Continuum equations for the pediction of shell-side flow and temperature patterns in heat exchangers (Q1080748)

The so-called fluid-tube continuum approach to describe the thermal- hydraulic performance of heat exchangers is critically reviewed. Special attention is given to the correct formulation of the boundary conditions, and a derivation of the equations starting from basic principles is presented. The resulting linear system of partial differential equations, a Laplace equation and two linear convection equations, are solved numerically by a finite element approximation method based on the least squares minimum principle. Finally, the numerical results are compared with experimental data. The agreement is good.