Excerpt from Rules of Thumb for Chemical Engineers, Fifth Edition, by Stephen Hall (ButterworthHeinemann, 2012).

Table of Contents and accompanying spreadsheet templates at

www.pipesizingsoftware.com/book

Air-cooled Heat Exchangers: Forced vs. Induced Draft

Air-cooled heat exchangers are classified as forced draft when the tube section is located
on the discharge side of the fan, or induced draft when the tube section is located on the
suction side of the fan. Forced draft units are more common.
Typically, 25.4 mm (1 in) OD carbon steel tubes are fitted with aluminum fins, 12.7 to
15.9 mm high ( to 5/8 inch), providing outside surface area about 14 to 21 times greater
than the area of the bare tubes. The process stream, flowing inside the tubes, can be
cooled to about 10C to 15C (20F to 30F) above the dry-bulb temperature of the air.
Air flows at a velocity of 3 to 6 m/s (10 to 20 ft/s)/
Table 2-10: Comparison of forced draft and induced draft air-cooled heat exchangers (Ref 8)
Attribute

Forced Draft

Induced Draft

Distribution of air across section

Poor distribution of air over the

section

Better

Effluent air recirculation to intake

Greatly increased possibility of

hot air recirculation due to low
discharge velocity and absence of
stack

Lower possibility because fan

discharges air upward, away from
the tubes, at about 2 times the
intake velocity, or about 450
m/min (25 ft/s)

Influence of weather conditions

Total exposure of tubes to sun,

rain, and hail

Less effect from sun, rain, and

hail because 60% of face is
covered

Freezing conditions

Easily adaptable for warm air

recirculation during freezing
conditions

Warm discharge air not

recirculated

Result of fan failure

Low natural draft capability on

fan failure due to small stack
effect

Natural draft stack effect is

greater than forced draft type

Power requirement

Slightly lower fan power because

the fan is located in the cold air
stream (air has higher density)

Slightly higher fan power because

the fan is located in the hot air
stream (air has lower density)

Temperature limit discharge air

stream

No limit

Limited to about 95C (200F) to

prevent potential damage to fan
blades, bearings, belts, and other
components in the air stream

Temperature limit tubeside

process fluid

Limited by tube components

Limited to 175C (350F)

because fan failure could subject
fan blades and bearings to
excessive temperatures

Maintenance

Better access to mechanical

components

Mechanical components are more

difficult to access because they
are above the tubes

Excerpt from Rules of Thumb for Chemical Engineers, Fifth Edition, by Stephen Hall (ButterworthHeinemann, 2012). Table of Contents and accompanying spreadsheet templates at
www.pipesizingsoftware.com/book

Table 2-12: Variables that must be optimized for air-cooled heat exchanger design (Ref 18)
Variable

Considerations

Air flow rate

Rule of thumb for face velocity approaching the tube bundle (total flow divided by
total area of bundle):
- 3 row coil: 240 to 275 m/min (800 to 900 ft/min)
- 4 row coil: 150 to 210 m/min (500 to 700 ft/min)
- 5 row coil: 140 to 180 m/min (450 to 600 ft/min)
- 6 row coil: 100 to 150 m/min (350 to 500 ft/min)
Air-side film coefficient varies to the 0.5 power of air mass velocity
Air-side pressure drop varies to the 1.75 power of air mass velocity

Tube length

Length is established in conjunction with the bundle width. There are usually two
bundles in a section, and two fans per section. Bundle width normally limited to 3.2 m
to 3.5 m (10 ft to 11.5 ft); fans are commonly 3.6 m to 4.3 m (12 ft to 14 ft) in
diameter. API 661 specifies minimum fan coverage of 40%. Therefore, tubes are
typically in the range of 8 m to 10 m long (26 ft to 33 ft).

Tube outside
diameter

Cost of exchanger is lower with smaller diameter tubes

Cleaning is more difficult with smaller diameter
Minimum recommended (and most common) tube size is 25 mm (1 in) OD
Optimize with pressure drop by adjusting the number of passes and tube size

Fin height

Usual fin heights are 9.5 mm, 12.7 mm, and 15.9 mm (3/8 in., 1/2 in., and 5/8 in.)
Selection depends on relative values of air-side and tube-side film coefficients
With higher fins, fewer tubes can be accommodated per row
Typically, use higher fins for steam condensers and water coolers
Typically, use lower fins for gas coolers and viscous liquid hydrocarbon coolers

Fin spacing

Spacing usually varies between 276 to 433 fins/m (7 to 11 fins/in)

Typically, use higher density for steam condensers and water coolers
Typically, use lower density for gas coolers and viscous liquid hydrocarbon coolers

Tube pitch

Staggered pattern almost invariably employed

Designers tend to use the following combinations of bare-tube OD, finned-tube OD,
and tube pitch:
25 mm / 50 mm /60 mm (1 in / 2 in / 2.375 in)
25 mm / 57 mm / 67 mm (1 in / 2.25 in / 2.625 in)
As tube pitch is decreased, air-side pressure drop and power consumption increase
more rapidly than the air-side heat transfer coefficient

Excerpt from Rules of Thumb for Chemical Engineers, Fifth Edition, by Stephen Hall (ButterworthHeinemann, 2012). Table of Contents and accompanying spreadsheet templates at
www.pipesizingsoftware.com/book
Variable

Considerations

Number of tube
rows

Most exchangers have for to six tube rows, but can range from three to ten
Air-side film coefficient varies inversely with number of tube rows
More rows advantage: more heat transfer area in the same bundle width, reducing
number of bundles and sections
More rows disadvantage: increases fan horsepower for the same air velocity and
lowers the Mean Temperature Difference
Typically, four or five tube rows for steam condensers and water coolers
Typically, six or seven tube rows for gas coolers and viscous liquid hydrocarbon
coolers

Number of tube
passes

Distribution of tubes in the various passes need not be uniform; especially useful in
condensers where the flow area in each pass can be gradually reduced as the liquid
fraction increases progressively
Optimize to obtain uniform pressure drop in each pass

Fan power
consumption

Power varies directly with volumetric air flow rate and pressure drop
Fan horsepower varies to the 2.75 power of the air mass velocity
Optimum air mass velocity is higher when air-side heat transfer coefficient is highly
controlling (e.g., steam condensers and water coolers)
Exchangers are usually designed with a pressure drop between 0.3 in H2O and 0.7 in
H2O