Tutorial 3 Solutions: Heat Exchanger Design

Question 1
Design a shell and tube exchanger to heat 50,000 kg/h of liquid ethanol from 20C to 80C.
Steam at 1.5 bar is available for heating. Assign the ethanol to the tube-side. The total
pressure drop must not exceed 0.7 bar for the alcohol stream.
Plant practice requires the use of carbon steel tubes, 25 mm inside diameter, 29 mm outside
diameter, 4 m long. Set out your design on a data sheet and make a rough sketch of the heat
exchanger.
The physical properties of ethanol can be readily found in the literature.
Solution:
Step
1. Calculate the heat duty.

2. Select cooling/heating medium

3. Calculate utility flow-rate.
4. Collect the fluid physical properties: density,
viscosity, thermal conductivity.
5. Allocate the fluids on shell side and tube side.
6. Decide the exchanger type
7. Determine LMTD and MTD Tm
8. Select a trial value for the overall coefficient, U
9. Estimate the provisional area required.
10. Tube geometry: Number of tubes & number of
tube passes etc.
11. Calculate the shell diameter.
12. Determine the shell side and tube side heat
transfer coefficients.

Comment
Find the temperature of the steam using a steam
table.
Q = m*c*T for ethanol
Given
Duty = m
Look up relevant data.
Given.
U-tube or E-type, 1 shell pass; 2-tube passes
lowest possible pressure drop
Correction factor =1 phase change in one of the
streams.
Use Figure 12.1. in C&R.
Q=UAT
(Provisional area)/(area of 1 tube).
Eq. 12.3b in C&R
Shell side, eq. 12.48 in C&R.
For air-free steam a coefficient of 8000 W/m2 C
can be used.
Tube side as in example 12.1.

13. Calculate the overall coefficient and compare

with the trial value.
14. Find the area provided based on U value and
then calculate % excess area.
15. Calculate the shell side and tube side pressure
drop.

If % excess area < or > 30% then use the new value
of U and reapeat from step 9.
Tube side: Section 12.8.2 in C&R

Shell side: Section 12.9 in C&R

16. Optimize the design

2. In a food processing plant there is a requirement to heat 50,000 kg/h of towns water from 10 to
70C. Steam at 2.7 bar is available for heating the water. An existing heat exchanger is available, with
the following specification:
Shell inside diameter 337 mm, E type.
Baffles 25 per cent cut, set at a spacing of 106 mm.
Tubes 15 mm inside diameter, 19 mm outside diameter, 4094 mm long.
Tube pitch 24 mm, triangular.
Number of tubes 124, arranged in a single pass.
Would this exchanger be suitable for the specified duty?

Solution:
All the unknown flows can be calculated from a mass and energy balance. Since the physical
dimensions of the HX are given, the actual overall htc can be calculated. Hence, the HX area, A, and
the heat transfer rate, Q, can be found. If the resultant heat transfer rate, Q, is less than the required
duty, then the HX is not adequate for the specified duty.
Step
1. Calculate the heat duty.
2. Select cooling/heating medium
3. Calculate utility flow-rate.
4. Collect the fluid physical properties: density,
viscosity, thermal conductivity.
5. Allocate the fluids on shell side and tube side.
6. Decide the exchanger type
7. Determine LMTD and MTD Tm
8. Select a trial value for the overall coefficient, U
9. Estimate the provisional area required.
10.Tube geometry: Number of tubes & number of tube
passes etc.
11.Calculate the shell diameter.
12. Determine the shell side and tube side heat transfer
coefficients.

Comment
Find the temperature of the steam using a
steam table.
Q = m*c*T for the towns water
Given
Duty = m
Look up relevant data.
Allocate the steam on the shell side less
fouling.
S&T HX: Use U-tube - 1 shell pass; 2-tube
passes
Correction factor =1 phase change in one of
the streams.
Actual value can be calculated (see13 below).
Actual area can be calculated from tube
dimensions.
Given
Given
Shell side, eq. 12.48 in C&R.
For air-free steam a coefficient of 8000 W/m2
C
can be used.
Tube side as in example 12.1.

13. Calculate the overall coefficient and compare with

the trial value.
14. Calculate heat transfer rate, Q

Q=UAT

If the resultant heat transfer rate, Q, is less than the required duty, then the HX is not adequate for the
specified duty.

3. A solution of sodium hydroxide leaves a dissolver at 80C and is to be cooled to 40C, using
cooling water. The maximum flow-rate of the solution will be 8 000 kg/h. The maximum inlet
temperature of the cooling water will be 20C and the temperature rise is limited to 20C.
Design a double-pipe exchanger for this duty, using standard carbon steel pipe and fittings. Use pipe
of 50 mm inside diameter, 55 mm outside diameter for the inner pipe, and 75 mm inside diameter pipe
for the outer. Make each section 5 m long.
The physical properties of the caustic solution are:
temperature, C
specific heat, kJkg-1C-1
density, kg/m3
thermal conductivity, Wm-1C-1
viscosity, mN m-2s

40
3.84
992.2
0.63
1.40

80
3.85
971.8
0.67
0.43

Solution
The number of sections required is given by

Step
Calculate the heat duty.
Select cooling/heating medium
Calculate utility flow-rate.
Collect the fluid physical properties: density,
viscosity, thermal conductivity.
5. Allocate the fluids on shell side and tube side.
6. Decide the exchanger type
7. Determine LMTD

1.
2.
3.
4.

Comment

Q = m*c*T for the NaOH solution

Given
Duty Q = m*c*T find m
Given. Use the mean values.
Look up relevant values for calculation of U.
Put the NaOH solution inside the tube.
Given double pipe
Perfect counter-current correction factor not
necessary

8. Calculate the overall ht coefficient

9. Calculate the area required.
10. Calculate the HT area of each section
11. Calculate the number of sections required

Actual area can be calculated from tube

dimensions.

4. A double-pipe heat exchanger is to be used to heat 6 000 kg/h of 22 mol per cent hydrochloric acid.
The exchanger will be constructed from karbate (impervious carbon) and steel tubing. The acid will
flow through the inner, karbate, tube and saturated steam at 100C will be used for heating. The tube
dimensions will be: karbate tube inside diameter 50 mm, outside diameter 60 mm; steel tube inside
diameter 100 mm. The exchanger will be constructed in sections, with an effective length of 3 m each.
How many sections will be needed to heat the acid from 15 to 65C?
Physical properties of 22 % HCl at 40C:
specific heat
4.93 kJkg-1C-1,
thermal conductivity
0.39 Wm-1C-1,
density
866 kg/m3.
Viscosity:
Temperature, C
20
30
40
mN m-2s
0.68
0.55
0.44

50
0.36

60
0.33

70
0.30

Karbate thermal conductivity 480 Wm-1C-1.

Solution:
The number of sections required is given by

Step
12. Calculate the heat duty.
13. Select cooling/heating medium
14. Calculate utility flow-rate.
15.Collect the fluid physical properties: density,
viscosity, thermal conductivity.
16.Allocate the fluids on shell side and tube side.
17.Decide the exchanger type
18. Determine LMTD

Comment

Q = m*c*T for the HCl solution

Given
Duty = m
Given. Use the mean values.
Given
Given double pipe
Perfect counter-current correction factor not
necessary

19. Calculate the overall ht coefficient

20. Calculate the area required.
21. Calculate the HT area of each section
22. Calculate the number of sections required

Actual area can be calculated from tube

dimensions.