S .A Ashrafizadeh - Chemical Eng. Group - Islamic Aazad University- Dezfoul branch- Iran
M Amidpour - Faculty of mechanical Eng.- K. N. Toosi University of Technology- Iran

This paper shows that the main architectural features of a counter flow heat exchanger can be determined based on thermodynamic optimization. Heat exchangers have been evaluated by a combination of the thermodynamic relations, exergy concept and sink- source model in exergy analysis. The required expression for exergy losses calculation has been expanded Subject to volume constraint. It is assumed that the channels are formed by parallel plates, the two fluids are incompressible fluids or ideal gases, and the flow is fully developed, laminar or turbulent. It is shown that the irreversibility of the heat exchanger is minimized with respect to the ratio of the two channels spacing and ratio of the capacity rates of the two streams. The optimize dimensions can be determined respect to capital and energy cost “trade off ". The paper reveals that the applied methodology can be used to optimum operational factors with minimum exergy losses or cost.

Exergy, Parallel Plate Heat Exchanger, Optimization