Soran University

Faculty of Engineering
Chemical Engineering Department
Shell and Tube Heat Exchangers
(STHEs)
Prepared by: Muhammed Lateef Husain
Chemical Engineering 3rd Stage

Supervised by: M. Ali Hossain

 Introduction
Heat exchangers are devices used to transfer heat from one fluid
to another while preventing the two from mixing. Heat exchanger
manufacturers can make three main types: shell and tube heat
exchangers, air-cooled heat exchangers and plate heat exchangers.
Generally, a metal wall partition, acting as a conductor, is between
the two fluids. A hot solution flowing on one side of the barrier
transfers its heat to a cooler solution flowing on the other side.
Thermal energy only flows from the hotter to the cooler in an
attempt to reach equilibrium. The surface area of a heat exchanger
affects its speed and efficiency: the larger a heat exchanger’s
surface area, the faster and more efficient the heat transfer.

and the important type and most common type of heat exchangers
is shell and tube heat exchangers due to the flexibility the designer
has to allow for a wide range of pressures and temperatures. The
shell and tube exchanger consists of four major parts:

Front Header—this is where the fluid enters the tube side of the
exchanger. It is sometimes referred to as the Stationary Header.

1
Rear Header— this is where the tube side fluid leaves the
exchanger or where it is returned to the front header in exchangers
with multiple tube side passes.

Tube bundle— this comprises of the tubes, tube sheets, baffles and
tie rods etc. to hold the bundle together.

Shell—this contains the tube bundle.

The major limitation is that they cannot be used to regenerate, but

they can transfer a large amount of heat due to the large surface
area.

Shell and tube heat exchanger

2
 Types of Shell and tube heat exchangers:
Fixed Tube Sheet Exchanger (L, M, and N Type Rear Headers)

In a fixed tube sheet exchanger, the tube sheet is welded to the

shell. This results in a simple and economical construction and the
tube bores can be cleaned mechanically or chemically. However,
the outside surfaces of the tubes are inaccessible except to
chemical cleaning.

If large temperature differences exist between the shell and tube

materials, it may be necessary to incorporate an expansion
bellows in the shell, to eliminate excessive stresses caused by
expansion. Such bellows are often a source of weakness and
failure in operation. In circumstances where the consequences of
failure are particularly grave U-Tube or Floating Header units are
normally used.

This is the cheapest of all removable bundle designs, but is

generally slightly more expensive than a fixed tube sheet design at
low pressures.

U-Tube Exchangers

In a U-Tube exchanger any of the front header types may be used

and the rear header is normally a M-Type. The U-tubes permit

3
unlimited thermal expansion, the tube bundle can be removed for
cleaning and small bundle to shell clearances can be achieved.
However, since internal cleaning of the tubes by mechanical
means is difficult, it is normal only to use this type where the tube
side fluids are clean.

Floating Head Exchanger (P, S, T and W Type Rear Headers)

In this type of exchanger, the tube sheet at the Rear Header end is
not welded to the shell but allowed to move or float. The tube
sheet at the Front Header (tube side fluid inlet end) is of a larger
diameter than the shell and is sealed in a similar manner to that
used in the fixed tube sheet design. The tube sheet at the rear
header end of the shell is of slightly smaller diameter than the

4
 shell, allowing the bundle to be pulled through the shell. The use
of a floating head means that thermal expansion can be allowed
for and the tube bundle can be removed for cleaning. There are
several rear header types that can be used but the S-Type Rear
Head is the most popular. A floating head exchanger is suitable for
the rigorous duties associated with high temperatures and
pressures but is more expensive (typically of order of 25% for
carbon steel construction) than the equivalent fixed tubesheet
exchanger.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages:

 Size - STHEs are capable of providing a larger surface area for heat
transfer to take place while having a shorter length overall due to
presence of multiple tubes.

