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How do I size air-cooled heat exchangers?

Q: I am trying to determine the fin and tube surface area necessary to dissipate 15MMBtuh into an airstream with a fin and tube heat exchanger. Are there any reference materials you'd suggest?

A: Refer to Chapter 19 of  “Process Heat Transfer” by Hewitt, Shires & Bott for an approximate method to size air-cooled heat exchangers. Chapter 2 will provide guidance for calculating the finned tube airside film coefficient.

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