Tubular heat exchanger

A tubular heat exchanger, also known as a shell and tube heat exchanger, is a wall to wall heat exchanger that uses the wall surface of the tube bundle enclosed in the shell as the heat transfer surface. It is mainly composed of shell, tube plate, heat exchange tube, head, baffle, etc. The required materials can be made of ordinary carbon steel, copper, or stainless steel.

Tubular heat exchangerAlso known as "shell and tube heat exchanger", it is a wall to wall heat exchanger with the wall of the tube bundle enclosed in the shell as the heat transfer surface.It is mainly composed of shell, tube plate, heat exchange tube, head, baffle, etc. The required materials can be made of ordinary carbon steel, copper, or stainless steel.This type of heat exchanger has a simple structure, low cost, wide flow cross-section, and is easy to clean scale; But with low heat transfer coefficient and large footprint.During heat exchange, a fluid enters from the connecting pipe of the head, flows through the pipe, and exits from the outlet pipe at the other end of the head, which is called the pipe side; Another type of fluid enters through the connecting pipe of the shell and flows out from another connecting pipe on the shell, which is called the shell side.Heat is transferred from the high-temperature fluid to the low-temperature fluid through the pipe wall. In order to enhance heat transfer efficiency, baffles are usually installed in the shell side to force the fluid in the shell side to wash the tube bundle laterally multiple times.It can be manufactured using various structural materials (mainly metal materials) according to material and process requirements, and can be used under high temperature and high pressure, making it a widely used type.

Tubular heat exchangerThere are also the following types: fixed tube plate heat exchangers, floating head heat exchangers, packed box heat exchangers, U-shaped tube heat exchangers, eddy current film heat exchangers, and so on.

Tubular heat exchangerThere are the following advantages

Simple structure: relatively easy to design and manufacture.

Durable and sturdy: suitable for various working conditions.

High heat transfer efficiency: By increasing the number of tubes and adopting enhanced heat transfer technology, the heat transfer efficiency can be improved.

Widely applicable: can be used for heat exchange in various media.

Tubular heat exchangerApplication field

Chemical industry: Heating, cooling, evaporation, etc. in the reaction process.

Petroleum: Heating, cooling, distillation, etc. of crude oil.

Food: Heating, cooling, concentration, etc. of food.

Pharmaceutical: Heating, cooling, sterilization, etc. of drugs.

Tubular heat exchangerKey points of design impact

Physical properties of fluids: density, viscosity, specific heat capacity, thermal conductivity, etc.

Flow rate: The higher the flow rate, the greater the heat transfer coefficient.

Diameter and number of pipes: The smaller the diameter, the more pipes there are, the larger the heat transfer area, and the better the heat transfer effect.

Dirt level: Dirt on the pipe wall will reduce the heat transfer coefficient.

Shell and tube heat exchangers, as an efficient heat exchange device, play an important role in industrial production. It has a simple structure, wide application, and high heat transfer efficiency, and is one of the important equipment in industrial production.