Numerical Studies on Thermal and Hydrodynamic Characteristics of LNG in Helically Coiled Tube-in-Tube Heat Exchangers

As compact and efficient heat exchange equipment,helically coiled tube-in-tube heat exchangers(HCTT heat exchangers)are widely used in many industrial processes.However,the thermal-hydraulic research of liquefied natural gas(LNG)as the working fluid inHCTT heat exchangers is rarely reported.In this paper,the characteristics of HCTT heat exchangers,in which LNG flows in the inner tube and ethylene glycol-water solution flows in the outer tube,are studied by numerical simulations.The influences of heat transfer characteristics and pressure drops of the HCTT heat transfers are studied by changing the initial flow velocity,the helical middle diameter,and the helical pitch.The results indicate that different initial flow velocities in the inner tube and the outer tube of the HCTT heat exchanger have little influence on the secondary flow of the fluid in the helical tubes,and the overall flow characteristics tend to be stable.The smaller helical middle diameter of the HCTT heat exchanger leads to the shorter fluid flow length,the smaller resistance along the tubes and the increase of initial pressure under the condition of constant inlet velocity,which promotes the occurrence of secondary flow.The axial flow of fluid promotes the destruction of heat transfer boundary layer and gains strength of the turbulence and heat transfer efficiency.With the increase of the helical pitch of the HCTT heat exchanger,the turbulent intensity and the heat transfer efficiency are also increased.Moreover,the improvement of the flow state of the HCTT exchanger in a longer helical pitch also enhances the heat exchange efficiency.

Numerical Simulation of Liquified Natural Gas Boiling Heat Transfer Characteristics in Helically Coiled Tube-in-Tube Heat Exchangers

Helically coiled tube-in-tube(HCTT)heat exchangers are widely applied to the process technology because of their compactness and higher heat transfer efficiency.HCTT heat exchangers play an important role in liquified natural gas(LNG)use and cold energy recovery.The heat transfer characteristics,pressure distribution,and degree of vaporization of LNG in HCTT heat exchangers are numerically investigated.By comparing the simulation results of the computational model with existing experimental results,the effectiveness of the computational model is verified.The numerical simulation results show the vapor volume fraction of the HCTT heat exchanger is related to the inlet Reynolds number,inner tube diameters,and helix diameter.The vapor volume fraction increases rapidly from the fourth to the seventh equal division points of the helix tube length.On condition that the inlet Reynolds number is greater than 33500,the pressure drop rate gradually increases.When the magnitude of the vapor volume fraction is below 0.2,the heat transfer coefficient increase rate is greater than that when the vapor volume fraction is above 0.2.The heat exchange efficiency of HCTT heat exchangers increases with the decrease of the ratio of helix diameter to inner tube diameter.

Analysis of secondary flow in shell-side channel of trisection helix heat exchangers

The flow characteristics of shell-side fluid in the tube-and-shell heat exchangers with trisection helical baffles with 35° inclined angles are numerically analyzed. The secondary flow distribution of the fluid in the shell-side channel is focused on. The results on meridian planes indicate that in the shell-side channel, the center part of fluid has an outward tendency because of the centrifugal force, and the peripheral region fluid has an inward tendency under the centripetal force. So in a spiral cycle, the fluid is divided into the upper and lower beams of streamlines, at the same time the Dean vortices are formed near the left baffle, and then the fluid turns to centripetal flow near the right baffle. Finally the two beams of streamlines merge in the main flow. The results of a number of parallel slices between two parallel baffles with the same sector in a swirl cycle also show the existence of the secondary flow and some backward flows at the V-gaps of the adjacent baffles. The secondary flows have a positive effect on mixing fluid by promoting the momentum and mass exchange between fluid particles near the tube wall and in the main stream, and thus they will enhance the heat transfer of the helix heat exchanger.

Experimental study on thermal resistance of fouling in heat exchangers of sewage source heat pumps

To investigate the formation of fouling in sewage heat exchangers, a model of thermal resistance with time is developed based on the experiments in a practical engineering site. And this model is asymptotic exponential function. According to the characteristic of sewage heat exchangers, the effective thermal resistance and effective coefficient of heat transmission during the formation of fouling are defined. A model for pressure loss of fouling of asymptotic distribution is presented based on the model of thermal resistance of fouling. And the maximum absolute margin of error of the fouling thermal resistance is smaller than the typical allowable error range. The maximum relative error of the heat transfer coefficient is 12%. These can meet the requirements of engineering. The resuhs of experiments provide a basis for further study and application of swage heat exchangers.

