A new approach for thermal performance calculation of cross-flow heat exchangers

A new numerical methodology for thermal performance calculation in cross-flow heat exchangers is developed. Effectiveness–number of transfer units (ε–NTU) data for several standard and complex flow arrangements are obtained using this methodology. The results are validated through comparison with analytical solutions for one-pass cross-flow heat exchangers with one to four rows and with approximate series solution for an unmixed–unmixed heat exchanger, obtaining in all cases very small errors. New effectiveness data for some complex configurations are provided.