A Heat exchanger experiment.

A.1 Air Heat Exchangers.

A.1.1 Flow arrangement theory of operation.

In an air-cooled heat exchanger, the hot process fluid flows through a bank of finned tubes, and ambient
air is blown across the tubes by one or more axial-flow fans. For applications involving only sensible heat
transfer, the tubes are oriented horizontally as shown in Figures 1 and 2. For condensers, an A-frame
configuration (Figure 3) is often used, with the condensing vapor flowing downward through the tubes,
which are oriented at an angle of 60 with the horizontal. In units employing horizontal tubes, the fan
may be located either below (forced draft) or above (induced draft) the tube bank. In either case, the air
flows upward across the tubes. The fan drive assembly in an induced-draft unit may be mounted below
the tube bundle (either on the ground as shown in Figure 2 or suspended from the framework), or it may
be mounted above the fan .With the former arrangement, the drive assembly is easily accessible for
inspection and maintenance, and it is not exposed to the heated air leaving the unit. However, the drive
shaft passes through the tube bundle, requiring omission of some tubes, and the relatively long shaft is
more susceptible to vibration problems.
The forced-draft configuration provides the simplest and most convenient fan arrangement. With all
blower components located below the tube bundle, they are easily accessible for maintenance and are not
exposed to the heated air leaving the unit. However, these exchangers are susceptible to hot air
recirculation due to the low velocity of the air leaving the unit. Induced-draft operation gives more
uniform air flow over the tube bundle and the exit air velocity is several times higher than in forced-draft
operation, thereby reducing the potential for hot air to be recirculated back to the intake of the unit or
other nearby units. Hot air recirculation tends to reduce the capacity of the heat exchanger, thereby
requiring a higher air flow rate and/or more heat-transfer surface. The induced-draft configuration also
provides some protection from the elements for the tube bundle, which helps to stabilize the operation of
the unit when sudden changes in ambient conditions occur. For a given mass flow rate of air, induced-
draft operation in principle entails greater power consumption than forced-draft operation due to the
higher volumetric flow rate of the heated air that is handled by the induced-draft fan. In practice,
however, this potential disadvantage tends to be offset by the more uniform flow distribution and lower
potential for hot gas recirculation obtained with induced-draft operation. As a result, induced-draft units
typically do not require significantly more power than forced-draft units, and in some cases may actually
require less power.

Figure 1 Forced draft air cooled heat exchanger

 Figure 2 Induced draft air cooled heat exchanger

Figure 3 A-farm air cooled condenser

A.1.2 Advantages and disadvantages of Air-cooled heat exchanger.

Advantages
1. Cooling with air is very economical
2. The Operating cost is very low compared with the water cooled Heat Exchangers
3. maintenance costs are generally lower for air-cooled exchangers
4. there is no possibility of leakage and mixing of water with the process fluid
5. Air cooling also eliminates the fouling and corrosion problems associated with cooling water
Dis-advantages
1. High capital cost
2. Large Volume

A.1.3 Application Area of use.

1. Cars` radiators to remove heat from the engine coolant

2. Chemical and petroleum processing operations.
3. Subsurface gas storage
4. Cooling the units of Compressor stations
A.2 Shell and tube heat exchangers.

A2.1 Flow arrangement theory of operation.

A shell-and-tube exchanger (Figure 4) consists of a bundle of tubes contained in a cylindrical

shell.

Figure 4 (A schematic illustration of shell and tube heat exchanger)

Either the tube-side fluid, the shell-side fluid, or both may make more than one pass through
the heat exchanger. On the tube side, multiple passes are achieved by means of U-tubes or by
partitioning the headers. The number of tube-side passes is usually one, two, four, or six, but may
be as high as 16. Multiple passes on the shell side are achieved by partitioning the shell with a
longitudinal baffle (type F-shell) or by connecting two or more single-pass shells together. The
number of shell-side passes is usually between one and six.
The primary flow pattern in the shell is a sinuous motion both transverse and parallel to the
tubes. However, the situation is complicated by the fact that part of the fluid bypasses the main
heat-transfer surface as a result of various leakages. The bypass streams include the tube-to-baffle
leakage stream, the tube bundle-to-shell bypass stream, and the baffle-to-shell leakage stream.
The amounts of these bypass streams can be substantial as shown in Table 1 which gives typical values
for well-designed heat exchangers . As a result, the main stream flowing across the tube bundle
may comprise less than 50% of the total shell-side flow. It is the presence of these bypass streams
that greatly complicates the analysis of shell-side heat transfer and pressure drop.
A.2.2 Advantages and disadvantages of shell and tube heat exchanger.

The main advantage of shell-and-tube exchangers is that they provide a relatively large amount of
heat-transfer surface per unit of volume and weight, and require a minimum number of connections.
They are also extremely versatile, and can be designed to meet almost any heat-transfer service. As
a result, they are commonly used in a wide variety of applications.

Advantages

1- Less expensive as compared to Plate type coolers

2- Can be used in systems with higher operating temperatures and pressures
3- Pressure drop across a tube cooler is less
4- Tube leaks are easily located and plugged since pressure test is comparatively easy

Disadvantages

1- Heat transfer is less compared to the plate type

2- Difficult of cleaning and maintenance
3- Requires a more area compared to the plate type

A.2.3 Application Area of use.

