Abstract

A preliminary design of a shell and tube heat exchanger (STHE) was conducted using a computer code developed in Engineering Equation Solver (EES). This code, based on the Kern method, systematically varied exchanger parameters, specifically the tube length, to identify configurations that met specified heat transfer coefficients and pressure drops within the Tubular Exchanger Manufacturers Association (TEMA) standards. The program considered shell-and-tube side flow heat exchangers with one shell pass and two tube passes, featuring segmental baffles and fixed tube sheets, with single-phase fluid flow on both sides. It was used to compute the overall dimensions of the design, ensuring conformance with TEMA requirements regarding allowable pressure drop and heat transfer coefficient. To enhance the fidelity of the work, the mathematical model was validated against literature. The study considered five different tube lengths, ranging from 6 feet to 14 feet. Observations indicated that the 14-foot tube length met all the criteria prescribed in the TEMA standard and was therefore selected as the core dimension for the
preliminary design of the current STHE. Finally, a parametric study capturing the effect of tube length on the heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop was also performed.