In all water coolers, does the circulating water flow from low to high?
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Today I saw a U-tube type water cooler, with the circulating water flowing through the tube side and hot water at around 100 degrees flowing through the shell side. Why does the circulating water enter from the top and exit from the bottom, while the hot water enters from the bottom and exits from the top? Shouldn’t circulating water generally flow in from below and out from above? Moreover, with such a design where the flow directions of the two media are the same, the heat exchange efficiency is not as good as when the flows are in opposite directions, right?
Under normal circumstances, circulating water flows from a lower level to a higher level, but there are also special cases； The situation you're talking about is also backflow, right?
Worrying about the location is pointless; one should look for reasons based on principles and design requirements. Your description of the “U-tube water cooler” isn’t very clear. Do you mean the shell side or the tube side? Baffles also need to be installed inside the shell side; on the tube side, there are sometimes several bends, and they can be installed either horizontally or vertically. The previous schematic diagram is the best option, so as to avoid confusion among everyone :)
\"Code for the Design of Process Piping in Refining Units\" SH/T 3122-2013 5.1 Countercurrent heat exchange shall be employed in the heat exchange process, with the cold stream flowing from bottom to top and the hot stream flowing from top to bottom through the heat exchange equipment.
What was said on the 5th floor is correct; when installing for heat exchange and cooling, the flow should be from low to high, unless it was installed incorrectly.
In conventional circulating water coolers, the circulating water generally flows from a lower level to a higher level. You described the circulating water flowing in the tube side and the hot water flowing in the shell side – is this some kind of water-to-water heat exchanger?