Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Heat Exchangers,
Types and Applications
Submitted to:
1. Introduction
A heat exchanger is a device that is used for transfer of thermal energy (enthalpy) between two or more fluids, between a solid surface and a fluid, or between solid particulates and a fluid, at differing temperatures and in thermal contact, usually without external heat and work interactions. The fluids may be single compounds or mixtures. Typical applications involve heating or cooling of a fluid stream of concern, evaporation or condensation of a single or multicomponent fluid stream, and heat recovery or heat rejection from a system. In other applications, the objective may be to sterilize, pasteurize, fractionate, distill, concentrate, crystallize, or control process fluid. In some heat exchangers, the fluids exchanging heat are in direct contact. In other heat exchangers, heat transfer between fluids takes place through a separating wall or into and out of a wall in a transient manner. In most heat exchangers, the fluids are separated by a heat transfer surface, and ideally they do not mix. Such exchangers are referred to as the direct transfer type, or simply recuperators. In contrast, exchangers in which there is an intermittent heat exchange between the hot and cold fluids via thermal energy storage and rejection through the exchanger surface or matrixare referred to as the indirect transfer type or storage type, or simply regenerators. Such exchangers usually have leakage and fluid carryover from one stream to the other. Heat exchangers may be classified according to transfer process, construction, flow arrangement, surface compactness, number of fluids and heat transfer mechanisms or according to process functions.
2.2. Illustration
1. Shell. 2. Floating Head Flange. 3. Shell Channel. 4. Shell Cover End Flange. 5. Shell Nozzle. 6. Floating Tube Sheet. 7. Floating Head.
8. Floating Head Flange. 9. Channel Partition 10. Stationary Tube Sheet. 11. Channel. 12. Channel Cover. 13. Channel Nozzles. 14. Tie Rods and Spacers
15. Transverse Baffles. 16. Impingement Baffle. 17. Vent Connection. 18. Drain Connection. 19. Test Connection. 20. Support Saddles. 21. Lifting Ring.
2.3. Applications
They are extensively used as process heat exchangers in the petroleum-refining and chemical industries; as steam generators, condensers, boiler feed water heaters and oil coolers in power plants; as condensers and evaporators in some air-conditioning and refrigeration applications; in waste heat recovery applications with heat recovery from liquids and condensing fluids; and in environmental control.
3.3. Applications
The major use of double-pipe exchangers is for sensible heating or cooling of the process fluid where small heat transfer areas (typically up to 50 m.) are required. They may also be used for small amounts of boiling or condensation on the process fluid side. The advantages of the double-pipe exchanger are largely in the flexibility of application and piping arrangement, plus the fact that they can be erected quickly from standard components by maintenance crews [3].
4.2. Illustration
4.3.
Applications
Compact or plate-fin heat exchangers have a wide range of applications that include [4]: Natural gas liquefaction. Cryogenic air separation. Ammonia production. Offshore processing. Nuclear engineering. Syngas production.
5.2. Illustration
5.3. Applications
These exchangers are relatively compact and lightweight heat transfer surfaces, making them attractive for use in confined or weight-sensitive locations such as on board ships and oil production platforms. Pressures and temperatures are limited to comparatively low values because of the gasket materials and the construction. They are typically used for exchanging heat between two liquid streams in turbulent flow. They are occasionally used as condensers for fairly dense vapors (e.g., ammonia) or as vaporizers as for a reboiler. They are used in the food processing industry because they can be disassembled for cleaning and sterilization.
6.2. Illustration
6.3. Applications
By virtue of the removable top and bottom covers, this exchanger is easily cleaned and is therefore ideal for applications involving a high degree of fouling. Indeed, it is widely used for the heating and cooling of slurries [3].
7.2. Illustration
Figure 11, Regenerators: (a) rotary, (b) fixed-matrix, matrix, and (c) rotating hoods.
7.3. Applications
Rotary regenerators are used extensively in electrical power generating stations for air preheating. They are also used in vehicular gas turbine power plants, in cryogenic refrigeration units, and in the food dehydration industry. Fixed bed or fixed matrix regenerators are used extensively in the metallurgical, glassmaking, and chemical processing industries.
8.2. Illustration
8.3. Applications
The range of applications covers a number of industries, including food, chemical, petrochemical and pharmaceutical. The DSSHEs are appropriate whenever products are prone to fouling, very viscous, particulate, heat sensitive or crystallizing.
9.2. Illustration
Figure 16, typical high-finned tube used in air-cooled heat exchangers [3].
9.3. Applications
The large majority of applications are for transferring heat to atmospheric air. Finned tubes may be used in: water cooling of product, and air cooling of product, oil air exchangers and oil, industrial and residential air heaters using burned gas heat, steam, hot water or resistance heating elements rolled inside finned tube, cooling and food processing industry and automotive industry.
10. Conclusion
Heat Exchangers have numerous different types and applications as discussed in the report. Each type selection can only be determined by the application the device will be used for. The general design process can be summarized in the calculation of the required area to transfer heat from one fluid to another by that the designer can determine the actual mechanical design parameters knowing the physical and chemical behavior of the fluids to be used. The report discussed the most famous types of industrially used heat exchangers such as Shell-and-Tube heat exchangers, which are the most commonly used ones, that can withstand high pressures with moderate area to volume ratio and Double-Pipe heat exchangers which are the simplest type in design and maintenance but they have relatively low area of heat transfer. Compact heat exchangers which are famous of their capability to use different phases of fluids and Plate-and-Frame type that has very high area to volume ratio in addition to Spiral, Regenerative or Matrix, Scraped-Surface and High and Lowfinned types. General design considerations are routing of fluids and the suitability of the calculated area of heat transfer according to fouling factor and other important parameters like baffles arrangement to meet with the maximum pressure loss requirement in shell-antube heat exchanger.
References
[1] A. Bejan and A. D. Kraus, Heat Transfer Handbook, 2003. [2] Stanly M. Wallas, Chemical Process Equipment, Selection and Design, 1990. [3] Ernst U. Schltinder, Heat Exchanger Design Handbook, 1983. [4] Donald Q. Kern, Heat Transfer, 1982. [5] Warren M. Rohsenow, Handbook of Heat Transfer, 3rd Edition 1998. [6] Don W. Green and Robert H. Perry, Perrys Chemical Engineers Handbook, 8th Edition 2007. [7] Wikipedia.org, Cited in March 2009.