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Fluid Stream Allocations

There are several guidelines for optimally allocating fluid streams in a heat exchanger. The higher pressure fluid should normally flow through the tube side as tubes can withstand higher pressures more easily. Corrosive fluids should also be placed in tubes which can be made of special alloys more cheaply than using special materials for the shell. Fluids that foul more should flow through tubes as tubes can be cleaned more easily. Fluids requiring lower pressure drops are best in the shell circuit which has more design options to reduce pressure drop. The fluid with the lower heat transfer coefficient should normally be in the shell so finned tubes can increase surface area to offset the lower coefficient.

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Fluid Stream Allocations

There are several guidelines for optimally allocating fluid streams in a heat exchanger. The higher pressure fluid should normally flow through the tube side as tubes can withstand higher pressures more easily. Corrosive fluids should also be placed in tubes which can be made of special alloys more cheaply than using special materials for the shell. Fluids that foul more should flow through tubes as tubes can be cleaned more easily. Fluids requiring lower pressure drops are best in the shell circuit which has more design options to reduce pressure drop. The fluid with the lower heat transfer coefficient should normally be in the shell so finned tubes can increase surface area to offset the lower coefficient.

Uploaded by

pRAMOD g pATOLE
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Fluid Stream Allocations

There are a number of practical guidelines which can lead to the optimum design of a given heat exchanger. Remembering that the primary duty is to perform its thermal duty with the lowest cost yet provide excellent in service reliability, the selection of fluid stream allocations should be of primary concern to the designer. There are many trade-offs in fluid allocation in heat transfer coefficients, available pressure drop, fouling tendencies and operating pressure. 1. The higher pressure fluid normally flows through the tube side. With their small diameter and nominal wall thicknesses, they are easily able to accept high pressures and avoids more expensive, larger diameter components to be designed for high pressure. If it is neccessary to put the higher pressure stream in the shell, it should be placed in a smaller diameter and longer shell. 2. Place corrosive fluids in the tubes, other items being equal. Corrosion is resisted by using special alloys and it is much less expensive than using special alloy shell materials. Other tube side materials can be clad with corrosion resistant materials or epoxy coated. 3. Flow the higher fouling fluids through the tubes. Tubes are easier to clean using common mechanical methods. 4. Because of the wide variety of designs and configurations available for the shell circuits, such as tube pitch, baffle use and spacing, multiple nozzles, it is best to place fluids requiring low pressure drops in the shell circuit. 5. The fluid with the lower heat transfer coefficient normally goes in the shell circuit. This allows the use of low-fin tubing to offset the low transfer rate by providing increased available surface.

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