41

5.1

Shell-and-Tube Heat Exchangers

The most common type of heat exchanger in industrial applications is shell-and-tube heat
exchangers. The exchangers exhibit more than 65% of the market share with a variety of
design experiences of about 100 years. Shell-and tube heat exchangers provide typically
the surface area density ranging from 50 to 500 m2/m3 and are easily cleaned. The design
codes and standards are available in the TEMA (1999)-Tubular Exchanger Manufacturers
Association. A simple exchanger, which involves one shell and one pass, is shown in
Figure 5.18.
Tube outlet
Shell inlet
Tube

Shell sheet

Shell

Baffles
Shell outlet

End
channel

Tube inlet

Figure 5.18 Schematic of one-shell one-pass (1-1) shell-and-tube heat exchanger.

Baffles
In Figure 5.18, baffles are placed within the shell of the heat exchanger firstly to support
the tubes, preventing tube vibration and sagging, and secondly to direct the flow to have a
higher heat transfer coefficient. The distance between two baffles is baffle spacing.

Multiple Passes
Shell-and-tube heat exchangers can have multiple passes, such as 1-1, 1-2, 1-4, 1-6, and
1-8 exchangers, where the first number denotes the number of the shells and the second
number denotes the number of passes. An odd number of tube passes is seldom used
except the 1-1 exchanger. A 1-2 shell-and-tube heat exchanger is illustrated in Figure
5.19.

42
Tube outlet
Shell inlet
Tube

Pass
partition

Shell

End
channel

Baffles
Shell outlet
Tube inlet

Figure 5.19 Schematic of one-shell two-pass (1-2) shell-and-tube heat exchanger.

Lt

Ds

Figure 5.20 Dimensions of 1-1 shell-and-tube heat exchanger

Dimensions of Shell-and-Tube Heat Exchanger

Some of the following dimensions are pictured in Figure 5.20.
L = tube length
N t = number of tube

N p = number of pass
Ds = Shell inside diameter
N b = number of baffle
B = baffle spacing

The baffle spacing is obtained

B=

Lt
Nb +1

(5.128)

43

Shell-Side Tube Layout

Figure 5.21 shows a cross section of both a square and triangular pitch layouts. The tube
pitch Pt and the clearance Ct between adjacent tubes are both defined. Equation (5.30) of
the equivalent diameter is rewritten here for convenience

De =

4 Ac
Pheated

(5.129)

From Figure 5.21, the equivalent diameter for the square pitch layout is

De =

4 Pt d o 4
d o
2

(5.130a)

From Figure 5.21, the equivalent diameter for the triangular pitch layout is

3Pt 2 d o 2

4
8

De =
d o 2

(5.130b)

The cross flow area of the shell Ac is defined as

Ac =

Ds C t B
PT

(5.131)

do

do

di

di

Flow
Ct

Ct

Pt

(a)

Pt

(b)

Figure 5.21 (a) Square-pitch layout, (b) triangular-pitch layout.

The diameter ratio dr is defined by
dr =

do
di

(5.132)

Some diameter ratios for nominal pipe sizes are illustrated in Table C.6 in Appendix C.
The tube pitch ratio Pr is defined by

44

Pr =

Pt
do

(5.133)

The tube clearance Ct is obtained from Figure 5.21.

Ct = Pt d o

(5.134)

The number of tube Nt can be predicted in fair approximation with the shell inside
diameter Ds.
N t = (CTP )

Ds2 4

(5.135)

ShadeArea

where CTP is the tube count constant that accounts for the incomplete coverage of the
shell diameter by the tubes, due to necessary clearance between the shell and the outer
tube circle and tube omissions due to tube pass lanes for multiple pass design [1].
CTP = 0.93
CTP = 0.9
CTP = 0.85

for one-pass exchanger

for two-pass exchanger
for three-pass exchanger

ShadeArea = CL Pt 2

(5.136)

(5.137)

where CL is the tube layout constant.

