LAB 1

DESIGN OF SHELL AND TUBE HEAT EXCHANGER

AIM
To design a cooler for cooling Heptane – Ethyl Acetate system from 90°C to 50°C at a flow
rate of 400000 LPH.

THEORY
Heat Exchangers
Heat exchangers are devices that are used to transfer thermal energy from one fluid to another
without mixing the two fluids. The fluids are usually separated by a solid wall (with high
thermal conductivity) to prevent mixing or they may be in direct contact. Heat exchangers are
typically classified according to flow arrangements into 3 types: parallel – flow (co – current)
arrangement, counter – flow (counter - current) arrangement, and cross – flow arrangement.
The heat transfer surface in heat exchangers can also be arranged in several forms. Heat
exchangers are therefore also classified into 3 types: Double Pipe Heat Exchangers, Shell and
Tube Heat Exchangers, and Plate Heat Exchanger.
Shell and Tube Heat Exchangers
Shell and tube heat exchangers in their various construction modifications are probably the
most widespread and commonly used basic heat exchanger configuration in industry. Shell-
and-tube heat exchangers are further classified according to the number of shell and tube
passes involved. Shell and tube heat exchangers are typically used for high-pressure
applications (with pressures greater than 30 bar and temperatures greater than 260 °C). This
is because the shell and tube heat exchangers can withstand high pressures due to their shape.
In this type of heat exchanger, a number of small-bore pipes are fitted between two tube
plates and usually the dirty, cold or corrosive fluid flows through these tubes. The tube bundle
is placed inside a shell and the other fluid flows through the shell and over the surface of the
tubes.

Fig. Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger

According to various combinations of the parts of a shell and tube heat exchanger, it may be
classified into 3 types: Fixed Tubesheet Exchangers, U – Tube Exchangers, and Floating
Header Exchangers.
Design of Shell and Tube Heat Exchangers
The thermal design of heat exchangers is directed to calculate an adequate surface area to
handle the thermal duty for the given specifications whereas the hydraulic analysis
determines the pressure drop of the fluids flowing in the system. Design of a heat exchanger
is an iterative (trial & error) process:
1. Calculate the required heat transfer rate, Q, in Kg/hr from specified information about
fluid flow rates and temperatures.
2. Make an initial estimate of the overall heat transfer coefficient, U, based on the fluids
involved.
3. Calculate the log mean temperature difference, ΔT m, from the inlet and outlet
temperatures of the two fluids.
4. Calculate the estimated heat transfer area required, using: A = Q/(U*ΔT m).
5. Select a preliminary heat exchanger configuration.
6. Make a more detailed estimate of the overall heat transfer coefficient, U, based on the
preliminary heat exchanger configuration.
7. Estimate the pressure drop across the heat exchanger. If it is too high, revise the heat
exchanger configuration until the pressure drop is acceptable.
8. If the new estimate of U is different than the previous estimate, repeat steps 4 through
7 as many times as necessary until the two estimates are the same to the desired
degree of accuracy.
Input information needed. In order to start the heat exchanger design process, several items of
information are needed as follows:
1. The two fluids involved need to be identified.
2. The heat capacity, density, viscosity, and thermal conductivity of each fluid is needed.
3. The flow rate of one of the fluids is needed.
4. The required initial and final temperatures for one of the fluids are needed.
5. The design value of the initial temperature for the other fluid is needed.
6. An initial estimate for the value of the Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient, U, is
needed.