Heat Exchangers:

Heat exchangers are devices that provide the flow of thermal

energy between 2 or more fluids at different temperatures.
They are used in a wide variety of applications. These include
power production, process, chemical, food and manufacturing
industries, electronics, environmental engg. , waste heat
recovery, air conditioning applications.
Heat Exchangers may be classified according to the following criteria.
•Recuperators/ regenerators
•Transfer process: direct and indirect contact
•Geometry of construction; tubes, plates, and extended
surfaces.
•Heat transfer mechanism: single phase and two phase
•Flow arrangement: Parallel, counter, cross flow.
 Heat Exchanger Classification
 Recuperative:
Cold and hot fluid flow through the unit
without mixing with each other. The transfer
of heat occurs through the metal wall.
 Regenerative
Same heating surface is alternately exposed
to hot and cold fluid. Heat from hot fluid is
stored by packings or solids; this heat is
passed over to the cold fluid.
 Direct Contact
Hot and cold fluids are in direct contact and
mixing occurs among them; mass transfer
and heat transfer occur simultaneously.
CLASSIFICATION OF HEAT
EXCHANGER
 Based on process function:

• COOLER – Cools using water or air, without phase change.

• CHILLER – Refrigerates below that obtainable with water.
• CONDENSER – Condenses vapour/ vapour mixture.
• STEAM HEATER – Uses steam for heating.
• STEAM GENERATOR – Produces steam from water.
• REBOILER – Uses steam/hot fluid to heat, for distillation
column.
 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
Types of Shell and Tube HEAT EXCHANGERS
Types of shell and tube type heat exchanger most commonly used in
refinery and petrochemicals :

1. U-TUBE Exchanger –

• Tube Expansion independent of other tubes.

• Tubes difficult to clean.
2. FIXED TUBE SHEET EXCHANGER –

• Cheapest and most economical.

3. FLOATING HEAT EXCHANGER –

• Permits free expansion/contraction.

• Easy to clean.
4. REBOILER/ KETTLE TYPE EXCHANGER

• Can handle large fluctuation of loads.

 TEMA Standards:

 R C B Fundamental classes -
• Class R – Used for severe requirement of
petroleum related processing applications.
• Class C – Used for moderate requirements of
commercial and process applications.
• Class B – Used for chemical process service.

 TEMA designations for shell and tube heat

exchanger -
• STATIONARY HEAD TYPES – A,B,C,D
• SHELL TYPES – E,F,G,H,J,K
• REAR HEAD TYPES – L,M,N,P,S,T,U
 Air-cooled exchanger
 Air blown across finned tubes (forced
draught type)
 Can suck air across (induced draught)

Finned tubes
 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
 Selection of Heat Exchangers
• The selection depends on several factors:
– heat transfer rate
– cost
• procurement, maintenance, and power.
– pumping power,
– size and weight,
– Type,
– Materials,
– miscellaneous (leak-tight, safety and reliability, Quietness).
Design of Shell and Tube Heat
Exchangers
 Kern method:
 Does not take into account bypass and leakage streams.
 Simple to apply and accurate enough for preliminary design
calculations.
 Restricted to a fixed baffle cut (25%).

 Bell-Delaware method
 Most widely used.
 Takes into account:
 Leakage through the gaps between tubes and baffles and the
baffles and shell.
 Bypassing of flow around the gap between tube bundle and
shell.
Fluid Allocation