Department of Mechanical Engineering

Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology

ME 310
Thermo-Fluid System Design
1.5 Credit Hours

Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger

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 LMTD method for Heat Exchangers
❑ Problem:
A test is conducted to determine the overall heat transfer coefficient in an automotive radiator that is a
compact cross-flow water-to-air heat exchanger with both fluids (air and water) unmixed. The radiator has
40 tubes of internal diameter 0.5 cm and length 65 cm in a closely spaced plate-finned matrix. Hot water
enters the tubes at 90°C at a rate of 0.6 kg/s and leaves at 65°C. Air flows across the radiator through the
interfin spaces and is heated from 20°C to 40°C. Determine the overall heat transfer coefficient, U of this
radiator based on the inner surface area of the tubes

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 LMTD method for Heat Exchangers

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 Effectiveness-NTU Method

The LMTD method is easy to use when the inlet and the outlet
temperatures of the hot and cold fluids are known or can be determined
from an energy balance.
If all the temperatures are not known, heat transfer performance can be
determined through a very tedious iteration.

Kays and London came up with a method in 1955 called the effectiveness–
NTU method, which greatly simplified heat exchanger analysis of this type.

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 Effectiveness-NTU Method

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 Effectiveness-NTU Method

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 Effectiveness-NTU Method

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 Effectiveness-NTU Method

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 Effectiveness-NTU Method

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 Effectiveness-NTU Method
❑ Problem:
Hot oil is to be cooled by water in a 1-shell-pass and 8-tube-passes heat exchanger. The tubes are thin-walled
and are made of copper with an internal diameter of 1.4 cm. The length of each tube pass in the heat
exchanger is 5 m, and the overall heat transfer coefficient is 310 W/m2·°C. Water flows through the tubes at a
rate of 0.2 kg/s, and the oil through the shell at a rate of 0.3 kg/s. The water and the oil enter at temperatures
of 20°C and 150°C, respectively.
Determine the rate of heat transfer in the heat exchanger and the outlet temperatures of the water and the oil.

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 Effectiveness-NTU Method
❑ Problem:
A shell-and-tube steam condenser is constructed at 2.5cm-OD, single pass horizontal tubes
with steam at 1.5 kg/s condensing at 54°C. The cooling water enters the tube at 18°C with a
flow rate of 0.7 kg/s and leaves at 36°C. If U = 3509 W/𝑚2 K, estimate the heat transfer rate
and tube length required.

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 Shell and tube heat exchanger design
(Introduction)

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 Why a Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger?

o Shell and tube heat exchangers are the most widespread and
commonly used basic heat exchanger configuration in the process
industries.

o The shell and tube heat exchanger provides a comparatively large

ratio of heat transfer area to volume and weight.

o It provides this surface in a form which is relatively easy to construct

in a wide range of sizes.

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 Why a Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger?

o It is mechanically rugged enough to withstand normal shop

fabrication stresses, shipping and field erection stresses, and normal
operating conditions.

o The shell and tube exchanger can be reasonably easily cleaned, and
those components most subject to failure - gaskets and tubes – can
be easily replaced.

o Shop facilities for the successful design and construction of shell and
tube exchangers are available throughout the world.

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 Basic Components of a STHEs

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 Components of STHEs
The principal components of an STHE are:
1. Shell; Shell Cover
2. Tubes; Tube-sheet
3. Baffles
4. Nozzles.
Other components include :
▪ Tie-rods and Spacer
▪ Pass-partition plates
▪ Impingement plate
▪ Longitudinal baffle
▪ Sealing strips
▪ Supports
▪ foundation
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 TEMA Terminology

❑ Letters given for the front end, shell and rear end types
❑ Exchanger given three letter designation

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 Front Head Type
A-type is standard for dirty tube side

B-type for clean tube side duties. Use if

possible since cheap and simple

C-type with removable shell for hazardous

tube-side fluids, heavy bundles or services
that need frequent shell-side cleaning

N-type for fixed for hazardous fluids on shell

side

D-type or welded to tube sheet bonnet for

high pressure (over 150 bar)
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 Types of Shell

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 Rear Head Type

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 Tube Sheet
Fixed Tube Sheet

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 U-Tube STHE

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 Floating Head STHE

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 Floating Head STHE

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 Shell and Tube Geometric Terminology

Fixed tubesheet U-tube exchangers Floating head exchangers

exchangers
AEL AEU AES
AEM CEU BES
AEN DEU
BEL
BEM
BEN

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 Tube layout and pitch

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 Tube layout and pitch

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 Tube layout and pitch

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 Tube layout and pitch

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 Tube layout and pitch

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 Tube layout and pitch

Triangular layout: robust tube sheet.

Square layout: simplifies maintenance and shell side cleaning.

Minimum pitch: 1.25 × tube diameter.

For Clean fluids: smallest pitch (triangular 30° layout) is used for
clean fluids in both laminar and turbulent flow.

Fluid with probable scaling: 90° or 45° layout with a 6.4 mm

clearance to facilitate mechanical cleaning.
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 Baffles

• Baffles serve two purposes:

oDivert (direct) the flow across the bundle to obtain a higher heat
transfer coefficient.
oSupport the tubes for structural rigidity, preventing tube vibration and
sagging.

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 Types of Baffle Plates : Segmental Cut Baffles
• The single and double segmental baffles are most frequently used.
•They divert the flow most effectively across the tubes.
•The baffle spacing must be chosen with care.
•Optimal baffle spacing is somewhere between 40% - 60% of the shell diameter.
•Baffle cut of 25%-35% is usually recommended.

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 Types of Baffle Plates

Double Segmental Baffles

Triple Segmental Baffles

The triple segmental baffles are used for low pressure applications.
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 Types of Baffle Plates

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 Types of Baffle Plates

Disc and ring baffles are composed of alternating outer rings and inner
discs, which direct the flow radially across the tube field.
▪ The potential bundle-to-shell bypass stream is eliminated
▪ This baffle type is very effective in pressure drop to heat transfer
conversion
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 Design and Rating of Heat Exchangers

Two different types of problems can exist in relation with heat exchanger
design or evaluation:

1. To verify adequacy of an existing or proposed unit (rating) (There is a

heat exchanger available whose geometric dimensions are known, and it
is
desired to know if the objective will be reached with this unit.)

2. To design a new unit to perform a certain service (If a totally new heat
exchanger must be designed to perform a certain service, all its
geometric characteristics must be defined by the designer.)
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 ASSIGNMENT:01
Make a 3D model of the Shell and Tube Heat
Exchanger in SolidWorks

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 “Two things are infinite,
the universe and human stupidity and I am not sure
about the universe.”
- Albert Einstein

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