Investigation on thermal-hydraulic performance of parallel-flow shell and tube heat exchanger with a new type of anti-vibration baffle and wire coil using RSM method.

Abstract To overcome the deficiencies of parallel-flow shell and tube heat exchanger with round rod baffles (RRB-STHX), STHX with a new type of anti-vibration baffle (hexagon clamping baffle) and equilateral triangle cross sectioned wire coils (HCBetsw-STHX) is proposed in this paper. Response surface methodology (RSM) is adopted to investigate its thermal-hydraulic performance. Baffle distance, coil pitch, coil diameter and Reynolds number are considered as four design parameters. Analysis is conducted based on CFD to acquire the objective functions (Nu H , Nu H / Nu R , f H , f H / f R and PEC) for different combination of design parameters. The RSM with Central Composite design is used to identify the relationships between the objective functions and the design parameters. Variances of the linear term, quadratic term and interactive term for design parameters in the response variables are analyzed. The mechanism of heat transfer enhancement of HCBetsw-STHX is illustrated from the view of field synergy theory. The results indicate that the heat transfer enhancement of HCBetsw-STHX is quite better than that of RRB-STHX. In the given design space, the Nu H / Nu R is in the range of 1.335–1.720; the f H / f R is in the range of 5.462–12.936. The most significant factor on Nu H is Reynolds number, while the most significant effect factor on Nu H / Nu R , f H , f H / f R and PEC is coil pitch. The sensitivity of three objective functions (Nu H , f H and PEC) to design parameters is explored. In addition, the design parameters optimization for the maximum value of Nu H and PEC and that for the minimum value of f H are also carried out and corresponding flow structures are shown and illustrated. Highlights • A new parallel-flow heat exchanger with hexagon clamping baffles and wire coils is proposed. • Parameter sensitivity of factors on thermal-hydraulic performance is explored. • Design parameters optimization is explored to maximize the Nu and PEC and to minimize the f based on the generated response surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]