Accepted Manuscript

Concepts of Reversible Heat Exchange Process and Limitation Analysis on Heat

Exchange Process in Isolated System

Chenghu Zhang, Yaping Li

PII: S1359-4311(17)31661-7
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2017.08.094
Reference: ATE 10977

To appear in: Applied Thermal Engineering

Received Date: 11 March 2017

Revised Date: 28 July 2017
Accepted Date: 18 August 2017

Please cite this article as: C. Zhang, Y. Li, Concepts of Reversible Heat Exchange Process and Limitation Analysis
on Heat Exchange Process in Isolated System, Applied Thermal Engineering (2017), doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/
j.applthermaleng.2017.08.094

This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers
we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and
review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process
errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
Concepts of Reversible Heat Exchange Process and Limitation Analysis on Heat
Exchange Process in Isolated System
Chenghu Zhang, Yaping Li*

School of Municipal and Environmental Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150009, China
Email:14B927067@hit.edu.cn

Abstract：Cycle-combined heat exchange process is a solution to improve heat exchange effect between two
thermal mediums. Since limitation values of performance parameters in thermal systems can be obtained by
constructing ideal thermal processes, for the purpose to study characteristics of cycle combined thermal process to
guide practical design, concepts of reversible heat exchange process are presented in this paper. It is one theoretical
simplification of isolated heat exchange system, which is comprised of exothermic medium, endothermic medium
and combination of infinite sequential thermal cycles. In this research, the strict definitions of concepts of
reversible heat exchange process are proposed and based on medium flow direction, and this reversible process is
classified into six forms. With these basis, the thermodynamic analysis on each process is conducted and
mathematical models are established with proper assumptions. Limitation analysis on the isolated heat exchange
process is conducted and results shows that reversible heat exchange process is the limitation case of the isolated
heat exchange process, in which the upper (lower) bound value of exothermic (endothermic) medium outlet
temperature and available maximum amount of exchanged heat will exist theoretically. In addition, the practical
application of limitation analysis of isolated heat exchange process is also provided.

keywords：Cycle combined heat exchange process; Reversible heat exchange; Mathematical model; Limitation
analysis; Practical application

1. Introduction

Heat exchange is the process for transferring heat from exothermic medium to the endothermic one
spontaneously in heat exchanger devices. In this research, through the whole process, the thermal states of the
related heat exchanger devices remains steady and no forms of energy exchange with outside environment exists.
Therefore, the two thermal mediums and the devices are considered as an isolated system.
In a normal heat exchange process, generally, the exothermic medium is the heat source with higher
temperature and the endothermic medium is the one with lower temperature, in which heat is only transferred from
the high-temperature side to the low-temperature side. Attribute to this phenomenon, the limitation in heat
exchange outlet temperatures and the amount of heat exchanged in normal heat exchange process is existing,
which is shown in Fig.1 to Fig.3. In these figures, the horizontal axis represents the area of heat exchanger system
and the vertical axis represents the variation of mediums temperatures. In normal counter flow heat exchange
process, when the heat capacity of the exothermic medium is larger than the endothermic one, the outlet
temperature of exothermic medium is always higher than the inlet temperature of endothermic medium, or when
the heat capacity of the endothermic medium is larger, the outlet temperature of the endothermic medium is always
lower than the inlet temperature of the exothermic one. In the other condition, for the normal parallel flow heat
exchange process, likewise, during the whole process, the temperature variation curves will never cross, and the
temperature of exothermic medium is always higher than that of endothermic medium.
As descripted above, since the heat exchange limitation is existing, several practical problems would take
place in engineering application:

1
 (1) For the growing industrial scale and higher residential heat demand, heat loading of the supplying network
is increasing. However, re-design and re-building the heating network system will rise the reconstruction
cost due to the complexity and difficulty [1].
(2) As to the other aspect, for the utilization of larger temperature-drop heat supply technology in large scale
heat supply networks, normally, the temperature variation range of network primary water is 110℃ ~ 25℃
[2], however, temperature of secondary water in the demand side varies from 45℃ ~ 60℃. Heat exchange
process in the heating substation with the normal heat exchanger is impossible to realize this condition.
(3) For the third facet, during the waste heat recovery process, bad heat transfer effect will lead to
unthroughness of heat usage. Hence, a large temperature range heat-extracting technology ought to be
used [3].
Therefore, a new heat exchange process should be proposed to enhance the heat transfer effect by proper
configuration of normal heat exchange devices.
Normally, the heat exchange process conducted in normal heat exchanger is a spontaneous process: driven by
the temperature difference between the two fluids. As introduced above, in normal parallel and counter flow heat
exchange process, the limitation in heat transfer is existing and the heat flow direction is confirmed. Moreover,
according to the thermodynamics theory, based on the second law, for the purpose to transfer heat from low-grade
heat source to the higher one, the external changes should be conducted[4]. Reverse Carnot cycle is one kind of
typical thermal process that can realizes the non-spontaneous heat exchange. With import of external work, heat
can be extracted from the lower-grade heat sources to the higher one. As a recognized expression, Eq. (1) shows the
conversion relationship of heat and work in reverse Carnot cycle:
Q  W  Th / (Th  Tl ) (1)
Where, Q denotes the heat extracted from the low-grade heat source, W denotes the external work input, and
the Th and Tl denote the temperature of high-grade heat source and the low-grade heat source, separately.
Meanwhile, for the Carnot cycle, the relation between heat and work can be formulated as:
W  Q  (Th  Tl ) / Th (2)
Where, Q denotes the heat from the high-grade heat source, W denotes the work output from this ideal heat
engine.
Synthesizing Eq. (1) and Eq. (2), it can be deduced that if the proper method is applied, work can generate
between the two thermal mediums with different temperatures in Carnot cycle, and this work can be used
sequentially to drive the reverse Carnot cycle to realize non-spontaneous heat exchange process. In our research,
several thermal cycles is set between the two heat reservoirs to realize the enhancement of heat exchange
effect. The specific system form will be explained in detail as below and its characteristics will be studied by
construction of theoretical models.
As described above, with proper configuration, the heat exchange process combining heat engine cycles and
heat pumps cycles would enhance the heat exchange effect between the two thermal mediums. In practice,
absorption heat exchanger proposed by Li Y and Fu L [5] and the heat adaptor presented by Zhang Y [6-8] are
successful usage in DH (District Heating ) system development. The schematic diagram is shown as Fig.4. In this
system combined with absorption heat pump and normal heat exchanger, primary supply water flows through the
generator, heat exchanger and evaporator, which leads to the decrease of its temperature. Meanwhile, two parts of
secondary water flow through the heat exchanger or the absorber and condenser separately, which joins at the outlet
of the system with an increasing temperature. In this absorption heat exchanger, the heat from primary water drives
the absorption heat pump cycle and cools the primary water itself. On a macro level, combining the two thermal
medium water and two devices as an isolated system, when the heat dissipation to the outside environment is
neglected, these two thermal medium achieves a large temperature drop heat exchange process without the external

