Influence of penetration angles on global-thermo-hydraulic-performance of shell and tube heat exchangers with multi-cross sectional tube configurations

I. O. Alabi; A. A. Dare; M. O. Petinrin

I. O. Alabi Department of Mechanical Engineering, Elizade University Ilara-Mokin, Ondo State Nigeria
A. A. Dare Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ibadan
M. O. Petinrin School of Mechanical Engineering, Fiji National University, Suva, Fiji

Keywords: Shell-and-tube heat exchanger, Tube-Geometry, Penetration angles, Thermo-hydraulic performance indices

Abstract

Shell-and-Tube Heat Exchanger (STHE), a vital component for efficient energy management when used with Straight-Tube Geometries (STG) is associated with low Global-Thermo-Hydraulic-Performance (GTHP). These contribute to the high energy demand of processing plants. The recently developed STHEs with modified tube configurations have not adequately addressed these limitations and necessitated a continuous search for tubes with improved performance. Multi-cross sectional tube geometrical (MSTG) configurations are known to improve GTHP along flow lines. This process has not been thoroughly investigated. Therefore, this study was designed to investigate the influence of penetration angles (PAs) on the STHEs’ performances using MSTG configurations. ; The numerical analysis was evaluated in terms of GTHP indices on STHE with Convergent-Divergent-Tube-Geometry (CDTG) and Divergent-Convergent-Tube-Geometry (DCTG) configurations of varying penetration angles (PAs), 5,10,15,…,90°. Numerical GTHP for STHE with STG was 1.0, while that obtained for STHE with CDTG configurations for all PAs fall between 1.50 to 1.625 with the highest at PA indicating a 50% minimum improvement in GTHP over STHE-STG. For DCTG, GTHP were between 1.43 and 1.585 for all PAs with the highest at PA indicating a 43% minimum improvement in GTHP over STHE-STG. Replacing STHE-STG with STHE-MSTG can improved their GTHPs in processing plant.