COMPARATIVE THERMAL PERFORMANCE STUDY ON SHELL AND TUBE HEAT EXCHANGER WITH SEGMENTAL BAFFLE BY USING CFD

Thermal Engineering

In this study an experimental results of a small scale Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger (STHX) were compared with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation results. STHX is a widely used heat exchanger in industries hence it is essential to study and improve its performance. This heat exchanger is of Liquid-Liquid category with cold water flowing through the shell-side and hot water is through the tube-side of this heat exchanger. The cold water at 30° C flows through the shell-side while the hot water at 70°C flows on the tube-side. The cold water flow rate is maintained constant while the hot water flow rate on the tube was varied to study the heat exchange characteristics. The CAD model of STHX is designed according to TEMA (Tubular Exchanger Manufacturers Association) standards and the CFD simulation is done for the same in ANSYS ICEM. The heat transfer calculations were achieved by using Logarithmic Mean Temperature Difference (LMTD) method. We also employed the Kern and Bell-Delaware method which can be used accurately for shell and tube heat exchangers. The calculations and simulations are done for counter flow of the heat exchanger.

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