RESEARCH AND CFD ANALYSIS OF

METHODS TO IMPROVE THE HEAT

TRANSFER RATE OF SHELL AND
TUBE HEAT EXCHANGERS

Group members: Project guide:

PRITHIEEP R (310113114076) DR. M PRAKASH, PhD,

RAJKUMAR S A (310113114081) Asst. Professor,
SUBRAMANIAN N (310113114096) Mechanical Department,
VISWANATHAN S (3101131140115) Anand Institute of higher technology.
 ABSTRACT
A heat exchanger is a device used to transfer heat
between a solid object and a fluid, or between two or more
fluids. The fluids may be separated by a solid wall to prevent
mixing or they may be in direct contact. This research
involves in experimentation and analysis of methods to
improve the heat transfer rate in a shell & tube type heat
exchangers. Several methodologies include design of baffles
for increasing surface for heat transfer, designing twisted
tubes instead of cylindrical tubes, Graphene coating.
 LITERATURE SURVEY
1) CFD AND EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES ON HEAT
TRANSFER ENHANCEMENT IN AN AIR COOLER EQUIPPED
WITH DIFFERENT TUBE INSERTS.
Author: S.R. Shabanian , M. Rahimi M. Shahhosseini , A.A.
Alsairafi
Journal: Science Direct
Work : This paper reports the experimental and
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling studies on
heat transfer, friction factor and thermal performance of an
air cooled heat exchanger equipped with three types of
tube insert including butterfly, classic and jagged twisted
tape. In the studied range of Reynolds number the
maximum thermal performance factor was obtained by the
butterfly insert with an inclined angle of 90. The difference
between the heat transfer rates obtained from employing
the classic and jagged inserts reduces by decreasing the
twist ratio. The CFD predicted results were used to explain
the observed results in terms of turbulence intensity. In
 LITERATURE SURVEY
2) SHELL SIDE NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF A SHELL AND
TUBE HEAT EXCHANGER CONSIDERING THE EFFECTS OF
BAFFLE INCLINATIONANGLE ON FLUIDFLOW USING CFD
Author: Thundil Karuppa Raj, Srikanth Ganne
Journal: Science Direct
Work : In this present study, attempts were made to
investigate the impacts of various baffle inclination angles
on fluid flow and the heat transfer characteristics of a shell-
and-tube heat exchanger for three different baffle
inclination angles namely 0 , 10 and 20. The simulation
results for various shell and tube heat exchangers, one with
segmental baffles perpendicular to fluid flow and two with
segmental baffles inclined to the direction of fluid flow are
compared for their performance. The shell side design has
been investigated numerically by modeling a small shell-
and-tube heat exchanger.
 LITERATURE SURVEY
3) MODELLING AND OPTIMIZATION OF HEAT TRANSFER
IN SMOOTH CIRCULAR TUBE USED IN THE SHELL AND
TUBE.
Author: - RANJ SIRWAN, YUSOFF ALI , LIM CHIN HAW, SOHIF
MAT, A.ZAHARIM and K. SOPIAN
Journal: Department of Mechanical and materials,
University Kebangsaan.
Work : An optimization of heat transfer for smooth circular
tube used in the ammonia-water absorption cooling system
has been carried out to estimate minimum outlet water
temperature and maximum heat flux. The tube diameter
ranges from 7 to 13 mm and length ranges from 0.5 to 1.2
M, has been varied to study the effects. The numerical
analysis was performed by using the finite elements
commercial code. The optimization result has shown that 7
mm diameter and 1.2 M length has given the minimum
water temperature of 8.3 c at the outlet with maximum
heat flux of 16193 W/M2. Numerical analysis and
 RESEARCH GAP
There are several research that aims to improve the
efficiency of heat exchangers by implementing new
methods. But there has been a lack of data on heat
transfer characteristics for these new innovations
when it is implemented in a heat exchanger and there
is even less information on the effect that these
methods have on the fluids in heat exchangers. This
research aims to fill this gap by deriving heat transfer
characteristics, analyzing the flow of the fluids
during the implementation of these methods and
emphasizing the effect of these improvement
techniques on a shell & tube type heat exchanger.
 Scope of this research
Innovative design of heat exchanger will result in better
performance from all points of view. If these improvements
are used in Internal Combustion Engines, Air preheaters, and
Cooling Towers there would be considerable improvement in
the efficiency of these machines. The performance ratio for
inserted baffle is greater than unity, therefore improvement in
the energy saving lead to validate the capacity of the
proposed expressions to predict the behavior for practical
applications. This has a wide range of application from
industrial heat exchangers to production of every day
consumers goods like air conditioning systems, refrigeration,
etc. The fluids are physically separated by heat transfer
surface and the heat is transferred from hot to cold agent.
 OBJECTIVE
To add metal baffles to the tubes in heat exchangers
to increase the surface of heat transfer and study its
effect.
To implement twisted tubes instead of cylindrical
tubes in heat exchanger and study its effect.
To study the effect of implementing Graphene coating
in the heat transfer tubes.
To analyze the heat transfer and flow of fluid in heat
exchangers by using Computational Fluid
Dynamics( CFD).
 PROJECT METHODOLOGY
DESIGN:
1) Model of Shell & Tube type Heat Exchanger
 2) HORIZANTAL CUT SECTION OF
SHELL AND TUBE HEAT EXCHANGER
3) VERTICAL CUT SECTION OF SHELL
AND TUBE HEAT EXCHANGER
PROJECT METHODOLOGIES
CALCULATIONS
PROJECT METHODOLOGIES
SHELL AND TUBE TYPE HEAT EXCHANGERS:
 Shell and tube heat exchangers consist of series of tubes.
One set of these tubes contains the fluid that must be either
heated or cooled. The second fluid runs over the tubes that are
being heated or cooled so that it can either provide the heat or
absorb the heat required. A set of tubes is called the tube
bundle and can be made up of several types of tubes: plain,
longitudinally finned, etc. Shell and tube heat exchangers are
typically used for high-pressure applications. This is because
the shell and tube heat exchangers are robust due to their
shape. Several thermal design features must be considered
when designing the tubes in the shell and tube heat
exchangers: There can be many variations on the shell and
tube design.
BAFFLES

