Heat Transfer and Pressure Drop in Heat Exchangers DANIEL A. DONOHUE, The Lummus Company, New York 11, N. ¥. ‘A correlation of the coefficient of heat transfer In un- hhafiied shells has been developed from the published ex perimental data which differs considerably from that pres ently used. For any particular bailied shell the coef cient of heat transfer is expressed by the relation RoR)" ey In whl Ga the goometrio mean af them secur te be bundles throug the ba While 6, takes account of sige of baille opening, C accounts for all other shelleside THOUGH shelland-tube heat exchangers in thiir prosent {form have bean usod in this country for approximately 20, ‘ears, published information sbout heat transfer eovficwnt aad pressure drop on tho shell sdo is eonicting and until zogently has been searee.. The purpose ofthis paper isto study the available experimental data-of the different investigators and to preseat, the underlying pattern which is revealed, Pastors infuencing heat transfer covficient and pressure drop, in unbafled and baf- fed shell, are identified and evaluated. In many of tho ox- perimental teats referred to inthis paper, the technique employed ‘ras to vary only one condition while ll others remained constant, ‘thus permitting the effect of that variable to be observed, SHELL-AND-TUDE HEAT EXCHANGER A view of a commonly used heat exchanger is shown in Figure 1. This oxchanger has a single-pass shell and two-pags tubes and is of the floating-hoad, removable-tabe-bundle-type of construc- tion. The fluid fowing outside the tubos enters the unit through ‘the shell inlet nozsle and after being directed back and forth ross the tubos by means of segmental baffles leeves through the shell outlet uozsle, ‘The otber fluid enters the unit through the channel inlet nozale and flows through the fst tube pass inta the IPIGEMENT PLATE TueE§ eu COVER aint, \ ee Fite, Png, Ramorblecube Bones Hat Behantr rape” structural characterlstles—namely, arrangement of tubes within the shell and leakage areas. “Chas numerical values, which, from the experimental data available, appear to be faicly constant for x given type of exchanger. Presmure Arop tests show that only partial flow penetration of the tube bundle occurs. The effect of this partial flow pene- tration on coofficient of heat transfer and on friotion factor Is considered. Interdependency of the coefficient of heat ‘transfer and friction factor is noted. Higher coefficients of heat transfer were obtained with disk-and-donghnut Daffies than with segmental baiites for equal values of fluid flow rate and pressure drop in all unity tested. floating-aead cover, where after reversing its direction, it flows ‘through the second tube pess into the channel which it leaves through the channel outlet norale. To withdraw the tube bundle for cleaning, itis pulled through the channel end of the sbell after both the floating-head eover and the backing ring have been un ‘bolted and removed from the floating tube sheet. The principal path of flow around the balling is shown in Figure 2 by the Hine labeled as main stream. Figure 2 also indicates that part of the flow leaks through clearance areas B-S, located between the po- riphery of the baile and the inside eirewmferenee ofthe abell; and T-B, betwoen tube and tube hole in the bafle. A view of the uid dowing neross the tube bundle in Figure 3 shows that not all, of tho flow penetratas (P,) the tubo bundle; some by-passee (B), lowing into the dead srea between the tube bundle and the {ldo circumference of the ehell. If thore were no leakage or byspassing arees, an idealized flow path in a segmentally balled shell could be represented as shown in Figures 44 and B by the broken lines. Segmental baftes are formed by eutting out thin, circular, metal plates to an outede diameter slightly leas than the inside diameter of tho shall. A segment is cut out of the ‘baffle along horizontal chord as show in Figure § to form a segs ‘mental opening the size of which may vary from approximately canner cover ro sours / eal Figure 2. Cross-Sectional View of Exchanger with ‘Segmental Baitien oman, ‘Taken at O-C of Figure 5 alo hein “Bead tatont Thekses boyomd center15 to 459% of the shell aren, “Holes in the basil through ‘which the tubes pass are drilled slightly larger than the tube diameter. Clear ance areas BS