Experimental Investigation of Two-Phase Flow Maldistribution in Plate Heat Exchangers

After conducting a critical survey of the different categories of existing heat exchangers,the results of several experiments about the behaviour of a two-phase current in an open channel are reported.The results confirm the complexity of the problems induced in heat exchangers by flow maldistribution,especially when two-phase flows are considered in multi-channel systems.It is shown that severe misalignment of heat exchangers can lead to a loss of economic performance of more than 25%.Improper distribution of fluid flow causes longer fluid coils to form,and the liquid cochlea can eventually occupy a large space,thereby reducing heat transfer and disrupting the considered biphasic system.The use of a small diameter distribution pipe with properly spaced outlet holes seems to be a promising approach to fix many of these issues.It is found that the current distribution in the channels,in addition to the header pressure distribution,also depends on factors such as the geometry and the initial flow regime in the header.

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.

A Survey on a Heat Exchangers Network to Decrease Energy Consumption by Using Pinch Technology

There are several ways to increase the efficiency of energy consumption and to decrease energy consumption. In this paper. the application of pinch technology in analysis of the heat exchangers network （HEN） in order to reduce the energy consumption in a thermal system is studied. Therefore, in this grass root design, the optimum value of △Tmin, is obtained about 10℃and area efficiency （a） is 0.95. The author also depicted the grid diagram and driving force plot for additional analysis. In order to increase the amount of energy saving, heat transfer from above to below the pinch point in the diagnosis stage is verified for all options including re-sequencing, re-piping, add heat exchanger and splitting of the flows. Results show that this network has a low potential of retrofit to decrease the energy consumption, which pinch principles are planned to optimize energy consumption of the unit. Regarding the results of pinch analysis, it is suggested that in order to reduce the energy consumption, no alternative changes in the heat exchangers network of the unit is required. The acquired results show that the constancy of network is completely confirmed by the high area efficiency infirmity of the heat exchanger to pass the pinch point and from of deriving force plot.

Application of Technology of Additive Manufacturing in Radiators and Heat Exchangers

Radiators and heat exchangers play a key role in the long-term and stable operation of the equipment. The emergence of additive manufacturing technology has released the freedom of design, enabling many innovative structures of radiators and heat exchangers to be manufactured. The paper reviews the application of additive manufacturing in new radiators and heat exchangers. The technology of additive manufacturing boosts the development of new radiators and heat exchangers, which improves heat dissipation performance and heat exchange efficiency. This paper will provide a new idea and method for the development of radiators and heat exchangers via the application of additive manufacturing.

Simulated Annealing Approach to the Optimal Synthesis of Distillation Column with Intermediate Heat Exchangers

This article presents a simulated annealing-based approach to the optimal synthesis of distillation column considering intermediate heat exchangers arrangements. T-he number of intermediate condensers and/or intermediate reboilers, the placement locations, the.operating pressure of column, and the heat duties of intermediate heat exchangers are treated as optimization variables. A novel coding procedure making use of an integer number series is proposed to represent and manipulate the structure of system and a stage-to-stage method is used for column design and cost calculation. With the representation procedure, the synthesis problem is formulated as a mixed integer nonlinear programming （MINLP） problem, which can then be solved with an improved simulated annealing algorithm. Two examples are illustrated to show the effectiveness of the suggested approach.

Experimental Research on Flow Maldistribution in Plate-Fin Heat Exchangers

The flow maldistribution and the effect of different inlet configuration on the flow distribution in platefin heat exchangers were studied experimentally. It is found that the flow maldistribution is serious because of the defects of inlet configurations, while the inlet configuration and Reynolds number are the main factors affecting the flow distribution. The improved inlet configurations, which are the header with a two-stage distributing configuration and the guide vane with a fluid complementary cavity were proposed and tested in this paper. The experimental results show that the improved inlet configurations can effectively improve the performance of flow distribution in heat exchangers.

Effects of Shape and Quantity of Helical Baffle on the Shell-side Heat Transfer and Flow Performance of Heat Exchangers

Shape and quantity of helical baffles have great impact on the shell-side performance of helical baffled heat exchangers （HBHE）. In this work, three physical models of HBHE with baffles of different shape （trisection, quadrant and sextant sector） were investigated. Numerical simulations were performed on HBHE at three helix an- gles （10°, 25° and 40°） by the software ANSYS CFX. Analyses of numerical results indicate that the sextant HBHE shows relatively better fluid flow performance because the leakage flow in the triangle area is evidently reduced and the fluid streamline appears much closer to an ideal spiral flow, while the trisection and quadrant HBHE show more scattered and disordered streamline distributions. The convective heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop in three types of HBHE were presented. Further investigations on the shell side performance with different helical baf- fles were implemented by the field synergy theory. Both theoretical and numerical analyses gave support on the re- lations between helical baffle shape and shell-side performance. This paper may provide useful reference for the selection of baffle shade and auantitv in HBHE.