1. Process liquid or gas cooling

2. Process or refrigerant vapor or steam condensing
3. Process liquid, steam or refrigerant evaporation
4. Process heat removal and preheating of feed water
5. Thermal energy conservation efforts, heat recovery
6. Compressor, turbine and engine cooling, oil and jacket water
7. Hydraulic and lube oil cooling

A.3 Double pipe heat exchanger

A.3.1 Flow arrangement theory of operation

A simple double-pipe exchanger consists of two pairs of concentric pipes arranged as shown in Figure 4.
Such a configuration is called a hairpin, for obvious reasons. Batteries of hairpins connected
In series or in series-parallel arrangements are commonly employed to provide adequate surface area for
heat transfer. The two fluids that are transferring heat flow in the inner and outer pipes, respectively. The
fluids usually flow through the exchanger in opposite directions as shown in Figure 4. Such a flow pattern
is called counter flow or counter-current flow. In some special-purpose applications, parallel (or co-
current) flow is employed in which the two streams flow in the same direction. The outer pipe may be
insulated to minimize heat transfer to or from the environment.
Also, nozzles may be provided on the inner-pipe (tube) side as well as on the annulus side to facilitate
connection to process piping.
 Figure 4 (Simple double pipe exchanger)

A.3.2 Advantages and disadvantages of double pipe heat exchanger.

Advantages:

1. Very simple to construct

2. Very easy of operation
3. U-type or hairpin constructions handle differential thermal expansions.
4. Simple construction
5. Ease of maintenance and operation
6. Low cost

Dis-advantages

1. The use of two single flow areas leads to relatively low flow rates and moderate temperature
differences.
2. Cant be used in handling dirty fluids.

A.3.3 Application Area of use.

Double-pipe exchangers are commonly used in applications involving relatively low flow rates
and high temperatures or pressures, for which they are well suited.

A4 Plate type Heat Exchangers

A4.1 Flow arrangement theory of operation.

The flow pattern through a gasketed-plate heat exchanger is illustrated in Figure 5.

When a package of plates are pressed together, the holes at the corners of the plates form
continuous tunnels or manifolds, leading the media from the inlets into the plate package, where
they are distributed into the narrow channels between the plates. The plate pack is tightened by
means of either a mechanical or hydraulic tightening device that permits control of tightening
pressure to the desired level. These passages formed between the plates and corner ports are
arranged so that the two heat transfer media can flow through alternate channels, always in
countercurrent flow. During the passage through the apparatus, the warmer medium will give some
of its heat energy through the thin plate wall to the colder medium on the other
side. Finally, the medium are led into similar hole-tunnels as in the inlets at the other end of the
plate package and are then discharged from the heat exchanger. The plates can be stacked up to
several hundred in a frame and are held together by the bolts that hold the stack in compression
(Figure 5)
 Figure 5 (Flow diagram of Gasketed-Plate heat exchanger)

A.4.2 Advantages and disadvantages of Plate type heat exchanger.

Advantages:
1- The gasket design minimizes the risk of internal leakage
2- Any failure in the gasket results in leakage to the atmosphere, which is easy to be detected.
3- Flexibility of design through a variety of plate sizes and pass arrangements
4- Easily accessible to the heat transfer area
5- Permits changing in configurations to suit change in processes requirements through
changing the number of the plates.
6- Efficient heat transfer; high heat transfer coefficients for both fluids because of turbulence
and a small hydraulic diameter.
7- Very compact (large heat transfer area/volume ratio), and low in weight; in spite of their
compactness, 1,500 m2 of surface area is available in a single unit
8- Only the plate edges are exposed to the atmosphere; the heat losses are negligible and no
insulation is required
9- Intermixing of the two fluids cannot occur under gasket failure
10- Plate units exhibit low fouling characteristics due to high turbulence and low residence
time
11- More than two fluids may be processed in a single unit.
Dis-advantages:
1. The maximum allowable working pressure is also limited by the frame strength and plate
deformation resistance. Commonly stated limits have been 300F (149C) and 300 psi
2. Because of the narrow gap between the plates, high liquid rates will involve excessive pressure
drops, thus limiting the capacity.
3. Large differences in fluid flow rates of two streams cannot be handled.
4. The gaskets cannot handle corrosive or aggressive media.
5. Gaskets always increase the leakage risk
6. The standard PHEs cannot handle particulates that are larger than 0.5 mm.
A.4.3 Application Area of use.

1- chemical, pharmaceutical, hygiene products, biochemical processing, food, and dairy

industries, to name a few, because of the ease of disassembling the heat exchanger for
cleaning and sterilization to meet health and sanitation requirements
2- used as conventional process heaters and coolers as well as condensers.
3- Typical applications are mainly liquid-to-liquid turbulent flow situations
4- At-sea or coastal locations in central cooling systems using sea, river, or well water
5- In compressor intercooler systems
6- ideal for offshore and on-ship applications
B Fire tube boiler Corrosion and Erosion

Corrosion
Corrosion can affect the PPs both on the inside and outside. (See the topic of Corrosion for a broader
understanding.)
a. Internal corrosion

1- This is mainly due to the deficiencies in water conditioning.

2- It can also be due to improper chemical cleaning or storage when the chemicals may not have
been fully rinsed out. (See the topic on Acid Cleaning under Commissioning or start-up of
boilers.)

b. External corrosion
This is mostly due to the attack of ash and flue gas or reducing conditions. (See Ash Corrosion in
Ash.)
1. High-temperature corrosion of the PPs, mainly superheat (SH) and reheat (RH), is due to the
attack of low-melting metallic compounds in ash.
2. Low-temperature corrosion is due to the S compounds turning into sulphurous gases on cooling
to temperatures <200C and corroding the PP as well as non-PPs like AH, ESP and flues.
3. Reducing conditions in furnace, mainly due to the staging of combustion air, are conducive to
corrosion attack unless the tubes are fully protected by a refractory layer.