ENGINEERING TRIPOS PART IIA - 2012/2013

Project GA3 - Heat Exchanger

Leader: Dr R Miller email: rjm76

Project Type: Group
Project Category: Design
Prerequisites: None
Timing: Fridays 9-11am plus afternoons, and Tuesdays 11-1pm

SUMMARY

Heat exchangers are found virtually everywhere, from domestic heaters to exotic space applications. This project involves the design, construction and testing of a small shell-and-tube heat exchanger. It spans the whole process of product development, from the conception and sizing using basic theory, to the manufacturing, assembly, and final testing.

AIMS

• To introduce you to the basic principles of heat exchanger design.
• To compare predicted with actual performance and hence understand the limitations of heat transfer correlations.
• To give you experience in the production of workshop drawings and the problems of manufacture and assembly to such drawings.
• To demonstrate that different 'optimal' designs can arise from the same brief.

FORMAT

Students will work in groups of two to undertake the initial design. The groups will then be paired, into groups of four. The four will then finalise the choice of design. The interim report will describe both the initial pairs design and the final group of fours design. The interim report will include the theory and drawings and carries a large proportion of the total marks.

ACTIVITIES

This project is front-end loaded. Weeks 1 and 2 require a lot of work. Weeks 3 and 4 are light.

Week 1: At the start of the project you will learn about the fundamentals of heat exchangers, using a poorly-designed heat exchanger as an example. You will develop your own computer-based design tool, which you will use to select an optimal configuration. (Despite having the same brief, all groups come up with different design solutions and every group secretly thinks that theirs is the best).

Week 2: In the second week, you will refine your design in line with the workshop's manufacturing capabilities and your assembly capabilities. Clever engineering at this stage can greatly simplify assembly and improve off-design performance. At the end of the week you will produce detailed manufacturing drawings and an interim report.

Week 3: In the third week you will work out the off-design performance of your heat exchanger and use your computer-based design tool to assess other groups' designs. This feeds into your final reports. Meanwhile, the workshops will be machining parts to your manufacturing drawings and commenting on your designs.

Week 4: In the final week you will assemble your heat exchangers. On test day, all groups test their heat exchangers together. The project finishes with a comparison of all heat exchangers and a glamorous prize ceremony.

MINI-LECTURES

Week 1: Review of relevant heat transfer principles, shell-and-tube heat exchanger design.

Week 2: Use of computer simulation package, discussion of students’ designs.

ASSESSMENT

Format: Submission Date - Marks

1) Interim report: 30 marks (Group of 4: 80% individual 20% group)

2) Performance report: 10 marks (Group of 4: 80% individual work 20% group)

3) Final report: 10 marks (Group of 4: 80% personal individual 20% group)

4) Project skills, technical skills and initiative: 20 marks (60% individual, 40% group)

5) Final machine performance: 10 marks (100% Group)

Last updated: November 2012