Estimation of the Outer Film Coefficient (ho) of Water in a Shell-and-Tube Heat Exchanger with Analysis via Paraconsistent Logic

Abstract

This paper presents the experimental determination of the outer film coefficient (ho) for water flowing in the shell (or annulus) of a shell-and-tube heat exchanger with a single inner tube. The estimate uses steady-state operating data, the logarithmic ΔT method (LMTD), and the inference of ho from the global coefficient U. To address typical inconsistencies in thermal measurements (divergent energy balances and instrumental variations), Annotated Paraconsistent Logic (APL2v) is used as a decision and weighting framework. Results are presented for six tests with shell-side flow rates VFF between 5 and 30 LPM (countercurrent), demonstrating the increasing trend of ho with VFF and delimiting uncertainty bands consistent with the degree of paraconsistent evidence