Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Heat Exchanger
Heat Exchanger
Final Report
Heat Exchanger
University of Moratuwa
`
ABSTRACT
This report contains an overview of designing a heat exchanger used in nitric acid manufacturing
plants. The heat exchanger in this report is used to as an economizer that is used to cool the tail
gas using the output gaseous stream of the reactor. Since both streams are gases the rate of heat
transfer is slow.
In order to achieve a good heat transfer, it is better to use a tubular heat exchanger. Among different
types of tubular heat exchangers, fixed tube type shell and tube heat exchanger is selected
considering its availability, cost and design complicity.
Since heat duty is comparatively very large, the heat exchanger is designed as a two heat exchanger
unit arranged in a series. Both heat exchangers has a large heat duty and both are designed as single
shell pass and two tube pass heat exchanger. The kern’s method is used to size both heat
exchangers. First heat exchanger is 5m long and second heat exchanger is 3m long. First heat
exchanger has 1656 tubes and second heat exchanger has 1782 tubes. Thereafter pressure drop of
both tube side and shell side are calculated for both heat exchangers using the calculated data
shown that they are within the required range.
First heat exchanger is designed using SA-179 carbon steel finned tubes and the second heat
exchanger is designed using SA-179 carbon steel tubes. Mechanical design is done only for “Heat
Exchanger 1” since it is has the largest heat load and is difficult to design it “Heat Exchanger 1”
than the “Heat Exchanger 2”. Material is selected as SA-285 Grade C carbon steel. All required
calculation steps for mechanical designing is done and mechanical drawing of the “Heat Exchanger
1” is provided.
Suitable pipes are selected using nominal pipe sizes of SA-106 Grade B carbon steel. Suitable
valve types are selected and required process controls are given with the Piping and
Instrumentation diagram. Operation, maintenance procedure and safety aspects for the heat
exchanger are given with details. Finally the economic evaluation for both heat exchangers is done
current market prices of selected steel. Total cost of the equipment is found to be 114 million LKR.
i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
In performing my assignment, I had to get help and guideline from some respected individuals,
who deserve our greatest gratitude. I would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Shantha
Amarasinghe, Senior Lecturer, University of Moratuwa for giving us a comprehensive guidance
for this assignment through numerous consultations. I would also like to extend my deepest
gratitude to all those who directly and indirectly guided us in writing this report. In addition, a
thank you to Prof. Padma Amarasinghe, who introduced the Methodology of work, who gave a
clear and detailed guideline as to how to complete the report in an accurate manner. Also I would
like to extend my deepest gratitude to Dr. Olga Gunapala, the subject coordinator of Plant
Equipment Design for conducting the lecture series in semester 5.
Many people, especially my parents, batch mates and team members itself, have made valuable
comment suggestions on this design project which gave me an inspiration to improve my
assignment. I thank all the people for their help directly and indirectly to complete my assignment.
ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................................................... i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ................................................................................................................................... ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS.................................................................................................................................... iii
LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................................... vi
LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................................................ vii
1.0 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................. 1
1.1 Scope of the Design Project .......................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Comprehensive Design Project – Group ....................................................................................... 1
2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................................................................................... 3
2.1 Heat Transfer Equipment .............................................................................................................. 3
2.2 Types of Heat Exchangers ............................................................................................................. 3
2.2.1 Tubular Heat Exchangers ...................................................................................................... 4
2.2.2 Plate Heat Exchangers........................................................................................................... 8
2.2.3 Extended Surface Heat Exchangers .................................................................................... 10
2.2.4 Regenerative Heat Exchangers ........................................................................................... 11
2.3 Equipment Selection and Justification ........................................................................................ 11
2.3.1 Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger........................................................................................... 14
2.3.2 Selection of Fixed Tube Shell & Tube Heat Exchanger ....................................................... 15
3.0 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING DESIGN................................................................................................... 17
3.1 Design Information ..................................................................................................................... 17
3.2 Chemical Engineering Design of Heat Exchanger 1 .................................................................... 18
3.2.1 Tube Side Calculations ........................................................................................................ 18
3.2.2 Shell Side Calculations......................................................................................................... 25
3.2.3 Pressure Drop Calculations ................................................................................................. 27
3.3 Chemical Engineering Design of Heat Exchanger 2 .................................................................... 28
3.3.1 Tube Side Calculations ........................................................................................................ 28
3.3.2 Shell Side Calculations......................................................................................................... 31
3.3.3 Pressure Drop Calculutions ................................................................................................. 32
3.4 Summary of Chemical Engineering Design ................................................................................. 33
3.4.1 Heat Exchanger 1 ................................................................................................................ 33
iii
3.4.2 Heat Exchanger 2 ................................................................................................................ 34
4.0 MECHANICAL DESIGN ..................................................................................................................... 35
4.1 Material Selection ....................................................................................................................... 35
4.1.1 Types of available materials ................................................................................................ 35
4.1.2 Selecting the Most Suitable Material ................................................................................. 34
4.2 Welding Technique ..................................................................................................................... 35
4.3 Design Pressure & Design Temperature ..................................................................................... 36
4.3.1 Design Pressure (Pdesign) ....................................................................................................... 36
4.3.2 Design Temperature (Tdesign) ............................................................................................... 36
4.4 Shell Wall Thickness .................................................................................................................... 36
4.5 Heads .......................................................................................................................................... 37
4.6 Pass Partition Plates .................................................................................................................... 42
4.7 Tube Sheet Design ...................................................................................................................... 42
4.8 Baffles and Support Plates .......................................................................................................... 43
4.9 Tie-Rods and Spacers .................................................................................................................. 45
4.10 Nozzles and Openings ................................................................................................................. 46
4.10.1 Cool Gas Inlet Nozzle........................................................................................................... 46
4.10.2 Cool Gas Outlet Nozzle........................................................................................................ 48
4.10.3 Hot Gas Inlet Nozzle ............................................................................................................ 48
4.10.4 Hot Gas Outlet Nozzle ......................................................................................................... 49
4.10.5 Reinforcements ................................................................................................................... 49
