Shell-and-Tube Heat Exchanger

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Shell-and-Tube Heat Exchanger

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Tubular heat exchanger is one of the most widely used heat exchange equipment in the industrial field. With its stable and reliable structure and efficient heat transfer performance, it undertakes the core function of heat exchange and transfer in chemical, petroleum, food, electric power and other industries.

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I. Basic Structure and Working Principle

(1) Core Structure

A tubular heat exchanger is mainly composed of four parts: shell, tube bundle, tube sheet and head.

Shell: External cylindrical barrel, which provides protection and accommodation space for the tube bundle, with one type of fluid (hot fluid or cold fluid) flowing inside.

Tube bundle: Core component. Multiple heat transfer tubes are fixed on the tube sheet in a specific arrangement (equilateral triangle, square) to form the heat transfer surface. Another fluid flows inside the tubes to exchange heat with the fluid in the shell side.

Tube sheet: Located at both ends of the shell, used to fix heat transfer tubes, separate tube-side fluid and shell-side fluid to prevent mixing of the two fluids.

Head: Mounted at both ends of the shell, equipped with fluid inlet and outlet ports. It connects to external pipelines via nozzles to realize fluid inlet, outlet and distribution.

(2) Working Principle

Two fluids of different temperatures flow separately in the tube side and shell side, transferring heat through the tube wall. The hot fluid conducts heat to the inner side of tube wall, and then heat passes to the cold fluid from outer tube wall, so the cold fluid temperature rises and hot fluid temperature drops. By rationally designing the length, diameter and quantity of heat transfer tubes as well as fluid velocity and flow direction, heat transfer efficiency can be optimized to meet heat exchange requirements under different working conditions.

II. Classification and Characteristics

(1) Fixed Tube Sheet Type

Structural features: Tube sheets on both ends of tube bundle are rigidly fixed to the shell. Simple and compact structure with low manufacturing cost.

Application: Suitable for working conditions where shell-side fluid is clean and not prone to scaling, and temperature difference between tube side and shell side is small (generally ≤50℃), e.g., heat exchange in small chemical processes.

Limitations: Large temperature difference between tube side and shell side may generate thermal stress, causing tube bundle deformation or tube sheet cracking.

(2) Floating Head Type

Structural features: The tube sheet at one end of tube bundle can move freely inside the shell (floating head), while the other end is fixed on the shell.

Advantages: Effectively eliminates thermal stress; tube bundle can be pulled out conveniently for cleaning. Suitable for conditions with large tube-shell temperature difference and scaling-prone shell-side fluid, e.g., crude oil preheating in refineries.

(3) U-Tube Type

Structural features: Heat transfer tubes are bent into U shape, both ends fixed on one tube sheet; each tube can expand and contract freely.

Application: Compact structure, suitable for high-temperature, high-pressure working conditions with clean tube-side fluid, e.g., high-pressure heaters in power plants.

Disadvantages: Difficult internal tube cleaning; leakage easily occurs at U-bend due to erosion wear.

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