Cryogenics 64 (2014) 7785

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Cryogenics
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/cryogenics

Characterization of various losses in a cryogenic counterow heat

exchanger
Mohammad Aminuddin a, Syed M. Zubair b,
a
Chemical Engineering Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
b
Mechanical Engineering Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: A detailed assessment of irreversibility, predominantly heat in-leak and axial wall conduction, is essential
Received 11 April 2014 in accurately predicting the performance of high effectiveness heat exchangers employed in cryogenic
Received in revised form 10 August 2014 applications. Integration into a refrigeration system as well requires consideration of parasitic heat loss
Accepted 22 September 2014
by conduction from exchanger cold end to the adjacent components. Governing equations incorporating
Available online 30 September 2014
these effects in a counterow exchanger are solved numerically and the model predictions evaluated for
heat exchanger ineffectiveness and heat loss by conduction. The optimum performance mandates mini-
Keywords:
mization of both. Although ineffectiveness decreases at higher longitudinal conduction, cold end loss
Counterow heat exchanger
High effectiveness
increases with deterioration of the overall performance. Utilizing lower heat capacity rate hot uid, nev-
Irreversibility ertheless, reduces the cold end loss. Heat in-leak is relatively high with concurrent consideration of axial
Heat leak wall conduction and has adverse consequence on heat exchanger effectiveness. Analysis of the net heat
Longitudinal wall conduction transferred to lower stages of refrigeration reveals a critical NTU.
2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction temperature levels are interconnected [4] as well as in Joule

High effectiveness heat exchanger is an essential component of
cryogenic refrigeration. A reasonable liquid yield mandates over
95% effectiveness for the system to operate economically whereas
the liqueer produces no liquid if it falls below 85% [1], illustrating
the need for a thorough understanding of heat exchanger perfor-
mance. However, conventional design theory usually fails in cryo-
genic applications and requires modication with consideration of
various irreversibilities. Firstly, performance is affected by longitu-
dinal conduction through the heat exchanger core with a steep
temperature gradient, such as a single-pass compact exchanger
with short ow length [2]. It attens wall temperature distribution,
reduces local temperature difference between uid streams, and
consequently decreases the effectiveness. Employing low thermal
conductivity material for separating wall to reduce the conduction
effect nonetheless has undesirable consequences, as it reduces heat
exchange between the uid streams [3]. Secondly, heat loss by
conduction through the exchanger end affects adjacent compo-
nents in the system.
The parasitic heat loss is crucial in determining overall perfor-
mance when multiple heat exchangers operating at different
Corresponding author. Tel.: +966 3 860 3135.
E-mail address: smzubair@kfupm.edu.sa (S.M. Zubair).
Thomson coolers where the cold end of heat exchanger is in
proximity to the evaporator [5]. Thirdly, effectiveness of cryogenic
heat exchangers is affected by heat in-leak from surroundings. The
small coefcient of performance of cryogenic refrigerators necessi-
tates large amount of work to remove the excess heat [6]. Besides,
several constraints pertaining effective insulation restrict the
extent to which the problem may be resolved.
Longitudinal heat conduction in the separating wall was com-
prehensively analyzed by Kroeger [7], who derived performance
expression in terms of heat exchanger ineffectiveness. However,
the wall ends were assumed insulated, limiting the conduction
effect within the structure. In order to approximate parasitic con-
duction loss to the adjacent components, Narayanan and Venkata-
rathnam [5] applied xed temperature boundary condition at the
heat exchanger cold end and examined performance in terms of
stream outlet temperatures.
While both studies focused on wall conduction, Gupta and
Atrey [8] extended the model to include heat in-leak from ambient
and compared its numerical predictions to experimental results. In
accordance with Kroeger [7], the separating wall was assumed
insulated at its ends. The authors considered two cases and studied
the performance using a degradation factor. In the rst case, hot
stream entered at room temperature (300 K) and cold stream at
80 K while in the second instance, system was examined at much

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cryogenics.2014.09.007
0011-2275/ 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
78 M. Aminuddin, S.M. Zubair / Cryogenics 64 (2014) 7785

