Review on the effect of heat exchanger tubes on flow behavior and heat/mass transfer of the bubble/slurry reactors

Bubble/Slurry bubble column reactors(BCR/SBCR)are intensively used as multiphase reactors for a wide range of application in the chemical,biochemical and petrochemical industries.Most of these applications involve complicate gas–liquid/gas–liquid–solid flow behavior and exothermic process,thus it is necessary to equip the BCR/SBCR with heat exchanger tubes to remove the heat and govern the performance of the reactor.Amounts of experimental and numerical studies have been carried out to describe the phenomena taking place in BCR/SBCRs with heat exchanger tubes.Unfortunately,little effort has been put on reviewing the experiments and simulations for examining the effect of internals on the performance and hydrodynamics of BCR/SBCR.The objective of this work is to give a state-of-the-art review of the literature on the effects of heat exchanger tubes with different types and configurations on flow behavior and heat/mass transfer,then provide adequate information and scientific basis for the design and the development of heat exchanger tubes in BCR/SBCR,ultimately provide reasonable suggestions for better comprehend the performance of different heat exchanger tubes on hydrodynamics.

A Comprehensive Review of the Influence of Heat Exchange Tubes on Hydrodynamic,Heat,and Mass Transfer in Bubble and Slurry Bubble

Bubble and slurry bubble column reactors(BCRs/SBCRs)are used for various chemical,biochemical,and petro-chemical applications.They have several operational and maintenance advantages,including excellent heat and mass transfer rates,simplicity,and low operating and maintenance cost.Typically,a catalyst is present in addition to biochemical processes where microorganisms are used to produce industrially valuable bio-products.Since most applications involve complicated gas-liquid,gas-liquid-solid,and exothermic processes,the BCR/SBCR must be equipped with heat-exchanging tubes to dissipate heat and control the reactor’s overall performance.In this review,past and very recent experimental and numerical investigations on such systems are critically dis-cussed.Furthermore,gaps to befilled and critical aspects still requiring investigation are identified.

Experimental Study on Heat Transfer and Pressure Drop of Micro-Sized Tube Heat Exchanger

A micro-sized tube heat exchanger(MTHE) was fabricated, and its performance in heat transfer and pressure drop was experimentally studied. The single-phase forced convection heat transfer correlation on the sides of the MTHE tubes was proposed and compared with previous experimental data in the Reynolds number range of 500—1 800. The average deviation of the correlation in calculating the Nusselt number was about 6.59%. The entrance effect in the thermal entrance region was discussed. In the same range of Reynolds number, the pressure drop and friction coefficient were found to be considerably higher than those predicted by the conventional correlations. The product of friction factor and Reynolds number was also a constant, but much higher than the conventional.

Efficiency and Effectiveness Concepts Applied in Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger Using Ethylene Glycol-Water Based Fluid in the Shell with Nanoparticles of Copper Oxide (CuO)

This article consists of an analytical solution for obtaining the outlet temperatures of the hot and cold fluids in a shell and tube heat exchanger. The system analyzed through the concepts of efficiency, effectiveness (ε-NTU), and irreversibility consisted of a shell and tube heat exchanger, with cold nanofluid flowing in the shell and hot water flowing in the tube. The nanofluid consists of 50% of ethylene glycol and water as the base fluid and copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles in suspension. The volume fractions of the nanoparticles range from 0.1 to 0.5. The flow rate in the nanofluid ranges from 0.0331 to 0.0568 Kg/s, while two mass flow rates, from 0.0568 and 0.5 Kg/s, for the hot fluid, are used as parameters for analysis. Results for the efficiency, effectiveness, irreversibility, heat transfer rate, and outlet temperatures for cold and hot fluids were obtained graphically. The flow laminarization effect was observed through the results obtained and had significant relevance in the results.

An advanced turbulator with blades and semi-conical section for heat transfer improvement in a helical double tube heat exchanger

In present work,a helical double tube heat exchanger is proposed in which an advanced turbulator with blades,semi-conical part,and two holes is inserted in inner section.Two geometrical parameters,including angle of turbulator’s blades(θ) and number of turbulator’s blades(N),are considered.Results indicated that firstly,the best thermal stratification is achieved at θ=180°.Furthermore,at the lowest studied mass flow rate(m = 8 × 10^(-3) kg/s),heat transfer coefficient of turbulator with blade angle of 180° is 130.77%,25%,and 36.36% higher than cases including without turbulator,with turbulator with blade angle of θ =240°,and θ =360°,respectively.Moreover,case with N=12 showed the highest overall performance.At the highest studied mass flow rate(m = 5.842 × 10^(-2) kg/s),heat transfer coefficient for case with N=12 is up to 54.76%,27.45%,and 6.56% higher than cases including without turbulator,with turbulator with N=6,and with turbulator with N=9,respectively.

