PROFESSIONAL COURSE IN ENGLISH

“PROCESS TECHNOLOGY. EQUIPMENT AND SYSTEMS”

Unit 2. Heat Exchangers

Research Associate, Candidate of Engineering Sciences

Belinskaya Nataliya Segeevna

2019
Outline

1. Types of heat exchangers

2. Heat transfer
3. Fluid flow
4. Heat exchanger effectiveness

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Introduction

Heat transfer is an important function of many industrial

processes.
Heat exchangers are widely used to transfer heat from one
process to another.
Heat exchanger allows a hot fluid to
transfer heat energy to a cooler fluid
through conduction and convection.
Heat exchanger provides heating or
cooling to a process.
A wide array of heat exchangers has
been designed and manufactured for
use in the chemical processing
industry.

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Types of heat exchangers

 Double-pipe heat exchangers

 Shell-and-tube heat exchangers
 Reboilers
 Plate-and-frame heat exchangers
 Air-cooled heat exchangers
 Spiral heat exchangers

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Types of heat exchangers

 Double-pipe heat exchangers

The double-pipe heat exchanger incorporates a
tube-within-a-tube design.
It can be found with plain or externally finned tubes.
Double-pipe heat exchangers are typically used in series-flow
operations in high-pressure.

Figure 1. Double-pipe heat exchanger

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Types of heat exchangers

 Shell-and-tube heat exchangers

A shell-and-tube heat exchanger has a cylindrical shell that
surrounds a tube bundle.
Fluid flow through the exchanger is referred to as tube side flow or
shell-side flow. A series of baffles support the tubes, direct fluid
flow, increase velocity, decrease tube vibration, protect tubing, and
create pressure drops.

Figure 2. Shell-and-tube heat exchanger

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Types of heat exchangers

Fixed head shell-and-tube heat exchanger

On a fixed head heat exchanger, tube sheets are attached to the shell.
Fixed head heat exchangers are designed to handle temperature
differentials up to 90 oC. Thermal expansion prevents a fixed head heat
exchanger from exceeding this differential temperature.
It is best suited for condenser or heater operations.

Figure 3. Fixed head heat exchanger

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Types of heat exchangers

Floating head shell-and-tube heat exchanger

Floating head heat exchangers are designed for high temperature
differentials above 90 oC.
During operation, one tube sheet is fixed and the other “floats” inside the
shell. The floating end is not attached to the shell and is free to expand.

Figure 4. Floating head heat exchanger

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Types of heat exchangers

 Reboilers
Reboilers are heat exchangers that are used to add heat to a
liquid that was once boiling until the liquid boils again.
Types commonly used in industry are kettle reboilers and
thermosyphon reboilers.

Figure 5. Reboiler

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Types of heat exchangers

 Plate-and-frame heat exchangers

Plate-and-frame heat exchangers are composed of thin, alternating
metal plates that are designed for hot and cold service. Plate-and-frame
heat exchangers have a cold and hot fluid inlet and outlet. Cold and hot
fluid headers are formed inside the plate pack, allowing access from
every other plate on the hot and cold sides.
This device is best suited for viscous or
corrosive fluid slurries. It provides excellent
high heat transfer. Plate-and-frame heat
exchangers are compact and easy to clean.
Operating limits are 170 oC to 260 oC. Because
of the design specification, plate-and-frame
heat exchangers are not suited for boiling and
condensing. Most industrial processes use this
design in liquid-liquid service. Figure 6. Plate-and-frame heat
exchanger

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Types of heat exchangers

 Air-cooled heat exchangers

Air-cooled heat exchangers do not require the use of a shell
in operation. Process tubes are connected to an inlet and a
return header box.
The tubes can be finned or plain.
A fan is used to push or pull
outside air over the exposed
tubes. Air-cooled heat
exchangers are primarily used in
condensing operations where a
high level of heat transfer is
required. Figure 7. Air-cooled heat
exchanger

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Types of heat exchangers

 Spiral heat exchangers

Spiral heat exchangers are characterized by a compact concentric
design that generates high fluid turbulence in the process medium.
As do other exchangers, the spiral heat exchanger has cold-
medium inlet and outlet and a hot-medium inlet and outlet.
Internal surface area provides the conductive transfer element.
Spiral heat exchangers have two internal chambers.