 Heat duty - STHEs can handle higher temperatures and pressures

and hence higher heat duty. This is because besides providing a
higher overall heat transfer coefficient, additions can also be

5
 made to negate thermal expansion effects and the thickness can
also be varied (more in the next point)

 Versatility - from the design point of view, STHEs (Shell and tube
heat exchangers) are the most versatile of all heat exchangers.
Being tubular in shape, heads / closures of required shape and
thickness can be used. The number of tubes and tube pitch can be
selected according to operating conditions. Expansion bellows can
be used to negate thermal expansion effects, baffles if different
cuts and spacings can be used to influence the overall heat
transfer coefficients and there's even something called a floating
head which can be added to negate thermal expansion of the
tubes. The number of passes on shell side and tube side can be
altered as well.

 Easy to find leaks (depending upon location).

Disadvantages:

 Size (Required large space)- This can also be a disadvantage as at

lower heat duty, there are more compact heat exchangers such as
plate type exchanger. Also, the absence of hairpin bends causes
STHEs to take up more space than double pipe heat exchangers in
some cases.

6
 Maintenance - cleaning of tubes is difficult and fouling is always
an issue when overall heat transfer coefficient is addressed. This
requires periodic cleaning of the shell as well as the tubes.
Cleaning tubes may be more difficult if the pitch is triangular.

Construction of STHEs
Heat exchanger manufacturers typically construct their products of
steel, titanium, copper, bronze, stainless steel, aluminum or cast
iron. One of the biggest problems with heat exchangers is
corrosion, which is common due to the constant flowing of liquid.
Unfortunately, this is very difficult to avoid. To help prevent this,
heat exchanger manufacturers need tubing that is resistant to
general corrosion, pitting, stress-corrosion cracking (SCC), selective
leaching and oxygen cell attack. Some heat exchanger designs
incorporate fins to provide greater thermal conductivity, which
also helps.

Most plate type heat exchangers will have titanium plates,

titanium is almost totally impervious to corrosion caused by
seawater and guarantees a long life providing it is properly
maintained.

7
Shell and tube heat exchangers are constructed from a mixture of
copper, nickel, titanium, steel or aluminum depending on their
applications. Each part may have different materials depending on
what is flowing through it.

Fouling
Fouling is a general term that includes any kind of deposit of
extraneous material that appears upon the heat transfer surface
during the lifetime of the heat exchanger. Whatever the cause or
exact nature of the deposit, an additional resistance to heat
transfer is introduced and the operational capability of the heat
exchanger is correspondingly reduced.

In many cases, the deposit is heavy enough to significantly interfere

with fluid flow and increase the pressure drop required to maintain
the flow rate through the exchanger.

If fouling cannot be prevented from forming, it is necessary to make

some provision for its periodic removal. Some deposits can be
removed by purely chemical means, e.g., removal of carbonate
deposits by chlorination. The application of chemical cleaning
techniques is a specialized art and should be undertaken only
under the guidance of a specialist. However, since chemical

8
cleaning ordinarily does not re quire removal of the equipment nor
disassembly of the piping (if properly designed), it is the most
convenient of the cleaning techniques in those cases where it can
be used.

Types of fouling
There are several different basic mechanisms by which fouling
deposits may be created and each of them in general depends upon
several variables. In addition, two or more fouling mechanisms can
occur in conjunction in a given service. In this section we will
identify the major mechanisms of fouling and the more important
variables upon which they depend.

a. Sedimentation fouling: Many streams and particularly cooling

water contain suspended solids which can settle out upon the heat
transfer surface. Usually the deposits thus formed do not adhere
strongly to the surface and are self limiting; i.e., the thicker a
deposit becomes, the more likely it is to wash off (in patches) and
thus attain some asymptotic average value over a period of time.
Sedimentation fouling is strongly affected by velocity and less so by

9
wall temperature. However, a deposit can "bake on" to a hot wall
and become very difficult to remove.

b. Inverse solubility fouling: Certain salts commonly found in

natural waters - notably calcium sulfate - are less soluble in warm
water than in cold. If such a stream encounters a wall at a
temperature above that corresponding to saturation for the
dissolved salt, the salt will crystallize on the surface. Crystallization
will begin at specially active points - nucleation sites – such as
scratches and pits, often after a considerable induction period, and
then spread to cover the entire surface. The buildup will continue
as long as the surface in contact with the fluid has a temperature
above saturation. The scale is strong and adherent and usually
requires vigorous mechanical or chemical treatment to remove it.