2
energy imported. For the meaningful function of this kind of system, providing theoretical guidance and standard is
essential for its design and performance evaluation.
The former researchers have provided many study results concerning the combination system of heat engine
cycle and refrigeration cycles. However, in these researches, the research focus is concentrated on the combination
cycles with three or four heat sources, which are the analysis models of the sorption refrigerators (absorption or
adsorption refrigeration system) and the chemical heat pumps. In these models, two of the heat sources construct
the heat engine cycle, and the rest construct a heat pump cycle which is driven by the work exported from the
former cycle. The first paper engaged was published in 1989[9], Chen and Yan propose the equivalent system
model for the three-heat-source heat pumps and the fundamental optimum formula of these combination system are
derived, which develops the application of finite time thermodynamics. In their study, the assumption of finite heat
source capacity is introduced. With further deduce, the unified description of various endo-reversible three heat
source is confirmed by Bautista and Mendez[10], and the physical influence of various factors to the combined
system is revealed. Using the endo-reversible three-temperature-level heat sources system as standard model,
Wu[11],[12] studies the thermodynamic characteristics of the waste heat and geothermal absorption refrigeration
cycles. In his work, the models are correspond in fact to three thermostat machines functioning in steady state
conditions with given heat conductance. When the cooling heat reservoirs of heat engine cycle and heat pump cycle
are different, the three-heat-source model becomes to the four-heat-source one. Chen and Zheng et al [13]
re-construct the irreversible thermal models for the absorption refrigerator, which has four-temperature-level heat
sources, taking the heat resistance, heat leakage, and irreversibility due to internal dissipation into account. With
this model, the performance optimization for the irreversible four-temperature-level absorption heat pump is
conducted by Huang and Sun [14]. Compared with the three temperatures models, the four temperature level
system model is determined by not only by specification of the four temperatures and the cooling capacity but also
by an additional variable such as the heat capacity ration [15]. M. Feidt’s review work [16],[17] covers the
completed research conclusions of the combined cycle systems with three or four heat reservoirs, which focuses on
the thermodynamics applied to reverse cycle machines, and the analysis models of three heat reservoirs machines
are summarized and the future research trend is predicted.
The limitation values (upper bounds and lower bounds) of thermal system performance parameters can be
obtained by construction and analysis of the idealized thermal processes, and thermodynamics analysis method is
essential to estimate the performance of thermal conversion process. Simplified by applying theoretical thermal
cycles (Carnot heat engine cycle and the Carnot heat pump cycle) as standard reference, the model of thermal
system can be constructed accurately. For the purpose to enhance feasibility of the ideal Carnot cycle for the
practical issues, in Ondrechen’s work[18], Carnot heat engine cycle is generalized with finite operating time and
finite heat reservoirs, it is suggested that by connecting an infinite number of Carnot cycles in parallel instead of a
single cycle, the maximum work production is achieved. It means that with the sequential-cycle system, the heat in
the high-grade heat source is exploited out more thoroughly. Chen and Xia et al [19] apply the sequential Carnot
cycle to the study on the optimal configuration of the multistage irreversible Carnot heat engine system. They set
the sequential cycle model as a theory reference, in which the heat transfer obeys the generalized heat transfer law
q  ((T n )m ) . In their another work [20], the chemical engine systems are generalized as the multistage sequential
isothermal endoreversible Carnot cycles with a finite potential capacity high-chemical-potential reservoir and an
infinite potential capacity low chemical-potential environmental with the liner heat and mass transfer law. Based on
this, they construct two types of mathematical description for the system: the continuous model and the discrete
model, and the conclusion indicate that the results obtained from the different models are both equal to the
difference between the reversible data and a dissipation term. Considering the features of renewable thermal
resources, Hansaem and Min [21] propose the mathematical description for the sequential Carnot cycles with finite
heat capacity high-grade heat reservoir and infinite heat capacity low-grade heat reservoir. The analytical solution is

3
obtained. With their further research[22], the sequential system with finite heat source and finite heat sink is studied,
moreover, this theory model is applied to the Organic Rankine Cycle to enhance heat utilization. Their research
results show that the sequential Carnot cycle model and the finite heat source condition lead to more realistic
barometer for system estimating, especially for the thermal system with low grade heat sources.
Compared with the former studies, our research is centering on the idealized heat exchange process model
between two thermal media, featuring that the exothermic medium is both the high-grade heat source of the
heat engine and the low-grade heat source of the heat pump cycle, and the endothermic medium is both the
high-grade heat source of heat pump cycle and low-grade heat source of the heat engine cycle. It can be
shown as Fig.5, the number of heat sources reduce from 4 or 3 to 2, and there is still no relative research on the
theoretical models of combined cycles process with only two heat sources.
Based on the physical model of the cycle combined heat exchange process, an idealized theoretical heat
exchange process in isolated system: the reversible heat exchange process is addressed, which is proposed in
our research for the first time. For the purposed to provide a theoretical standard for the practical engineering
application, under proper assumption, the strict definition of reversible heat exchange process is presented, and
depending on the medium flow direction, the classification of these heat exchange processes are divided. In order to
confirm the feasibility of the process realization and conduct the further analysis on the idealized process
performance, the mathematical models of these theoretical two-heat-source combined heat exchange processes are
constructed. In addition, the Reversible Heat Exchange Function (RHEF) is derived from the mathematical models
to research the limitation values (the upper or lower bounds of temperatures and heat amount) of the isolated heat
exchange process. This paper will start at Section 2 with the discussion on the physical models of the cycle
combination heat exchange process and the basic concepts are presented. In Section 3, the mathematical description
of all possible forms of process are deduced. In the last section, by using the mathematics analysis, outlet
temperatures and the heat exchanged in the reversible heat exchange process are demonstrated to be the limitation
values of the isolated heat exchange system. Moreover, the application case of this concepts is also provided. The
concepts of reversible heat exchange process and the limitation analysis conclusion can be a new theory
guidance and standard for the heat exchange process in actual engineering application, such as the
application of absorption heat exchanger and heat adaptor.

2. System description

2.1. Concepts of reversible heat exchange process

As introduced in the former section, the medium temperature variation curves will cross with the thermal
cycles (heat engine cycle and heat pump cycle) setting between the exothermic medium and the endothermic
medium. Therefore, the large-temperature-drop heat exchange process can be achieved. Through this process, heat
released from the exothermic medium is divided into two parts: one part flows into the endothermic medium and
the other converts to work form. Driven by this work, the heat pump cycle process is operating between the thermal
media which flow out from the heat engine cycle. By this process, more heat will be extracted from the exothermic
medium to the endothermic one. The further heat exchange is conducted and the lower (upper) outlet media
temperature value bound of the normal heat exchange process is broken to accomplish the larger amount of heat
exchanged. From the schematic diagram in Fig.5, it is also seen that the heat transfer temperature difference
between the cycle working media and the heat source is large in each sub-process, which will lead to lager exergy
loss and weaker heat extraction capacity of this heat exchange process. For the purpose to enhance the heat
utilization and reduce the irreversibility, the sequential heat engine cycle and sequential heat pump cycles are
combined in our research, which is depicted in Fig.6. In this figure, by qualitative analysis, when the quantity of
thermal cycles is increasing, the temperature change during each cycle process is smaller and the temperature
difference between the cycle working media and the heat exchange media is narrower. Therefore, it results in less

4
entropy production during the whole process. However, the irreversibility still exists due to heat transfer
temperature difference and inner heat leak of the thermal cycles.
In the areas of scientific researches, the idealization is important method to obtained the boundary value of one
process. In this paper, for the purpose to get the limitation condition of the heat exchange process in an isolated
system, a theoretical reversible heat exchange process is proposed.
Suppose that:
(1) In this paper, isolated system is defined as the thermal system consists of two thermal media (including
their sources and sinks) and the heat exchange devices, the outer boundary of the isolated system in this
study is drawn in Fig.7. In this process, there is no heat or work exchanged between the outside
environment and the system itself. Hence, the work exported from the sequential heat engine cycles is
imported into the sequential heat pump cycles entirely.
(2) All individual thermal cycles involved in the processes are endo-reversible cycles, which means no
entropy production exists within the cycles and no heat leak.
(3) To minimize the heat transfer temperature difference t between the cycle working media and heat
exchange media, the number of thermal cycles of this process is supposed to be approaching infinite
( n   ). In ideal condition, t  0 , the heat transfer process is also reversible.
Hence, in this research, in the isolated thermal system consists of exothermic medium, endothermic
medium and the cycle combination, the heat exchange process satisfies the three preconditions (1)-(3) above
is defined as reversible heat exchange process. Through the whole process, the exergy loss reduces to zero,
the proposed process is completely reversible.

