Numerical Investigation and Optimization on Shell Side Performance of A Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger with Inclined Trefoil-Hole Baffles

Yue Sun, Xinting Wang, Rui Long, Fang Yuan and Kun Yang
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Yue Sun: School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Xinting Wang: School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Rui Long: School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Fang Yuan: School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Kun Yang: School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 21, 1-23

Abstract: In this work, a shell and tube heat exchanger with inclined trefoil-hole baffles (STHX-IT) is proposed, and the numerical simulation is conducted to investigate the flow and heat transfer characteristics. A shell and tube heat exchanger with segmental baffles (STHX-SG) is also studied for the performance comparison. The results show that the heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop of the STHX-IT is averagely lower by 23.89% and 44.19% than those of the STHX-SG, but the heat transfer coefficient per pressure drop is higher by 36.38% on average. Further, the parametric studies of the inclination angle ? , trefoil-hole number n , and baffle cut ? are carried out for the STHX-IT. According to the numerical results, n and ? have more notable influence on shell side performance than ? . In detail, the heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop decrease slightly with ? increasing, and the overall performance is approximately equal; both the heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop decrease with the respective rising of n and ? , but the comprehensive performance shows a growing trend. Considering the synthetic effects of structural parameters, the multi-objective structure optimization using the genetic algorithm combined with the artificial neural networks is fulfilled. As a result, the Pareto front is obtained to characterize the behaviors of the maximum heat transfer rate and minimum pressure drop. The STHX-IT with the ? = 5.38°, n = 6, and ? = 43% is decided as the optimal solution by the TOPSIS method, whose Q/?p is 2.34 times as much as that of the original STHX-SG.

Keywords: Shell and tube heat exchanger; numerical simulation; heat transfer enhancement; artificial neural network; multi-objective genetic algorithm (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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