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Study of Flow and Heat Transfer Analysis in Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger
using CFD

Article · November 2018

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3566120

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 International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395-0056
Volume: 05 Issue: 10 | Oct 2018 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072

Study of Flow and Heat Transfer Analysis in Shell and Tube Heat
Exchanger using CFD
Sugin Elankavi R1, Uma Shankar T2
1,2UG Scholars, Department of Mechanical Engineering, PERI Institute of Technology, Tamilnadu, India
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Abstract - Heat exchangers are used to transfer heat by modelling the geometry. This software builds a virtual
from fluid at high temperature to fluid at lower prototype of the system or device before can be apply to
temperature. Heat exchangers are used in industrial real word physics and chemistry to the model and the
purposes in chemical industries, nuclear power plants, software will provide with images and data, which predict
refineries, food processing, etc. Sizing of heat exchangers the performance of that design.
plays very significant role for cost optimization. Also, It can be concluded that a lot of work has bee done
efficiency and effectiveness of heat exchangers is an in the field of Design & analysis of heat exchanger. An
important parameter while selection of industrial heat experimental analysis is carried out to study the heat
exchangers. Methods for improvement on heat transfer have transfer phenomenon in conical coil heat exchanger with
been worked upon for many years in order to obtain high cone angle 90 degree [1], The experimental investigation of
efficiency with optimum cost. In this research work, design the effect of wedge-shaped tetrahedral vortex generator
of shell & tube heat exchanger with single segmented baffles on a gas liquid finned tube heat exchanger was studied
and analyze the flow and temperature field inside the shell using irreversibility analysis [2], The statistical analysis is
using Autodesk Simulation CFD 2015. When comparing the used as an invaluable tool for investigation of performance
CFD analysis with experimental results, it was well of a shell and tube heat exchanger during fouling[3], The
correlation with negligible percentage of error. Thus, the non-uniform liquid flow among the tubes of a shell and
series of baffles results in a significant increase in heat tube apparatus has to be taken into account in determining
transfer coefficient per unit pressure drop in the heat the efficiency of heat transfer. The authors of this paper
exchanger. have proposed a method for taking this non-uniformity
into account and for analyzing its effect on the intensity of
Key Words: Flow, Heat Transfer, Shell & Tube Heat heat transfer [4], The improvement in the normal and
Exchanger, CFD, Baffles. longitudinal flow, we get more efficiency and low
resistance heat exchanger[5], The heat transfer rate of the
1. INTRODUCTION external tube surface of the heat exchanger for a closed
wet cooling tower can be divided into sensible and latent
Shell & Tube heat exchanger is one of the most widely used heat transfer rates. These in turn are expressed by heat
equipment in process industry like as in Oil refinery unit, and mass transfer coefficients [6], Minimization of the
milk dairy & also used in large chemical processes. Heat thermal surface area for a particular service involving
exchangers are used to transfer heat between two process discrete variables [7]. Somasekhar et al. [8] found that
streams. They are used for different applications such as adding nanoparticles to the base fluid (distilled water)
heating, condensation, cooling and boiling or evaporation causes the significant enhancement of heat transfer
purpose. They give name according to their different characteristics. Priyanka et al. [9] predicted the
application e.g. Heat exchanger is used for cooling are performance of the heat exchanger by considering
called as condenser and It used for heating or boiling are different heat transfer fluid and the result so obtained
known as boiler. The required amount of heat transfer have been compared. Pranita Bichkar et al. [10] shows the
provides an insight about the capital cost and power effect of baffles on pressure drop in shell and tube heat
requirement of heat exchanger. The tube side and shell exchanger. Santhisree et al. [11] enhanced the heat transfer
side fluids are separated by tube sheet. Thin baffles are rate and maintained uniform distance between the tubes
used for diverting the flow, support the tube for rigidity by placing baffle in the shell to force the fluid to flow
and obtained higher heat transfer coefficient. Helical across the shell. Bansi D. Raja et al. [12] investigated many
baffles give the better performance than the single objective optimizations of shell and tube heat exchanger.
segmental baffles, but their manufacturing, maintenance Ammar Ali Abd et al. [13] used many parameters to achieve
and installation cost is high. Computational fluid dynamics high enough heat transfer coefficient and the pressure
is now industrial design tool having many advantages. CFD drop within specification. Nitheesh Krishnan et al. [14] gave
models of shell and tube heat exchanger is considered a detailed overview on shell and tube heat exchanger.
here. The flow structure and heat distribution are obtained Gabriel Batalha Leoni et al. [15] highlights the importance of