2.2. Classification of reversible heat exchange processes

For accurate analysis, several concepts should be defined at first. Through the whole process, the sub-process
region with the reversible heat engine cycles is defined as Heat Engine Cycle Region, and the sub-process with the
reversible heat pump cycles is defined as Heat Pump Cycle Region.
Taking the thermal media flow direction and thermal cycles operating order into account, the reversible heat
exchange processes can be divided into 6 classifications, which can be depicted as follows:
Fig.8 shows the schematic diagram of the continuous parallel flow reversible heat exchange process.
Exothermic medium and endothermic medium with different temperatures flow into the system towards the same
direction, the first heat engine cycle operates between the inlet state of the two thermal media. In this process form,
the media flow direction and the thermal cycle operating order are identical. In Fig.8, the clockwise circle
represents the heat engine cycle region and the counterclockwise one represents the heat pump cycle region
separately.
Fig.9 expresses the schematic diagram of continuous counter flow reversible heat exchange process. In this
system, the very first heat engine cycle operates between the inlet state of exothermic medium and the outlet state
of endothermic medium. The operating order of these thermal cycles is the same as the flow direction of
exothermic medium but opposite to the endothermic medium. From Fig.8 and Fig.9 it can be found that, the
continuous parallel flow process and counter flow process both have only one Heat Engine Cycle Region and one
Heat Pump Cycle Region.
Fig.10 and Fig.11 show the parallel-counter-flow integrated reversible heat exchange processes. Fig.10
expresses the integrated process with parallel flow sub-process pre-posed and the counter flow sub-process
post-posed. On the contrary, Fig.11 shows the integrated process with the counter-flow sub-process pre-posed and
the parallel flow sub-process postposed. For convenience, the former integrated process is named integrated
reversible heat exchange process I, and the later one is named integrated reversible heat exchange process II,
separately.

5
 In the integrated process I, the two thermal media flow into the system towards the same direction firstly.
Similar as the continuous process, a sequence of thermal cycles operate between the two media. Different with the
former introduced processes (Fig.8 and Fig.9), the whole process is divided into two sub-process. In the process
shown in Fig.8, when the temperature decreases to a certain value (T1x), exothermic medium flows out of the heat
exchange system and flows in again with the unchanged temperature towards the opposite direction, which results
that the parallel flow sub-process converts to counter flow one. Heat is exchanged from the exothermic medium to
the endothermic medium continuously. Likewise, the integrated reversible heat exchange process II also consists of
two sub-processes. The counter flow sub-process is conducted firstly and when the temperature of exothermic
medium decreases to a certain value (T1x), the counter flow sub-process converts to parallel flow one. From these
figures, it can be seen that the number of the Heat Engine Cycle Region (or Heat Pump Cycle Region) is 1 to 2.
According to the definition, the work exported from the Heat Engine Cycle Regions has the identical amount as the
imported work of the Heat Pump Cycle Regions. As to the extreme condition, when the temperature point T1x
moves to the left or right end of the exothermic medium temperature variation curve, the integrated process is
simplified to continuous parallel flow or continuous counter flow reversible heat exchange process.
Theoretically, since the heat engine cycle and its reverse cycle can operate between the heat sources with
arbitrary temperature difference, the reversible heat exchange process can be expressed as a more generalized
process. As shown in Fig.12 and Fig.13, the thermal cycle regions of heat exchange processes are scattered into N
individual regions (in the figures, the value of N is 4), and each individual region is set randomly into arbitrary
section of exothermic medium temperature variation curve without repletion. Fig.12 shows the scattered parallel
flow reversible heat exchange process; Fig.13 shows the scattered counter flow reversible heat exchange process;
Figure.14 shows the scattered general integrated reversible heat exchange process.
Setting the most general process depicted in Fig.14 as example, the scattered reversible heat exchange process
is descripted in detail as follows. The exothermic medium with temperature T11 and endothermic medium with
temperature T21 flow into the system towards identical or opposite direction (in Fig.14, the direction is identical),
while the heat exchange process becomes stable, the temperature variation profile of the two medium in operating
condition is shown as Fig.14. The first heat engine cycle in the Heat Engine Cycle Region 1 operates between the
endothermic medium inlet status and the certain status point ( T1x ,1 ) of exothermic medium. At the end of this region,
the temperature of exothermic medium ( T1 ) decreases to T1x ,2 and the temperature of endothermic medium ( T2 )
increases to T2 x ,1 . With the constant temperature T2 x ,1 , endothermic medium flows into the system again and the
Heat Pump Cycle Region 2 is conducted between the two thermal media. In this region, the first heat pump cycle
operates between the 2nd inlet status of endothermic medium and exothermic medium outlet status. At the end of
this Heat Pump Cycle Region, T2 increases to T2 x ,2 . In a similar way, throughout the Heat Engine Cycle Region 3
and Heat Pump Cycle Region 4, the heat exchange process is finished with the temperature of T2 growing to T2 x ,2 ,
T22 sequentially.
Therefore, the scattered reversible heat exchange process includes several thermal cycle regions, which can be
parallel flow sub-process, counter flow process or combination of these two sub-process. Hence, at a macro level,
during the whole process, T1 varies from T11 to T12 and T2 varies from T21 to T22 . Meanwhile, the principle also
should be obeyed that the total amount of work exported from all heat engine cycle regions equal to the total
imported work to the heat pump cycle regions. In this form of process, the reversible heat exchange can be more
general and flexible, which is more feasible to construct in practical application.
By summarizing, the main characteristics of the different forms of reversible heat exchange processes
proposed in the former section are listed as Tab.1.

2.3. Mathematical models construction

6
 Mathematical model is the precondition for characteristic analysis on thermal systems. For the purpose to
bridge the gap between the ideal model and the practical system, in this paper, the two thermal mediums are both
supposed to have finite and constant heat capacity. Hence, temperature of thermal media will vary with the
transmission of energy. Based on concept definition and physical models presented above, the mathematical models
of different forms of reversible heat exchange process will be constructed.

