A single tube-pass heat exchanger is to be designed to heat water by condensing steam in the shell. The water is to pass through the smooth horizontal tubes in turbulent flow, and the steam is to be...

A single tube-pass heat exchanger is to be designed to heat water by condensing steam in the shell. The water is to pass through the smooth horizontal tubes in turbulent flow, and the steam is to be condensed dropwise in the shell. The water flow rate, the initial and final water temperatures, the condensation temperature of the steam, and the available tube-side pressure drop (neglecting entrance and exit losses) are all specified. In order to determine the optimum exchanger design, it is desirable to know how the total required area of the exchanger varies with the tube diameter selected. Assuming that the water flow remains turbulent and that the thermal resistance of the tube wall and the steam–condensate film is negligible, determine the effect of tube diameter on the total area required in the exchanger.