10/18/2016

OverallHeatTransferCoefficient|TLVASteamSpecialistCompany(International)

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1.BasicsofSteam
2.SteamHeating
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OverallHeatTransferCoefficient
Theoverallheattransfercoefficient,orUvalue,
referstohowwellheatisconductedovera
seriesofmediums.ItsunitsaretheW/(m2C)
[Btu/(hrft2F)].

Contents:
a.Steamvs.HotWater
b.Heattransferthroughametalwall
c.Example

SteamHeatingMechanism
OverallHeatTransferCoefficient
WhatisVacuumSteam?

Inthefollowingarticle,wewilldiscusshowtocalculatetheUvaluetoevaluatetheheattransferofsteamandhot
waterthroughdifferenttypesofmediums.

3.BasicsofSteamTraps
4.SteamTrapSelection

Steamvs.HotWater

5.SteamTrapProblems
6.SteamTrapManagement
7.WaterHammer
8.SteamQuality
9.SteamDistribution
10.CondensateRecovery
11.EnergyEfficiency
12.CompressedAir/Gas
13.OtherValves

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OverallHeatTransferCoefficient|TLVASteamSpecialistCompany(International)

Theoverallheattransfercoefficientisinfluencedbythethicknessandthermalconductivityofthemediumsthrough
whichheatistransferred.Thelargerthecoefficient,theeasierheatistransferredfromitssourcetotheproductbeing
heated.Inaheatexchanger,therelationshipbetweentheoverallheattransfercoefficient(U)andtheheattransfer
rate(Q)canbedemonstratedbythefollowingequation:

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where

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Q=heattransferrate,W=J/s[btu/hr]
A=heattransfersurfacearea,m2[ft2]
2
2
U=overallheattransfercoefficient,W/(m C)[Btu/(hrft F)]
TLM=logarithmicmeantemperaturedifference,C[F]

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FromthisequationwecanseethattheUvalueisdirectlyproportionaltoQ,theheattransferrate.Assumingtheheat
transfersurfaceandtemperaturedifferenceremainunchanged,thegreatertheUvalue,thegreatertheheattransfer
rate.Inotherwords,thismeansthatforasamekettleandproduct,ahigherUvaluecouldleadtoshorterbatch
times.
SeveralequationscanbeusedtodeterminetheUvalue,oneofwhichis:

where
h=convectiveheattransfercoefficient,W/(m2C)[Btu/(hrft2F)]
L=thicknessofthewall,m[ft]
=thermalconductivity,W/(mC)[Btu/(hrftF)]

Heattransferthroughametalwall

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OverallHeatTransferCoefficient|TLVASteamSpecialistCompany(International)

Theconvectiveheattransfercoefficient(h),sometimesreferredtoasthefilmcoefficient,isoftenusedwhen
calculatingheattransferbetweenafluidandasolid.Inthecaseofaheatexchanger,heattransferbasicallyoccurs
fromfluid1(sourceofheat)tosolid(metalwall)tofluid2(productbeingheated).Intheeventthatheattransfer
occursthroughseveralsolids,theaboveequationcanbeadaptedbysupplementingthesolid'sthickness(L)divided
byitsthermalconductivity().
Tosimplifythecalculation,thefollowingvaluesmaybeusedasareferencefortheconvectiveheattransfer
coefficients:
Fluid

Convectiveheattransfercoefficient(h)

Water

about1000W/(m2C)[176Btu/(hrft2F)]

HotWater

10006000W/(m2)C[1761057Btu/(hrft2F)]

Steam

600015000W/(m C)[10572641Btu/(hrft F)]

Example
Twojacketedkettlesmadeofcarbonsteel(=50W/(mC)[28.9Btu/(hrftF)])withaninnerwallthicknessof
15mm[0.049ft]areusedtoheatwater.Oneuseshotwaterastheheatsource,whiletheotherusessteam.
Assumingheattransfercoefficientsof1000W/m2C[176Btu/(hrft2F)]forthewaterbeingheated,3000W/m2C
[528Btu/(hrft2F)]forhotwater,and10000W/m2C[1761Btu/(hrft2F)]forsteam,let'scalculatetheUvalues
forbothheatingprocesses.
CarbonSteelJacketedKettle
Hotwater:

U=681.8W/(m2C)
Steam:

U=731.7W/(m C)
Inthiscase,steamcouldtheoreticallyimprovetheUvalueby17%.Let'snowimaginethesamekettleislinedwith
glass1mm[0.0033ft]thick(=0.9W/(mC)[0.52Btu/(hrftF)]).IncludingthesevaluesintotheaboveUvalue
equationgivesthefollowing:
GlasslinedJacketedKettle
Hotwater:
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OverallHeatTransferCoefficient|TLVASteamSpecialistCompany(International)

U=387.9W/(m2C)
Steam:

U=403.6W/(m C)
Inthiscase,theUvalueisonlyimprovedby9%,whichshowshowapoorthermalconductorsuchasglasscan
greatlyinterferewithheattransfer.Soinacarbonsteelkettle,forexample,changingtheheatsourcefromhotwater
tosteamcanpotentiallyimprovetheUvaluebyseveral10sofpercent.However,thesameeffectwouldnotbe
expectedinaglasslinedkettle.
Nevertheless,certaincircumstancesrequirethatakettleremainunchanged.Forexample,someprocessesrequire
kettlesmadeofacertainmaterialtopreventreactivitywiththeproduct.Ifsuchisthecaseandtheheattransferrate
needstobeimproved,changingtheheatsourcefromhotwatertosteammayprovidetheneededsolution.

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WhatisVacuumSteam?

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