CHAOTISED POLYMERIC HOLLOW FIBRE BUNDLE AS A CROSSFLOW HEAT EXCHANGER IN AIR-WATER APPLICATION

Abstract

Fifteen years ago, polymeric hollow fibre heat exchangers were presented for the first time. Nowadays there are not only the shell-and-tube types as there were at the beginning. In this paper, six chaotised polymeric hollow fibre bundles with a different number of fibres were studied. The bundles presented varied in their fibre diameter, number and shape. These bundles were fixed into the module in such a way that the middle part serves as a cross-flow heat exchanger in an air tunnel. They were tested for air-water application with three different airflow rates. The overall heat transfer coefficients were determined, and the inner and outer heat transfer coefficients were derived. The modules presented achieved a heat transfer rate of up to 1309 W. The overall heat transfer coefficient reached a maximum of 339 Wm−2 K−1.