Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger Design

MEC 722 Fall 2013

J. Friedman, 2013

Shell and Tube Heat Exchangers

Tubesheets

Tube bundles

Shell and Tube Heat Exchangers

Shell and Tube Heat Exchangers

Thermal design establishes the heat exchange surface area required
Surface area we look for is the effective total surface area of all the tubes exposed to the flowing fluids

Basic Information
Need to know:
Fluids involved Thermodynamic properties Flow rates (energy balance may be required) Fouling resistances (supplied by customer or from tables) Terminal temperatures (energy balance may be required) Total heat transfer rate

Calculate LMTD Temperature

Where: T1 = inlet shell-side fluid temperature T2 = outlet shell-side fluid temperature t1 = inlet tube-side fluid temperature t2 = outlet tube-side fluid temperature

Preliminary Thermal Design

The design of a heat exchanger is an iterative process Start by doing a preliminary design Best to start simple
Fixed tubesheet design (simple but requires differential expansion calculations) Floating head design U-tube design Single shell-side pass Unfinned tubes

Choose the number of shell-side passes and tube-side passes

Preliminary Thermal Design

Select a tube size (usually or 1) and gauge
TEMA will give minimum tube gauge

Select a tube layout

Square pitch (easy cleaning) Triangular pitch (higher heat transfer rate) Standard tube pitch (spacing) is given in TEMA
15/16 for triangular layout tube 1 for square layout for tube

Preliminary Thermal Design

Determine LMTD correction factor (F) from charts based on number of shell and tube passes
Charts are available in TEMA code book as well as most heat transfer textbook

Determine approximate U-value from tables

Most heat transfer texts have tables with a range of Uvalues for different fluids

Preliminary Thermal Design

Sample table from Handbook of Heat Transfer 3rd Ed. W.M. Rohsenow, J.P. Hartnett, Y.I. Cho

Preliminary Thermal Design

Using the assumed U from tables, the LMTD temperature and the LMTD correction factor, calculate a preliminary heat transfer area:
= Total heat transfer rate Q

F = LMTD correction factor U = Estimated U value A = Estimated heat transfer area

Preliminary Thermal Design

Determine total length of tube required, Lt
Lt = A pdo
do = Tube outside diameter

Determine the total number of tubes required, N

N= Lt L

L = length of each tube (usually a multiple of 4 feet)

Preliminary Thermal Design

Determine the shell size that will fit the required number of tubes from tables
Remember that if you are using U tubes, each U-tube counts as two tubes for the purposes of sizing the shell

Dont count the bends in U-tubes as area available for heat transfer

Evaluate Preliminary Thermal Design

The preliminary design now needs to be evaluated to see if it is a reasonable design
This involves calculating actual U-value, checking velocities and pressure drops etc.

Preliminary Thermal Design (Tubeside)

Calculate the tube-side fluid velocity based on the total internal flow area of tubes per pass
Calculate the tubeside Reynolds number based on tube ID

Calculate hi using correlations found in heat transfer text

Calculate p based on standard methods available in any Fluids text

Preliminary Thermal Design (Tubeside)

If p is very low, you can increase V and h by increasing number of passes
If p is very high, you can reduce it by decreasing number of passes, or by increasing the number of tubes while decreasing the length of tubes to maintain the total heat transfer surface area

Preliminary Thermal Design (Shellside)

Determine the maximum flow velocity near the shell centerline, Vmax
Need a preliminary tube layout to find the minimum open flow area based on shell diameter minus number of tubes in the largest tube row x tube diameter Need to choose a baffle spacing to find total flow area. A good starting choice is to set the baffle spacing equal to the shell diameter

Determine the shell-side Reynolds number based on Vmax and tube OD

Preliminary Thermal Design (Shellside)

Calculate ho and pressure drop using correlations available in heat transfer texts etc.
Pressure drop and ho can be varied by changing the baffle spacing
Decreasing the baffle spacing will increase ho and pressure drop Increasing baffle spacing will decrease ho and pressure drop

Preliminary Thermal Design Overall U value

Calculate the overall U-value of your preliminary design:

1 1 Ao 1 Ao = + Ro + Rw + Ri + U ho Ai hi Ai

Preliminary Thermal Design Overall U value

U = overall heat transfer coefficient based on tube outside area ho= outside tube convection coefficient hi = inside tube convection coefficient Ro = outside tube fouling factor Ri = inside tube fouling factor Rw = tube wall resistance referred to outside tube surface Ao/Ai = ratio of outside to inside surface of tubing

Preliminary Thermal Design Overall U value

Examine each term in the overall U value calculation
Very often, one term will dominate This dominant term represents the highest resistance to heat transfer Consider whether you can lower this resistance by changing your design Lowering the dominant resistance will reduce the total surface area required, reducing size and cost Compare your actual U value with the one you initially used from tables. Are they close?

Finalizing the Thermal Design

Based on your preliminary design, refine your design as necessary and repeat the previous calculations until you are satisfied.

Mechanical Design
Once the thermal design has been established, the mechanical design can be done:
Tubesheet (TEMA) Shell (ASME and TEMA) Flanges (ASME) Heads/channels (ASME and TEMA)

HEAT EXCHANGER NOMENCLATURE

N-2 NOMENCLATURE OF HEAT EXCHANGER COMPONENTS

SECTION 1

For the purpose of establishing standard terminology, Figure N-2 illustrates various types of heat exchangers. Typical parts and connections, for illustrative purposes only, are numbered for identification in Table N-2. TABLE N-2 1. Stationary Head-Channel 2. Stationary Head-Bonnet 3. Stationary Head Flange-Channel or Bonnet 4. Channel Cover 5. Stationary Head Nozzle 6. Stationary Tubesheet 7. Tubes 8. Shell 9. Shell Cover 10. Shell Flange-Stationary Head End 11. Shell Flange-Rear Head End 12. Shell Nozzle 13. Shell Cover Flange 14. Expansion Joint 15. Floating Tubesheet 16. Floating Head Cover 17. Floating Head Cover Flange 18. Floating Head Backing Device 19. Split Shear Ring 20. Slip-on Backing Flange 21. Floating Head Cover-External 22. Floating Tubesheet Skirt 23. Packing Box 24. Packing 25. Packing Gland 26. Lantern Ring 27. Tierods and Spacers 28. Transverse Baffles or Support Plates 29. Impingement Plate 30. Longitudinal Baffle 31. Pass Partition 32. Vent Connection 33. Drain Connection 34. Instrument Connection 35. Support Saddle 36. Lifting Lug 37. Support Bracket 38. Weir 39. Liquid Level Connection 40. Floating Head Support

FIGURE N-2