Shell and tube HEX U and flow rate
Shell and tube HEX U and flow rate
(OP)
I am working on a project involving an old gas plant built in 1970's. The UA's of the Shell and tube exchangers need to be determined. The only UA data availabe are from the plant performance test conducted a year ago. Now the plant inlet flow will be reduced significantly. Can anyone help to determine the relationship between the UA and the flow rate? Thanks!





RE: Shell and tube HEX U and flow rate
i do not have my GPSA databook with me, when i get home, i will investigate. if you have one, start looking.
also, you could:
- contact a heat exchgr mfg and inquiry with them - speak with the engineer and not the sales folks.
- search the wonderful web world (plenty of useful sites)
meanwhile, good luck!
-pmover
RE: Shell and tube HEX U and flow rate
Doug
RE: Shell and tube HEX U and flow rate
I didn't find much content about the relationship between U and flow rate in GPSA section 9 although U is discussed. If you find any useful information, please let me know. Guess this is more of an empirical issue?
Doug,
HTRI definately has authority in heat transfer issues. We just haven't decided if we need to go that further. Thank you for the suggestions.
RE: Shell and tube HEX U and flow rate
U is a function of the heat transfer rate (Q) which in turn is a function of the flow rate.
Any heat transfer book has the equations; there is a free one on the web that has been referenced on this forum multiple times. I would recommend "Heat Transfer - Professional Version" by Thomas ONLY because in the Appendicies it has a step-by-step process for figuring out the heat transfer rate of a shell & tube heat exchanger.
Having said that, the basic formulae are:
Q=mdotΔT and
UA= Q/LMTD where LMTD is (ΔT1 - ΔT2)/ln(ΔT1/ΔT2)
and ΔT1 = Th,i - Tc,o and ΔT2 = Th,o - Tc,i
Patricia Lougheed
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RE: Shell and tube HEX U and flow rate
I agree with djack, if it's a large change in velocity, I'd use a detailed rating program like Aspen's HTFS.
RE: Shell and tube HEX U and flow rate
i keep equipment/process data from various sources in my GPSA databook, in addition to the GPSA databook documentation (something i learned from a saavy, seasoned engr). at one time, i remember obtaining good documentation relating to your question, but unfortunately, i was not able to locate the documentation as i remembered. naturally, thy brain cells are a bit rusty too . . .
the other postings are useful in conducting your search. remember, when inspecting the equation for U, it boils down to the convective coefficients; thus flow and fluid properties.
something to ponder, conducting a test on exchanger at different flow rates may yield satisfactory results.
sorry, good luck!
-pmover
RE: Shell and tube HEX U and flow rate
Other than that, do it by hand or use a software program that'l calculate new U's. I assume you have area or can calculate that from U1A's or data sheet.
RE: Shell and tube HEX U and flow rate
a response from a heat xsfer specialist:
"Unfortunately there are no thumb rules that will address the problem.
The simplest and accurate way would be to have someone run the problem in HTRI and check if the exchanger would work under the new conditions. A TEMA Data sheet for which this exchanger was designed and the new operating data will be required to check the performance of the exchanger for the revised conditions."
hope this clarifies the situation, which is what other responses lead to.
good luck!
-pmover
RE: Shell and tube HEX U and flow rate
chusker15,
I am very interested in the formular proposed (I will try to get the material and do some study):
U=v^0.7
So I can put it this way:
U=Ut*(V/Vt)^0.7
(Ut & Vt are test data which we have)
Then we can get the U's under different flow rates.
I will try to input it into the model to calculate the UA's of the HEX's with varying flow rates and thus the duties. Or we will use some software as introduced. Hope this works.
RE: Shell and tube HEX U and flow rate
perhaps this website may be of assistance to you. I would highly recommend comparing calcs of a known set of design conditions to the results this site returns.
http://www.freecalc.com/hxfram.htm
hope this helps!
-pmover
RE: Shell and tube HEX U and flow rate
The 0.7 exponent for gas flow convection coefficients is an approximation for fully turbulent flows, it may smoothly drop to about 0.5 in the laminar flow region. A drop in linear velocities may also affect the fouling factors.
Convection heat transfer coefficients for liquids are also much influenced by changes in the Prandtl number. An example taken from J.P. Holman's Heat Transfer McGraw-Hill for a machine oil of 20 cSt at 100oC: Pr at 20oC: 10,400; at 120oC, 175.