(1) Continuous parallel flow process

In the Heat Engine Cycle Region, the energy conservation relation at each infinitesimal section is given by
Eq.(3).
dQ1  dQ2  dWout (3)
Where, dQ1 denotes the heat supplied from the exothermic medium to each infinitesimal heat engine cycle,
dQ2 denotes the waste heat released from the infinitesimal heat engine cycle to the endothermic medium, and dWout
presents the useful work exported from each infinitesimal heat engine cycle, which is formulated as Eq.(4).
dWout  dQ1  T1  T2  / T1  c1  m1  dT1  T1  T2  / T1 (4)
In this equation, T1 and T2 are the local temperatures of the exothermic medium and endothermic medium
in infinitesimal section of the whole reversible heat exchange process. c1m1 denotes the heat capacity of the
exothermic and dT1 denotes the temperature variation of exothermic medium in this infinitesimal heat engine
cycle.
Combined with Eq.(4), Eq.(3) is expressed as Eq.(5), where the c2 m2 is the heat capacity of endothermic
medium:
c1  m1  dT1  c2  m2  dT2  c1  m1  dT1  T1  T2  / T1 (5)
Similarly, in the Heat Pump Cycle Region, the relation of heat-work conversion satisfies the description shown
as Eq. (6)- (8).
dQ2  dQ1  dWin (6)
Different with the infinitesimal heat engine cycle expressed in Eq.(3), in this equation, dQ1 denotes the heat
extracted from the exothermic medium by heat pump cycle and dQ2 denotes the heat exported to the endothermic
medium in this infinitesimal section. The dWin represents the useful work input to drive the infinitesimal heat pump
cycle. Its value can be calculated as Eq.(7).
dWin  dQ2  T2  T1  / T2  c2  m2  dT2  T2  T1  / T2 (7)
Therefore, Eq.(6) is also re-written as:
c2  m2  dT2  c1  m1  dT1  c2  m2  dT2  T2  T1  / T2 (8)
By simplification, Eq.(5) and Eq.(8) are re-arranged as an identical expression shown in Eq.(9):
dT2 / dT1  k  T2 / T1 (9)
Where, k  c1m1 / c2 m2 , which is the heat capacity ratio of exothermic medium and endothermic medium.
Setting the two media inlet temperature values are T11 and T21 , based on the physical model of parallel flow
reversible heat exchange process, the definition condition to Eq.(9) can be listed as:
T1,in  T11
 (10)
T2,in  T12
Hence, temperature relation between the two thermal media in the whole continuous parallel flow process is
solved as Eq.(11).
T1k  T2  H1  T11k  T21 (11)

7
 Where, H1 is the integral constant number. On the whole process level, the inlet and outlet temperatures of
the two media satisfy the energy conservation equation shown as Eq.(12).
k  (T11  T12 )  T22  T21 (12)
By solving simultaneous equations of Eq.(11) and Eq.(12), an implicit function concerning exothermic
medium outlet temperature ( T12 ), heat capacity ratio k, and media inlet temperatures ( T11 , T21 ) is obtained:
k  T12k 1  (k  T11  T21 )  T12k  T21  T11k  0 (13)
Eq. (13) can be written as Eq. (14).
T12  R(k , T11 , T21 ) (14)

(2) Continuous counter flow process

For the continuous counter flow reversible heat exchange process, regardless of the thermal cycle region, the
energy balance relation should satisfy the unified expression formulated as Eq. (15), which is the same as the
former form of process.
c1  m1  dT1  c2  m2  dT2  c1  m1  dT1  T1  T2  / T1 (15)
It is shown that the terms in this equation are identical with Eq. (5) and Eq. (8), however, due to the different
flow direction, the signs of these terms are different with those former equations. After simplification and solution,
the temperature relation expression of the two media in continuous counter flow reversible heat exchange process is
written as Eq. (16).
T1 k  T2  H 2  T12 k  T21 (16)
Where, H 2 is the integral constant number. Compared with Eq.(11), with given inlet temperatures T21 and T11 as
definite condition, the integral constant H 2 still cannot be solved. Combining Eq.(16) and Eq.(12), the
corresponding relation among the inlet temperatures, outlet temperature and heat capacity ratio in the continuous
counter flow process can be derived, which is shown as Eq.(17).
k  T111 k  (k  T12  T21 )  T11 k  T21  T12 k  0 (17)
By rearranging, Eq.(17) would have identical form with Eq.(13). It means that Eq.(17) also satisfies the
function T12  R(k , T11 , T21 ) . Therefore, the specific relation in Eq.(16) is confirmed as Eq.(18).
T1 k  T2  [R(k , T11 , T21 )] k  T21 (18)
However, in Eq.(18), the condition heat capacity ratio k=1 will not exist, that’s because in this condition, the
temperature variation profiles of exothermic and endothermic media will overlap, which leads to no heat exchanged
in this process.

(3) Parallel-counter-flow-integrated reversible heat exchange process

Parallel-counter-flow-integrated reversible heat exchange processes consist of both Heat Engine Cycle
Regions and Heat Pump Cycle Regions. Therefore, the mathematical description of this kind of flow processes is
constructed based on the medium temperature variation continuity. Since the integrated processes are combined by
the two sub-processes, the models for continuous parallel flow process and continuous counter flow process built in
the last two parts are used.
For the integrated reversible heat exchange process I shown in Fig.9, it can be seen that the parallel flow
sub-process ends and the counter flow sub-process starts when the temperature of exothermic medium decrease to
T1x . In parallel flow sub-process, the temperature relation can be expressed as:
T1k  T2  T11k  T21  T1kx  T2 x (19)
Likewise, the counter flow sub-process can be described as:

8
T1 k  T2  T1x k  T22  T12 k  T2 x (20)
Accounting for the continuity of temperature value, combining Eq.(19) and Eq.(20), the temperature relations
for the whole process would be written as:
T12k  T22  T11k  T21 (21)
Eq.(21) has the identical form and terms with Eq.(11), the implicit function about inlet and outlet temperatures
and the heat capacity ratio also can be derived, which is the same as Eq.(13).
Similar with the process described above, in the integrated reversible heat exchange process II, when the
temperature of exothermic medium decreases to T1x , the counter flow sub-process ends and the parallel flow
sub-process starts. In this process, the temperature relation in counter flow sub-process and parallel flow
sub-process are shown as Eq.(22) and Eq.(23).
T1 k  T2  T11 k  T2 x  T1x k  T21 (22)
T  T2  T  T2 x  T  T22
1
k k
1x
k
12 (23)
According to the temperature variation continuity, Eq.(22) and Eq.(23) is combined as Eq.(24), which
expresses the relation between the inlet and outlet temperature of these two thermal media.
T11 k  T22  T12 k  T21 (24)
Eq.(24) has the same form as Eq.(16), combined with the energy conservation equation Eq.(11), the identical
expression about inlet, outlet temperatures and the heat capacity ratio as Eq.(13) is obtained. By solving Eq.(13)
and providing the value of T1x , temperature relation expressions of Eq.(19)-(20) and Eq.(22)-(23) can be
confirmed.

(4) Scattered flow process

As introduced above, in each arbitrary section of the reversible heat exchange process, the heat engine cycles
or heat pump cycles can operate as long as the temperature difference between the two thermal media is existing.
Therefore, for the purpose to address reversible heat exchange process more general and flexible, the continuous
reversible heat exchange is divided into several individual sub-processes, and in each individual sub-process, the
temperature relation can be expressed with the formulas defined in the analysis of continuous parallel or counter
flow process.
Set the most generalized process with several parallel flow sub-processes and counter flow sub-processes as
example, which is shown in Fig.13. Suppose that there are N sub-processes in the scattered reversible heat
exchange process, and on the temperature variation curve, the inlet temperatures and outlet temperature of
exothermic medium in each sub-process are T11 ( T1x ,1 ), T1x ,2 …… T1x ,i …… T12 ( T1x , n ), separately. Meanwhile, the
inlet and outlet temperatures of the endothermic medium are T21 ( T2 x ,1 ), T2 x ,2 , T2 x ,3 …… T2 x , j …… T22 ( T2 x , n ).
Hence, applying Eq.(11) and Eq.(16) to each corresponding sub-process, then the simultaneous equations can be
listed as Table 2.
Since the outlet temperature of each sub-process is the inlet temperature of the next sub-process, analyzing
and rearranging the equations in Table 2, except for the main inlet and outlet temperature terms of the two thermal
media, each midterm temperature is presented twice in these simultaneous equations. One is on the left side of
equal sign and the other is on the right of equal sign in another equation. By eliminating the identical terms, the
simultaneous equations can be simplified as the form of Eq.(21) or Eq.(24). In addition, the scattered process will
still obey the first laws of thermodynamics, so the Eq.(12) is suitable in this process, and it can be found that
function T12  Re(k , T11 , T21 ) is also suitable for the inlet/outlet temperature relation of scattered process.
Likewise, for the scattered parallel flow reversible heat exchange process and the scattered counter flow
reversible heat exchange process, the same method can be taken to get the temperature relation expression.
9
3. Results and discussion

