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Heat Exchanger Calculator

LMTD, Area & Effectiveness per TEMA

Heat Exchanger Design Calculator
Calculates heat duty, LMTD with F correction factor, required area, and thermal effectiveness. Supports counterflow, parallel flow, and multi-pass shell-and-tube configurations per TEMA 10th Edition and API 660.

Hot Side

lb/hr
°F
°F
BTU/lb·°F
Water ≈ 1.0, Light oil ≈ 0.5, Gas ≈ 0.25

Cold Side

lb/hr
°F
°F
BTU/lb·°F

Design Parameters

BTU/hr·ft²·°F
Water-water: 150–250, Oil-oil: 40–60, Gas-gas: 10–30
Multi-pass requires F correction
hr·ft²·°F/BTU
Typical: 0.001–0.003 for water, 0.002–0.005 for oil

Typical Overall U Values (BTU/hr·ft²·°F)

Service Clean Design (w/Fouling)
Water to water200–250150–200
Water to light oil80–12060–90
Oil to oil60–9040–60
Gas to gas10–308–25
Condensing steam400–600300–500

Design Guidelines

F Factor: Aim for F ≥ 0.75. Below 0.75 indicates temperature cross - add shell passes or use true counterflow.
Approach Temp: Minimum 10–20°F typical. Closer approach = larger area = higher cost.
Fouling: Per TEMA, add 10–20% oversurface to maintain duty as fouling accumulates.