and T-B are usually kept Uo @ mink 2mm ponsstent with menue facturing practice, in unbaflled shells Suid enters the unit through the shell inlet nozato and leaves ‘through the outlet nozzle after lowing parallel to the ‘abe ongth loeated between. pozzes other form of basing fs the. disk-and-doughnut type. The disk baffle has fan cnnular flow area be- toreen the periphery of the bafile and the inside circumference of the shell; snd the doughnut baflle has a eizcular opening for flow at the center of the bale. ‘The disk aad the doughnut bails are placed alternately on equal spacing, and fluid flows from tho conter of a doughnut baffs in a radial direction to the periphery of the next disk baffle, thence back radially to the center of the next doughnut baile. Te would be desir able to fill the enclos- ing, heat-exchanger hell with tubes uni formly’ spaced; how- * Vis trver, in ind heat Biguse 3. Mow agzone Tube “rith Segmental Haftles exchangers structural 3 — requirements prevent za 7 it. There are two . inde of areas ‘which Fiture 4 Egct of Size of Bate must be left unocen rpening pied by tubes; (a) the ‘annular arce betwvoe the inside eireumnferenco of tho shell and the ‘outor most tubes, in Figure 1 the sizeof this area is governed by the width of the gasket at the bolted joint of the fosting-head cover, and (b) lanes in the tube leyout which are necessary to, leave room for partition plates in the channel or Bowting head, Tris een, therefore, that there are several open paths in the ex: changer among whieh the fuid will simaltanemly distribute it calf in accordance with tho principle that the prossuro drops through all pahs will be equal. Fluid flow is sensitive to seem- ingly small variations in shellside structure which affect these paths. (CORPFICIENT OF HEAT TRANS¥ER ‘The relation involving heat transfer coefficient for turbulent BD. (DG)* (220 (ne R-0( @" @) ® in which n equals 0.8 when the ow (sles piace inside a tube ‘Sie'when outtde the tube, For flow inside credlar eros sections {io value of G, mass velocity, simply equal to the flow rate, divided by tho erosreectiondl area, However, for fow outside ‘taben, the etrnotural nature of the passage presente several fe ferent arexe for, Smultancows flow among whieh the Raid. dit {iibuterfaclf, ‘The evaluation of thie cormplex flow pattern prez Senta dl@teultis, Practial and simple methods of evaluating @ ‘wilbe developed presently. "The ‘st step in obtaining the shellide conficient of heat ‘anafor from the experimental test data was to exleulate the ‘vera cosfcient of heat transfer for the unit whish equals the alg of beat taster, Btu per bour, divided by the product of ‘hcentcrnal tabe surface, cquare fet, snd the fngarthmie moa, emperstire diference, “F Since fom the famntiar concopt of component coefficients, this overall corfficient of beat transier is ‘Somponed of the five individual coefienta of sell uid, fling INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY Wot, 41, No. 11 ‘tubes, tube meta, fouling inside tube, and tube fluid tbe y to evaluate the sum of the above items, 1 Second through the fifth, and subteast he reciprocal of this Yale from the rvelprocal of the overall cooticient of heat transfer ‘whieh yields the reelprocel of the shell-sde coefficient of heat Cranele, or the majority of the experimontel data (6,7 cfprocal of the combined coeficient of heat transi o {rough five was evaluated by the well-known method of Wilson 43) ft aid the rec}proet ote 0.8 power of erate af shell Suid flow ts plotted as abscise, and the reciprocal of ove'-all oefiient of heat trenster, as ordinate, For a series of tests ona Unit in which rate of flow of shell uid is the only varia, a Flisight line rests whieh, when extzapalated fo zero rats of fom, {ntereopta the ordinate at'a value whichis taken as qual to the ‘Tociproeal of the suin of tho coofieionts of host rancor for itams foro through five. Por the remainder of the expersmental data G1), ‘whieh jnvelved iseous oils, items two, tages, and four were considered to be negligible and item five, coofcent of heat gansier inside the ‘ube, was calculated trom the relation oF Sioder and Tate (16). In sn unbafled shell Suid flows parallel o the tube length. In tho abaonee of any experimental evidence it hasbeen fee that the linalfed shell could be Hkened to a tube. For turbulent Sow inide tubes the equation of Sieder and Tate (8) is > DG (en) 94 (0% BP ~ oon (22)" (2) (2) a where Dy = inside tbs diameter, ft. Gi ~ mass velocity inside tube = tel flow (Ib /h.)erostaeetonal aren of tbe, sq. fe Substitution of D, for Ds and Gy for G; in Equation 2 does not Yield a relation valid for the experimental data on usbafBed Sells where D, = equivalent diameter of erosvatetional are, fe fd Gy = tam velactypaallel to tea = total flow (Ib /te.)