Heat Exchanger
As part of my Heat Transfer Laboratory class, I designed, fabricated, and tested a counterflow shell and tube heat exchanger on a team with three other students (team members: Alicia Berger, Sam Cohen, Ethan Dunn). The device transferred heat between hot water flowing through an inner coiled pipe and cold water flowing through an outer PVC pipe. Throughout the design and construction process, we ensured that our heat exchanger fit within the 14” x 9” x 6” size restriction and the $150 budget constraint.
Heat exchanger performance was evaluated against figures of merit including rate of heat removal, rate of heat removal per unit volume, and rate of heat removal per dollar. The project final video shown below demonstrates leak-free operation of the heat exchanger and provides an overview of the device and fabrication methods used, a performance review, and calculated figures of merit.