CL = 1
for square-pitch layout
CL = sin(60) = 0.866 for triangular-pitch layout

(5.138)

Plugging Equation (5.137) into (5.135) gives

CTP Ds2

2 =

4 CL Pt
4 CL Pr2 d o2

(5.139)

Table 5.1 Summary of shell-and-tube heat exchangers

Description
Equation
q = m& 1c p1 (T1i T1o )
Basic Equations
q = m& 2 c p 2 (T2o T2i )

(5.140)

Nt =

CTP Ds2

Heat transfer areas of the

inner and outer surfaces
of an inner pipe

Ai = d i N t L
Ao = d o N t L

(5.141)
(5.142a)
(5.142b)

45

Overall Heat Transfer

Coefficient

Uo =

1 Ao
d
ln o
d
1
1
+ i +
hi Ai
ho Ao
2kL

(5.143)

Tube side
Reynolds number

u m d i m& d i
=

Ac

Re D =
Ac =

(5.144)

d i2 N t

(5.144a)

4 Np
1

Laminar flow
(Re < 2300)

hd
d Re Pr 3
Nu D = i = 1.86 i

kf
L s

0.14

(5.145)

0.48 < Pr < 16,700

0.0044 < ( s ) < 9.75
Use Nu D = 3.66 if Nu D < 3.66

Turbulent flow
(Re > 2300)

Nu D =

hd i
( f / 2)(Re D 1000) Pr
=
12
kf
1 + 12.7( f / 2 ) Pr 2 3 1

(5.146)

3000 < Re D < 5 10 6 [4]

0.5 Pr 2000
Friction factor

Shell side
Square pitch layout
(Figure 5.21)
Triangular pitch layout
(Figure 5.21)

Cross flow area

Reynolds number

f = (1.58 ln (Re D ) 3.28)

4 Pt d o 4
De =
d o
2

3Pt 2 d o 2

4
8

De =
d o 2
DCB
Ac = s t
Pt
u D
m& De
Re D = m e =

Ac

(5.147)

(5.148a)
(5.148b)

(5.149)

(5.150)

46

Nusselt number

h D
Nu = o e = 0.36 Re 0.55 Pr 1 3
kf
s
6
2000 <Re < 1 x 10

0.14

(5.151)

-NTU Method
Heat transfer unit
(NTU)

NTU =

Capacity ratio

Cr =

(5.152)

U o Ao
(m& c p )min

(m& c )
(m& c )

p min

(5.153)

p max

Effectiveness
One shell (2, 4,.. passes)

= 21 + C r + 1 + C r 2

[ ( ) ]
)
1 exp[ NTU (1 + C ) ] (5.154)
12

1 + exp NTU 1 1 + C r2

12

2 12
r

NTU 1 = NTU N p

Heat transfer unit (NTU)

where E =

E 1
ln

E +1
2 (1 + C r )

NTU = 1 + C r

2 1 2

(5.155)

(1 + C )

2 12

Effectiveness

Heat transfer rate

q
qmax

(m& c )(T T ) = (m& c )(T

(m& c ) (T T ) (m& c ) (T
1 p1

p min

1i

1i

1o

2i

2 p2

p min

2o
1i

T2i )

T2i ) (5.156)

q = (m& c p )min (T1i T2i )

(5.157)

f Lt
1
P = 4
+ 1 N p v 2
2
di

(5.158)

Tube Side Pressure

Drop
Pressure drop
Laminar flow
Turbulent flow

Shell Side Pressure

Drop

f = 16 Re D

f = (1.58 ln (Re D ) 3.28)

(5.159)
(5.160)

47
Ds
(N b + 1) 1 v 2
De
2
f = exp(0.576 0.19 ln (Re s ))

P = f

(5.161)
(5.162)

48

Example 5.2 Miniature Shell-and-Tube Heat Exchanger

A miniature shell-and-tube heat exchanger is designed to cool engine oil in an engine
with the engine coolant (50% ethylene glycol). The engine oil at a flow rate of 0.23 kg/s
enters the exchanger at 120C and leaves at 115C. The 50% ethylene glycol at a rate of
0.47 kg/s enters at 90C. The tube material is Cr alloy (kw = 42.7 W/mK). Fouling factors
of 0.176x10-3 m2K/W for engine oil and 0.353x10-3 m2K/W for 50% ethylene glycol are
specified. Route the engine oil through the tubes. The permissible maximum pressure
drop on each side is 10 kPa. The volume of the exchanger is required to be minimized.
Since the exchanger is custom designed, the tube size can be smaller than NPS 1/8 (DN 6
mm) that is the smallest size in Table C.6 in Appendix C, wherein the tube pitch ratio of
1.25 and the diameter ratio of 1.3 can be applied. Design the shell-and-tube heat
exchanger.