Figure 8. Spiral heat exchanger

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Heat transfer

The methods of heat transfer are

 conduction
 convection
 radiant heat transfer
In the petrochemical, refinery, and laboratory environments, these
methods need to be understood well.
A combination of conduction and convection heat transfer processes can
be found in all heat exchangers.
The best conditions for heat transfer are large temperature differences
between the products being heated and cooled (the higher the
temperature difference, the greater the heat transfer), high heating or
coolant flow rates, and a large cross-sectional area of the exchanger.

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Heat transfer
 Conduction
Heat energy is transferred through solid objects such as tubes, heads, baffles, plates, fins,
and shell, by conduction. This process occurs when the molecules that make up the solid
matrix begin to absorb heat energy from a hotter source. Since the molecules are in a fixed
matrix and cannot move, they begin to vibrate and, in so doing, transfer the energy from the
hot side to the cooler side.
 Convection
Convection occurs in fluids when warmer molecules move toward cooler molecules. The
movement of the molecules sets up currents in the fluid that redistribute heat energy. This
process will continue until the energy is distributed equally. In a heat exchanger, this process
occurs in the moving fluid media as they pass by each other in the exchanger. Baffle
arrangements and flow direction will determine how this convective process will occur in
the various sections of the exchanger.
 Radiant heat transfer
The best example of radiant heat is the sun’s warming of the earth. The sun’s heat is
conveyed by electromagnetic waves. Radiant heat transfer is a line-of-sight process, so the
position of the source and that of the receiver are important. Radiant heat transfer is not
used in a heat exchanger.

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Heat transfer

Figure 9. Heat transfer

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Fluid Flow
Two major classifications of fluid flow are
 laminar
 turbulent
Laminar or streamline-flow moves through a system in thin cylindrical layers of
liquid flowing in parallel fashion. This type of flow will have little if any turbulence
(swirling or eddying) in it. Laminar flow usually exists at low flow rates.
As flow rates increase, the laminar flow pattern changes
into a turbulent flow pattern.
Turbulent flow is the random movement or mixing of
fluids. Once the turbulent flow is initiated, molecular
activity speeds up until the fluid is uniformly turbulent.
Turbulent flow allows molecules of fluid to mix and
absorb heat more readily than does laminar flow.
Laminar flow promotes the development of static film,
which acts as an insulator.
Turbulent flow decreases the thickness of static film,
increasing the rate of heat transfer. Figure 10. Laminar and
turbulent flow

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Fluid flow
Heat exchangers can be connected in a variety of ways.
The two most common are
 series flow
 parallel flow
In series flow, the tube-side flow in a multipass heat exchanger is
discharged into the tube side flow of the second exchanger.
This discharge route could be switched
to shell side or tube side depending on
how the exchanger is in service. The
guiding principle is that the flow passes
through one exchanger before it goes
to another.
In parallel flow, the process flow goes
through multiple exchangers at the
same time. Figure 11. Series and parallel flow

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Heat Exchanger Effectiveness
The design of an exchanger usually dictates how effectively it can transfer heat energy.
Fouling is one problem that stops an exchanger’s ability to transfer heat. During continual
service, heat exchangers do not remain clean. Dirt, scale, and process deposits combine with
heat to form restrictions inside an exchanger. These deposits on the walls of the exchanger
resist the flow that tends to remove heat and stop heat conduction by insulating the inner
walls.
An exchanger’s fouling resistance depends on the type of fluid being handled, the amount
and type of suspended solids in the system, and the velocity and temperature of the fluid
stream. Fouling can be reduced by increasing fluid velocity and lowering the temperature.
Fouling is often tracked and identified using check-lists that collect tube inlet and outlet
pressures, and shell inlet and outlet pressures. This data can be used to calculate the
pressure differential or Δp. Differential pressure is the difference between inlet and outlet
pressures; represented as ΔP, or delta p.

Figure 12. Fouling

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Heat Exchanger Effectiveness

Corrosion and erosion are other problems found in

exchangers. Chemical products, heat, fluid flow, and time
tend to wear down the inner components of an exchanger.
Chemical inhibitors are added to avoid corrosion and fouling.
These inhibitors are designed to minimize corrosion, and
mineral deposits.

Figure 13. Corrosion and erosion

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Revision

1. List types of heat exchangers.

2. List the ways of heat transfer. Explain each of these ways.
3. Describe laminar and turbulent flow.
4. Contrast parallel and series flow through a heat
exchanger.
5. How fouling influences the heat transfer efficiency? List
types of fouling.

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