© 2018, IRJET | Impact Factor value: 7.211 | ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal | Page 467
 International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395-0056
Volume: 05 Issue: 10 | Oct 2018 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072

baffle clearances which reduce pressure drop on baffle

window. Julia C. Lemos et al. [16] indicated a better
performance when compared to conventional approaches.
Kyle A. Palmer et al. [17] estimated thermal fouling
resistance at uncertain operating conditions, explored in a
series of case conditions. Eshita Pal et al. [18] presented the
effect of flow field with a comparison of analytical
methods. Labbadlia et al. [19] showed that the arrangement
of the tubes has a significant influence on the flow
distribution. Abazar Vahdat Azad et al. [20] reduced the cost
of heat exchanger to 50% based on constructal theory.
In this study, Copper tubes, single segmental
baffles as aluminium and shell as PVC pipe were the
materials used for the process. Fouling is reduced to get Figure 2. Shell when cups are closed
better heat transfer and the size is reduced to decrease the
cost of the heat exchanger. The experimental and the CFD In fig 3 & 4 it is shown that the single segmented baffles
analysis are compared and they are in well correlation are placed at equal distance to support the tube and to
with negligible percentage of error. regulate the flow. It offers low pressure drop and highest
potential heat-transfer rate. The single segmented baffles
2. EXPERIMENTAL WORK are drilled with wholes to pass the copper tubes. The holes
are drilled with a triangular pitch of 25mm for better heat
2.1 EXPERIMENTATION transfer. The baffles do not have any contact with the PVC
pipe this is to avoid fouling and stagnation of the fluid.
The materials and equipment’s used for the
experimentation were shell (PVC is used), copper tubes,
submersible pumps and single segmental baffles made of
aluminium.
2.1.1 FABRICATION TECHNIQUES

PVC pipe is used as the shell. The shell contains the core of
the heat exchanger. Shell consists of cylindrical cross
section. The standard ratio of diameter of shell to length of
shell is 1:4. The shell is drilled with a hole of required
diameter is drilled on the circumference of the shell on
both the ends at opposite directions. A cup with same
diameter with a hole on its cover is used to join all the tube
to make the flow equal in all the tubes as shown in fig 1 & Figure 3. Single segmental baffle
2.

Figure 4. Baffle fixed setup

Figure 1. Shell when cups are opened

© 2018, IRJET | Impact Factor value: 7.211 | ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal | Page 468
 International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395-0056
Volume: 05 Issue: 10 | Oct 2018 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072

The copper tubes of same length that of the shell is taken.

The tubes are arranged in the circumference of the support
plate of the required radius. The copper tubes are
corrugated to improve the heat transfer rate as shown in
fig 5. Corrugation is the process of creating a series of rings
on the outer surface of the tube. The support plates are
drilled with holes of same radius of tubes. The support
plate and tubes are joined using gas welding as shown in
fig 6.

Figure 8. Assembly of shell and tube heat exchanger

2.1.2 EXPERIMENTAL TEST

The hot fluid is passed into the copper tubes and the cold
fluid is passed in the shell. This is because the cold fluids
have more surface area of contact. This increases the heat
transfer rate and hence the effectiveness also increases.
The hot fluid is pumped from the tank into the tube. The
hot fluid is passed into one side of the cup and comes out
Figure 5. Corrugated copper tubes by other side. The cold fluid from the tank is pumped into
the upper pipe of the shell and it gets heat from hot gas
and flows to pipe on the down side of the shell. The flow is
made as counter flow. The cold fluid will gain heat from
hot fluid and comes out of the shell. The hot fluid will lose
heat and comes out of the tube.

2.2 CFD ANALYSIS

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) starts with the

construction of desired geometry and mesh for modelling.
Generally, geometry is made simple for the CFD studies.
Meshing is the discretization of the domain into small
Figure 6. Inner setup of heat exchanger volumes where the equations are solved by the help of
iterative methods. Modelling starts with the describing of
The submersible pump is used to pump the fluid to the the boundary and initial conditions for the dominion and
copper tube and the shell. Submersible pump is a device leads to modelling of the entire system. Finally, it is
which has a sealed motor close-coupled to pump body. The followed by the analysis of the result, discussions and
whole assembly is submerged in the fluid to be pumped. conclusions.
The exploded view and the assembly of shell and tube heat
exchanger is shown in fig 7&8. 2.2.1 MODELING

Heat exchanger is built in the Autodesk Inventor

Professional 2015 as shown in fig 9. It is a counter-flow
heat exchanger. First, a new design page is created. Then
all the parts are created and assembled. The specification
of the model is given in table 1.