Nomenclature

A surface area for heat transfer (m2) Greek

AC cross-sectional area of separating wall (m2) a thermal conductance ratio
C _ p , W K1)
heat capacity rate (mc D incremental
Cr heat capacity rate ratio (Cmin/Cmax) e heat exchanger effectiveness
cp specic heat capacity at constant pressure (J kg1 K1) h dimensionless temperature
h heat transfer coefcient (W m2 K1) k axial conduction parameter
I insulated end model (Model I) l heat capacity rate ratio (Ch/Cc)
II nonadiabatic cold end model (Model II) m heat capacity rate ratio (Cmin/Ch)
i heat exchanger ineffectiveness / dimensionless heat transfer rate
k thermal conductivity of wall material (W m1 K1) v dimensionless heat conduction loss at cold end
L heat exchanger length (m)
m _ mass ow rate (kg s1) Subscripts
NTU overall number of transfer units a ambient/heat in-leak from ambient
ntu per side number of transfer units c cold uid
q heat transfer rate (W) HX net heat transferred from heat exchanger to lower stages
R dimensionless temperature gap between ambient and h hot uid
hot uid inlet in inlet
r roots of characteristic equation max maximum
T temperature (K) min minimum
U overall heat transfer coefcient (W m2 K1) o outer wall
X dimensionless axial coordinate out outlet
x axial coordinate (m) w separating wall

lower temperatures (8020 K). In either case, external heat transfer Cold uid:
was assumed linearly proportional to the temperature difference
dhc
between ambient and shell-side uid. The linear functional form ntuc hw  hc 0 2
dX
for heat in-leak has been employed by various authors in cryogenic
processes, such as air liquefaction, and closed form expressions Wall:
presented in terms of effective NTU [6] and temperature effective- 2
d hw ntuc
ness [9]. Gupta and co-workers [4] further examined the model km ntuh hh  hw  hw  hc 0 3
through second law analysis, which included entropy generation dX 2 l
for conduction at cold end. It should be recalled though that the The following dimensionless parameters are used in the energy
formulation assumed insulated end rather than the normally asso- equations:
ciated nonadiabatic boundary condition.
T  T c;in T a  T h;in x
In the absence of heat in-leak, the net energy transferred from h ; R ; X 4
heat exchanger to lower stages of refrigeration increases between T h;in  T c;in T h;in  T c;in L
5% and 20% when the nonadiabatic end condition is invoked [10].
Hence in the present study, the model proposed by Gupta and C min Ch U o Ao kAC
m ; l ; a ; k 5
co-workers [4,8] is modied at the cold end with xed temperature Ch Cc U w Aw LC min
boundary condition, in conformity with Narayanan and Venkata-    
rathnam [5], to incorporate the parasitic conduction loss while hA hA U w Aw
ntuh ; ntuc ; NTU 6
retaining the linear dependency of heat in-leak on temperature C h C c C min
difference. The performance is compared with the insulated ends
case for various values of number of transfer units, NTU, and heat
capacity rate ratio, Cr, as well as for parameters controlling external
qa
heat transfer rate and the axial conduction. The study is restricted
to counterow arrangement, as longitudinal wall temperature
gradient is small in parallelow exchangers thus diminishing the
conduction effect [2].
Th,in Th,out
ChTh,x ChTh,x+x
qh
2. Mathematical modeling
qw,x qw,x+x qw,L
Governing equations for a counterow heat exchanger with
external heat transfer to hot uid and longitudinal conduction CcTc,x qc CcTc,x+x
in separating wall are derived by applying energy balance in an Tc,out Tc,in
elemental volume, Dx, and expressed in dimensionless form
(Fig. 1): x
x
Hot uid:
x=0 x=L
dhh
ntuh hh  hw  am  NTU  R 1  hh 0 1 Fig. 1. Counterow heat exchanger model.
dX
 M. Aminuddin, S.M. Zubair / Cryogenics 64 (2014) 7785 79