3.1 Reversible heat exchange function

Comparing the mathematical models constructed in the former sections and the analysis models built in the
former researches [9-17], [19-20], it can be concluded that due to the number of system heat sources (3 or 4 vs. 2)
and the key problems concerned (in our models, the outlet thermal states of the two media are unknown), the
freedom degree of the thermal system researched and its preconditions would be different. The temperature relation
equation between exothermic medium and endothermic medium (Eq.(13)), which is the key point to solve the
whole model, is hard to solve since its power equation format and the fraction number value of k. In this section,
the analysis way is used to study the mathematical characteristics of this temperature relation expression.
Based on the derivation in Section 2, regardless of the flow forms of reversible heat exchange process, the
relation of inlet medium temperatures, the outlet medium temperatures and the heat capacity ratio k is always a
fixed equation. It is expressed by using he unified function T12  R(k , T11 , T21 ) .
Set X  T21 / T11 , Y  T12 / T11 , then the Eq.(13) can be simplified as:
k  Y k 1   k  X   Y k  X  0 (25)
Therefore, the function T12  R(k , T11 , T21 ) is written as Eq.(26)
Y  Revhex  k , X  (26)
In this research, Eq.(26) is defined as Reversible Heat Exchange Function (RHEF). It is a non-dimensional
correlation formula for the temperature relation of the reversible heat exchange process, which only has two
variables and is convenient for mathematical analysis. Based on the implicit format of RHEF, its inverse function is
written as Eq.(27).
X  Revhex1  k , Y  =k  Y k  Y  1 / Y k  1 (27)
Derivative of the inverse function Eq.(27) is calculated as Eq.(28)
dX / dY  k  Y k 1  Y k 1   k  1  Y  k  / Y k  1
2
(28)
Suppose:
f Y   Y k 1   k  1  Y  k (29)
df / dY   k  1  Y k  1 (30)

Note that in Eq.(29), the value of f 1 is zero. From Eq.(30), it can be found that f Y  is a monotone
decreasing function, when 0  Y  1 , df / dY  0 . Hence, when Y belongs to the region (0,1), f Y  is positive and
dX / dY  0 . On the other aspect, when Y belongs to the value region (1, +∞), df / dY  0 , f Y  is a monotone
increasing function, and in this region, f Y   0 and dX / dY  0 . In conclusion, for the cooling process of
exothermic medium ( Y  T12 / T11 <1), X is a monotone increasing function of Y .
Hence, according to the symmetry characteristic of the monotonicity, Y is a monotone increasing function of
X , correspondingly. Depending on this result, quantitative relation between X and Y can be determined.
Set the function G(Y) as:
G(Y )  X / Y  k  Y k 1  (Y  1) / Y k  1 (31)
Derivative of this function is written as:
G(Y )  k  Y k  2  (Y k  k  Y  k  1) / (Y k  1)2 (32)
Suppose:
H (Y )  Y k  k  Y  (k  1) (33)

10
 Likewise:
dH / dY  k Y k 1  1 (34)
Eq.(31)-(34) has similar form as Eq.(27)-(30). By comparison, note that the mathematical characteristics of Eq.
(32) is identical as Eq.(28). That is, when k>1, in the region Y  (1, ) , G(Y ) >0, and in the region Y  (0,1) ,
G(Y ) <0. For the condition k<1, Y  (1, ) , G(Y ) <0, and Y  (0,1) , G(Y ) >0.
Using L’ Hospital Theory, the limit value of Eq.(31) when Y is approaching 1 is operated as Eq. (35).

Y 1
 
lim G(Y )= [k 2  Y k 1  (k  1)  k  Y k  2 ] /  k  Y k 1  Y 1 1 (35)

Therefore, the result can be achieved that in the condition of k>1, when Y  (0,1) , G(Y ) <1, and when
Y  (1, +) , G(Y ) >1. On the opposite condition of k<1, Y  (0,1) , G(Y ) >1, and when Y  (1, +) , G(Y ) <1.
The curve of reversible heat exchange function is drawn as Fig.15. From the results and the Fig.15, the
characteristics of the reversible heat exchange function Y  Revhex  k , X  is listed as follows:
dY
(1) In the region of X  (0, ) ， Y is the monotone increasing function of X ，namely  0.
dX
(2) Regardless of the heat capacity value k, curves of the function will always pass through the points of [0,0]
and [1,1].
(3) k  1 , Y  X .
(4) k  1 , in the region of X   0,1 , Y  X and for the region of X  1, +  , Y  X .
(5) k  1 , for the region of X   0,1 , Y  X and for the region of X  1,   , Y  X .
Considering X  T21 / T11 and Y  T12 / T11 , the feasibility and correctness of the reversible heat exchange
process can be proved:
(1) In the heat exchange condition T21  T11 , when the heat capacity of exothermic medium is larger than the
endothermic medium ( k  1 ), in reversible heat exchange process, the outlet temperature T21 is lower than
T12 .
(2) On the opposite condition that the heat capacity of endothermic medium is larger than the endothermic
one ( k  1 ), the result converts to T21  T12 .
Shown in these results, the intersection of temperature variation tendency curves can be realized in the
reversible heat exchange process theoretically, and the amount of heat exchanged in the heat exchange system will
be improved.

3.2 Limitation analysis for heat exchange process

Defined in Section 2.1, the isolated system consisting of the exothermic medium (including its source and
sink), endothermic medium (including its source and sink) and the heat exchange devices system which has no
energy or mass exchange with outside environment. Concerning the heat exchange process in the isolated system,
three problem are focused on:
(1) Whether the heat exchanged between two thermal media has the upper boundary value;
(2) Whether the outlet temperatures of the two media have the upper/lower boundary value;
(3) What are the exact limitation values of the heat exchanged and the medium temperature variation?
Compared with the normal heat exchange, in proper condition, the cycle combined heat exchange processes
proposed in our work can decrease (or increase) the exothermic (or endothermic) medium to a lower (higher) point.
Therefore, the essential preconditions and limitation values for the isolated heat exchange system are discussed.