Figure E5.2.1 Shell and tube heat exchanger

MathCAD format solution:

Design concept is to develop a MathCAD modeling for a miniature shell-and-tube heat
exchanger and then seek the solution by iterating the calculations by varying the
parameters to satisfy the design requirements. It is reminded that the design requirements
are the engine oil outlet temperature less than 115C and the pressure drop less than 10
kPa in each side of the fluids.
The properties of engine oil and ethylene glycol are obtained using the average
temperatures from Table C.5 in Appendix C.
Toil :=

( 120C + 115C)
2

= 117.5 C

Tcool :=

( 90C + 100C)
2

= 95 C

(E5.2.1)

49
Engine oil (subscript 1)-tube side
kg
1 := 828
3
m
cp1 := 2307

50% Ethylene glycol (subscript 2)-shell side

kg
2 := 1020
3
m

cp2 := 3650

kg K

W
k1 := 0.135
m K

(E5.2.2)
J

kg K

W
k2 := 0.442
m K

2 Ns

1 := 1.027 10

2 N s

2 := 0.08 10

m
Pr1 := 175

m
Pr2 := 6.6

The thermal conductivity for the tube material (Chromium alloy) is given
W
kw := 42.7
m K

(E5.2.3)

Given information:
The inlet temperatures are given as
T1i := 120C

T2i := 90C

(E5.2.4)

The mass flow rates are given as

mdot1 := 0.23

kg

mdot2 := 0.47

kg
s

(E.5.2.5)

The fouling factors for engine oil and 50% ethylene glycol are given as
2
3 m K

Rfi := 0.176 10

2
3 m K

Rfo := 0.353 10

(E5.2.6)

Design requirement:
The engine oil outlet temperature must be less than 115C.
T1o 115C

(E5.2.7)

The pressure drop on each side must be

P 10kPa

(E5.2.8)

50

Design parameters to be sought by iterations

Initially, estimate the following boxed parameters and then iterate the calculations with
different values toward the design requirements.
Ds := 2.0in

Shell inside diameter

Lt := 15in

Tube length

d o :=

1
8

in

Ds = 50.8mm
Lt = 381mm

Tube outside diameter

(E5.2.9)
(E5.2.10)

do = 3.175 mm

(E5.2.11)

The diameter ratio (dr = do/di) is given as suggested in the problem description.
d r := 1.3

di :=

d
dr o

di = 2.442 mm

(E5.2.12)
The tube pitch ratio (Pr = Pt/do) is given as suggested in the problem description.
Pr := 1.25

(E5.2.13)

The tube pitch is then obtained from Equation (5.133).

Pt := Pr do

(E5.2.14)

The baffle spacing is assumed and may be iterated, and the baffle number from Equation
(5.128) is defined.
B :=

8
8

in

Lt
Nb :=
1
B

B = 25.4mm

(E5.2.15)
Nb = 14

(E5.2.16)

The number of passes is defined by

Np := 1

(E5.2.17)

The tube clearance Ct is obtained from Figure 5.21 as

Ct := Pt do

Ct = 0.794 mm

(E5.2.18)

51

From Equation (5.136), the tube count calculation constants (CTP) up to three-passes are
given
CTP :=

0.93 if Np

0.9 if Np

0.85 otherwise

(E5.2.19)

From Equation (5.138), the tube layout constant (CL) for a triangular-pitch layout is
given by
CL := 0.866

(E5.2.20)

The number of tubes Nt is estimated using Equation (5.139) and rounded off in practice.
Note that the number of tubes in the shell inside diameter defined earlier indicates the
compactness of a miniature exchanger. A 253-tube exchanger in a 2.25-inch shell outside
diameter is commercially available for a 2-inch shell diameter.
D