The boundary conditions specify inlet temperatures for hot and
cold streams and, in case of insulated ends, mandate no heat
conduction into or out of the exchanger [7]:
dhw
X 0 : hh 1; 0 7
dX
dhw
X 1 : hc 0; 0 8
dX
In order to account for parasitic heat loss by conduction,
nonadiabatic condition is applied at the cold end of exchanger by
setting wall temperature equal to the cold stream inlet tempera-
ture [5]:
X 1 : hc 0; hw 0
The insulated ends case referred as Model I, Eqs. (1)(3) and BCs
(7) and (8), is essentially similar to that developed by Gupta and
co-workers [4,8] except for the choice of shell-side uid. It is
included in the present study to compare with the nonadiabatic
cold end case, Eqs. (1)(3) and BCs (7) and (9), referred as Model II.
The formulation includes several assumptions such as steady-
state operation, constant thermal properties for uid streams and
wall material, constant heat transfer coefcients, uniform distribu-
tion of heat transfer area, no longitudinal conduction in uid
streams, no phase changes, no temperature variation over the
channel cross-section, and no ow maldistribution at inlet. These
postulations are intrinsically incorporated in earlier works that
the present study relies upon [49].
The thermal conductance ratio, a, known as heat in-leak param-
eter, represents quality of insulation, while R is a measure of the
gap between ambient and operating temperatures. They are
parameters in the heat in-leak expression represented in differen-
tial form through the last term in hot uid balance (Eq. (1)). An
analogous term would accordingly appear in the cold uid balance
if it undergoes external heat transfer [4,8]. The corresponding inte-
gral expression is presented later. While emissivity is available for
several materials enabling direct evaluation of the radiation para-
sitic, thermal conductance ratio, a, associated with the linear form
of heat in-leak, is rather an empirical factor that depends on heat
transfer coefcient between the process uids (Eq. (5)). Barron
[9] reported heat in-leak parameter equal to 0.01 for a Giauque
Hampson heat exchanger in air liquefaction while Gupta and Atrey
[8] experimentally determined the value as 0.003 for a tube-
in-tube heat exchanger in vacuum jacket with helium as working
uid [11]. Based on Hausens results [12], Chowdhury and Sarangi
[6] suggested a equal to 0.0001 for cryogenic applications.
The axial conduction parameter, k, represents the degree of irre-
versibility caused by longitudinal conduction in the separating
wall, which cannot be neglected for a value above 0.01 [13]. Shah
and Sekulic [2] tabulated performance of a crossow exchanger
for k values between 0.005 and 0.4. The conduction parameter
was reported as 0.05 for a micro cooler [14] whereas it turns out
to be 0.1 in a miniature heat exchanger described by Barron [1].
Moreover, he reported NTU for conventional heat exchangers
between 5 and 10 but as high as 5001000 for cryogenic
application. Gupta et al. [11], on the other hand, reported NTU
equal to 15.
Kroeger [7] deduced that performance is largely independent of
the ratio of local number of transfer units for minimum to maxi-
mum heat capacity rate ratio above 0.8 (Cr P 0.8). Accordingly a
9 balanced design is assumed (ntuh = ntuc), which restricts heat
capacity rate ratio, l, in the range 0.8 6 Ch/Cc 6 1.25 that inhibits
examining phase changes. Nevertheless, longitudinal conduction
is negligible during boiling and condensation as wall temperature
is close to the two-phase uid [2]. Moreover, in accordance with
previous studies the mean specic heat is used [49]. Heat capacity
rate, in contrast, is an extrinsic parameter that varies with ow
rate. The return cold gas in a liqueer has lower ow rate and heat
capacity rate, as the liqueed portion is initially withdrawn.
However, in Claude system the fraction of incoming hot stream
diverted via expander towards the cold gas increases its ow and
heat capacity rate. Typical values for various processes [1,15] are
presented in Table 1.
Characteristic equation for the strongly coupled system of
energy equations is highly nonlinear even for balanced ow with
NTU distributed equally on each side (ntuh = ntuc = 2NTU):
kr 4  ak NTU r 3  4 NTU 1 k NTU 1 a=2r2 4a NTU2 r
4a NTU3 0 10
Consequently, closed form expressions are not possible and the
problem is analyzed numerically using nite difference technique
in MATLAB [19].
Heat exchanger effectiveness, e, is the widely accepted termi-
nology for assessing performance, which is the ratio of actual heat
exchange to the maximum possible heat transfer. With introduc-
tion of irreversibilities, net heat transferred by hot stream is
not equal to the total heat gained by cold uid, which is evident
from Fig. 1. Thus, performance is analyzed separately for each
stream:
C h T h;in  T h;out 1  hh;out
eh 11
C min T h;in  T c;in m

Table 1
Heat capacity rate ratio for various cryogenic systems [1,15].

