TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION …………………….………………………….…………………….2
METHODS ………………………….……………..………………………..………….3
RESULTS …………………………………..………….……………………………….4
DISCUSSION …………………….………….…….….……………………………….5
CONCLUSIONS ……………………….……………….……..……………………….6
REFERENCES ………………………………………………..……………………….7
APPENDICES ……………………………………..……………………..…………….8

1
 INTRODUCTION
A shell and tube heat exchanger is a class of heat exchanger designs. It is the most
common type of heat exchanger in oil refineries and other large chemical processes, and
is suited for higher-pressure applications. As its name implies, this type of heat exchanger
consists of a shell (a large pressure vessel) with a bundle of tubes inside it. One fluid runs
through the tubes, and another fluid flows over the tubes (through the shell) to transfer
heat between the two fluids. The set of tubes is called a tube bundle, and may be
composed of several types of tubes: plain, longitudinally finned, etc.(1)
Two fluids, of different starting temperatures, flow through the heat exchanger. One
flows through the tubes (the tube side) and the other flows outside the tubes but inside
the shell (the shell side). Heat is transferred from one fluid to the other through the tube
walls, either from tube side to shell side or vice versa. The fluids can be either liquids or
gases on either the shell or the tube side. In order to transfer heat efficiently, a large heat
transfer area should be used, leading to the use of many tubes. In this way, waste heat
can be put to use. This is an efficient way to conserve energy.(2)
The simple design of a shell and tube heat exchanger makes it an ideal cooling
solution for a wide variety of applications. One of the most common applications is the
cooling of hydraulic fluid and oil in engines, transmissions and hydraulic power packs.
With the right choice of materials they can also be used to cool or heat other mediums,
such as swimming pool water or charge air.[5] One of the big advantages of using a shell
and tube heat exchanger is that they are often easy to service, particularly with models
where a floating tube bundle (where the tube plates are not welded to the outer shell) is
available.(3)
There can be many variations on the shell and tube design. Typically, the ends of
each tube are connected to plenums (sometimes called water boxes) through holes in
tube sheets. The tubes may be straight or bent in the shape of a U, called U-tubes.

FIGURE 1 SHELL AND TUBE HEAT EXCHANGER

2
 Baffles are flow-directing or obstructing vanes or panels used in some industrial
process vessels (tanks), such as shell and tube heat exchangers, chemical reactors, and
static mixers. Baffles are an integral part of the shell and tube heat exchanger design. A
baffle is designed to support tube bundles and direct the flow of fluids for maximum
efficiency.
The main roles of a baffle in a shell and tube heat exchanger are to:

• Hold tubes in position (preventing sagging), both in production and

operation
• Prevent the effects of vibration, which is increased with both fluid velocity
and the length of the exchanger
• Direct shell-side fluid flow along tube field. This increases fluid velocity and
the effective heat transfer co-efficient of the exchanger
In a static mixer, baffles are used to promote mixing.[1]
In a chemical reactor, baffles are often attached to the interior walls to promote
mixing[2] and thus increase transfer and possibly chemical reaction rates.(4)
Implementation of baffles is decided on the basis of size, cost and their ability to lend
support to the tube bundles and direct.(5)

• Longitudinal Flow Baffles (used in a two-pass shell)

• Impingement Baffles (used for protecting bundle when entrance
velocity is high)
• Orifice Baffles
• Single segmental
• Double segmental
• Support/Blanking baffles
• Deresonating (detuning) baffles used to reduce tube vibration(6)

3
 METHODS
Logarithmic Mean Temperature Difference (LMTD)
Logarithmic Mean Temperature Difference (LMTD) method is used to calculate the
temperature difference for the heat transfer balance.
Assumptions and limitations
It has been assumed that the rate of change for the temperature of both fluids is
proportional to the temperature difference; this assumption is valid for fluids with a
constant specific heat, which is a good description of fluids changing temperature over a
relatively small range. However, if the specific heat changes, the LMTD approach will no
longer be accurate.
A particular case for the LMTD are condensers and reboilers, where the latent heat
associated to phase change is a special case of the hypothesis. For a condenser, the hot
fluid inlet temperature is then equivalent to the hot fluid exit temperature.
It has also been assumed that the heat transfer coefficient (U) is constant, and not a
function of temperature. If this is not the case, the LMTD approach will again be less valid
The LMTD is a steady-state concept, and cannot be used in dynamic analyses. In
particular, if the LMTD were to be applied on a transient in which, for a brief time, the
temperature difference had different signs on the two sides of the exchanger, the
argument to the logarithm function would be negative, which is not allowable.

Figure 2 FACTOR USED IN THE LMTD METHOD

4
 RESULTS
Donohue Equation is used to calculate the heat convection coefficient in the shell side
while Gnielinski Equation is used to find the heat convection coefficient in the tube side
of flow. Both of these equations with the detailed calculations steps are shown in the
appendix part of this report.
Heat transfer convection coefficient in the shell side hs is found to be 3.79 kW/m2K
while hi was found to be 253 kW/m2K, the heat transfer coefficient in the tube side of flow.
The calculated overall heat transfer convection coefficient Uc is found to be 3.725
kw/m2K.
Length of the tubes per pass, or the effective length of the heat exchanger to achieve
the desired cooling is found to be around two meters. Then Mechanical Energy Balance
was applied to the inlet and outlet streams of the tube side of flow and the power needed
to pump the cold fluid was found to be 3.4 kJ. The pressure drop in the tube stream was
found to be 3391 kPa.
When the flow rate of the cold fluid was changed to 20 kg/s, the length of the tubes
was found to be around 2.049 m. The convection coefficient in the tube side of flow
changed to 165 kW/m2K and the overall heat transfer convection coefficient changed to
3.690 kW/m2K. The pressure drop in the tube side flow changed 1521 kPa. The power
needed to pump the fluid in the tubes to achieve that amount of cooling has changed with
pressure drop changed to 1.5 kJ.

5
 DISCUSSION
If we change the flow rate from 30 to 20 kg/s, we get lower tube side convection
coefficient. And that affects to get lower overall convection coefficient. It makes length of
tubes per pass lower. That is pressure drop in the tube side get lower. At the end, we only
need half amount of the power.

6
 CONCLUSION
If flow rate changes from 30kg/s to 20kg/s, there is no huge difference in overall
convection coefficient. However, the change of power consumption is significant.
Therefore, it is reasonable to use 20kg/s for flow rate.

7
 REFERENCES

1- Sadik Kakaç & Hongtan Liu (2002). Heat Exchangers: Selection, Rating and
Thermal Design (2nd ed.). CRC Press. ISBN 0-8493-0902-6.
2- Perry, Robert H. & Green, Don W. (1984). Perry's Chemical Engineers'
Handbook (6th ed.). McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-049479-7.
3- Heat Exchanger Shell Bellows Piping Technology and Products, (retrieved March
2012)
4- SPE/ANTEC 1999 Proceedings edited by SPE Staff pp. 163–164
5- Chemical reactor modeling: multiphase reactive flows by Hugo A. Jakobsen,
published in 2008 by Springer-Verlag in Berlin Heidelberg, pp. 681–683
6- Tubular Exchanger Manufacturers Association, Inc.