Desenvolvimento de planilhas interativas online para cálculos de trocadores de calor

Abstract

The analysis and design of heat exchangers has been shown to be of great relevance for industrial, commercial, or didactic processes, especially when aiming at the control of fluid temperature. In this context, the present work aims to provide a free and easy-to-use tool for general calculations of three types of heat exchangers (bitubular heat exchanger, plate heat exchanger and shell and tube heat exchanger), disregarding fluid phase changes. To this end, an algorithm already implemented in MatLab® language was adapted to the Google Apps Script® language applied to an online spreadsheet, maintaining the theoretical basis. The reliability of this tool is validated by comparing the results with three different references, one for each type of heat exchanger covered. The answers obtained were consistent with the literature and, mainly, very similar to those of the original algorithm, attesting to the accuracy and relevance of this tool as an extension of an already structured project, increasing the scope of the concepts applied in the analysis and selection of heat exchangers.