Experimental Study on Performance of Supercritical CO_2 Heat Exchanger with Four Different Inner Tubes

The experiment was conducted to investigate the heat transfer performance of supercritical CO_2 in a casing heat exchanger by comparing their heat transfer,entropy production unit number,non-dimensional entropy production rate and field synergy factor.The results show that both heat transfer and entropy production unit number in four tubes decrease with water temperature increasing.Heat transfer and entropy production unit number in multiple tubes( i. e.,triple straight tube and double helix tube) is higher than their single counterparts; the non-dimensional entropy production rate increases with water temperature. Non-dimensional entropy production rate of triple straight tube and double helix tube is far below the single tube. Field synergy factor of double helix tube is much higher than that of the triple straight tube under the same condition. Further experiment was carried out in double helix tube,under various CO_2 pressure and inlet water temperature,the results are analyzed and reported in this paper.

Fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics of spiral coiled tube: Effects of Reynolds number and curvature ratio

Numerical analysis was performed to investigate flow and heat transfer characteristics in spiral coiled tube heat exchanger. Radius of curvature of the spiral coiled tube was gradually increased as total rotating angle reached 12n. As the varying radius of curvature became a dominant flow parameter, three-dimensional flow analysis was performed to this flow together with different Reynolds numbers while constant wall heat flux condition was set in thermal field. From the analysis, centrifugal force due to curvature effect is found to have significant role in behavior of pressure drop and heat transfer. The centrifugal force enhances pressure drop and heat transfer to have generally higher values in the spiral coiled tube than those in the straight tube. Even then, friction factor and Nusselt number are found to follow the proportionality with square root of the Dean number. Individual effect of flow parameters of Reynolds number and curvature ratio was investigated and effect of Reynolds number is found to be stronger than that of curvature effect.

Optimal design of heat exchanger header for coal gasification in supercritical water through CFD simulations

Heat exchangers play an important role in supercritical water coal gasification systems for heating feed and cooling products. However, serious deposition and plugging problems always exist in heat exchangers. CFD modeling was used to simulate the transport characteristics of solid particles in supercdtical water through the shell and tube of heat exchangers to alleviate the problems. In this paper, we discuss seven types of exchangers CA, B, C D, E, F and G）, which vary in inlet nozzle configuration, header height, inlet pipe diameter and tube pass distribution. In the modeling, the possibility of deposition in the header was evaluated by accumulated mass of particles; we used the velocity contour of supercritical water （SCW） to evaluate the uniformity of the velocity dis- tribution among the tube passes. Simulation results indicated that the optimum heat exchanger had structure F, which had a rectangular configuration of tube pass distractions, a bottom inlet, a 200-mm header height and a 10-ram inlet pipe diameter.

Effects of Heat Exchange Tube Structural Parameters on Performance of Vehicle Radiator

In order to improve the performance of vehicle radiators, a two-dimensional heat transfer steady-state model of the radiator was set up. The influence of the structural parameters (axial ratio) of the heat exchange tube on the windward side on the heat transfer performance of the radiator was studied. With the increase of the axial ratio of the heat exchange tube on the windward side, the heat exchange capacity of the heat exchange tube surface slightly decreases. The heat exchange area increases significantly, which increases the total heat exchange of the radiator and improves the heat transfer performance of the radiator. When the axial ratio increases from 1.0 to 2.0, the average surface heat transfer capacity decreases from 5664.16 W/m2 to 5623.57 W/m2.