The baffles are used to increase

the surface area of the heat
exchanger tubes. Baffles serve two
functions: Most importantly, they
support the tubes in the proper
position during assembly and
operation and prevent vibration of
the tubes caused by flow-induced
eddies, and secondly, they guide the
shell-side flow back and forth across
the tube field, increasing the velocity
and the heat transfer coefficient.
Twisted Tubes
TWISTED TUBE

The twisted-tube design provides a higher heat transfer

coefficient than any other type of tubular heat exchanger
for three reasons: The complex swirl flow on the shell side
induces turbulence; the twisted tubes force a powerful
tube-side turbulence; and uniform flow distribution extends
the effective length of the bundle, providing more surface
area than conventional shell-and-tube heat exchangers.
According to some estimates, heat transfer coefficients
with the twisted-tube design are 40% higher than those
found in a conventional shell-and-tube heat exchanger with
a similar pressure reduction.
 Graphene Coating
Efficient condensation. An uncoated copper
condenser tube (top left) is shown next to a
similar tube coated with graphene (top right).
When exposed to water vapor at 100C, the
uncoated tube produces an inefficient water
film (bottom left), while the coated tube
exhibits the more desirable dropwise
condensation. Graphene is the thinnest
material known to manjust one atom thick
but it is also incredibly. It is very flexible
and it is also an excellent conductor of heat
and electricity. At a price of roughly $60 per
square inch, graphene is currently too
expensive to justify the cost of coating
condenser tubes and by some estimates that
could lead to a 2% to 3% improvement in
overall power plant efficiency.
 REFERENCE
1. CFD AND EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES ON HEAT
TRANSFER ENHANCEMENT IN AN AIR COOLER
EQUIPPED WITH DIFFERENT TUBE INSERTS. By, S.R.
Shabanian , M. Rahimi M. Shahhosseini , A.A. Alsairaf from
Science Direct Journal.
2. SHELL SIDE NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF A SHELL AND
TUBE HEAT EXCHANGER CONSIDERING THE EFFECTS
OF BAFFLE INCLINATIONANGLE ON FLUIDFLOW
USING CFD by Thundil Karuppa Raj, Srikanth Ganne from
Science Direct Journal.
3. MODELLING AND OPTIMIZATION OF HEAT TRANSFER
IN SMOOTH CIRCULAR TUBE USED IN THE SHELL AND
TUBE. By - RANJ SIRWAN, YUSOFF ALI , LIM CHIN HAW,
SOHIF MAT, A.ZAHARIM and K. SOPIAN from Department
of Mechanical and materials, University Kebangsaan.