CFD Analysis of Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger with Different Number of Baffles and Baffle Cut

Abstract

This thesis emphasizes on the effects of number of baffles and baffle cut for a simple shell and tube heat exchanger. Heat transfer between separate medium can result in heat loss to the environment and inefficiency in heat transfer. So, in order to minimize losses and improve heat transfer properties, corrective action is needed. This is where baffle spacing and baffle cut plays its role and improves the heat transfer phenomena. The objective of this thesis is to design a shell and tube heat exchanger with different number of baffles and baffle cut inside a shell and tube heat exchanger and analyze the flow, temperatures and pressure drop inside the shell using ANSYS software. The process in analyzing consists of modelling, meshing and simulating the basic geometry of shell and tube heat exchanger using computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) package ANSYS. The geometry consists of seven tubes within the shell where water is considered as the working fluid and only shell side flow characteristics is observed. Three different number of baffles (8, 6 and 4) with three different baffle cuts (25%, 35% and 45%) are used for the analysis.