Comparison of heat transfer performances of helix baffled heat exchangers with different baffle configurations

Numerical simulations were performed on flow and heat transfer performances of heat exchangers having six helical baffles of different baffle shapes and assembly configurations, i.e., two trisection baffle schemes, two quadrant baffle schemes, and two continuous helical baffle schemes. The temperature contour or the pressure contour and velocity contour plots with superimposed velocity vectors on meridian, transverse and unfolded concentric hexagonal slices are presented to obtain a full angular view. For the six helix baffled heat exchangers,the different patterns of the single vortex secondary flow and the shortcut leakage flow were depicted as well as the heat transfer properties were compared. The results show that the optimum scheme among the six configurations is a circumferential overlap trisection helix baffled heat exchanger with a baffle incline angle of 20°(20°TCO) scheme with an anti-shortcut baffle structure, which exhibits the second highest pressure dropΔpo, the highest overall heat transfer coefficient K, shell-side heat transfer coefficient hoand shell-side average comprehensive index ho/Δpo.

CFD-Based Simulation and Analysis of Hydrothermal Aspects in Solar Channel Heat Exchangers with Various Designed Vortex Generators

The hydrothermal behavior of air inside a solar channel heat exchanger equipped with various shaped ribs is analyzed numerically.The bottom wall of the exchanger is kept adiabatic,while a constant value of the temperature is set at the upper wall.The duct is equipped with a flat rectangular fin on the upper wall and an upstream V-shaped baffle on the lower wall.Furthermore,five hot wall-attached rib shapes are considered:trapezoidal,square,triangular pointing upstream(type Ⅰ),triangular pointing downstream(type Ⅱ),and equilateral-triangular(type Ⅲ)cross sections.Effects of the flow rates are also inspected for various Reynolds numbers in the turbulent regime(1.2×10^(4)-3.2×10^(4)).The highest performance(η)value is given for the Ⅱ-triangular rib case in all Re values,while the square-shaped ribs show a significant decrease in the η along the achieved Re range.The η value at Remax is 2.567 for the Ⅱ-triangular roughness case.Compared with the other simulated cases,this performance is decreased by about 3.768%in the case of Ⅰ-triangular ribs,15.249% in the case of Ⅲ-triangular ribs,20.802% in the case of trapezoidal ribs,while 27.541% in the case of square ribs,at the same Remax.Also,a comparison ismade with air-heat exchangers that have non-rough walls and contain cross-shaped VGs presented previously,in order to highlight the effectiveness of the rough surface presence in the baffled and finned channels.The obtained results indicated that the triangular-shaped rib(type Ⅱ)has the most significant hydrothermal behavior than the other cases.This indicates the necessity of roughness heat transfer surfaces for finned and baffled channels to improve significantly the performance of the air-heat exchangers they contain.

Simulation of heat transfer performance using middle-deep coaxial borehole heat exchangers by FEFLOW

Due to its large heat transfer area and stable thermal performance,the middledeep coaxial borehole heat exchanger(CBHE)has become one of the emerging technologies to extract geothermal energy.In this paper,a numerical modeling on a three-dimensional unsteady heat transfer model of a CBHE was conducted by using software FEFLOW,in which the model simulation was compared with the other studies and was validated with experimental data.On this basis,a further simulation was done in respect of assessing the influencing factors of thermal extraction performance and thermal influence radius of the CBHE.The results show that the outlet temperature of the heat exchanger decreases rapidly at the initial stage,and then tended to be stable;and the thermal influence radius increases with the increase of borehole depth.The heat extraction rate of the borehole increases linearly with the geothermal gradient.Rock heat capacity has limited impact on the heat extraction rate,but has a great influence on the thermal influence radius of the CBHE.When there is groundwater flow in the reservoir,the increase of groundwater velocity will result in the rise of both outlet temperature and heat extraction rate.The heat affected zone extends along with the groundwater flow direction;and its influence radius is increasing along with flow velocity.In addition,the material of the inner pipe has a significant effect on the heat loss in the pipe,so it is recommended that the material with low thermal conductivity should be used if possible.

Corrosion risk analysis of tube-and-shell heat exchangers and design of outlet temperature control system

This study deals with the high-risk shell-and-tube heat exchangers in the effluent system of hydrogenation reaction of the petrochemical industry.The process of hydroprocessing reactor effluent system is simulated in Aspen Plus to study the distribution of corrosive medium in the three phases of oil,gas and water.The least-squares method is utilized to calculate the ammonium salt crystallization temperature.Then,the heat exchanger with risk of ammonium salt crystal corrosion is identified.Dynamic mathematical modeling of the heat exchanger is established to determine the transfer function.A temperature control system with proportional integral derivative(PID)control of the heat exchanger outlet is designed,and fuzzy logic is used to implement self-tuning of PID parameters.After MATLAB simulation,the results show the control system can achieve rapid control of the heat exchanger outlet temperature.

