5/198 DESIGN OF SHELL-AND-TUBE HEAT EXCHANGERS

5.7.2 Tubing selection

The most frequently used tube sizes are 3/4 and 1 in. For water service, 3/4 in., 16 BWG tubes are
recommended. For oil (liquid hydrocarbon) service, 3/4 in., 14 BWG tubes are recommended if
the fluid is non-fouling, while I in., 14 BWG tubes should be used for fouling fluids. Tube lengths
typically range from 8 to 30 ft, and sometimes longer depending on the type of construction and the
tubing material. A good value to start with is 16 or 20 ft.

5.7.3 Tube layout

Triangular and square layouts are the most common, but rotated square pitch is also used. A fourth
configuration, rotated triangular pitch, is seldom used. With triangular pitch the tubes are more
closely packed in the bundle, which translates to more heat-transfer surface in a given shell and
somewhat higher pressure drop and heat-transfer coefficient. However, the clearance between tubes
is typically the larger of 0.25 in. and 0.25 Do, and with triangular pitch this is not sufficient to allow
cleaning lanes between the tube rows. Although chemical cleaning may be possible, triangular
pitch is usually restricted to services with clean shell-side fluids. Rotated square pitch provides
some enhancement in the heat-transfer coefficient (along with higher pressure drop) compared
with square pitch, while still providing cleaning lanes between the tubes. This configuration is
especially useful when the shell-side Reynolds number is relatively low (less than about 2000).
To summarize, the most commonly used tube layouts are either triangular or square, with a pitch
of 1.0 in. (for 3/4-in. tubes) or 1.25 in. (for 1-in. tubes).

5.7.4 Tube passes

For typical low-viscosity process streams, it is highly desirable to maintain fully developed turbu-
lent flow in the tubes. Although this may not be practical with high viscosity liquids, turbulent
flow provides the most effective heat transfer. Once the tube size and number of tubes have been
determined, the number of tube passes can be chosen to give an appropriate Reynolds number, i.e.,

Re- 4rhnp > 104 (5.27)

rcDint# -

Except for single-pass exchangers, an even number of tube passes is almost always used so
that the tube-side fluid enters and exits at the same header. With U-tubes, this is the only feasible
arrangement, and accommodating nozzles on internal (type S or T) floating heads in order to provide
an odd number of passes is very cumbersome.
Fluid velocity can also be used as a criterion for setting the number of tube-side passes. It is
desirable to maintain the liquid velocity in the tubes in the range of about 3-8 ft/s. Too low a velocity
can cause excessive fouling, while a very high velocity can cause erosion of the tube wall. Some
material-specific maximum velocities are given in Appendix 5.B. Harder tubing materials, such as
steel, can withstand somewhat higher velocities than softer metals such as copper or aluminum, for
example. Maximum vapor velocities are also given in Appendix 5.B.

5.7.5 Shell and head types

Shell and head types were presented in Figure 3.3. The single pass type E shell is standard. If multiple
shell passes are required, as indicated by the logarithmic mean temperature difference(LMTD)
correction factor, E shells can be connected in series. Alternatively, a two-pass type F shell can be
used, although the longitudinal baffle may be subject to leakage. An F Shell can also be used with
two tube passes to obtain the equivalent of a 1-1 (true counter flow) exchanger. The other shell
types listed in Figure 3.3 are used for more specialized applications, including reboilers (G, H, K,
X) and units, such as condensers and gas coolers, that require low shell-side pressure drops (J, X).
The most important consideration with respect to head type is fixed tubesheet versus floating head.
A fixed-tubesheet design is cheaper and less prone to leakage. However, the tube bundle cannot
be removed to clean the exterior surfaces of the tubes. Therefore, fixed-tubesheet exchangers
 D E S I G N OF S H E L L - A N D - T U B E HEAT E X C H A N G E R S 5/199

are usually restricted to services with clean shell-side fluids. Also, if the temperature difference
between the two inlet streams is greater than about 100~ an expansion joint is required in the
shell of a fixed-tubesheet exchanger to accommodate the differential thermal expansion between
the tubes and shell. The added cost of the expansion joint largely offsets the cost advantage of the
fixed-tubesheet design.
With floating-head and U-tube exchangers, the entire tube bundle can be pulled out of the shell
from the front (stationary head) end. This allows mechanical cleaning of the exterior tube surfaces,
usually by high-pressure jets of water, steam or supercritical carbon dioxide. (Of course, square
or rotated square pitch must be used to provide cleaning lanes.) Also, since only one tubesheet is
attached to the shell (at the front end), the tubes are free to expand or contract relative to the shell
due to temperature differences.
Another consideration with respect to head type is bonnet versus channel. Bonnets are cheaper
and less prone to leakage. However, to gain access to the tubesheet for inspecting or cleaning
the tubes, the stationary head must be disconnected from the process piping and removed from
the shell. With a channel-type head, access to the tubesheet is obtained simply by unbolting and
removing the channel cover. Thus, a channel-type stationary head is preferable if the tubes will
require frequent cleaning.
Other factors that may affect the choice of head type are given in Appendix 5.D. The most widely
used floating-head design in the process industries is the AES exchanger. U-tube exchangers are
less expensive and are also widely used. The advent of equipment for cleaning the interiors of
U-tubes using high-pressure water jets has mitigated the problem of cleaning the return bends,
leading to increased use of these exchangers [10].

5.7.6 Baffles and tubesheets

Single segmental baffles are standard and by far the most widely used. In order to provide good
flow distribution on the shell side, the spacing between baffles should be between 0.2 and 1.0 shell
diameters (but not less than 2 in.). However, the maximum baffle spacing may be limited by tube
support and vibration considerations to less than one shell diameter [11,12] (see also Appendix
5.C). As previously noted, the no-tubes-in-window option can be used to extend the baffle spacing
in these situations. For good flow distribution, the baffle cut should be between 15% and 45%. For
single-phase flow, however, a range of 20-35% is recommended [9]. With the Simplified Delaware
method, the baffle cut is fixed at 20%.
Although baffle spacing and baffle cut are ostensibly independent parameters, in practice they
are highly correlated. Figure 5.4 shows the recommendations given by Taborek [11], who states:
"A sound design should not deviate substantially from the recommended values, which are based
on a vast amount of practical experience as well as on studies of the shell-side flow patterns." If the
baffle cut is set at 20% for the Simplified Delaware method, then Figure 5.4 indicates that the baffle
spacing should be in the range of 0.2 to about 0.4 shell diameters for single-phase flow.
Baffle thickness is not required for the Simplified Delaware method, but it is used in the Stream
Analysis method and in commercial computer programs. It varies from 1/16 to 3/4 in., and generally
increases with shell size and baffle spacing. If this parameter is not specified as input, most computer
programs will default to the standard values given in Table 5.2.
Tubesheet thickness is another parameter used in commercial computer programs. It varies
from about 1 to 6 in., and generally increases with shell size and operating pressure. As a rough
approximation, a value equal to the larger of I in. and 0.1 times the shell ID can be used [11]. Detailed
methods for calculating required tubesheet thickness based on bending and shear stresses are given
in Ref. [12].

5.7.7 Nozzles
Nozzles can be sized to meet pressure drop limitations and/or to match process piping. The
guidelines given by Kern [4] and reproduced in Table 5.3 are useful as a starting point.
Other considerations in sizing nozzles are tube vibration and erosion. The fluid entering the shell
through the inlet nozzle impinges directly on the tube bundle. If the inlet velocity is too high,
excessive tube vibration and/or erosion may result. TEMA specifications to prevent tube erosion