11
 Since the parallel flow process and counter flow process are the basic part of each form of the reversible heat
exchange process, hence, based on system sketch in Fig.16- Fig.17 and the reversible heat exchange function, the
limitation analysis in the isolated heat exchange process is conducted in this section. In this study, the heat engine
cycle and heat pump cycle involved is considered as endo-reversible thermal cycle.
Firstly, the exergy analysis is conducted for the process. Shown in Fig.16 and 17, for the heat engine cycle, the
energy balance equation and exergy equation are written as:
Ex1  Ex2  W  Exl  Exh (36)
Where, Ex1 and Ex2 are the heat exergy of exothermic medium and endothermic medium in heat engine cycle
region, Exl and Exh is the exergy loss during the heat transfer between the cycle working medium and the heat
exchange medium. W is the useful work transferred from the heat engine cycle to the heat pump cycle.
For the heat pump cycle, the energy balance relation and exergy equation is also expressed:
W  Exh  Exl   Ex3  Ex4 (37)
Where, Ex4 and Ex3 are the heat exergy of exothermic medium and endothermic medium in heat engine cycle
region, Exl  and Exh is the exergy loss during the heat transfer between the cycle working medium and the heat
exchange medium.
According to the definition of heat exergy [4], in the cycle combined heat exchange process, the symbols of
Ex is formulated as:
Ex1  c1  m1  [(T11  T11 )  Te  ln T11 / T11 ] (38)
Ex2  c2  m2  [(T21  T21 )  Te  ln T21 / T21 ] (for parallel flow process) (39)
Ex2  c2  m2  [(T22  T21 )  Te  ln T22 / T21 ] (for counter flow process) (40)
Ex3  c2  m2  [(T22  T21 )  Te  ln T22 / T21 ] (for parallel flow process) (41)
Ex3  c2  m2  [(T21  T21 )  Te  ln T21 / T21 ] (for counter flow process) (42)
Ex4  c1  m1  [(T11  T12 )  Te  ln T11 /T12 ] (43)
In the Eq.(38)-(43), T11 and T21 is the medium outlet temperatures of the heat engine cycle region, Te is the
environment temperature, then the exergy equations Eq.(36) and (37) in parallel flow process are re-written as:
c1  m1  [(T11  T11 )  Te  ln T11 /T11 ]  c2  m2  [(T21  T21 )  Te  ln T21 /T21 ]  W  Ex1 (44)
c2  m2  [(T22  T21 )  Te  ln T22 /T21 ]  c1  m1  [(T11  T12 )  Te  ln T11 /T12 ]  W  Ex2 (45)
For the counter flow process:
c1  m1  [(T11  T11 )  Te  ln T11 /T11 ]  c2  m2  [(T22  T21 )  Te  ln T22 /T21 ]  W  Ex1 (46)
c2  m2  [(T21  T21 )  Te  ln T21 /T21 ]  c1  m1  [(T11  T12 )  Te  ln T11 /T12 ]  W  Ex2 (47)
Where, Ex1 =Exh  Exl , Ex2 =Exh  Exl  .
Combining Eq.(44) and (45) or Eq.(46) and (47), regardless of the process forms, temperature relation formula
Eq.(48) can be obtained according to the assumption that the work produced in the heat engine cycle region is all
imported into the heat pump cycle region.
T22 /T21   (T12 /T11 )k  exp[Ex /  c2  m2  Te ] (48)
Where, Ex is the total exergy dissipation during the whole heat exchange process.
With the energy conversation equation Eq.(12), the correlation between the total exergy loss Ex and the
outlet temperature of endothermic medium T22 is obtained.
T22 / T21T11k   T11  1/ k   (T22  T21 )   exp Ex /  c2  m2  Te 
k
  (49)

12
 Apparently, Eq.(49) is the key to solve the problem (1) - (3) presented in the begin of Section 3.2. The
maximum value of T22 in Eq.(49) would represents the heat exchange limitation in all possible conditions of the
isolated system.
The analysis process is listed as follows:
Set   exp Ex /  c2  m2  Te  ; T22   ; T21  A1 ； T11  A2 . Hence, the Eq.(49) is re-written as:

  /  A1  A2 k    A2  1/ k   (  A1 )   
k
  (50)
Derivation of  about  is calculated as:


d  / d   1/  A1 A2 k    A2     A1  / k      A2     A1  / k 
k k 1
  1/  A A
1 2
k
 [Tk
12  T22  T12k 1 ]  T12 (51)

For the parallel flow process, regardless of the value region of heat capacity ratio k, the heat exchange
limitation in normal heat exchange process is achieved when the outlet temperatures of the two thermal media are
approaching the same value. However, according to the former section, the larger temperature drop heat exchange
process can be realized with the cycle combined heat exchange process, therefore, the outlet temperature of
endothermic medium would be higher than exothermic medium in certain pre-condition ( T12  T22 ).
Likewise, for the counter flow process, when k  1 , with the cycle combined proposed in this paper, the
relation between the outlet temperatures obeys T12  T11  T22 ; for the condition k  1 , the relation also can be written
as T12  T21  T22 .
By analysis on Eq.(51), the results is as listed below:
a) With provided inlet temperatures, when T12  T22 , we get d  / d   0 , which means that  is the
monotone decreasing function of  . According to the symmetry, the result d  / d   0 is also obtained.
Hence, in the value domain of  ,  is decreasing with the growth of the value of  。
b) Since  is the monotone increasing function of Ex , according to the second law of thermodynamics, in
the isolated thermal system, the value of total exergy loss Ex is not less than zero. Therefore, in ideal
condition, when the whole process is reversible ( Ex =0), the temperature upper boundary of T22 and the
temperature lower boundary of T12 are achieved, the limitation of the heat exchange process is reached.
c) With the minimum value of T12 , the upper value of heat exchanged in the reversible heat exchange
process is expressed as Eq.(52).
Qupper  c1  m1  (T11  Re(k , T11 , T21 )) (52)
The analysis results a) to c) show that: in the isolated system, the heat exchange process between two media
with large-range temperature variation can be realized by proper configuration of the thermal devices. When the
exergy loss during the whole process is below certain value, the temperature variation curves of the two thermal
media will intersect, by which the higher heat exchange effect can be achieved. Depending on the relation between
the outlet temperature and the exergy loss Ex , it can be confirmed that the upper bound (or lower bound)
values of the endothermic (or exothermic) outlet temperature and the amount of heat exchanged in this
process is obtained when the whole process is totally reversible.

3.3 Practical application

In former sections, by proposing the concepts of reversible heat exchange process, the limitation parameters of
the heat exchange process in isolated system has been discussed. Since the analysis conclusion of theoretical
idealized models of thermal systems are the tools to guide the practical engineering projects, in this study, the
upper/lower boundary values of reversible heat exchange process are used to predict the extreme operating
condition or confirm the feasibility of heat exchange processes.
13
 Set the absorption heat exchanger proposed by Li Yan and Fu Lin [5] as example, the schematic diagram is
introduced in the Introduction section as Fig. 4. As introduced, on the macro view, combining the two thermal
medium water and the two devices as an isolated system, these two thermal medium achieves a large temperature
drop heat exchange process without the external energy imported. The practical application of concepts of
reversible heat exchange process can be shown as follows: the external designed condition of multi-section vertical
AHE (Absorption Heat Exchanger) presented in the former research [23] is introduced as example, shown in
Fig.18.
In study [23], the primary water flow rate is set as 0.7 kg/s, and the secondary water flow rate is set as 3.8 kg/s.
Suppose that in the system, water has the constant specific heat capacity, then the value of heat capacity ratio is
calculated as 0.184. Comparing the heat exchanged in the AHE system and the outlet temperature data modeled in
[23] with the limitation values calculated in reversible heat exchange process (REVEX in Table 3), results can be
listed as Table 3, where the parameters in reversible heat exchange process is calculated with the Eq.(13).
From Table.3, it is seen that in the practical system (AHE), all the practical operating parameters are within
the upper/lower boundary. The outlet temperature of exothermic medium (primary water) is always higher than the
exothermic medium outlet temperature in reversible heat exchange process; the outlet temperature of endothermic
medium (secondary water) in AHE is always lower than endothermic medium outlet temperature in reversible heat
exchange process. Consequently, the heat exchanged in the practical absorption heat exchanger is less than in
reversible heat exchange process. Based on this conclusion, in the preliminary design stage for the AHE, for
example, with the given temperatures and flow rate of primary supply water (90℃) and secondary return water
(40℃), no matter by what method, the operating condition with secondary water supply temperature higher than
55.03℃ would not be realized, and the largest heating capacity of these two mediums would not increase beyond
239.55 kW.
Therefore, the results from the idealized heat exchange process can be a criterion to estimate the feasibility
and correction of the design conditions in preliminary designing stage for a system, and it also supplies the
optimization limitation for an existing system.

