8. Conclusion

The notion of energy performance, and even more so of the good performance of an industrial component or system, is a subjective principle. Indeed, this notion can correspond to various definitions depending on the field of application and the need for the component and/or system. In fact, in the case of a heat exchanger component, its good energy performance, which largely influences that of the industrial process integrating it, will depend on :

• firstly, the purpose for which the heat exchanger is used: depending on whether this component meets a primary (essential to the smooth running of the process) or secondary (ancillary to the process and therefore not essential to its smooth running) operating need of the overall process;

• secondly, all the parameters to be achieved by/with the heat exchanger (related...