CTP
s
Ntube ( Ds , d o , Pr) :=

4 CL 2
P d
r

Ntube Ds , d o , Pr = 138.189

(E5.2.21)

))

Nt := round Ntube Ds , d o , Pr

Nt = 138

(E5.2.22)

Tube side (Engine oil)

The crossflow area, velocity and Reynolds number are defined as
2

A c1 :=

v 1 :=

di
4

Nt
Np

mdot1
1 A c1

Re1 :=

1 v 1 d i
1

4 2

A c1 = 6.465 10

(E5.2.23)
v 1 = 0.43

m
s

(E5.2.24)
Re1 = 84.603

(E5.2.25)

The Reynolds number indicates very laminar flow. The velocity in the tubes appears
acceptable when considering a reasonable range of 0.5 1.0 m/s in Table 5.4 for the
engine oil.

52
The friction factor is determined automatically whether it is either laminar or turbulent
using the following program as

f ReD :=

(1.58 ln(ReD) 3.28) 2

16
ReD

if ReD > 2300

otherwise

(E5.2.26)

The Nusselt number for turbulent or laminar flow is defined using Equations (5.145) and
(5.146) with assuming that changes moderately with temperature. The convection heat
transfer coefficient is then obtained.

NuD Dh , Lt , ReD , Pr :=

f ( ReD)

(ReD 1000) Pr
2
f
Re
(
)

D
Pr 3 1
1 + 12.7
2

if ReD > 2300

0.5

Dh ReD Pr
1.86

Lt

otherwise

(E5.2.27)

Nu1 := NuD d i , Lt , Re1 , Pr1

h 1 :=

Nu1 k1
di

Nu1 = 8.484

(E5.2.28)

h 1 = 468.972

W
2

m K

(E5.2.29)

Shell side (50% ethylene glycol)

The free-flow area is obtained using Equation (5.131) and the velocity in the shell is also
calculated
A c2 :=

v 2 :=

Ds Ct B
Pt

mdot2
2 A c2

4 2

A c2 = 2.581 10

(E5.2.30)
v 2 = 1.786

m
s

(E5.2.31)

53
The velocity of 1.786 m/s in the shell is acceptable because the reasonable range of 1.2
2.4 m/s for the similar fluid shows in Table 5.4. The equivalent diameter for a triangular
pitch is given in Equation (5.148b) as

P 2 3 d 2
o
t

8
4
De := 4
d
o
2

Re2 :=

De = 2.295 mm

(E5.2.32)

2 v 2 De

Re2 = 5.225 10

(E5.2.33)

The Nusselt number is given in Equation (5.152) and the heat transfer coefficient is
obtained.
1
0.55

Nu2 := 0.36 Re2

h 2 :=

Pr2

(E5.2.34)

Nu2 k2

h 2 = 1.442 10

De

W
2

m K

(E5.2.35)

The total heat transfer areas for both fluids are obtained as
2

A i := d i Lt Nt

A i = 0.403m

A o := d o Lt Nt

A o = 0.524 m

(E5.2.36)
2

(E5.2.37)

The overall heat transfer coefficient is calculated using Equation (5.143) with the fouling
factors as
1
Ao

Uo :=
1
h 1 A i

Rfi
Ai

do

d i + Rfo +

W
Uo = 209.677
2
m K

ln
+

2 kw Lt

Ao

1
h 2 A o

(E5.2.38)

54

-NTU method
The heat capacities for both fluids are defined and then the minimum and maximum heat
capacities are obtained using the MathCAD built-in functions as
W
C1 = 530.61
K

C1 := mdot1 cp1

3 W
C2 = 1.716 10
K

C2 := mdot2 cp2

(E5.2.39)

Cmin := min C1 , C2

(E5.2.40)

Cmax := max C1 , C2

(E5.2.41)

The heat capacity ratio is defined as

Cmin
Cr :=
Cmax

Cr = 0.309

(E5.2.42)

The number of transfer unit is defined as

NTU :=

Uo A o

NTU = 0.207

Cmin

(E5.2.43)

The effectiveness for shell-and-tube heat exchanger is give using Equation (5.154) as
NTU
NTU1 :=
Np

Since

(E5.2.44a)

0.5

2
0.5 1 + expNTU 1 + C

1
r
2

hx := 2 1 + Cr + 1 + Cr

0.5

1 expNTU1 1 + Cr

hx = 0.182

(E5.2.44b)

Using Equation (5.156), the effectiveness is expressed as

hx

C1 T1i T1o

q max

Cmin T1i T2i

C2 T2o T2i

Cmin T1i T2i

(E5.2.45)

The outlet temperatures are rewritten for comparison with the outlet temperatures.

