Numerical Investigation of the Effects of Baffles in a Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger

Abstract

This numerical study examines the effects of the baffles added to the fluid (oil) flow path to be cooled in a shell and tube heat exchanger. The heat transfer rate in the case without baffles is compared to the cases where the baffles are added in the oil flow path. The comparison shows a remarkable increase in heat transfer, but on the other hand leads to higher pumping costs due to a higher pressure loss. CFD simulation can optimize the design of shell and tube heat exchangers by changing the number, size and position of the baffles. The CFD simulation package used here is the commercial software ANSYS Fluent © . The CFD model contains all details of the geometric and material properties, so that the solution reflects all physical phenomena such as rate of heat transfer, temperature, velocity and pressure distributions within the computational domain. The approach used here provides heat exchanger manufacturers with valuable design information without having to produce prototypes that are based not only on expensive, but also on time-consuming trial and error methods.