Numerical simulation on a novel shell-and-tube heat exchanger with screw cinquefoil orifice baffles

• Published in: Advances in mechanical engineering 2017-08, Vol.9 (8), p.168781401771766
• Main Authors: Zhang, Xuankai, Han, Dong, He, Weifeng, Yue, Chen, Pu, Wenhao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Baffles; Bundles; Bundling; Computer simulation; Flow velocity; Flushing; Heat exchangers; Heat transfer; Heat transfer coefficients; Helical flow; Hydraulics; Mass flow rate; Nuclear power plants; Numerical analysis; Orifices; Product design; Repair & maintenance
• ISSN: 1687-8132; 1687-8140; 1687-8140
• DOI: 10.1177/1687814017717665

A novel shell-and-tube heat exchanger with screw cinquefoil orifice baffles is designed to grasp the weakness of the traditional shell-and-tube heat exchanger with cinquefoil orifice baffles. It specifically enhances the heat transfer coefficient in the area between adjacent baffles and enhances the shell-side fluid flushing ability on bundles. In the proposed shell-and-tube heat exchanger with screw cinquefoil orifice baffles, screw-type cinquefoil orifice baffles are installed in the shell side. Shell-and-tube heat exchanger with screw cinquefoil orifice baffle is compared with shell-and-tube heat exchanger with cinquefoil orifice baffles and the traditional shell-and-tube heat exchanger with segmental baffles by means of numerical simulations. The numerical result shows that the heat transfer coefficient and shell-side fluid flushing ability in the shell-and-tube heat exchanger with screw cinquefoil orifice baffle is higher than that in the shell-and-tube heat exchanger with cinquefoil orifice baffles and shell-and-tube heat exchanger with segmental baffles, for the shell-side fluid that is urged to flow in approximately continuous helical flow. Under the same shell-side mass flow rate, heat transfer coefficient of shell-and-tube heat exchanger with screw cinquefoil orifice baffle is about 9.2% higher than that of shell-and-tube heat exchanger with cinquefoil orifice baffles and shell-and-tube heat exchanger with segmental baffles by about 5.4% on average. The article presents a novel design thought when researchers design heat exchangers.