Performance Assessment of Heat Exchangers for Process Heat Integration

Pinch Analysis is an attractive solution for reduction of thermal energy costs in thermo-chemical industries.In this approach,maximum internally recoverable heat is determined and a heat exchange network is designed to meet the recovery targets.The thermal performance of a heat exchanger over its lifetime is however a concern to industries.Thermal performance of a heat exchanger is affected by many factors which include the physical prop-erties of the shell and tube materials,and the chemical properties of the heat transferfluid.In this study,thermal performance of shell and tube heat exchangers designed to meet heat recovery targets in a Pinch Analysis study is simulated.The aim of this paper is to present predictions of thermal performances of shell and tube heat exchan-gers with different heat transferfluids and geometries as they undergo fouling degradation.Engineering approaches based on thermodynamic analysis,heat balance and Kern Design equations,as well as what-if simu-lation modeling are used in this work.Shell and tube heat exchangers were designed to meet internal heat recov-ery targets for three process plants,A,B and C.These targets were published in a separate paper.The effects of degradation of the tubes-due to incremental growth of fouling resistance-on thermal performance of the exchan-ger were simulated using Visual Basic Analysis(VBA).Overall,it was found that growth in fouling reduces ther-mal efficiency of shell and tube heat exchangers with an exponential relationship.An increase of 100%of fouling resistance leads to an average reduction of 0.37%heat transfer.Higher values of logarithmic mean temperature difference(LMTD)and higher ratios of external diameter to internal diameter of the exchanger tubes amplify the effect of fouling growth on thermal performance of the exchangers.The results of this work can be applied in pinch analysis,during design of heat exchangers to meet the internal heat recovery targets,especially in predicting how fouling growth can affect these targets.This can also be useful in helping operators of shell and tube heat exchangers to determine cleaning intervals of the exchangers to avoid heat transfer loss.

Performance Simulation of a Double Tube Heat Exchanger Based on Different Nanofluids by Aspen Plus

A heat exchanger’s performance depends heavily on the operating fluid’s transfer of heat capacity and thermal conductivity.Adding nanoparticles of high thermal conductivity materials is a significant way to enhance the heat transfer fluid’s thermal conductivity.This research used engine oil containing alumina(Al_(2)O_(3))nanoparticles and copper oxide(CuO)to test whether or not the heat exchanger’s efficiency could be improved.To establish the most effective elements for heat transfer enhancement,the heat exchangers thermal performance was tested at 0.05%and 0.1%concentrations for Al_(2)O_(3)and CuO nanoparticles.The simulation results showed that the percentage increase in Nusselt number(Nu)for nanofluid at 0.05%particle concentration compared to pure oil was 9.71%for CuO nanofluids and 6.7%for Al_(2)O_(3)nanofluids.At 0.1%concentration,the enhancement percentage in Nu was approximately 23%for CuO and 18.67%for Al_(2)O_(3)nanofluids,respectively.At a concentration of 0.1%,CuO nanofluid increased the LMTD and overall heat transfer coefficient(U)by 7.24 and 5.91%respectively.Both the overall heat transfer coefficient(U)and the heat transfer coefficient(hn)for CuO nanofluid at a concentration of 0.1%increased by 5.91%and 10.68%,respectively.The effectiveness(εn)of a heat exchanger was increased by roughly 4.09%with the use of CuO nanofluid in comparison to Al_(2)O_(3)at a concentration of 0.1%.The amount of exergy destruction in DTHX goes down as Re and volume fractions go up.Moreover,at 0.05%and 0.1%nanoparticle concentrations,the percentage increase in dimensionless exergy is 10.55%and 13.08%,respectively.Finally,adding the CuO and Al_(2)O_(3)nanoparticles improved the thermal conductivity of the main fluid(oil),resulting in a considerable increase in the thermal performance and rate of heat transfer of a heat exchanger.

Numerical Assessments on Flow Topology and Heat Transfer Behavior in a Round Tube Inserted with Three Sets of V-Ribs