Process description cph (kJ/kg K) cpc (kJ/kg K) _ h (kg/s)

m _ c (kg/s)
m Ch/Cc

Air liquefaction at 20 MPa, precooling with CO2 1.42a 0.795 0.108 0.118 1.63
Claude liqueer, 70% hot air at 2 MPa diverted (22.7% yield) 1.2a 1.01a 0.3 0.773 0.46
Claude liqueer, 70% hot parahydrogen at 1 MPa diverted (26% yield) 12.87a 10.77a 0.3 0.74 0.48
Claude refrigerator, 20% hot helium at 4 MPa diverted 5.2a 5.2a 0.8 1 0.8
Compressed air cooled with nitrogen at 78 K in a counterow double-pipe 1.56 1.005 0.14 0.25 0.87
heat exchanger (UA = 2 kW/K)
Helium at 20 K warmed with nitrogen in a tube-bank crossow 1.05 5.2 1.86 0.3 1.25
heat exchanger (UA = 4 kW/K)
Neon at 100 K and 10 atm cooled with helium at 40 K and 2 atm in a 1.03 5.2 1.5  103 0.27  103 1.1
perforated-plate heat exchanger (UA = 40 W/K)
Argon cooled with helium at 100 K in a crossow plate-n heat exchanger 0.5221 5.2 1.992 0.25 0.8
(UA = 10 kW/K)
Air precooled with liquid ammonia in a shell-and-tube heat exchanger 1.008 4.48 6 2.25 0.6
(UA = 10 kW/K)
Liquid oxygen cooled with liquid nitrogen in a LOX subcooler 1.72 2.064 4.5 15 0.25
Hydrogen at 33 K warmed with helium in a miniature heat exchanger (UA = 90 W/K) 5.25 10.5 0.4  103 0.18  103 1.11
a
Specic heats obtained from Refs. [1618].
80 M. Aminuddin, S.M. Zubair / Cryogenics 64 (2014) 7785

(a) 100 (b) 0.3

Ch/Cc = 1 Ch/Cc = 1
=0 0.25 =0
= 0.2
= 0.2
0.2
0.2
10
0.05
i (%)

0.15

0.05
0.02
0.02 0.1 0.05

Model I 0
1 Model II (Cold Fluid) 0.05

0.
02
Model II (Hot Fluid) 0.02

0.
2
0
1 10 100 1 10 100
NTU NTU

Fig. 2. Effect of conduction parameter, k, on ineffectiveness of hot and cold streams and the associated heat conduction loss (Ch/Cc = 1, a = 0).

(a) 100 (b) 0.3

Model I Ch/Cc = 0.8
Model II (Cold Fluid) 0.25 =0
Model II (Hot Fluid)

= 0.2
0.2
0.05 = 0.2
10 0.2
i (%)

0.0 0.15

5 0.2
0.0
5
0.1
0.05

1 Ch/Cc = 0.8 0.05

0.02
=0 0
0
1 10 100 1 10 100
NTU NTU

Fig. 3. Effect of conduction parameter, k, on ineffectiveness of hot and cold streams and the associated heat conduction loss (Ch/Cc = 0.8, a = 0).

C c T c;out  T c;in hc;out Hot uid ineffectiveness, ih, characterizes the rate of energy
ec 12
C min T h;in  T c;in lm ow out of the exchanger by hot exit stream due to non-unity
effectiveness. In conjunction with cold end conduction loss, v, it
However, for high effectiveness heat exchangers, the concept of
represents net heat transferred, /HX, from the exchanger to lower
ineffectiveness, i, is more convenient because small changes can be
stages of cryogenic system [10]:
magnied on a logarithmic scale [7]:
/HX ih v 17
ih 1  eh ; ic 1  ec 13
The cold end conduction loss is clearly zero for insulated ends.
External heat transfer with hot uid, qa, is determined by inte- With suspension of heat in-leak (/a = 0), net heat transferred, /HX,
gration over the exchanger length, L, and expressed in normalized is numerically equal to the cold uid ineffectiveness, ic, through
form: Eq. (16).
Z 1
qa
/a a  NTU  R 1  hh dX 14 3. Results and discussion
C min T h;in  T c;in 0

Furthermore, heat loss by conduction through the exchanger In order to validate the model, system is initially studied with-
wall, qw,L, is obtained from wall temperature gradient at the cold out heat in-leak from ambient (a = 0), essentially reproducing the
end and represented in dimensionless form: results presented previously [5,7]. The ineffectiveness for balanced
 ow (Cr = 1) is illustrated in Fig. 2a. Models I and II merge at k = 0
qw;L dhw 
v k 15 (no axial conduction) while heat exchanger ineffectiveness reduces
C min T h;in  T c;in dX X1
with NTU as additional surface area becomes available. With
The above expressions are related through an overall energy absence of external heat transfer, the sensible heat change, and
balance across the heat exchanger: consequently the performance, is identical for the two streams in
insulated ends case (Model I). Furthermore, axial conduction
ic /a ih v 16 causes wall temperature to lower at the hot end and rise at the cold
 M. Aminuddin, S.M. Zubair / Cryogenics 64 (2014) 7785 81

