Calculate the thermal effectiveness of a heat exchanger using the NTU method.
Heat Exchanger Parameters
Effectiveness Results
Enter capacity rates and NTU
Quick Reference
UOverall Heat Transfer Coeff
AHeat Transfer Area
CMass flow × Specific heat
Overview
The Effectiveness-NTU method is used to calculate the rate of heat transfer in heat exchangers when there is insufficient information to calculate the Log-Mean Temperature Difference (LMTD).
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Pro Tips
NTU = UA / Cmin, where U is the heat transfer coefficient and A is the area.
Cr = Cmin / Cmax is the heat capacity ratio (always between 0 and 1).
Counter-flow is generally more effective than parallel-flow for the same NTU.
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Fun Facts
"Effectiveness (ε) is the ratio of actual heat transfer to the maximum possible heat transfer."
"If Cr = 0 (e.g., in phase change like boiling or condensation), ε = 1 - exp(-NTU) for both flow types."
"The method was developed by Kays and London in 1955."
