
Condenser effectiveness for n of tubes

t
Total effectiveness
P
a
Pressure drop through fan (Pa)
P
W
Pressure drop through pump (Pa)
V
W
Volume ow rate of water (kg/s)

m
Motor efciency

p
Pump efciency
Va Volume ow rate of Air (Kg/s)
Relative humidity

f
Fan efciency

ex
Exergy efciency of the heat transfer from cooled
air to heated air

ex
,
h
Exergy efciency of the utilisation of the heat from
cooled air

ex
,
T
Total exergy efciency

ex
,
t
Thermal efciency of the exchanger
Subscripts
e Evaporation
c Condenser
h Hot uid
c Cold uid
L Heat pipe working uid
min Minimum
max Maximum
ex Exergy
T Total
t thermal
Abbreviations
NTU Number of Transfer Units
HPHE Heat pipe heat exchanger
Nomenclature