55
T1i = 120 C

T2i = 90 C

T1o := T1i hx

Cmin
C1

T1i T2i

T1o = 114.544C

(E5.2.46)

Cmin
T2o := T2i + hx
T1i T2i
C2

T2o = 91.687C

(E5.2.47)

The engine oil outlet temperature of 114.544C is close enough to the requirement of
105C. The heat transfer rate is obtained

q := hx Cmin T1i T2i

q = 2.895 10 W

(E5.2.48)

The pressure drops for both fluids are obtained using Equations (5.158) and (5.161) as

f ( Re1) Lt

P 1 := 4

di

1
2
+ 1 Np 1 v 1
2

(E5.2.49)

Ds
1
2
P 2 := f Re2
Nb + 1 2 v 2
De
2

( )

P 1 = 9.325 kPa

P 2 = 5.141 kPa

(E5.2.50)

Both the pressure drops calculated are less than the requirement of 10 kPa. The iteration
between Equations (E5.2.9) and (E5.2.46) is terminated. The surface density for the
engine oil side is obtained using the relationship of the heat transfer area over the volume
of the exchanger.

1 :=

Ao

D 2
s
4 Lt

1 = 679.134

(E5.2.51)

Summary of the design of the miniature shell-and-tube heat exchanger

Given information
T1i = 120 C

engine oil inlet temperature

T2i = 90 C

50% ethylene glycol inlet temperature

kg

56

mdot1 = 0.23

kg

mdot2 = 0.47

kg

mass flow rate of engine oil

s
mass flow rate of 50% ethylene glycol

s
4

Rfi = 1.76 10

2 K

Rfo = 3.53 10

fouling factor of engine oil

2 K

fouling factor of 50% ethylene glycol

Requirements for the exchanger

T1o 115C

Engine outlet temperature

P 1 10kPa

Pressure drop on both sides

Design obtained
Np = 1

number of passes

Ds = 50.8 mm

shell inside diameter

d o = 3.175 mm

tube outer diameter

d i = 2.442 mm

tube inner diameter

Lt = 381 mm

tube length

Nt = 138

number of tube

Ct = 0.794 mm

tube clearance

B = 25.4 mm

baffle spacing

Nb = 14

number of baffle

T1o = 114.544C

engine oil outlet temperature

T2o = 91.687 C

50% ethylene glycol outlet temperature

q = 2.895 kW

heat transfer rate

1 = 679

surface density

P 1 = 9.325 kPa

pressure drop for engine oil

Ds = 2 in

Lt = 15in

B = 1 in

57
P 2 = 5.141 kPa

pressure drop for 50% ethylene glycol

The design satisfies the requirements.

Problems (corrected)
Shell-and-Tube Heat Exchanger
5.3 A miniature shell-and-tube heat exchanger is designed to cool glycerin with cold
water. The glycerin at a flow rate of 0.25 kg/s enters the exchanger at 60C and leaves
at 50C. The water at a rate of 0.54 kg/s enters at 18C, which is shown in Figure
P5.3. The tube material is Cr alloy (kw = 60.5 W/mK). Fouling factors of 0.253x10-3
m2K/W for water and 0.335x10-3 m2K/W for glycerin are specified. Route the
glycerin through the tubes. The permissible maximum pressure drop on each side is
30 kPa. The volume of the exchanger is required to be minimized. Since the
exchanger is custom designed, the tube size may be smaller than NPS 1/8 (DN 6 mm)
that is the smallest size in Table C.6 in Appendix C, wherein the tube pitch ratio of
1.25 and the diameter ratio of 1.3 can be applied. Design the shell-and-tube heat
exchanger.

Figure P5.3 Shell-and tube heat exchanger