/ (erose-cectional ares of sell ~ erosseeetional area of tubes). ‘Tests ontnbafled shells have been reporced by Shor’ (1) who tested six unite in which water was could, and by Heinrich and Stickle (6) who teed one uni in which al was cooled. ‘The re- sults ofthese investigators sre plotted in Figure O which reveals fevies of parlldTins, one for each unit, ‘The lines of Figure 6 roprosent an equation af the general form BD (D04\** (en)os* Boe)" @) ® where C = numerical constant varying with euch unit D = onteide tubo diameter TEES wt eter, Bs vision ‘Various, Sizes of Ballle Cutout, Figure 5. a Cait sesNovember 1948 Tap 1 Expevimenter feet ek en we REGS AT EE. Bf Roles ditties if muivesetiom n= orae Ots8 ane a % iouiceh Paine oar ison Natue of Oi Bats one one aise INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY 2501 Unsarruny Sines = cane cones (22 @ ‘Tho affect of viseoetty gradient on the coefficient of heat transfer enuld not be evaluated because al tests were cooling operations in ‘which the ratio of » to ux varied only slightly. ‘Two important facts may be noted from Equation 8: First, the exponent of the Reynolds number is 0.6 end not 0.8 sa in Equation 2, and see- ‘ond, the valu of C for tho topmost line of Figure 7 ia 2.25 times that for the lowest lino, Tn secking an explanation of the variation of valuee of C in [Equation it was found that for this eas of simple flow the only pertinent variable was the arrangement of the tubes within the tell, When values of C for each unit wore plotted against the equivalent diamoter they wore found to vary with tho 0.8 power fof tho equtvalant diameter conforming to the relation. = 0.12800; y+ aa , as defined in Equation 4A, was substituted in Equation 3 to yield the a AD onecozye (2&)** » All test points were cocrelated in Figure 7 with an average devia- tion of 12% from Equation 5 which is represented by the solid Line, Table I lisa the range of variables encountered in the tests ‘to which this corrdation applios. Tt appears thut the variation, of heat transfer coefficient with equivalent diameter is a result of the effect of tube arrangement in controlling the pattern of flow. "The two areas open to fluid How are the annular erea surrounding tho tubo bundle which is bounded by the inside shell circumference, fand by tho outermost tubes, and tho froe area inside the tube bundle Hae. ‘These two flow areas present two parallel areas 10 ow and since the pressure drop through each area must be the ‘same, the fraction of fuid flowing through ench area must adjust ‘tau to produce this condition, Tnereasing the tube piteh while ‘maintaining eacentially the same annular area reduces the fric- tonal resstance of the tube bundle, thereby permitting higher fraction of the flow to penatrate the tube bundle and producing higher heat transfer coefficient, SEGMENTAL BAPPLES eee quently 4 in segmentally baffied shells. Theee are: baffle spac- ge inaremneitani, re atogt Seeeltaie mine ome etree ea oe ie nt ty ere Siete Bernina nen ts in Figure 8 which reveals a series of parallel lines expressed by an ) ® WD _ 6 (26 ry Values of @, crostlow masa velocity, were taken along the shell ameter perpendicular to flow. The parallel lines of Figure 8 show that the value of © increases with increase in bale pa: at constant crossfow mass valocity—for example, the line for the S-bafle unit has a valuoof € 1.8 times that of the line forthe 19- baffle unit. The experimental tet figures of Bowman (1) for am ‘S.inch diameter, industrial exchanger are plotted in Figure 9 using, tromaflow mass velocity along the shell diameter perpendicular to flow. Figure 9 shows series of parallel lines of the form exe premed by Equation 6. In like manner these lines have C valves ‘which increase with badle spacing; the line for 4-inch ble epac- rowerih[ 2)" HE) Figure 7. Heat Transfer Coefficient, hy, ‘Unbailied Shelle