Comparative study of steam vs hot water as primary heat transfer medium for a laboratory scale two-tank heated system

The need exists for a benchmark multi-domain practical system that could emulate typical process faults for the purposes of condition monitoring. A proposition was made to develop a heated two-tank system, due to its multi-domain nature i.e. thermal-fluid, mechanical, electrical as well as its non-linear nature. The paper presents an analysis of a helical coil heat exchanger. A comparison is made between steam and water as a heat transfer medium. The study is conducted to determine which medium will be the most feasible to implement in a laboratory scale two-tank heated system. The convection coefficients on the hot and cold side of the helical coil are calculated to determine the inlet and outlet temperatures of the system. The temperatures are compared at various mass flows.