(a) 130 (b) 0.35

Ch/Cc = 1.25 = 0.2
120
=0 0.3
110 0.05
0.2 0.25
100 0

2
0.
5

=
90 0.0 0.2
(%)

2
0.0 0.05

80 0.15
0.02
70
0.1
60 Model I
0.05
Model II (Cold Fluid)
50
0.2 0.05 Ch/Cc = 1.25
Model II (Hot Fluid)
=0
40 0
1 10 100 1 10 100
NTU NTU

Fig. 4. Effect of conduction parameter, k, on effectiveness of hot and cold streams and the associated heat conduction loss (Ch/Cc = 1.25, a = 0).

end thus reducing the heat exchange and increasing the ineffec-
tiveness, which approaches an asymptotic minimum at high
NTU. It increases for higher longitudinal conduction parameter, k,
as the conduction effect enhances. On the contrary, in nonadiabatic
cold end case (Model II), wall temperature is xed at the cold end
that results in hot uid being cooled further while the excess heat
capacity rate cold uid (Cc = Cmax) effectively absorbs the heat
transferred (Fig. 3b). Nonetheless, ineffectiveness remains lower
than that depicted by Model I, as the hot uid is cooled further
0.4

0.2
Model I
is lost by conduction. Sensible heat changes in hot uid thus incor-

=
Model II
porate heat loss by conduction in addition to the heat exchanged,
and accordingly its ineffectiveness is lower than in ideal condition. 0.3
Moreover, a higher longitudinal conduction parameter, k, increases

2
0.
the heat conduction loss, v, which further reduces the ineffective-
ness (Fig. 2b). On the other hand, sensible heat changes in cold
a

uid represent actual heat exchange. As a result, cold stream inef- 0.2
2
fectiveness, ic, reects true deterioration in performance, which 0.0
closely follows Model I and is in effect slightly higher because 2
Ch/Cc = 1 0.0
the conduction heat loss hinders proper heating. The ineffective-
0.1
ness remains above 5% for conduction parameter as low as 0.05 R=0
0
that would restrain attaining reasonable refrigeration effects if = 0.01
the exchanger is integrated into a cryogenic system.
The ineffectiveness is lower in unbalanced ow, Ch/Cc = 0.8 0
(Fig. 3a). However, reversal in performance of hot stream is 1 10 100
NTU
observed in Model II at high NTU, as the ineffectiveness rather
increases with k. It essentially behaves analogous to insulated Fig. 6. Effect of conduction parameter, k, on heat in-leak for 30080 K system
end model because of considerable reduction in v, as the high heat (Ch/Cc = 1, a = 0.01).

(a) 100 (b) 0.5

Ch/Cc = 1
R=0
= 0.2
0.2
0.4 = 0.01
0.05
HX (%), i h (%)

0.05 0.3

10 Ch/Cc = 1 = 0.2

0
R=0
0.2
= 0.01 0.02
Model I 0.05
0.05 0.1
Model II ( HX)
0.2
Model II ( i h) 0.02
1 0
1 10 100 1 10 100
NTU NTU

Fig. 5. Effect of conduction parameter, k, on performance and the associated heat conduction loss for 30080 K system (Ch/Cc = 1, a = 0.01).
82 M. Aminuddin, S.M. Zubair / Cryogenics 64 (2014) 7785

(a) 100 (b) 0.5

Ch/Cc = 0.8
R=0
0.2 0.4 = 0.01
=
0.2
HX (%), i h (%)

5
0.0 0.3
0. 05
10 Ch/Cc = 0.8
0.02 = 0.2

R=0
0.02 0.2
= 0.01
Model I 0
0.02 0.05
Model II ( HX)
0.1
0.05
Model II ( i h) 0.2 0.02
1 0
1 10 100 1 10 100
NTU NTU

Fig. 7. Effect of conduction parameter, k, on performance and the associated heat conduction loss for 30080 K system (Ch/Cc = 0.8, a = 0.01).

