Couper: Chemical Process Equipment

Final proof 13.11.2004 4:15pm page 182

182 HEAT TRANSFER AND HEAT EXCHANGERS

TABLE 8.5. Ranges of Overall
Heat Transfer Coefficients in Various Types of Exchangers [U Btu/
(hr)(sqft)(8F)]a
Equipment

Process

Shell- and-tube exchanger [Fig. 8.4(c)]

gas (1 atm)gas (1 atm)

gas (250 atm)gas (250 atm)
liquidgas (1 atm)
liquidgas (250 atm)
liquidliquid
liquidcondensing vapor
gas (1 atm)gas (1 atm)
gas (250 atm)gas (250 atm)
liquidgas (250 atm)
liquidliquid
watergas (1 atm)
watergas (250 atm)
waterliquid
watercondensing vapor
watergas (1 atm)
waterliquid
liquidliquid
liquidcondensing steam
gas (1 atm)gas (1 atm)
gas (1 atm)liquid
liquidcondensing steam
boiling liquidcondensing steam
waterliquid
liquidcondensing steam
waterliquid

Double-pipe exchanger [Fig. 8.4(a)]

Irrigated tube bank

Plate exchanger [Fig. 8.8(a)]

Spiral exchanger [Fig. 8.8(c)]
Compact [Fig. 8.6(h)]
Stirred tank, jacketed

Stirred tank, coil inside

U
16
2550
212
3570
25200
50200
26
2590
35100
50250
310
2560
50160
50200
310
60200
120440
160600
26
310
90260
120300
2560
120440
90210

1 Btu/ (hr)(sqft)(F) 5.6745 W/ m2 K.

Data from (HEDH, 1983).

made with large heat capacity. Recuperators are used mostly in

cryogenic services, and at the other extreme of temperature, as high
temperature air preheaters. They will not be discussed here; a
detailed treatment of their theory is by Hausen (1983).
Being the most widely used kind of process equipment is a
claim that is made easily for heat exchangers. A classified directory
of manufacturers of heat exchangers by Walker (1982) has several
hundred items, including about 200 manufacturers of shelland-tube equipment. The most versatile and widely used exchangers are the shell-and-tube types, but various plate and other types
are valuable and economically competitive or superior in some
applications. These other types will be discussed briefly, but most
of the space following will be devoted to the shell-and-tube types,
primarily because of their importance, but also because they are
most completely documented in the literature. Thus they can be
designed with a degree of confidence to fit into a process. The other
types are largely proprietary and for the most part must be process
designed by their manufacturers.
PLATE-AND-FRAME EXCHANGERS
Plate-and-frame exchangers are assemblies of pressed corrugated
plates on a frame, as shown on Figure 8.8(a). Gaskets in grooves
around the periphery contain the fluids and direct the flows into
and out of the spaces between the plates. Hot and cold flows are on
opposite sides of the plates. Figure 8.8(b) shows a few of the many
combinations of parallel and countercurrent flows that can be
maintained. Close spacing and the presence of the corrugations
result in high coefficients on both sidesseveral times those of
shell-and-tube equipmentand fouling factors are low, of the
order of 1-- 5  10
5 Btu/(hr)(sqft)(8F). The accessibility of the
heat exchange surface for cleaning makes them particularly suitable
for fouling services and where a high degree of sanitation is required, as in food and pharmaceutical processing. Operating pres-

sures and temperatures are limited by the natures of the available

gasketing materials, with usual maxima of 300 psig and 4008F.
Since plate-and-frame exchangers are made by comparatively
few concerns, most process design information about them is proprietary but may be made available to serious enquirers. Friction
factors and heat transfer coefficients vary with the plate spacing
and the kinds of corrugations; a few data are cited in HEDH (1983,
3.7.43.7.5). Pumping costs per unit of heat transfer are said to be
lower than for shell-and-tube equipment. In stainless steel construction, the plate-and-frame construction cost is 5070% that of
shell-and-tube, according to Marriott (Chem. Eng., April 5, 1971).
A process design of a plate-and-frame exchanger is worked out
by Ganapathy (1982, p. 368).
SPIRAL HEAT EXCHANGERS
As appears on Figure 8.8(c), the hot fluid enters at the center of the
spiral element and flows to the periphery; flow of the cold fluid is
countercurrent, entering at the periphery and leaving at the center.
Heat transfer coefficients are high on both sides, and there is no
correction to the log mean temperature difference because of the
true countercurrent action. These factors may lead to surface requirements 20% or so less than those of shell-and-tube exchangers.
Spiral types generally may be superior with highly viscous fluids at
moderate pressures. Design procedures for spiral plate and the
related spiral tube exchangers are presented by Minton (1970).
Walker (1982) lists 24 manufacturers of this kind of equipment.
COMPACT (PLATE-FIN) EXCHANGERS
Units like Figure 8.6(h), with similar kinds of passages for the hot
and cold fluids, are used primarily for gas service. Typically they
have surfaces of the order of 1200 m2 =m3 (353 sqft/cuft), corrugation height 3.811.8 mm, corrugation thickness 0.20.6 mm, and fin

