ABSTRACT
Heat exchanger design will, therefore, usually be based on a given allowable pressure drop which has been specified by a plant designer for the entire heat exchanger flow circuit. The designer of the heat exchanger, then, has to use this given pressure drop as well as possible, to keep investment low. The optimal dimensions of a heat exchanger would, then, be those of a disc with a huge number of tiny tubelets, the diameters and length of which could tend to zero with increasing number n. Volume and surface area of that optimal heat exchanger would then also tend to zero! Heat Exchangers With Combined Flow Configurations Example: Plate Heat Exchangers and Shell-and-Tube Heat Exchangers. It makes sense to choose a relatively compact type like the plate heat exchanger since corrosion resistant, hence expensive, materials (stainless steel) are necessary because of the aggressive cleansing agents in the wastewater.
