• Good mechanical layout: a good shape for

pressure operations
• Well established design procedures
• Can be constructed from a wide range of
materials
• Uses well established fabrication techniques
• Mechanical design features, fabrication, material of
construction and testing covered by various standards
• IS:4503-1967
• TEMA (Tubular Exchanger Manufacturers Association)
• Gives preferred shell and tube dimensions, corrosion
allowances, the design and manufacturing tolerances
and the recommended design stresses for materials of
construction
• Shell of an exchanger is a pressure vessel and designed
accordingly
• The joint is made by expanding the tubes by rolling
• When it is essential to guarantee a leak proof joint, the
tubes can be welded to the sheet
• Tube sheet forms the barrier between the shell and
tube fluids. To prevent any possibility of intermixing,
double tube sheets can also be used
• Recommended minimum plate thickness for a given
outer tube diameter are given in standards
• Tube sheet diameter depends on the tube diameter,
number of tubes and the number of tube passes.
12
 Types of Baffle Plates

Double Segmental Baffles

Triple Segmental Baffles

The triple segmental baffles are used for low pressure

applications.
Disc and doughnut baffle

14
• A baffle cut of 20-25% is generally used
• Baffle cut is the height of the segment
removed to form the baffle, expressed as a
percentage of the baffle disc diameter
• The minimum thickness for baffles and
support plates is given in standards
• Baffle spacings used range from 0.2 to 1 shell
diameter, with optimium between 0.3 to 0.5
times.
Drain holes

16
Tie Rod and Spacer
 Nozzles impingement plates

• To divert the incoming fluid

from impacting directly on
the tubes
• Such impact can cause
vibrations, corrosion,
erosion leading to
premature failure
 Channel covers
• Channels or heads are required for shell-and-
tube heat exchangers to contain the tube side
fluid and to provide the desired flow path. 
• Most channels can be removed for access to the
tubes.  The most commonly used channel type is
the bonnet.  It is used for services which do not
require frequent removal of the channel for
inspection or cleaning.
• The removable cover channel can be either
flanged or welded to the tubesheet.  
Fixed tube sheet
• It cannot be disassembled for cleaning or
inspection
• If the temperature difference between the
fluids is high or the linear thermal expansion
coefficients of the tube and shell material are
very different , differential expansion between
the shell and tubes creates forces acting on the
tube to tubesheet joints that can damage the
unit.
Pull through floating head
 U-Tube Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger

1. Shell, 6- Fixed tube sheet (tube plate), 7-Channel (end-box or

header), 9-Branch (nozzle), 11-Cross Baffle or tube-support plate,, 14-
Support bracket, 18-Tube, 20-Pass partition, 25-Test connection
33
 U-Tube Shell and Tube Heat
Exchanger
Advantages
• Requires only one tube sheet
• Cheaper than the floating-head types
Limitations
• Mostly used to relatively clean fluids
• Tubes and bundle are difficult to clean
• More difficult to replace a tube in this type.

34
SHELL AND TUBE EXCHANGERS:
GENERAL DESIGN
CONSIDERATIONS

37
 Fluid allocation: shell or tubes
Corrosion
• The more corrosive fluid should be allocated to
the tube-side.
Fouling
• Fluid with greatest tendency to foul -Tube Side
– Higher allowable velocity in the tubes will reduce
fouling
– Tubes will be easier to clean.

38
Fluid allocation: shell or tubes contd…
Fluid temperatures
• Fluid at high temperatures needing the use of
special alloys
– Tube side - Reduce the overall cost.
• Fluid at moderate temperatures
– Tube side
• Will reduce the shell surface temperatures hence the need
for insulation
• Reduced heat loss
• Safety reasons.

39
Fluid allocation: shell or tubes contd…
Operating pressures
• Higher pressure stream - tube-side
– High-pressure tubes cheaper than a high-pressure
shell
• Pressure drop (same on shell side/tube side)
– Higher HTC will be obtained on the tube-side than
the shell-side

40
Fluid allocation: shell or tubes contd…
Viscosity
• Higher HTC will be obtained by allocating the
more viscous material (for turbulent flow) to
the shell-side.
• If Laminar flow on shell side then place the
fluid in the tubes

41
Fluid allocation: shell or tubes contd…
Stream flow-rates
• Fluids with the lowest flow-rate
– Shell-side will normally give the most economical
design.

42
 Shell and tube fluid velocities
High velocities : Advantages
• High heat-transfer coefficients
• Reduced fouling
• Prevent settling of any suspended solids
High velocities : Disadvantages
• High-pressure drop
• Cause erosion
– Plastic inserts are sometimes used to reduce erosion
at the tube inlet

43
Shell and tube fluid velocities contd…
Liquids
• Tube-side,
– Process fluids: 1 to 2 m/s, maximum 4 m/s if
required to reduce fouling;
– Water: 1.5 to 2.5 m/s.
• Shell-side: 0.3 to 1 m/s.
Vapors
• Vacuum: 50 to 70 m/s; Atmospheric pressure
10 to 30 m/s; High pressure 5 to 10 m/s
44
 Pressure drop
• Usually set by the process conditions
– Variation from a few millibars in vacuum service
to several bars in pressure systems.
• If given a choice to select the pressure drop
– Perform an economic analysis for lowest
operating costs
– Full economic analysis will only be justified for
very large, expensive, exchangers.

45
 Pressure drop contd…
General guide for designs that are near the
optimum
• For Liquids
– Viscosity < 1 mN s/m2 ΔP = 35 kN/m2
– Viscosity 1 to 10 mN s/m2 ΔP = 50 - 70 kN/m2

• When a high-pressure drop is utilized, high

fluid velocity does not cause erosion or flow-
induced tube vibration.

46
Channel cover thickness
Pass partition plates
Nozzle and branch sizing
 Impingement plates
• Impingement plates are not required if the
value of ρu2 < 125 , where u is the
impingement velocity in m/s and ρ is the
density in g/cm3
• usually a metal plate of 6 mm is used
 Tube sheet thickness
Tube outer diameter (mm) Thickness (mm)
6 6
10 10
12 12
16 13
18,19,20 15
25 19
32 22.4
• A tube plate is a perforated plate with an unperforated rim,
supported at its periphery
• The tube holes weaken the plate and reduce its flexual
rigidity
• Same analysis as solid plate can be used for design of tube
sheets by using virtual (effective) values of the elastic
constants (Poisson’s ratio and modulus of elasticity).
• The virtual elastic constants are function of plate ligament
efficiency; defined as
(hole pitch-hole diameter)/(hole pitch)
• Ligament is the material between the holes (that which
holds the holes together)