Simulation of fluid-flow topology and thermal behavior in a round tube heat exchanger(RTHX)installed by three V-rib sets is reported.The expected phenomena for the rib installation are the generated vortex flow,impinging flow,greater fluid blending and thermal boundary layer disturbance(TBLD).These phenomena are key causes of the augmentation of heat transfer potentiality and thermal efficiency of the RTHX.Effects of rib height(b1=0.05D–0.25D and b2=0.05D–0.25D),rib pitch or rib spacing(P=D,1.5D and 2D)and fluid directions(positive x(+x flow direction)and negative x(–x flow direction))on fluid-flow behavior and thermo-hydraulic characteristic are considered.The laminar air flow under Reynolds numbers between 100 to 2000 calculated by the inlet condition is focused.The current numerical problem of the RTHX fitted with V-ribs can be solved by a commercial code/program(the finite volume analysis).Firstly,the tested-tube model is carefully validated.The preliminary results of the validation show that the numerical model has great consistency for fluid flow and thermal structure prediction.The simulated outcomes are plotted in features of streamlines flow,local Nusselt number contours and temperature contours which explain the mechanism within the RTHX.The thermal assessments within the RTHX are performed with dimensionless variables,which include the Nusselt number,the friction factor and the thermal enhancement factor.The important mechanisms:vortex flow,impinging flow,better fluid blending and TBLD,are observed when the RTHX are installed with ribs.The maximum heat transfer potentiality is 19 times upper than that of the RTHX without ribs and the optimum thermal enhancement factor is around 4.10.

Thermal transfer experimental research of a horizontal tube evaporative condenser

The thermal resistances distribution in different wet-bulb temperatures, air velocities and spraying water densities were achieved by the experimental test. The fluctuation of the water film convection and the water-air interfacial thermal resistance were reviewed especially. In the distribution of thermal resistance, the rank of the thermal resistance proportion （from max to min） is air flow heat transfer resistance, heat transfer resistance between refrigerant and wall, water film convection resistance and wall heat transfer resistance. When the heat flux is constant, the total resistance lowers nearly along with the increasing of air flow and water spray density. But there are a best air flow value of 2.98 m/s and a best spray water density of 0.064 kg/（m ·s） respectively, if continue to increase them, condensation performance is not significantly improved any more. The test results are available to improve the evaporative condenser performance and the designing lever.

Enhancing Heat Transfer and Energy Storage Performance of Shell-and-Tube Latent Heat Thermal Energy Storage Unit with Unequal-Length Fins

Previous studies in literatures adequately emphasized that inserting fins into phase change material is among the most promising techniques to augment thermal performance of shell-and-tube latent heat thermal energy storage unit.In this study,the novel unequal-length fins are designed from the perspective of synergistic benefits of heat transfer and energy storage performance,and the effects of arrangement,number and total length of unequal-length fins are numerically investigated.Results show that utilization of fins with ascending length,when short and long fins are located in the inlet and outlet of heat transfer fluid respectively,can further promote the heat transfer and energy storage performance compared with equal length fins,and a maximum 6.17%and 0.43%increment of heat transfer performance and stored energy is achieved in full melting time,respectively.The number of unequal-length fins plays a major role in the energy storage,and 18.95%and 0.91%improvement of heat transfer performance and stored energy is realized when equipped with 2 unequal-length fins.A 21.17%improvement of the heat transfer performance is obtained when the total length of unequal-length fins is 18 mm.The present study is helpful to make further efforts to enhance heat transfer and energy storage of shell-and-tube latent heat thermal energy storage unit with unequal-length fins.

EXPERIMENTAL AND NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF LAMINAR AND LOW TURBULENT FLOW DISTRIBUTIONS IN INLET DIVIDING HEADER OF SHELL AND TUBE HEAT EXCHANGER

Flow distribution headers play a major role in heat exchangers.The selection of header diameter,branch pipe diameter,branch pipe spacing etc.is based on the designer＇s experience and general guide lines.The proper selection of the header dimensions will yield uniform flow distribution in heat exchangers,which in turn will enhance the heat exchanger efficiency.In this work,the flow distribution in branch pipes and the pressure variation across the branch pipes in laminar and low turbulence region is studied with two models of the inlet dividing headers.When the numerical analysis has been applied,its inability to predict the no flow condition through the branch pipes is revealed.The results are presented in the form of flow rate ratio through branch pipes and nondimensional coefficients across branch pipes which are useful to apply the existing mathematical models for the present experimental setup.

Velocity Profiles between Two Baffles in a Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger

Heat exchangers are extensively utilized for waste heat recovery,oil refining,chemical processing,and steam generation.In this study,velocity profiles are measured using a 3D particle image velocimetry(PIV)system between two baffles in a shell and tube heat exchanger for parallel and counter flows.The PIV and computational fluid dynamics results show the occurrence of some strong vectors near the bottom.These vectors are assumed due to the clearance between the inner tubes and the front baffle.Therefore,the major parts of the vectors are moved out through the bottom opening of the rear baffle,and other vectors produce a large circle between the two baffles.Numerical simulations are conducted to investigate the effects of the baffle on the heat exchanger using the Fluent software.The k-εturbulence model is employed to calculate the flows along the heat exchanger.