(a) 130 (b) 0.6

Ch/Cc = 1.25 Ch/Cc = 1.25
120
R=0
= 0.2 0.5 R=0
110 = 0.01 0.05 = 0.01

100 0.02 0 0.4

= 0.2
h (%)

90
0.3

80
0.02
0.05
70 0.2 0.05
0.2
60
Model I 0.1
50 Model II 0.02

40 0
1 10 100 1 10 100
NTU NTU

Fig. 8. Effect of conduction parameter, k, on hot stream effectiveness and the associated heat conduction loss for 30080 K system (Ch/Cc = 1.25, a = 0.01).

because of low wall temperature at cold end. The anomaly would
have gone unnoticed on an effectiveness plot (e-NTU) that employs
a linear scale.
A second irregularity occurs when hot uid approaches inlet
temperature of cold stream, Tc,in, despite having higher heat capac-
ity rate (Ch = Cmax). The effectiveness, eh, crosses 100% and reaches a
terminal value of 125% for Ch/Cc = 1.25 (Fig. 4a), which implies that
sensible heat change of hot stream is greater than the maximum
heat that could be absorbed by cold stream, as the remaining heat
is discharged by conduction through the cold end (Fig. 4b). Thus,
hot uid is cooled further than it would in an ideal heat exchanger
with innite surface area. The ineffectiveness, ih, accordingly
extends into the negative region and its essence is lost, as it can
no longer be represented on the logarithmic scale. In contrast, per-
formance curves of cold uid as well as for Model I are essentially
similar to Fig. 3a, though measured on different scale, because they
represent the actual heat exchanged and the ratio of minimum to
maximum heat capacity rates is identical in both analyses (Cr = 0.8).
The plots conforming to those reported earlier [5,7], heat in-
leak is subsequently introduced with hot uid entering at room
temperature (300 K) and cold uid at 80 K (R = 0). Rather poor
insulation is chosen (a = 0.01) in order to study the most detrimen-
tal effects of external heat transfer. As changes in sensible heat of
uid streams incorporate a portion of heat in-leak, neither
represent the actual heat exchanged, resulting in two sets of per-
formance curves (eh and ec). However, analysis in the remaining
study is restricted to hot stream effectiveness because the purpose
of cryogenic heat exchangers is to cool the hot uid [9].
Further deterioration is observed although the effect is insignif-
icant at low NTU (Fig. 5a), as the associated external heat transfer
rate, /a, is negligibly small (Fig. 6). Being dependent upon the tem-
perature difference, heat in-leak approaches an asymptotic value
for k = 0, which corresponds to terminal ineffectiveness of 9.5% in
balanced ow. As the axial conduction lowers heat exchange
between uid streams, heat in-leak swiftly turns dominant that
causes the Model I ineffectiveness curves to rebound, giving rise
to a critical NTU (about 20). However, they do not reach a terminal
value in the range studied. Although Model II predicts indenite
increase of heat in-leak, ineffectiveness persistently decreases
because the extra heat is discharged through the cold end (Fig. 5b).
The performance improves in unbalanced ow, Ch/Cc = 0.8
(Fig. 7a). For instance, terminal ineffectiveness at zero axial con-
duction drops to 4%. In addition, reversal in performance in Model
II is not observed at a = 0.01. Conduction heat loss reduces as
before in the low NTU range (Fig. 7b), while heat in-leak is yet
insignicant, thus lessening the effect of k and leading to an initial
convergence of ineffectiveness curves. Heat exchanger effective-
ness at Ch/Cc = 1.25 is illustrated in Fig. 8a along with the associated
 M. Aminuddin, S.M. Zubair / Cryogenics 64 (2014) 7785 83

(a) ( b) 2
Model I 0.2 Ch/Cc = 1
=
Model II ( HX)
0.2 R = 3.67

0.2
100 = 0.01

=
Model II (i h) 0.02 1.5

0.02
HX (%), i h (%)

0
1

5
0.0
0.02
2
0.0
0.5
0.05
10 Ch/Cc = 1
R = 3.67
= 0.01 0.2
0
1 10 100 1 10 100
NTU NTU

Fig. 9. Effect of conduction parameter, k, on performance and the associated heat conduction loss for 8020 K system (Ch/Cc = 1, a = 0.01).

