EP 315 Heat Transfer

Chapter 8:
Design of heat
exchangers (Shell &
1
Prepared by: Kow Kien Woh

Design principle
1. The design principle is similar with double
pipe heat exchanger follows:

2. However, the overall heat transfer

coefficient (U) and LMTD (Tlm) are heavily
depending on the flow characteristics of
fluids, which in turns affected by the
geometry of the exchanger.
3. Thus, modifications are needed to give
better estimate for both U and Tlm. Such
modifications are usually made using semi-2

Structure and terms

Tubes
Table 1: Tube size

1. Tubes are available with

different wall thickness
and usually defined by
BWG.
2. Once the OD and BWG
of tubes is known, the
total flow area of tubes
(at) can be calculated as:
Nat '
at
144n

ft
2

where
N = number of tubes
n = number of passes
at = flow area per tube
4

E.g. 1
A shell and tube heat exchanger (1S-2T) uses 32 tubes (OD = 1
inch, BWG 18). Calculate the total flow area of tubes in the
exchanger.
Solution:
From the Table 1:

at ' 0.639 in 2

Nat '
32 0.639
at
=
= 0.071 ft 2
144n
144 2

Tubes

P
T

3. Tube pitch (PT) is the shortest

distance from center to center
between adjacent tubes.
4. The shortest distance between
two adjacent tube is called
clearance (C).
5. Tubes can be arranged with
square pitch or triangular
pitch.
6. Since higher turbulence can
cause larger heat transfer
coefficient
in
shell
side,
triangular pitch is usually used
to induce greater turbulence
Clearance
as annulus flow through the
space between tubes.
6

Pitch

7. If
pressure
drop
and
cleanabaility
is
of
little
consequences,
triangular
pitch can increase the shell
side heat transfer coefficient
by 25% as compared with
square
pitch
under
comparable conditions.

Cl
ea
r

an
ce

Triangular pitch

Baffle

Baffle spacing, B

1. Baffle spacing (B) is the distance between

baffles.
2. Baffle is used to force liquid at shell side
9
flow at right angle to the tubes to induce

Baffle induced
turbulence

Baffle
3. Baffle spacing is usually not greater than the
inner diameter of shell, but not closer than
1/5 of the inner diameter of shell.
4. The closer the spacing, the greater the
turbulence, and hence larger the shell side
heat transfer coefficient.
5. Segmental baffle is the most common type
of baffle.

11

Flow in segmental
baffle

Disc and doughnut

baffle

Flow in disc and

doughnut baffle

Heat transfer
coefficient (tube)
1. The coefficient (hi) is correlated with Re, Nu, Pr and
relative viscosity as the following:
hi D c

k k

jH

0.14

vs

DGt
Re

where
k = thermal conductivity of fluid (Btu hr-1 ft-1 oF-1)
c = specific heat capacity of fluid (Btu hr-1 oF)
= viscosity of fluid (lb ft-1 hr-1)
w = viscosity of fluid at tube wall temperature (lb ft -1
hr-1)
Gt = mass velocity (lb hr-1 ft-2)
D = inner diameter of tube (ft)

15

jH - Re correlation

16

Heat transfer
coefficient (tube)
2. Gt can be calculated from the mass flow rate Wt (lb
hr-1) is known:
Wt
Gt

at

3. For non-viscous fluid (e.g.

water) :

;1

4. Hence, the correlation can be reduced to:

h D c
jH i

k k

*Note: Properties such as c, , k and are taken at the

5. Since
the
outer
surface of tube is
used in
Q=
U A Tlm , hi (based
on ID) is corrected to
hio (based onID
OD) as:
hio hi
OD
6. For simplicity, hi for
water in tubes can
be determined by
water heat transfer
curve,
where
the
velocity
is
Gt
determined
from
Velocity, V
ft/s
density: 3600

18

Heat transfer coefficient

(shell)
1. The coefficient at shell side (ho) can be determined
by similar approach as tube side using:
ho De c
jH

k
k

0.14

DeGs
Re

vs

2. However, the mass velocity (Gs) and flow area (as)

are given as:
Ws
Gs
as

ID C ' B
as
PT 144

where
ID = inner diameter of shell (in.)
clearance (in.)
B = baffle spacing (in.)

