CFD Analysis of Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger with Different Number of Baffles and Baffle Cut
Date
2023-10
Authors
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Publisher
I.O.E. Pulchowk Campus
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.
Description
According to the results of the CFD, the number of baffles and baffle cut plays an important role in the heat transfer and pressure drop. The highest heat transfer was achieved for the shell and tube heat exchanger with 25% baffle cut and 8 number of baffles and the lowest heat transfer was achieved with the 35% baffle cut and 4 number of baffles. The heat transfer is 12.22% more in case of 8 number baffles with 25% baffle cut compared to 4 number baffles with 35% baffle cut.
Keywords
Number of Baffles,, Baffle Cut,, CFD Analysis