Study program

• Objectives

  At the end of this course, students should be able to understand the various heat transfer mechanisms (conduction, convection and radiation) in installations with different geometries, in both stationary and transient states. They will also be able to use this knowledge to dimension heat exchangers operating with different contact modes (co-current, counter-current or cross-current).

  More specifically, students should be able to:

  • understand and explain the different mechanisms (conduction, convection and radiation) responsible for heat transfer in a chemical process.
  • know what physical data to use to characterize heat transfer and where to find information about these data.
  • solve heat transfer problems using simple calculations and numerical simulations in Python or Matlab.
  • write and solve heat balances for different heat exchanger designs and size them to meet a specific need.
  • understand the influence of contact mode on heat exchanger performance.
  • understand the analogies between heat transfer and other types of transfer such as matter transfer, impulse transfer or electron transfer, and make use of such analogies.
• Content

  This chemical engineering course begins by introducing the various mechanisms responsible for the transfer of thermal energy in a chemical plant. In particular, the mechanisms of thermal conduction, convection and radiation will be discussed. Taking into account different geometries (planar, cylindrical, spherical), heat balances will be written for processes operating in stationary and transient states. The notions of thermal conduction coefficient and heat transfer coefficient are addressed in the balances. In addition, the notion of global heat transfer coefficient will be introduced and put into practice through numerous exercises.

  In the second part of the semester, the fundamental heat transfer equations will be used to calculate the dimensions of heat exchangers meeting different specifications and operating according to different contact modes. The course is structured as follows:

  • Mechanisms of thermal energy transfer
  • Modelling steady-state heat transfer
  • Transient heat transfer modeling
  • Sizing heat exchangers

  The didactic model used in this course will be that of a flipped classroom. Students will be required to view or read the documentation provided prior to the course, so as to be able to work effectively on the various projects and exercises solved in class. For a preliminary introduction to what a flipped classroom is, the following video explains the principle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNMx2p9aGAU

Type of teaching and workload

Course specification

Evaluation methods

• Continuous assessment Written work

Course grade calculation method

The continuous assessment mark corresponds to the weighted average of all of the semester's exams. In case of a revision exam, the course's final mark corresponds to the arithmetic average of the continuous assessment and the revision exam marks.

Reference work

Intructor(s) and/or coordinator(s)

Thierry Chappuis