4. Conclusion

For the purpose to guide the preliminary design for the cycle combined heat exchange system, in this paper,
the concepts of reversible heat exchange process are proposed and the theoretical heat exchange limitations of
isolated heat exchange process is researched in an analytical way. Analytical models for this idealized theoretical
heat exchange processes are presented using provided variables with proper assumptions. Based on the process
models, the medium outlet temperatures, which are the key parameters to denote the system heat exchange effect,
are expressed using the Reversible Heat Exchange Function derived. Synthesizing the mathematical analysis on the
Reversible Heat Exchange Function and the exergy analysis of the cycle combined heat exchange processes, we
conduct the limitation analysis on the heat exchange process in isolated system, and the practical application of this
theory is also studied.
Analysis of the process models indicates the uniformity of the reversible heat exchange processes. In the
isolated system, regardless of different flow directions and cycle configurations, once the heat capacity and inlet
temperature of each thermal medium are fixed, the extreme heat exchange effect that the system can achieve should
be identical. Mathematical analysis on the Reversible Heat Exchange Function supports the feasibility and
correction of reversible heat exchange process, which means in the total reversible condition, the limitation of
normal heat exchange process can be broken and heat can be transferred more thoroughly. In addition, the
temperature upper/lower boundary values calculated in reversible heat exchange process is confirmed to be the real
limitation condition of all the heat exchange process in isolated system. With reversibility, the heat exchanged in
this idealized heat exchange process is the largest among all the heat exchange processes occurring between two

14
 thermal media in isolated system. Moreover, the boundary values derived from the limitation analysis of isolated
heat exchange process can provide a reliable operating parameter range and the extreme heating capacity for a
cycle combined heat exchange process (such as heat adopter or absorption heat exchanger) in the preliminary
design stage.
The research in this paper is an initial study about the reversible heat exchange process, the theoretical model
will be used to conduct parameters analysis to seek the thermodynamic features of this idealized thermal process in
the future work.

Acknowledgements

This work has been supported by “the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities” (Grant No.
HIT. NSRIF. 2017056).

References

[1]. Gong, M. and S. Werner, An assessment of district heating research in China[J]. Renewable Energy, 2015. 84: p.
97-105.
[2]. Li Y, Fu L, Zhang S, et al. A new type of district heating system based on distributed absorption heat pumps[J].
Energy, 2011, 36(7): 4570-4576.
[3]. Feng Li, Lin Duanmu, Lin Fu, Xiling Zhao. Research and Application of Flue Gas Waste Heat Recovery in
Co-generation Based on Absorption Heat-exchange[J]. Procedia Engineering, 2016, 146:594-603.
[4]. Cengel Y A, Boles M A. Thermodynamics: an engineering approach[M]. Sea, 2002, 1000: 8862.
[5]. Li Y, Fu L, Zhang S. Technology application of district heating system with Co-generation based on
absorption heat exchange[J]. Energy, 2015, 90: 663-670.
[6]. Zhang Y, Shi W, Zhang Y. From heat exchanger to heat adaptor: concept, analysis and application[J]. Applied
Energy, 2014, 115: 272-27.
[7]. Zhang Y, Zhang Y, Shi W, et al. Application of heat adaptor: thermodynamic optimization for central heating
system through extremum principle[J]. Energy Procedia, 2015, 75: 1387-1392.
[8]. Zhang Y, Zhang Y, Shi W, et al. Application of concept of heat adaptor: Determining an ideal central heating
system using industrial waste heat[J]. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2017, 111: 1387-1393.
[9]. Chen, J. and Z. Yan, Equivalent combined systems of three-heat-source heat pumps[J]. The Journal of
Chemical Physics, 1989. 90(9): p. 4951-4955.
[10]. Bautista O, Mendez F, Cervantes J G. An endoreversible three heat source refrigerator with finite heat
capacities[J]. Energy conversion and management, 2003, 44(9): 1433-1449.
[11]. Wu C. Cooling capacity optimization of a geothermal absorption refrigeration cycle[J]. International Journal
of Ambient Energy, 1992, 13(3):133-138.
[12]. Wu C. Cooling capacity optimization of a waste heat absorption refrigeration cycle[J]. Heat Recovery Systems
& Chp, 1993, 13(2):161–166.
[13]. Chen L, Zheng T, Sun F, Wu C. Irreversible four-temperature-level absorption refrigerator[J]. Solar Energy,
2006, 80(3):347-360.
[14]. Huang Y, Sun D, Kang Y. Performance optimization for an irreversible four-temperature-level absorption heat
pump[J]. International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 2008, 47(4):479-485.
[15]. Hellmann H M. Carnot-COP for sorption heat pumps working between four temperature levels[J].
International Journal of Refrigeration, 2002, 25(1):66-74.
[16]. Feidt M. Thermodynamics applied to reverse cycle machines, a review[J]. International Journal of
refrigeration, 2010, 33(7): 1327-1342.
[17]. Feidt M. Evolution of thermodynamic modelling for three and four heat reservoirs reverse cycle machines: A
revi.ew and new trends[J]. International Journal of Refrigeration, 2013, 36(1): 8-23.
15
[18]. Ondrechen M J, Andresen B, Mozurkewich M, et al. Maximum work from a finite reservoir by sequential
Carnot cycles[J]. American Journal of Physics, 1981, 49(7): 681-685.
[19]. Chen, L., S. Xia, F. Sun. Maximum power output of multistage irreversible heat engines under a generalized
heat transfer law by using dynamic programming. Scientia Iranica 20.2 (2013): 301-312.
[20]. Chen L, Xia S, Sun F. Maximum Power Output of Multistage Continuous and Discrete Isothermal
Endoreversible Chemical Engine System with Linear Mass Transfer Law[J]. International Journal of Chemical
Reactor Engineering, 2011, 9(1):42-43.
[21]. Park H, Kim M S. Thermodynamic performance analysis of sequential Carnot cycles using heat sources with
finite heat capacity[J]. Energy, 2014, 68: 592-598.
[22]. Park H, Kim M S. Performance analysis of sequential Carnot cycles with finite heat sources and heat sinks and
its application in organic Rankine cycles[J]. Energy, 2016, 99: 1-9.
[23]. Zhu C, Xie X, Jiang Y. A multi-section vertical absorption heat exchanger for district heating systems[J].
International Journal of Refrigeration, 2016, 71: 69-84.

16
Figures：

Fig.1, Fig.2, Fig.3, Fig.4, Fig.5, Fig.6, Fig.7, Fig.8, Fig.9, Fig.10, Fig.11, Fig.12, Fig.13, Fig.14, Fig.15, Fig.16,
Fig.17 are single column fitting images, Fig.18 is 2-column fitting image.

