Heat Exchangers

Heat Exchangers
•Heat exchangers are one of the most common pieces of
equipment found in all plants.
•Heat Exchangers are components that allow the
transfer of heat from one fluid (liquid or gas) to
another fluid.
•In a heat exchanger there is no direct contact between
the two fluids. The heat is transferred from the hot
fluid to the metal isolating the two fluids and then to
the cooler fluid.
 Marine Heat Exchangers
The operating principles of a marine heat exchanger are the same as a
cooler designed for fresh water use, the main consideration for the
designer however is that the marine heat exchanger must be resilient
to erosion or corrosion caused by sea water. This means that materials
that come in to contact with the sea water must be suitable, such as
90/10 Cupro-Nickel, 70/30 Cupro-Nickel, Bronze and Titanium.

There are other factors which need to be taken in to consideration

when a marine heat exchanger is being designed. One is the velocity,
if it is too low then there is a risk that sand and other particles will
block the tubes. If it is too fast on the other hand then those same
particles can rapidly erode the tube plate and tubes.
Types of Heat Exchangers
Double-Pipe Exchanger
 Double Pipe
Simplest type has one tube inside another - inner
tube may have longitudinal fins on the
outside

However, most have a

number of tubes in the
outer
tube - can have very many
tubes thus becoming a shell-
and-tube
Shell-and-Tube Heat Exchanger
 Shell-and-Tube Heat Exchangers are the most
important type of HE.
 It is used in almost every type of industry.
 This type of heat exchanger consists of a set of
tubes in a container called a shell.
 The fluid flowing inside the tubes is called the
tube side fluid and the fluid flowing on the outside
of the tubes is the shell side fluid.
Main Components of Shell-and-Tube
Heat Exchangers
 Some common heat-exchanger
terms
 Tube side: Inside the tubes.
 Shell side: Outside the tubes, between the
tubes and the shell.
 Tube sheet A thick plate provided with holes
(one per tube) in which the tubes are fixed.
 Tube bundle Consists of tubes, tube sheet
and
baffle plates
 Shell A cylinder of plate in which the tube bundle
is placed
TEMA Heat

Exchangers
 Shell and Tube Heat Exchangers
Construction
 Fixed Tube-sheet type
 U-tube type
 Floating Head type
 Front head type
 A-type
 B-type

A B

Channel and removable cover Bonnet (integral cover)

 Shell type
 E-type
 F shell

Longitudinal baffle
E F

One-pass shell Two-

pass
shell
 More shell types
 G and H shells normally only used for horizontal thermosyphon
reboilers
 J and X shells if allowable pressure drop can not be achieved in an E
shell
G H
Longitudinal
Split flow baffles Double split flow

J X

Divided flow Cross flow

 Low-finned Tubes

 Flat end to go into tube sheet and

intermediate flat portions for baffle
locations

 Available in variety of metals including

stainless steel, titanium and inconels
 Plate and frame
 Plates hung vertically and
clamped in a press or frame.
 Gaskets direct the streams
between alternate plates and
prevent external leakage
 Plates made of stainless steel
or higher quality material
 Plates corrugated to give points
of support and increase heat
transfer
Plate Heat Exchanger
 Plate types
Corrugations on
plate improve heat
transfer give rigidity

Many points of
contact and a
tortuous flow
path
Chevron Washboar
d
General view of
plate
exchanger
“Plate exchanger”
normally refers
to a gasketed
plate- and-frame
exchanger
 Flow Arrangement within a
PHE
Gaskets
arranged for
each stream to
flow between
alternate plates

Alternate plates (often same plate types inverted)

Air-Cooled or Fin-Fan
Exchanger
 Air-cooled exchanger
 Air blown across finned tubes (forced
draught type)
 Can suck air across (induced
draught)

Finned tubes
ACHE bundle
Spiral Heat Exchanger
 Spiral Heat Exchangers
 Spiral heat exchangers can be used in most applications in
the chemical process industry
 In many difficult applications where fouling and plugging are
problems, a standard shell and tube design may not be
effective
 While a spiral heat exchanger often has a higher initial cost,
it may provide a lower life cycle cost due to lower fouling
rates and ease of maintenance
 A spiral heat exchanger is composed
of two long, flat plates wrapped
around a mandrel or center
tube, creating two concentric
spiral channels
 In a spiral heat exchanger, the hot
fluid flows into the center of the unit
and spirals outward toward the outer
plates while at the same time, the
cold fluid enters the periphery and
spiral inward, exiting at the center
 In terms of thermal performance there are several key
factors to consider heat exchanger efficiency

Temperature differential - As discussed in point 3 (temperature

cross-over) the difference between the hot fluid and coolant is
very important when designing a heat exchanger. The coolant
always needs to be at a lower temperature than the hot fluid.
Lower coolant temperatures will take more heat out of the hot
fluid than warmer coolant temperatures.

Flow rate - Another important factor is the flows of the fluids

in both the primary and the secondary side of the heat
exchanger. A greater flow rate will increase the capability of
the exchanger to transfer the heat, but a greater flow rate also
means greater mass, which can make it more difficult for the
energy to be removed as well as increasing velocity and
pressure loss.
Heat exchangers are manufactured from robust materials,
have no moving parts and operate at a variety of different
pressures and temperatures, therefore if a heat exchanger
is used in the correct way then there is no reason why it
shouldn't be able to remain operational for many years.
To help increase the operational lifetime of a heat
exchanger there are several steps that should be taken
such as making sure the design data is accurate, making
sure the correct fittings and pipe are used, and doing the
regular maintenance and service.
Have a great time doing the task!

#stayhealthy