(a) (b) 2
Model I 2 Ch/Cc = 0.8
0.
Model II ( HX) = R = 3.67
100 0.2 = 0.01
Model II (i h) 1.5
5
0.0

0.2
5
HX (%), i h (%)

0.0

=
2
0.0
2 1

0.0

0 5
0.0
0.02 0.5
10 Ch/Cc = 0.8
R = 3.67 0.05
= 0.01 0.02
0.2
0
1 10 100 1 10 100
NTU NTU

Fig. 10. Effect of conduction parameter, k, on performance and the associated heat conduction loss for 8020 K system (Ch/Cc = 0.8, a = 0.01).

conduction loss (Fig. 8b). With addition of heat in-leak, perfor-
mance depends on the choice of Cmin uid and is not the same as
that for Ch/Cc = 0.8.
In accordance with Gupta and Atrey [8], the system is subse-
quently analyzed for a larger difference between ambient and
operating temperatures (R = 3.67) with hot uid entering at 80 K
and cold uid at 20 K. Degradation increases severalfold though
the thermal conductance ratio is unchanged (Fig. 9a). With bal-
anced ow, ineffectiveness for zero axial conduction reaches the
bottom (28%) at NTU = 6 before rebounding to the asymptotic
value (44%) as heat in-leak begins to prevail at increasing NTU.
Model I crosses 100% ineffectiveness (eh < 0) implying a net
increase in sensible heat of hot uid (Th,out > Th,in) due to large
external heat transfer. Model II as well predicts higher ineffective-
ness compared to the 30080 K system. Thus, the excess heat is not
discharged totally through conduction despite greater cold end
loss (Fig. 9b).
The valley for k = 0 curve is relatively shallow at Ch/Cc = 0.8,
reaching 18% minimum ineffectiveness before approaching 19%
asymptotic value (Fig. 10a). Model II neither undergoes reversal
in performance nor pinching of the curves, as the expected decline
in heat conduction loss in low NTU range is barely perceived
(Fig. 10b). The effect of heat in-leak is more pronounced with
higher heat capacity rate hot uid (Ch/Cc = 1.25). Terminal effec-
tiveness at zero axial conduction turns negative while Model I
curves are pushed toward low effectiveness region (Fig. 11a). To
be precise, it is not possible to compare the performance directly
with that of the other heat capacity rate ratios, as different scales
of measurement are applied (eh vs. ih). In addition, Model II exhibits
local maximum with small axial conduction parameter (k = 0.02),
similar to the curves representing insulated ends, while the associ-
ated heat conduction loss is yet low (Fig. 11b).
Although Model II demonstrated higher effectiveness compared
to the insulated ends, the associated heat loss by conduction to
adjacent components essentially offsets the gain [5]. Applying sim-
ilar reasoning, exceeding 100% effectiveness (Ch = Cmax) is futile, as
the surplus heat released is lost by conduction. It is evident from
the net heat transferred to lower stages of refrigeration system,
/HX, shown alongside the ineffectiveness for balanced ow and
Ch = Cmin (Figs. 5a, 7a, 9a, and 10a). It permits direct comparison
with Model I and displays greater deterioration, especially at high
k. A similar critical NTU is observed, as conduction loss gains signif-
icance with higher heat in-leak. However, it remained well above
5% in the cases studied because of the high heat in-leak parameter
employed that would prevent the system from operating in an eco-
nomic manner. When /HX surpasses 100% despite low ineffective-
ness, heat transferred to colder stages exceeds initial sensible heat
of hot stream because of external heat transfer. This region should
apparently be avoided. Nevertheless, the treatment cannot be
extended to Ch = Cmax unless represented on the ineffectiveness
84 M. Aminuddin, S.M. Zubair / Cryogenics 64 (2014) 7785

(a) (b) 2.5

120 Ch/Cc = 1.25 = 0.2 Ch/Cc = 1.25
R = 3.67 R = 3.67

0.2
100 = 0.01 0.05 2 = 0.01

=
80
0.02
1.5

05
h (%)

0.
60

40 1
2
0.0
20
0 0.5
Model I
0
Model II

0.
0.

02
2
-20 0
1 10 100 1 10 100
NTU NTU

Fig. 11. Effect of conduction parameter, k, on hot stream effectiveness and the associated heat conduction loss for 8020 K system (Ch/Cc = 1.25, a = 0.01).

