Designing a tubebundle for heating a tank, need help
Designing a tubebundle for heating a tank, need help
(OP)
I'm a young engineer who's been thrown into the shell and tube heat exchanger world. I work for a small fabricator designing simple HX's. I'm trying to design a tubebundle to heat water in a large tank.
I've been given Kern's Process Heat Transfer book as a great reference but i don't posess a copy (yet!). Right now i use B-Jac to design everything but it's less than helpful with this kind of design since the water isn't flowing.
Is there an easy way to do this? i'd rather not spend my time looking up coeffcients and a hundred different numbers. Working in surface area is the easiest but the hardest to determine. I'm always getting info from customers that i can't do much with because i don't want to spend three days trying to design a simple tubebundle.
am i just generally screwed or do i need to hunker down and just punch it out? I'd love to hear from other people who have had some sort of similar experience.
I've been given Kern's Process Heat Transfer book as a great reference but i don't posess a copy (yet!). Right now i use B-Jac to design everything but it's less than helpful with this kind of design since the water isn't flowing.
Is there an easy way to do this? i'd rather not spend my time looking up coeffcients and a hundred different numbers. Working in surface area is the easiest but the hardest to determine. I'm always getting info from customers that i can't do much with because i don't want to spend three days trying to design a simple tubebundle.
am i just generally screwed or do i need to hunker down and just punch it out? I'd love to hear from other people who have had some sort of similar experience.





RE: Designing a tubebundle for heating a tank, need help
Good luck
RE: Designing a tubebundle for heating a tank, need help
RE: Designing a tubebundle for heating a tank, need help
www.flatplate.com/
www.flatplate.com/software.htm
RE: Designing a tubebundle for heating a tank, need help
RE: Designing a tubebundle for heating a tank, need help
Regards, Wim
RE: Designing a tubebundle for heating a tank, need help
If you don't understand all the elements that go into the process, you will struggle to make the modern tools work for you IMHO.
rmw
RE: Designing a tubebundle for heating a tank, need help
Well said....
That's why it take 8 years to get an Engineer's license.
RE: Designing a tubebundle for heating a tank, need help
"Is there an easy way to do this?" - of course not! Just take a moment and use common sense. If there were an "easy" way, who would need professional engineers? And who would need engineering forums? No simple "flat plate" website or tube bundle website will solve the problem. Besides rmw's experienced advice, srfish & thermcool are close behind in the basic, smart solution.
The answer is (as always) a basic and detailed understanding of how to apply the science - which is one definition of engineering.
RE: Designing a tubebundle for heating a tank, need help
This is not possible, by chance are you referring to a bayonet heater in the tank?
RE: Designing a tubebundle for heating a tank, need help
Based on the wording of the initial post I took it to be a bayonet type heater from the get go.
rmw
RE: Designing a tubebundle for heating a tank, need help
if you won't exert yourself doing the simple things,
it might just take you a lifetime to get your work done....
RE: Designing a tubebundle for heating a tank, need help
The heater has to fit in a manway, normally the largest, or blind nozzle near the bottom of the tank. Usually the existing blind flange on a tank is too thin so you have to design a tubesheet based on you layout that is also a flange cover.
You have to figure if you want a self supporting bundle or a bundle on support rails, the best. This is all based on the heat load.
You have to have a steam supply, + 20%, and someway to remove the condensate at full steam flow with a properly sized trap.
The tube layout and arrangement is up to you.
You also might want to check for vibration.