2
ft

C = tube
19
PT = tube

Heat transfer
coefficient (shell)
3. The equivalent diameter (De) is:

4. For square pitch:

5. For triangular pitch:

20

E.g. 2
20160 lb/hr of 30 wt% K3PO4 solution (shell) is to be cooled from
150oF to 90oF (tube). 41600 lb/hr of cooling water is used from
68oF to 90oF. The following shell & tube heat exchanger is used:
Shell (K3PO4
solution)
Baffle
= 2 in.
spacing
10.02
ID =
in.
Passes = 1

Tube (Water)
Number of tubes = 52
Length of tubes = 16 ft
OD
BWG
Pitch (Square)
Passes

=
=
=
=

in.
16
1 in.
2

Determine the hio and ho. Given solution = 2.9 lb ft-1hr-1 and
water = 2.2 lb ft-1hr-1. ksolution = 0.33 Btu hr-1 ft-1 oF-1 and water
= 62.5 lb ft-3.
21

E.g. 2
Solution:
For shell side,
C ' PT OD
3
4
0.25 in.
1

as

ID C ' B
PT 144

10.02 0.25 2

1144
0.0347 ft 2

Gs

Ws
as

20160

0.0347
578000 lb hr 1ft 2

Alternatively, from graph,

d e 0.95 in
0.95
De =
0.079 ft
12

22

E.g. 2
Solution:
For shell side,
DeGs
Re s

0.079 578000

2.9
=15750

From graph,
jH 71

ho De c
jH

k
k

0.14

h 0.079 0.757 2.9

71 o

0.33
0.33

ho 558 Btu hr 1ft 2 o F

23

E.g. 2
Solution:
For tube side,
at ' 0.302 in 2

Nat '
at
144n
52 0.302
=
144 2
= 0.0545 ft 2
Wt
Gt
at
41600

0.0545
762000 lb hr 1ft 2

For water, the velocity is

Gt
Velocity, V
3600
762000

3.4 ft/s
3600 62.5

From water curve,

hi 800 Btu hr 1ft 2 o F
ID
OD
0.62
800
662 Btu hr 1ft 2 o F
0.75
24

hio hi

E.g. 2
Additional:
The clean overall heat transfer coefficient (Uc) is:
1
1 1
;

U c ho hio
1
1

558 662
U c 303 Btu hr 1ft 2 o F

The clean overall heat transfer coefficient (Uc) is heat

transfer coefficient that does not include fouling factor.
25

Corrected LMTD
1. When multi-pass is
used, part of the flow
is in counter direction
while the remaining is
in parallel direction.
2. Hence, a correction
factor (FT) is used for
such conditions.

Parallel
Counter

Q UATlm,corrected
g

Q UA Tlm FT
26

LMTD
3. For 1S-2T counter flow, FT is given as:
1 X

2
Y 1 ln
1 XY

FT =
2 X Y 1 Y 2 1

Y 1 ln

2
2

X
Y

where
t2 t1
T1 T2
X
Y
T1 t1
t2 t1
For hot fluid in shell side:

T1 T2 Thi Tho
t2 t1 Tco Tci
Y

t2 t1 Tco Tci
T1 t1 Thi Tci
4. Alternatively, correction factor charts in P and 27R

FT charts

t2 t1
X P
T1 t1

T1 T2
Y R
t2 t1
28

FT charts

29

E.g.3
Recall in e.g.2, 20160 lb/hr of 30 wt% K 3PO4 solution is to be cooled
from 150oF to 90oF. 41600 lb/hr of cooling water is used from 68 oF
to 90oF. The following shell & tube heat exchanger is used:

Shell (K3PO4
solution)
Baffle
= 2 in.
spacing
10.02
ID =
in.
Passes = 1

Determine
the

Tube (Water)
Number of tubes = 52
Length of tubes = 16 ft
OD
BWG
Pitch (Square)
Passes

=
=
=
=

in.
16
1 in.
2

(a) Corrected LMTD

(b)Design overall coefficient, UD
Given ch = 0.757 Btu lb-1oF-1 and cc = 1 Btu lb-1oF-1