(a) 2 (b) 1
Ch/Cc = 1 Ch/Cc = 1
=0
R = 3.67 R = 3.67
= 0.01 0.8 = 0.001
1.5 =0 NTU = 18 NTU = 18

Model I ( = 0.2)
0.6

Model I ( = 0.2)
0.4

0.5
Hot Fluid 0.2
Hot Fluid Model II ( = 0.2)
Wall Wall
Cold Fluid Model II ( = 0.2)
Cold Fluid
0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
X X

Fig. 12. Effect of insulation on temperature proles for 8020 K system (Ch/Cc = 1, NTU = 18).

scale. In the absence of heat in-leak, it was stated earlier that cold
stream ineffectiveness, ic, is numerically equal to the net heat
transferred, /HX, and it exhibited higher deterioration in relation
to Model I (Figs. 2a and 3a).
While hot stream effectiveness, eh, turned negative at certain
instances when operated in the 8020 K range, cold stream effec-
tiveness, ec, is expected to cross 100%. It should display similar
behavior while having higher heat capacity rate (Cc = Cmax) in the
30080 K range. Hence, insufcient insulation may cause cold
stream to be heated more than it is possible in an ideal heat
exchanger with indenitely large surface. It should be noted
though that the objective fails when hot stream is heated above
its inlet temperature. Moreover, the situation is exacerbated with
internal temperature cross (Fig. 12a). Additional surface merely
broadens the region for reverse heat transfer. The onset of temper-
ature cross occurs near the change in direction of slope of perfor-
mance plots [20]. Barron [9] as well reported temperature cross
and negative effectiveness in extreme cases. Nevertheless, it sub-
sides by selecting better insulation (Fig. 12b). In contrast, 300
80 K system does not exhibit internal temperature cross despite
rebounding of curves, as hot uid enters at the ambient temperature.
It is instructive to contemplate the situation when cold uid
instead undergoes external heat transfer. At extremely low NTU,
heat in-leak is negligibly small whereas at high values, tempera-
ture proles on both sides follow each other closely even for
unbalanced ow because of poor insulation. It is in intermediate
NTU range that the driving force ought to depend upon choice of
shell-side uid, especially for the 8020 K system. Besides, cold
stream would act as buffer between ambient and hot stream that
should accordingly affect the performance.
The zero axial conduction curves serve as benchmark to gauge
deviation in performance. They represent ideal exchanger while
heat in-leak is suspended. With consideration of external heat
transfer, they conform to results reported elsewhere [6,9]. In addi-
tion, performance degradation predicted by Model I with both heat
in-leak and axial conduction intact exhibit similar trends as that of
Gupta and co-workers [4,8].
4. Conclusions
External heat transfer, axial wall conduction, and parasitic cold
end conduction loss are incorporated into the design equations of a
counterow cryogenic heat exchanger. Conduction through the
exchanger cold end is manifested through xed temperature
boundary condition rather than the insulated end condition exer-
cised elsewhere. The system is analyzed in terms of hot stream
ineffectiveness in conjunction with cold end conduction loss. It
depicts reduction in ineffectiveness with additional NTU and high
longitudinal conduction parameter but at a cost of greater heat
conduction loss. The optimum NTU is determined by examining
 M. Aminuddin, S.M. Zubair / Cryogenics 64 (2014) 7785
net heat transferred from the exchanger to the lower stages of
cryogenic system.
The external heat transfer increases the ineffectiveness and has
pronounced effect on conduction loss, mainly while operating in
8020 K range that exhibits internal temperature cross. Stringent
insulation is required to achieve high heat exchanger effectiveness
necessary for the cryogenic refrigeration system to function prop-
erly, as axial conduction by itself reduces the performance consid-
erably. Moreover, cold end conduction loss is reduced when hot
uid has lower heat capacity rate. On the other hand, the effective-
ness crosses 100% while hot uid has higher heat capacity rate
though the attempt is futile as the extra heat released is lost by
conduction to the adjacent components.
The model conforms to results reported in the literature when
analyzed for zero axial conduction or without external heat trans-
fer. It is extensively compared with the insulated ends model
developed elsewhere, which too predicted optimum performance
at a critical NTU (about 20 when examined in 30080 K range).
Furthermore, in 8020 K range its effectiveness turned negative
at high NTU, implying hot stream was instead being heated.
Finally, the net heat transferred from heat exchanger to colder
stages depicted by applying the xed temperature boundary condi-
tion suggests that deterioration in performance is greater than in
the insulated ends case.
Acknowledgement
The authors acknowledge the support provided by King Fahd
University of Petroleum & Minerals.
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