Effectiveness Measurement of a Cross-Flow Air Cooler Heat Exchanger in Steady State Condition

Heat exchangers play a critical role in a wide range of industrial applications, including boilers, condensers, coolers, and cooling towers. This study focuses on evaluating the thermal performance, specifically the effectiveness and efficiency, of an air cooler heat exchanger operating under steady-state conditions with a constant hot water temperature. The aim is to examine how variations in water flow rate and fan air velocity influence the system’s heat transfer behavior. An experimental setup was implemented, where the heat exchanger was tested at three water flow rates (0 L/min, 2.5 L/min, and 5 L/min) and three air velocities (1.8 m/s, 2.7 m/s, and 3.6 m/s). The results show that the highest effectiveness recorded was 60.87%, while the maximum thermal efficiency reached 96%. These values were obtained when the system operated with a water flow rate of 5 L/min and an air velocity of 1.8 m/s. This operating condition is identified as optimal due to the increased cooling capacity from the higher water flow and the improved heat transfer resulting from extended contact time between the airflow and the heat exchanger surface at lower air velocities.