TABLE 1: Model specifications

Parameters Specifications
Diameter of the shell (Ds) 90 mm
Figure 7. Exploded view of shell and tube heat exchanger Diameter of the tube (Dt) 70 mm

© 2018, IRJET | Impact Factor value: 7.211 | ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal | Page 469
 International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395-0056
Volume: 05 Issue: 10 | Oct 2018 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072

Length of the shell (L) 350 mm Specific heat 896.0 J/kg-K

Baffle spacing (B) 70 mm Emissivity 0.2
Pitch (P) 25 mm Copper X-Direction Piecewise Linear
Number of passes (Nt) 7 Y-Direction Same as X-dir.
Inside tube material Copper Z-Direction Same as X-dir.
Outer shell material PVC Density 8939.58 kg/m3
Specific heat 380.718 J/kg-K
Emissivity 0.6

2.2.3 BOUNDARY CONDITIONS

Boundary conditions are used according to the need of

the model. The inlet and outlet conditions are defined as
mass flow inlet and pressure outlet. The walls are
separately specified with respective boundary conditions.
No slip condition is considered for each wall. Except the
tube wall other walls are set to zero heat flux condition.
Figure 9. Designed Model The boundary conditions are given below,
2.2.2 GEOMENTRY  Inlet hot fluid temperature = 530 C
 Inlet cold fluid temperature = 330 C
The created model is imported to the Autodesk simulation  Hot fluid flow rate = 0.000277 m3/s
CFD 2015 and various geometric features are defined. The  Cold fluid flow rate = 0.000277 m3/s
CFD created volumes are made to represent fluids. The
properties applied are given in table 2. 2.2.4 MESH

Initially coarser mesh is generated. This mesh contains

TABLE 2: Component properties
mixed Tetra and Hexahedral cells at the boundaries. It is
made sure that structured hexahedral is used. It is meant
COMPONENTS PROPERTIES to reduce numerical diffusion as much as possible by
NAME structuring the mesh in a well manner, particularly near
PVC X-Direction 0.25 W/m-K the wall region as shown in fig 10.
Y-Direction Same as X-dir.
Z-Direction Same as X-dir.
Density 1400.0 kg/m3
Specific heat 1250.0 J/kg-K
Emissivity 0.92
Water Density Piecewise Linear
Viscosity 0.001003 Pa-s
Conductivity 0.6 W/m-K
Specific heat 4182.0 J/kg-K Figure 10. Mesh Model
Compressibility 2185650000.0
Pa 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Emissivity 1.0
3.1 EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
Aluminium X-Direction 204.0 W/m-K
Y-Direction Same as X-dir. The results from the experimental test are achieved by
Z-Direction Same as X-dir. using the following formulae,
For shell side,
Density 2707.0 kg/m3 Area of cross flow (Ac) = (P-Dt) B(B/P)

© 2018, IRJET | Impact Factor value: 7.211 | ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal | Page 470
 International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395-0056
Volume: 05 Issue: 10 | Oct 2018 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072

Area of baffle (Ab) = Fb - Nt The fig 12 shows the pressure distribution across the heat
exchanger and the change is indicated from red to blue
For tube side, which shows the lowering of pressure. Here, the red is
Flow area per tube (At) = indicated as the highest value.
Total flow area of tube = Nt At
Heat transferred from hot fluid (Qh) = mhCph(T1-T2)
( ) ( )
LMTD = ( ) ( )
Effectiveness of heat exchanger (€) =Q/Qmax

Table 3: Experimental value

Field Experimental Value

Temperature value T1 530C
T2 43.40C
t1 330C Figure 13. Hot Fluid Flow Simulation
t2 38.80C
The fig 13 & 14 shows the fluid flow simulation of the hot
and cold fluid in the heat exchanger by showing all the
3.2 CFD RESULTS ways the fluids are passed.
The results which are obtained is represented by various
contours, vectors and plots. It is shown below,

Figure 14. Cold Fluid Flow Simulation

The fig 15 shows the force occurred on the wall during

Figure 11. Temperature Distribution
simulation.
The fig 11 shows the temperature distribution along the
heat exchanger and it also shows the reheat chamber
which is indicated in red and this reheat chamber helps in
increasing the heat transfer rate.

Figure 15. Wall Force

Figure 12. Pressure Distribution

© 2018, IRJET | Impact Factor value: 7.211 | ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal | Page 471
 International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395-0056
Volume: 05 Issue: 10 | Oct 2018 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072

Table 4: CFD value  Compared to the other types of shell & tube heat
exchangers the fouling is very less this was
Field Analyzed Value achieved due to the clearance between the baffles
and the PVC pipe which causes shear stress on
Temperature T1 530C
shell wall. This stress reduces fouling.
value
 Low pressure drops and high potential heat
(average)
transfer rate were achieved. This was due to the
T2 47.70C single segmental baffles which was used to
regulate the flow of the fluid and they are very
t1 330C
easy to replace.
t2 39.50C  The shell & tube heat exchanger cost was reduced
this was due to the design and materials used in
Fluid force on Pressure -18.272 N the heat exchanger.
wall (average) in X
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© 2018, IRJET | Impact Factor value: 7.211 | ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal | Page 472
 International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395-0056
Volume: 05 Issue: 10 | Oct 2018 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072

and Tube Heat Exchanger Using Al2o3-Water Nanofluid”, AUTHORS

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