Kern Method of

SHELL-AND-TUBE HEAT EXCHANGER Analysis

P M V Subbarao
Professor
Mechanical Engineering Department
I I T Delhi
Simplified Procedures using Semi-
Empirical Correlations..
Properties Crude Oil Heavy gas oil
Density, kg/m
3
915 890
Specific heat, kJ/kg K 2.62 3.08
Viscosity, cPoise 0.664/0.563 0.32/0.389
Thermal conductivity,
W/m.K
0.124 0.14
Thermal Analysis for Tube-Side

Number of Tubes
The flow rate inside the tube is a function of the density of the
fluid, the velocity of the fluid, cross-sectional flow area of the
tube, and the number of tubes.
By using above Eq. and replacing A
c
by td
i
2
/4, number of tubes
can be calculated as
2
i t t
tube
t
d u
m
N
t

=
t c t t tube
N A u m =

where d
i
is the tube inside diameter.
Tubes in Shell and Tube Hx
The number and size of tubes in an exchanger depends on the
Fluid flow rates
Available pressure drop.
The number and size of tubes is selected such that the
Tube side velocity for water and similar liquids ranges from
0.9 to 2.4 m/s.
Shell-side velocity from 0.6 to 1.5 m/s.
The lower velocity limit corresponds to limiting the fouling,
and the
upper velocity limit corresponds to limiting the rate of
erosion.
When sand and silt are present, the velocity is kept high
enough to prevent settling.

Number of Tubes Vs Reynolds Number
Number of Tubes Vs Heat Transfer Coefficient
Tube-Side Nusselt Number
For turbulent flow, the following equation developed by Petukhov-
Kirillov is used:
{ }
( ) | |
2
3
2
2
1
28 . 3 Re ln 58 . 1
1 Pr
2
7 . 12 07 . 1
Pr Re
2

|
.
|

\
|
+
=
t
t
t t
tube
f Where
f
f
Nu
Properties are evaluated at mean bulk temperature and constants
are adjusted to fit experimental data.
Validity range: 10
4
< Re
t
< 5 x 10
6
and 0.5 < Pr
t
< 2000 with
10% error.

For laminar flow, the Sieder and Tate correlation is be used.
3
1
Pr Re
86 . 1
(

=
L
d
Nu
i t t
tube
is applicable for 0.48 < Pr
t
< 16700 and (Re
t
Pr
t
d
i
/L)
1/3
> 2.
The heat transfer coefficient for the tube-side is expressed as
follows:
i
t
t t
d
k
Nu h =
Thermal Analysis for Shell-Side
Tube Layout
Triangular pitch (30
o
layout) is better for heat transfer and
surface area per unit length (greatest tube density.)
Square pitch (45 & 90 layouts) is needed for mechanical
cleaning.
Note that the 30,45 and 60 are staggered, and 90 is in line.
For the identical tube pitch and flow rates, the tube layouts in
decreasing order of shell-side heat transfer coefficient and
pressure drop are: 30,45,60, 90.
The 90 layout will have the lowest heat transfer coefficient
and the lowest pressure drop.
The square pitch (90 or 45) is used when jet or mechanical
cleaning is necessary on the shell side.
Tube Layout & Flow Scales
A Real Use of Wetted Perimeter !
Tube Pitch
Tube pitch P
t
is chosen so that the pitch ratio is 1.25 < P
T
/d
o
<
1.5.
When the tubes are to close to each other (P
T
/d
o
less than
1.25), the header plate (tube sheet) becomes to weak for
proper rolling of the tubes and cause leaky joints.
Tube layout and tube locations are standardized for industrial
heat exchangers.
However, these are general rules of thumb and can be
violated for custom heat exchanger designs.
Equivalent Counter Flow : Hydraulic or Equivalent
Diameter
The equivalent diameter is calculated along (instead of
across) the long axes of the shell and therefore is taken
as four times the net flow area as layout on the tube
sheet (for any pitch layout) divided by the wetted
perimeter.

r erperimete heattransf
D
e
area flow - Free Net
4 =
Equivalent diameter for square layout:
O
O T
e
flow
square e
d
d P
P
A
D
t
t
)
`

= =

2 2
4
4
4
Equivalent diameter for Triangular layout:
2
8 4
3
4
4
2
2
O
O
e
flow
triangular e
d
d
P
P
A
D
T
t
t

= =

Shell-Side Reynolds Number

Reynolds number for the shell-side is based on the
equivalent diameter and the velocity on the cross flow
area at the diameter of the shell:
s
e
s
s
s
D
A
m

=

Re
s
e s
s
e s s
s
D G D U

= = Re
Shell-Side Flow Area
The shell-side mass velocity is found with
B C
P
D
B C N A
T
s
tc s
. . . = =
o T
d P C =
2
4
S
tube pro t
shell
D
CTP
A N
A
t
= =

2
T tube pro
P CL A =

Shell-Side Flow
Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient for the Heat
Exchanger
The overall heat transfer coefficient for clean surface (U
c
) is
given by
Considering the total fouling resistance, the heat transfer
coefficient for fouled surface (U
f
) can be calculated from the
following expression:
Outlet Temperature Calculation and Length of
the Heat Exchanger
The outlet temperature for the fluid flowing through the tube
is
The surface area of the heat exchanger for the fouled condition is :
and for the clean condition
where the LMTD is always for the counter flow.
The over surface design (OS) can be calculated from :
The length of the heat exchanger is calculated by
Hydraulic Analysis for Tube-Side
The pressure drop encountered by the fluid making N
p

passes through the heat exchanger is a multiple of the
kinetic energy of the flow.

Therefore, the tube-side pressure drop is calculated by

( ) | |
2
28 . 3 Re ln 58 . 1

=
t tube
f
Properties are evaluated at mean bulk temperature and constants
are adjusted to fit experimental data.
Validity range: 10
4
< Re
t
< 5 x 10
6

Where,
baffles of Number :
b
N
velocity mass side Shell :
s
G
. correction property Variable :
14 . 0
w
b
|
|
.
|

\
|
=

s
factor friction side Shell :
s
f
Shell side Hydraulic Analysis

b
is the viscosity of the shell-side fluid at bulk
temperature, and
w
is the viscosity of the tube-side fluid
at wall temperature.

The wall temperature can be calculated as follows:
Pumping Power
oil hot p
tube oil hot
tube
p m
P

A
=
q

oil crude p
shell oil crude
shell
p m
P

A
=
q

Roadmap To Increase Heat Transfer

Increase heat transfer coefficent
Tube Side
Increase number of tubes
Decrease tube outside diameter
Shell Side
Decrease the baffle spacing
Decrease baffle cut
Increase surface area
Increase tube length
Increase shell diameter increased number of tubes
Employ multiple shells in series or parallel
Increase LMTD correction factor and heat exchanger
effectiveness
Use counterflow configuration
Use multiple shell configuration
Roadmap To Reduce Pressure Drop
Tube side
Decrease number of tube passes
Increase tube diameter
Decrease tube length and increase shell diameter and number of
tubes
Shell side
Increase the baffle cut
Increase the baffle spacing
Increase tube pitch
Use double or triple segmental baffles

Study the effect of baffle spacing on size of heat
exchanger.
Study the effect of baffle spacing on total pumping
power.