30

E.g. 3
Solution:
(a) Th,i 150

Tc ,o 90 o F
Tc ,i 68 o F

Th ,o 90 o F

60 22
60
ln
22
37.9 o F

Th ,i 150 o F

Tlm

Tc ,o 90 o F
T1 60 o F

Th ,o 90 o F
Tc ,i 68 o F
T2 22 o F

31

E.g. 3

o find the correction factor, FT

Tco Tci 90 68
X

0.268
Thi Tci 150 68

Th ,i 150 F
o

Tc ,o 90 o F

Thi Tho 150 90

Y

2.727
Tco Tci
90 68
Th ,o 90 o F
Tc ,i 68 o F

Y 1 ln
2

FT =

1 X

1 XY

2 X Y 1

Y 1 ln

2 X Y 1 Y 2 1
Y2

32

E.g.3
2.727 2 1 ln
FT =

1 0.268

1 0.268 2.727

2 0.268 2.727 1

2.727 1 ln

2.727 1

2 0.268 2.727 1 2.727 2 1

2.905(1)
1.7797
1.727 ln
0.2226

0.8092

Alternatively, using graph

Tlm, corrected Tlm FT

P X 0.27
R Y 2.72

37.9 0.8092
30.7 o F
33

E.g.3
(b) From heat balance:
g

Q h m h ch Th ,i Th ,o

Q c mc cc Tc ,o Tc ,i

915000 Btu hr 1

915000 Btu hr 1

20160 0.757 150 90

41600 1 90 68

To estimate UD ,
g

Q U D Ao Tlm,corrected
For in tube, from the table, the external surface is 0.1963
ft2 per ft of tube,

ft 2
Ao 52 tubes 16 ft 0.1963
163 ft 2
ft

34

E.g.4 (cont.)
g

Q
UD
Ao Tlm,corrected
915000

163 30.7
183 Btu hr 1 ft 2 o F 1

Note:
Recall in e.g., clean coefficient, Uc = 303, i.e.,
higher that the design coefficient UD = 183.
Thus, the exchanger is capable to operate
based on the temperatures requirements. In
addition, it is possible to accommodate fouling
35

Rating of exchanger
1. When conditions and dimensions are specified for a
heat exchanger, evaluation of suitability of an
existing heat exchanger is known as rating of
exchanger.
2. The maximum allowable fouling factor for the
exchanger under specified conditions is given by:
1
1
R f ,total allowable

U D UC
3. The exchanger is suitable to be used if:
R f ,total R f ,total allowable
4. In addition, the allowable pressure drop for the two
36
streams may not be exceeded.

Fouling factor

Fouling factor

38

E.g.5
Based the Uc and UD obtained in e.g. 4, calculate the total
allowable fouling factor. Is the heat exchanger satisfactory
for the fouling of liquids?
1
1

R f ,total allowable

UD

UC

1
1

183 303
0.00216 hr ft 2 o F Btu 1

From fouling factor table,

R f , distilled water 0.0005

R f , K3PO4 ; R f , Brine 0.001
R f , total 0.0005 0.001 0.0015

Since
Rf total < Rf,

allowable

The heat exchanger is

satisfactory for the
39
operation.

Other considerations
1. In rating a heat exchanger, not only Uc must
exceed UD sufficiently to accommodate the fouling
factor.
2. The allowable pressure drop for the two streams
must also not be exceeded. Fluids may not able to
circulate in shell or/and tube is the allowable
pressure drop is exceeded.
3. Beside that, placement of fluid in shell or tube is
usually
done
based
on
the
following
considerations:
(a) Pressure
Put a high-pressure fluid on the tube side. This usually
minimizes exchanger cost. The smaller tube diameter
40

Other considerations
(b) Fouling
A fluid with a tendency to foul generally should go on
the tube side. Cleaning straight tubes normally is easier
than cleaning the shell even if a relatively large tube
pitch or a square tube pattern is used to make the shell
side easier to clean. Using a fixed tubesheet mandates
putting a clean fluid on the shell side; unless expected
fouling is easily removed by chemical cleaning, the
fixed tubesheet makes the shell side impossible to
clean. In contrast, U-tubes are more difficult than
straight tubes to clean.
(c) Corrosive fluids
Put a corrosive fluid on the tube side. That way, only
41
the tubes, tubesheets, heads and channels will need

Other considerations
(d) Vapor
Because a vapor normally has a higher volume and
lower heat-transfer coefficient than a liquid, allocate it
to the shell side. This reduces pressure drop for a given
volume and typically provides a higher heat-transfer
coefficient.
A condensing fluid most often goes on the shell side. If
the shell-side velocity is low enough, the vapor and
liquid can separate inside the exchanger
(e) Viscous fluids
A viscous fluid on the tube side tends to have high
pressure drop and low heat transfer. That favors shellside allocation. However, high pressure drop on the
42
shell side can prompt significant flow bypassing around