Couper: Chemical Process Equipment

Final proof 13.11.2004 4:15pm page 183

8.6. TYPES OF HEAT EXCHANGERS

183

TABLE 8.6. Typical Ranges of Individual Film and Fouling Coefficients [h Btu/ (hr)(sqft)(8F)]
Fluid and Process
Sensible
Water
Ammonia
Light organics
Medium organics
Heavy organics
Heavy organics
Very heavy organics
Very heavy organics
Gas
Gas
Gas
Condensing transfer
Steam ammonia
Steam ammonia
Steam ammonia
Steam ammonia
Steam ammonia
Light organics
Light organics
Light organics
Medium organics
Heavy organics
Light condensable mixes
Medium condensable mixes
Heavy condensable mixes
Vaporizing transfer
Water
Water
Ammonia
Light organics
Light organics
Medium organics
Medium organics
Heavy organics
Heavy organics
Very heavy organics

Conditions

P (atm)

(DT )max (8F)

liquid
liquid
liquid
liquid
liquid heating
liquid cooling
liquid heating
liquid cooling
12
10
100
all condensable
1% noncondensable
4% noncondensable
all condensable
all condensable
pure
4% noncondensable
pure
narrow range
narrow range
narrow range
narrow range
medium range

pure
narrow range
pure
narrow range
pure
narrow range
narrow range

0.1
0.1
0.1
1
10
0.1
0.1
10
1
1
1
1
1
<5
< 100
< 30
20
20
20
20
20
20
20

45
36
36
36
27
36
27
36
27
27

104 h

104 hf

7.611.4
7.19.5
2838
3876
2376
142378
189568
378946
450700
140230
57113

614
06
611
923
1157
1157
23170
23170
06
06
06

4.77.1
9.514.2
1928
3.85.7
2.33.8
2838
5776
819
1438
2895
2357
3895
95190

06
06
06
06
06
06
06
06
630
1128
011
623
1145

5.719
3.814
1119
1457
1976
1657
2395
2395
38142
57189

612
612
612
612
617
617
617
1128
1145
1157

Light organics have viscosity < 1 cP, typically similar to octane and lighter hydrocarbons.
Medium organics have viscosities in the range 15 cP, like kerosene, hot gas oil, light crudes, etc.
Heavy organics have viscosities in the range 5100 cP, cold gas oil, lube oils, heavy and reduced crudes, etc.
Very heavy organics have viscosities above 100 cP, asphalts, molten polymers, greases, etc.
Gases are all noncondensables except hydrogen and helium which have higher coefficients.
Conversion factor: 1 Btu/ (hr)(sqft)(F) 5.6745 W/ m2 K. (After HEDH, 1983, 3.1.4-4).

density 230700 fins/m. The large extended surface permits

about four times the heat transfer rate per unit volume that can
be achieved with shell-and-tube construction. Units have been
designed for pressures up to 80 atm or so. The close spacings
militate against fouling service. Commercially, compact exchangers
are used in cryogenic services, and also for heat recovery at
high temperatures in connection with gas turbines. For mobile
units, as in motor vehicles, the designs of Figures 8.6(h) and
(i) have the great merits of compactness and light weight. Any
kind of arrangement of cross and countercurrent flows is
feasible, and three or more different streams can be accommodated
in the same equipment. Pressure drop, heat transfer relations,
and other aspects of design are well documented, particularly
by Kays and London (1984) and in HEDH (1983, Sec. 3.9).

AIR COOLERS
In such equipment the process fluid flows through finned tubes and
cooling air is blown across them with fans. Figures 8.4(h) and (i)

show the two possible arrangements. The economics of application

of air coolers favors services that allow 25408F temperature difference between ambient air and process outlet. In the range above
10 MBtu/(hr), air coolers can be economically competitive with
water coolers when water of adequate quality is available in sufficient amount.
Tubes are 0.751.00 in. OD, with 711 fins/in. and
0.50.625 in. high, with a total surface 1520 times bare surface of
the tube. Fans are 412 ft/dia, develop pressures of 0.51.5 in.
water, and require power inputs of 25 HP/MBtu/hr or about 7.5
HP/100 sqft of exchanger cross section. Spacings of fans along the
length of the equipment do not exceed 1.8 times the width of the
cooler. Face velocities are about 10 ft/sec at a depth of three rows
and 8 ft/sec at a depth of six rows.
Standard air coolers come in widths of 8, 10, 12, 16, or 20 ft,
lengths of 440 ft, and stacks of 36 rows of tubes. Example 8.8
employs typical spacings.
Two modes of control of air flow are shown in Figure 3.9.
Precautions may need to be taken against subcooling to the freezing
point in winter.