c. Chemical reaction fouling: The above fouling mechanisms

involve primarily physical changes. A common source of fouling on
the process stream side are chemical reactions that result in
producing a solid phase at or near the surface. For example, a hot
heat transfer surface may cause thermal degradation of one of the
components of a process stream, resulting in carbonaceous
deposits (commonly called "coke") on the surface. Or a surface may

10
cause polymerization to 46 occur, resulting in a tough layer of low-
grade plastic or synthetic rubber. These deposits are often
extremely tenacious and may require such extreme measures as
burning off the deposit in order to return the exchanger to
satisfactory operation.

d. Corrosion product fouling: If a stream corrodes the metal of the

heat transfer surface, the corrosion products may be essential to
protect the remaining metal against further corrosion, in which
case any attempt to clean the surface may only result in
accelerated corrosion and failure of the exchanger. Biological
fouling. Many cooling water sources and a few process streams
contain organisms that will attach to solid surfaces and grow. These
organisms range from algae and microbial slimes to barnacles and
mussels. Even when only a very thin film is present, the heat
transfer resistance can be very great. Where macroscopic forms
like mussels are present, the problem is no longer one of heat
transfer - there won't be any through the animal - but rather of
plugging up the flow channels. If biological fouling is thought to be
a problem, the usual solution is to kill the life forms by chlorination,
or to discourage their settling on the heat transfer surface by using

11
90-10 copper-nickel (AlloyC70600) or other high copper alloy
tubes. As an alternative to continuous chlorination, inter mittent
"shock" chlorination may be successful. e. Combined mechanisms:
Most of the above fouling processes can occur in combination. A
common example is the combination of (a) and (b) in cooling tower
water. Most surface waters contain both sediment and calcium
carbonates, and the concentrations of these components rise as
the water is recirculated through the cooling system. It is therefore
common to find deposits composed of crystals of inverse solubility
salts together with finely divided sediments. The behavior of these
deposits is intermediate between the two limiting cases: the
crystals tend to hold the sediment in place, but there are planes of
weakness in the structure that fail from time to time and cause the
deposit to break off in patches.

Common applications of Heat Exchangers

Although they are not always known by the name “heat
exchanger,” these devices are quite common and aren’t always
industrial-types. For instance, a car’s radiator is a useful device for
transferring heat from the engine to the air. Other examples of
commercial uses for heat exchangers include spa and swimming
12
pool heating, home radiators, hot water radiators, refrigerators
and air conditioners. Whether in commercial or industrial use, heat
exchangers are vital as energy and money saving devices since
most mechanical, chemical and energy systems require heat
transferal of some sort.

Custom heat exchangers perform a crucial role in the design,

operation and maintenance of heating and air-conditioning
systems, vehicle design, power plants, refrigeration, chemical and
industrial engineering systems. They are also important in settings
such as food processing, industrial engineer processes,
pharmaceutical, pulp and paper and the steel industry. All power
generation industries need them. Other industries that use heat
exchangers include aerospace, chemical, marine, semiconductor,
petrochemical, electronic, automotive, water treatment facilities
and textiles.

13
 Applications of STHEs

 Industrial Process  Petrochemical: Processing

 Manufacturing & Refining
 Food, Beverage & Dairy  Pharmaceuticals
 HVAC  Power & Electrical
 Marine / Navy Generation

 Air Processing  Metals and Mining

 Compressor Cooling  Refrigeration

 Chemical  Pulp & Paper

14
 References
http://nptel.ac.in/courses/103103027/pdf/mod1.pdf

https://www.3d-knowledge.com/introduction-to-shell-and-tube-type-heat-
exchanger.html

http://www.thermopedia.com/content/1121/#SHELL_AND_TUBE_HEAT_EXCHANGERS_
TABLE2

http://www.wermac.org/equipment/heatexchanger_part2.html

15