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I.6 Heat Exchanger

I.6.1 Process Description
A process flow diagram of the heat exchanger system is shown in Figure I.17. The liquid flowing
through the inner pipe of the heat exchanger will be called the hot-side liquid, while the liquid in
the outer pipe will be called the cold-side liquid. The hot-side liquid enters the system from its
supply line with temperature Tin and flow rate Fhin, both of which are disturbance variables.
The hot-side liquid then flows past an electric heater. The heater is controlled by varying the
input power Qin, a manipulated variable. The hot-side liquid then flows through the double-pipe
exchanger.

Figure I.17. Process flow diagram of the double pipe heat exchanger.

The cold-side liquid entering the heat exchanger has an inlet temperature of Tin (the same Tin
as the temperature of the entering hot-side liquid). A control valve is used to manipulate the
flow rate of the entering cold-side liquid to Fcin.
All three of the controlled variables are temperatures of the hot-side liquid. They are the inlet
temperature of the liquid to the exchanger (Thin), the temperature in the middle of the
exchanger (Thm), and the temperature exiting the exchanger (Thout).

I.6.2 Implementation
The simulation of the heat exchanger system is performed in MATLAB using SIMULINK as shown
in Figure I.18. An S-function block is used in SIMULINK, which utilizes MATLAB .mfiles. The four
inputs to the SIMULINK model consist of the two disturbance variables (Tin and Fhin) and the
two manipulated variables (Qin and Fcin). The five outputs include the three controlled
variables. Each of the other two outputs is a vector that is sent to a scope to be displayed: one
for the inputs to the process, the other for the measurements. The system parameters, such as
the length of the double-pipe exchanger, the diameters of the pipes, and the overall heat
transfer coefficients, can be changed by double-clicking on the mask.

Figure I.18. SIMULINK model of the double-pipe heat exchanger.

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I.6.3 Suggested Projects

This simulation can be used to implement and test a variety of control schemes. The
specifications for the control system are deliberately left open so that you may have the
freedom to choose alternative objectives and check their feasibility. The process is amenable to
implement and test a variety of feedback, feedforward, cascade, and multivariable control
strategies.

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mk:@MSITStore:E:\Semester%207\SKBM\[Coleman_Brosilow,_Babu_Joseph]_tech... 13/12/2016