Potential reduction in water consumption of greenhouse evaporative coolers in arid areas via earth-tube heat exchangers

This study aimed to explore the potential of developing a novel cooling system combining a greenhouse and an earth-tube heat exchanger(ETHE).In this system,greenhouse air is circulated through the underneath soil mass to use the deep-soil cooling effect.This was achieved through the following steps.First,soil temperature profile inside and outside the cultivated greenhouse was monitored for almost one year to study the possibility of using deep-soil coldness for cooling the greenhouse air.Second,a prototype ETHE was built to practically investigate the potential reduction in air temperature as the air flows inside the deep earth pipes.Third,a prototype greenhouse was erected to study the ETHE concept.Results from the first experiment revealed that soil temperature at a soil depth of 2.5 m inside the greenhouse offers good conditions to bury the ETHE.The soil temperature at this soil depth was below the maximum temperature(32℃)that most greenhouse crops can withstand.Results from the prototype ETHE showed a slight reduction in air temperature as it passed through the pipes.From the prototype of the integrated greenhouse and ETHE system,reduction in air temperature was observed as the air passed through the ETHE pipes.At night,the air was heated up across the ETHE pipes,indicating that the ETHE was working as a heater.We concluded from this study that greenhouses in arid climates can be cooled using the ETHE concept which would save a large amount of water that would otherwise be consumed in the evaporative coolers.Further investigations are highly encouraged.

R&D on Resistive Heat Exchangers for HTS High Rated Current Leads

The HTS current leads of superconducting magnets for large scale fusion devices and high energy particle colliders can reduce the power consumption for cooling by 2/3 compared with conventional leads. The resistive sections of high-rated current leads are usually made of a heat exchanger cooled by gas flow. The supply of the cooling mass flow incurs more than 90% of the cooling cost for the HTS leads. The mass flow rate requirement depends not only on the length and material of the resistive heat exchanger, but also on the heat transfer coefficient and HEX surface, the joint resistance at the cold end of a sheet-stack HEX with a larger specific presented in the paper. The test results of efficiency can be achieved. and its cooling approach. The design and operation surface and a much smaller hydraulic diameter are an HTS lead optimized for 8 kA show that a 98.4%

Simulation and Optimization of the Fluid Solidification Process in Brazed Plate Heat Exchangers

When a brazed plate heat exchanger is used as an evaporator,the working mass in the channel may undergo soli-dification,thereby hindering the refrigeration cycle.In this study the liquid solidification process and its optimi-zation in a brazed plate heat exchanger are investigated numerically for different inlet velocities;moreover,different levels of corrugation are considered.The results indicate that solidificationfirst occurs around the con-tacts,followed by the area behind the contacts.It is also shown that deadflow zones exist in the sharp areas and such areas are prone to liquid solidification.After optimization,the solidification area attains its smallest value when a corrugation spacingλ=4.2 mm is considered.

Experimental Verification to Estimate Ground Thermal Conductivity Using Spiral Coil Type Ground Heat Exchangers

This paper presents an experimental study on the evaluation of thermal response of a spiral coil type GHE （ground heat exchanger）. This GHE was installed on partially saturated landfill ground that was composed of silt and clay in the runway area of Incheon International airport. TRT （thermal response test） was conducted for more than 65 hours under continuous operation conditions. Ground thermal conductivity was derived based on line source theory, which has usually been found to be appropriate for line type GHEs such as U, W and 2U types. A reasonable method to derive ground thermal conductivity using the infinite line source theory for a spiral coil type GHE was introduced. Ground thermal conductivity from the TRT using spiral coil type GHE was compared with those from the analytical equivalent model of ground thermal conductivity.

Development of Performance Evaluation Technique for Shell-Tube Heat Exchangers

As the operation time of heat exchanger is increased, the thermal performance of them is gradually degraded due to fouling generated by water-borne deposits which are known to reduce the thermal efficiencies. Currently, thermal performance management of heat exchangers is more importantly issued for long term operation. Therefore, the performance evaluation techniques are required to improve the present method for the integrity evaluation of heat exchangers because of the exclusion of fouling calculation and the uncertainty analysis. This paper describes the developed thermal performance evaluation technique applied to the safety-related heat exchangers such as component cooling heat exchangers in a nuclear power plants.