Eddy Current Test for Detection of Foreign Material using Rotating Probe

There are several elements that affect on the integrity of steam generator tubes. One of the elements is loose parts located on outside of the tubes. It causes erosion which is possible to lead fatal defect like crack on the outside surface of the tubes. In this study, artificial loose parts on Inconel 690 tube are demonstrated and eddy current testing data of the region is acquired using rotating probe. Ferromagnetic and nonmagnetic foreign materials were used to demonstrate artificial loose parts. Eddy current channel of 100 KHz frequency shows definite signals of those foreign materials but stainless steel was not clearly detected. This result can be explained based on the electrical conductivity of the materials and it can be confirmed with lissajous window and C-scan. In addition, no indication was detected when the distance of the gap between the foreign materials and the tube is increased to more than 3 mm under this test condition. Based on these experimental inspections, we were able to find suitable methods for analyzing the signals obtained under various conditions that could occur when conducting steam generator eddy current test in NPP.

Solidification in a shell-and-tube thermal energy storage unit filled with longitude fins and metal foam:A numerical study

In this study,an innovative thermal energy storage design method was developed by adding the combination of metal foam and fin to phase change materials(PCMs).A numerical model was built and verified based on the comparison among the present model prediction,experimental measurements,and numerical results in open lit-erature.To highlight the novel design method,four cases including fin-PCM,foam-PCM,fin-foam-PCM,and PCM unit were compared by means of solidification features.The temperature distribution,solidification front propa-gation,and buoyancy-induced convection in the liquid PCM were accounted for.Numerical results demonstrated that metal foam outperformed fin regarding the improvement on solidification phase change.The combination of foam and fin achieved the best performance,leading to a 90.5%reduction in complete energy release time in comparison with the PCM unit.The proposed design method provided reference potentials for advancing energy storage engineering.However,buoyancy-induced convection in the liquid PCM before solidification was harmful to the formation of solidification front and its movement.A maximal 11.5%prolonging time for the complete solidification was found.

Enhancement on the Performance of Refrigeration System Using the Nano-Refrigerant

The purpose of the present experimental work is to investigate the performance （1 ton） refrigeration system using nano-refrigerant. Nano-refrigerant is alumina （v-A1203） nanopartcal with size （20-30） nm is dispersed into R-134a with volume fraction 0.01% and 0.02%. The experimental test rig consists of horizontal double tube counter flow heat exchanger fabricated of copper. The nano-refrigerant is evaporated inside the inner tube because of the heat gain from hot water passing in the annulus surrounding the inner tube. The experimental results indicate, when increasing the volume concentration of A1203 refrigerant by 0.01% and 0.02%, the heat transfer coefficient increases by 0.54% to 1.1%. The thermal conductivity increases by 11.5% and 14.2%, respectively, while the coefficient of performance increases by 3.33% to 12%, respectively. The heat transfer rate in the refrigeration side is enhancement about 6.7% to 21.4% compared with conventional refrigerant, and the power consumption by compressor is decreased by nearly 1.6% and 3.3%, respectively.

Theoretical Analysis of Annular Elliptic Finned Tube Evaporative Condenser Based on Field Measurement

In this article,a new evaporative condenser with an annular elliptic firmed tube heat exchanger that includes a round inner tube and elliptic outer finned tube was designed and analyzed.The refrigerant flows between the round inner tube and the elliptic outer tube,and it simultaneously exchanges heat with the cooling water in the inner tube,the spray water,and the cooling air flowing past the outer tube.Using field measurement for the traditional round finned tube evaporative condenser in the Futong Metro Station of Line 14 in Beijing,China,the theoretical heat transfer performance of the annular elliptic finned tube evaporative condenser was analyzed and simulated.Compared with a round finned tube heat exchanger,the heat exchange capacity of the annular elliptic finned tube increased by 2.34%to 9.28%;the total heat transfer coefficient increased by 47.42%,and the power consumption of the fan in the air-conditioning system with an annular elliptic finned tube heat exchanger decreased by 11.18%to 14.65%.Therefore,the energy-saving performance and the heat transfer performance of the new annular elliptic finned tube heat exchanger were enhanced compared to the round finned tube heat exchanger.