Design of heat
exchanger
1. If a totally new heat exchanger must be designed
to perform a certain service, all its geometric
characteristics must be defined by the designer.
2. The heat transfer coefficients must be as high as
possible because to minimize area. The obvious
limitation to the increase in heat transfer
coefficients is the allowable pressure drop (p) for
both fluids.
3. As a general rule, we can say that the design will
be optimal when the p values of both fluids are
close to the maximum allowable values (because
then the heat transfer coefficients also will be close
to the maximum) and the heat transfer area is
enough, but with little excess, to transfer the
43

Design of heat
exchanger
Step 1:
With a heat balance, the unknown process variable
(flow rate or temperature) of one of the streams can
be found. Then calculate LMTD.
Step 2:
Based on all inlet and outlet temperatures, estimate
correction factor of LMTD (FT) for various shell pass. It
is recommended never to design with an FT lower than
0.75. Though counter current configuration allows FT
= 1, it is avoided in case it makes the removablebundle construction difficult, or it makes a very high
tube length, or installation of shells in series
44
necessary.

Design of heat
exchanger
Step 3:
Considering the type of fluids to be handled, a first
guess of the overall heat transfer coefficient can be
obtained using the table:

45

Typical heat transfer

coefficient

46

Typical heat transfer

coefficient

47

Typical heat transfer

coefficient

48

Design of heat
exchanger
Step 4:
With the assumed U, an approximate value of the heat
transfer area (A)can be calculated as:
g

Q
A
U D FT Tlm
'

Step 5:
A minimum fluid velocity to achieve reasonable hi is
assumed (usually 1m/s is reasonable estimate to start
with). The number of tubes (Ns) in single tube pass will
be:
Wt

NS

t at ' V

49

Design of heat
exchanger
Step 6:
Select the number of tubes (N), tube length (L), and
number of tube passes (n). Here, it is necessary to find
a combination of number of tubes and tube length to
satisfy the value of A' calculated
in step 4, which is:
'

A
N
Do L
'

At the same time, the number of tube passes must be

selected in such a way that the quotient between N and
Ns is an integer. This means that one must adopt the
number of tube passes n as:N '
n
Ns
by adjusting Di , Do , L and V to get an integer. At 50the

Design of heat
exchanger
Step 7:
Selection of shell diameter. The following tables show
the number of tubes that can be allocated in a certain
shell diameter for different exchanger types following
TEMA (Tubular Exchangers Manufacturers Association)
standards. Once the number of tubes (N) has been
selected with the help of these tables, it is possible to
find the necessary shell diameter.
Usually the number of tubes obtained from the tables
(N) will not match exactly with the number of tubes
calculated in step 6. Anyway, at this stage we are only
looking for a first approximation to the final design, to
be verified later.
51

Shell diameter (TEMA)

52

Shell diameter (TEMA)

53

Shell diameter (TEMA)

54

Shell diameter (TEMA)

55

Design of heat
exchanger
Step 8:
With the number of tubes determined in step 7,
calculate the corrected heat transfer area as:

A N Do L
This is usually somewhat different from the area
calculated in step 6 because we may have slightly
changed the number of tubes.
Step 9:
Finally, the baffle separation is selected by try to obtain
a Reynolds number that gives a reasonably high shellside heat transfer coefficient. This may require a few
trial calculations using jH factor correlations. Once the
56

Factors not considered

in Kerns method
1. The Kern method has been criticized for a number of
reasons.
2. Bypass streams: The method assumes that the shell
fluid flow is perpendicular to the tubes. This is not
true because of bypass stream. Obviously, this flow
is ineffective for the heat transfer because it by
passes the tube bundle.

Bypass stream

Bypass stream

57

Factors not considered

in Kerns method
3. Leakage streams: Since the baffle holes
crossed by the tubes are drilled with a
diameter slightly larger than the tube
diameter, there is a clearance between the
tube and the baffle, and part of the shell
fluid leaks across this clearance. There is
also leakage through the free area between
the baffle and the shell.
4. Tube Pattern: The equivalent diameter is
defined for a flow direction parallel to the
tubes, whereas the shell-side flow is mainly
normal to the tubes.
58

Leakage streams

59