Fig.1 Temperature variation tendency in the normal counter Fig.2 Temperature variation tendency in the normal counter
flow heat exchanger (m1c1>m2c2) flow heat exchanger (m1c1<m2c2)

Fig.3 Temperature variation tendency in the normal parallel

Fig.4 Schematic diagram of absorption heat exchanger
flow heat exchanger

Fig.5 Schematic diagram of cycle combined heat exchange Fig.6 Combination of sequential heat engine cycles and heat
process pump cycles

17
 Exothermic Exothermic
medium source medium sink

Heat exchange devices

Endothermic Endothermic
Isolated system
medium source medium sink

Outside environment

Fig.8 Schematic diagram of continuous parallel flow reversible

Fig.7 Schematic diagram of the isolated heat exchange system
heat exchange process

Fig.10 Schematic diagram of integrated reversible heat

Fig.9 Schematic diagram of continuous counter-flow reversible
exchange process with parallel flow sub-process pre-posed and
heat exchange process
counter flow sub-process post-posed

Fig.11 Schematic diagram of integrated reversible heat

Fig.12 Schematic diagram of scattered parallel flow reversible
exchange process with counter flow sub-process pre-posed and
heat exchange process
parallel flow sub-process post-posed

18
Fig.13 Schematic diagram of scattered counter flow reversible Fig.14 Schematic diagram of general scattered integrated
heat exchange process reversible heat exchange process

Fig. 15 Curves of Reversible Heat Exchange Function (with Fig. 16 Parallel flow cycle-combined heat exchange process in
variable values of k) isolated system (exergy analysis)

Fig. 17 Counter flow cycle-combined heat exchange process in isolated system (exergy analysis)

19
 Fig. 18 Schematic diagram of multi-section vertical absorption heat exchanger (heat adaptor)

Figures captions：
Fig.1 Temperature variation tendency in the normal counter flow heat exchanger (m1c1>m2c2)
Fig.2 Temperature variation tendency in the normal counter flow heat exchanger (m1c1<m2c2)
Fig.3 Temperature variation tendency in the normal parallel flow heat exchanger
Fig.4 Schematic diagram of absorption heat exchanger
Fig.5 Schematic diagram of cycle combined heat exchange process
Fig.6 Combination of sequential heat engine cycles and heat pump cycles
Fig.7 Schematic diagram of the isolated heat exchange system
Fig.8 Schematic diagram of continuous parallel flow reversible heat exchange process
Fig.9 Schematic diagram of continuous counter-flow reversible heat exchange process
Fig.10 Schematic diagram of integrated reversible heat exchange process with parallel flow sub-process pre-posed
and counter flow sub-process post-posed
Fig.11 Schematic diagram of integrated reversible heat exchange process with counter flow sub-process pre-posed
and parallel flow sub-process post-posed
Fig.12 Schematic diagram of scattered parallel flow reversible heat exchange process
Fig.13 Schematic diagram of scattered counter flow reversible heat exchange process
Fig.14 Schematic diagram of general scattered integrated reversible heat exchange process
Fig.15 Curves of Reversible Heat Exchange Function (with variable values of k)
Fig.16 Parallel flow cycle-combined heat exchange process in isolated system (exergy analysis)
Fig.17 Counter flow cycle-combined heat exchange process in isolated system (exergy analysis)
Fig.18 Schematic diagram of multi-section vertical absorption heat exchanger (heat adaptor)

20
Tables：

Nomenclature
subscripts
Q Heat exchanged, kW h High-temperature side of heat engine cycle
W Thermal cycle work, kW l Low-temperature side of heat engine cycle
T Temperature, K h’ High-temperature side of heat pump cycle
t Temperature difference, K l’ Low-temperature side of heat pump cycle
n Number of thermal cycles 11 Inlet status of the exothermic medium
A Area of the heat exchanger, m2 12 Outlet status of the exothermic medium
C Heat capacity, kJ/ K 21 Inlet status of the endothermic medium
.
c Specific heat capacity, kJ/kg K 22 Outlet status of the endothermic medium
k Heat capacity ratio, k=C1/C2 11’ midterm status of the exothermic medium
m Mass flow rate, kg/s 21’ midterm status of the endothermic medium
H1,H2,H3,H4 Integral constant in Work input to heat pump cycle region
T1x Midterm temperature of T1, K out Work output from heat engine cycle region
T2x Midterm temperature of T2, K 1 Thermal status of exothermic medium
Ex Exergy, kJ 2 Thermal status of endothermic medium
Ex Exergy loss, kJ
Revhex Reversible heat exchange function

Table.1 Main characteristics of different forms of reversible heat exchange processes

Number of
Heat exchange media Number of cycle regions
Reversible heat exchange sub-processes
process classification flow direction
parallel counter heat engine heat pump

Continuous parallel flow process 1 0 Identical 1 1

Continuous counter flow process 0 1 Opposite 1 1

Identical in parallel sub-process

Integrated flow process I 1 1 1~2 1~2
Opposite in counter flow sub-process

Identical in parallel sub-process

Integrated flow process II 1 1 1~2 1~2
Opposite in counter flow sub-process

Scattered parallel flow process M1 0 Identical M5 M6

Scattered counter flow process 0 M2 Opposite M7 M8

Identical in parallel sub-process

Scattered integrated flow process M3 M4 M9 M 10
Opposite in counter flow sub-process

* M 1 ~ M10  1

21
 Table 2. Temperature relation of two thermal media in general scattered integrated reversible heat exchange process

Sequence of sub-process Parallel flow sub-process Counter flow sub-process

Sub-process 1 T21  T1kx,i  T2 x,1  T1kx,i 1 T21  T1kx,-1i 1  T2 x,1  T1kx,-1i

Sub-process 2 T2 x,1  T1kx, j  T2 x,2  T1kx, j 1 T2 x,1  T1kx,j11  T2 x,2  T1kx,j1

……

……

……
Sub-process i T2 x,i  T1kx, h  T2 x,i 1  T1kx, h 1 T2 x,i  T1kx,h11  T2 x,i 1  T1kx, h
……

……

……
Sub-process n T2 x, n 1  T1kx, g  T22  T1kx, g 1 T2 x, n 1  T1kx,g11  T22  T1kx,g1

Table 3. Comparison between the operating parameters of AHE and the limitation values of reversible heat exchange process

Tpri,s (℃) Tsec,r (℃) Tpri,r (℃) Tsec,s (℃) Heat exchanged (kW)

AHE Revex AHE Revex AHE Revex

90 40.0 30.2 8.52 51.0 55.03 175.1 239.55

83.1 38.2 29.3 9.72 48.1 51.2 157.6 215.73

76.3 36.4 28.5 10.91 45.2 48.62 140.1 192.24

69.5 34.6 27.6 12.41 42.3 45.34 122.6 168.64

62.6 32.8 26.7 13.48 39.4 42.02 105.1 144.41

55.8 31.0 25.9 14.81 36.5 38.73 87.6 120.51

Tables captions：

Table1 Main characteristics of different forms of reversible heat exchange processes

Table 2 Temperature relation of two thermal mediums in general scattered integrated reversible heat exchange
process

Table 3 Comparison between the operating parameters of AHE and the limitation values of reversible heat
exchange process

22
 Highlights:
1. The concepts of reversible heat exchange process are presented.

2. Uniform mathematical models for the reversible process are constructed.

3. Feasibility and correction of this reversible heat exchange process are proved.

4. Limitation analysis on the isolated heat exchange process are conducted.

5. Boundary values of isolated process are applied to the practical system design.

23