4.11 Gaskets ........................................................................................................................................ 51
4.12 Flange and Bolts .......................................................................................................................... 53
4.13 Insulations ................................................................................................................................... 54
4.14 Supports ...................................................................................................................................... 56
4.14.1 Bending Moment at Mid Span and Support ....................................................................... 58
4.14.2 Longitudinal Stress at Mid Span .......................................................................................... 59
4.14.3 Longitudinal Bending Stress at Support .............................................................................. 60
4.14.4 Circumferential Stress ......................................................................................................... 61
4.15 Summary of Mechanical Design of Heat Exchanger 1 ................................................................ 62
5.0 MECHANICAL DRAWING ................................................................................................................. 63
6.0 INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL ............................................................................................... 64
iv
6.1 Selection of Pipes ........................................................................................................................ 64
6.2 Selection of Pumps...................................................................................................................... 65
6.3 Selection of Valves ...................................................................................................................... 65
6.4 Instrumentation .......................................................................................................................... 67
6.4.1 Temperature, Flow, Pressure Measurement ...................................................................... 67
6.4.2 Process Control ................................................................................................................... 68
6.5 Piping and Instrumentation Diagram .......................................................................................... 70
7.0 OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE PROCEDURE .............................................................................. 71
7.1 Installation .................................................................................................................................. 71
7.2 Start-Up Procedure ..................................................................................................................... 71
7.3 Shut-Down Procedure ................................................................................................................. 71
7.4 Operations .................................................................................................................................. 72
7.5 Maintenance Activities ............................................................................................................... 72
7.5.1 Inspection of the Unit ......................................................................................................... 72
7.5.2 Disassembly for Inspection or Cleaning .............................................................................. 72
7.5.3 Removal and Handling ........................................................................................................ 72
7.5.4 Cleaning Tube Bundles ........................................................................................................ 73
8.0 SAFETY AND ECONOMIC ASPECTS .................................................................................................. 74
8.1 Safety Aspects ............................................................................................................................. 74
8.1.1 Safety & Loss Prevention .................................................................................................... 74
4.1.2 HAZOP Study ....................................................................................................................... 74
8.2 Economic Considerations ............................................................................................................ 75
8.2.1 Direct Material Cost ............................................................................................................ 75
8.2.2 Total Purchase Cost of Equipment ...................................................................................... 76
8.2.3 Total Cost of the Equipment ............................................................................................... 78
9.0 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................... 81
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................................ 82
v
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2.1 Classification according to the construction ................................................................................ 4
Figure 2.2 Double Heat Exchanger ................................................................................................................ 5
Figure 2.3 Spiral Type Heat Exchanger.......................................................................................................... 6
Figure 2.4 Shell & Tube Heat Exchanger ....................................................................................................... 7
Figure 2.5 Plate Heat Exchanger ................................................................................................................... 8
Figure 2.6 Gasketed Heat Exchanger ............................................................................................................ 9
Figure 2.7 Spiral Tube Heat Exchanger ....................................................................................................... 10
Figure 2.8 Fixed Tube Heat Exchanger ........................................................................................................ 14
Figure 2.9 Floating Head Heat Exchanger ................................................................................................... 15
Figure 2.10 U - Tube Heat Exchanger.......................................................................................................... 15
Figure 3.1 Selected Heat Exchanger ........................................................................................................... 17
Figure 3.2 Heat Exchanger 1 ....................................................................................................................... 18
Figure 3.3 Temperature correction factor [9] ............................................................................................. 19
Figure 3.4 Shell- bundle clearance [9]......................................................................................................... 21
Figure 3.5 Heat transfer factor [9] .............................................................................................................. 22
Figure 3.6 Finned tube ................................................................................................................................ 22
Figure 3.7 Shell side heat transfer factor [9] .............................................................................................. 26
Figure 3.8 Shell side friction factor [9] ........................................................................................................ 26
Figure 3.9 Heat Exchanger 2 ....................................................................................................................... 28
Figure 4.1 Minimum shell thicknesses for where severe conditions are expected .................................... 37
Figure 4.2 TEMS standard heads................................................................................................................. 38
Figure 4.3 Type -B front head ..................................................................................................................... 39
Figure 4.4 Schematic diagram of the tori spherical head ........................................................................... 40
Figure 4.5 Type-M rear head ...................................................................................................................... 42
Figure 4.6 Tube sheet types a) Integral construction on both sides b) One side integral construction &
other side gasketed construction c) Both sides gasketed construction ..................................................... 42
Figure 4.7 Standard transverse baffle diameters ....................................................................................... 44
Figure 4.8 Minimum baffles thickness ........................................................................................................ 45
Figure 4.9 Cross section of a nozzle ............................................................................................................ 46
Figure 4.10 Cross section of the nozzle ...................................................................................................... 47
Figure 4.11 Cross sectional view of the vessel wall at nozzle ..................................................................... 50
Figure 4.12 Characteristics of flange........................................................................................................... 53
Figure 4.13 Dimensions of a saddle support............................................................................................... 56
Figure 4.14 Bending moments on the shell ................................................................................................ 58
Figure 4.15 Stressed shell ........................................................................................................................... 59
Figure 4.16 Cross sectional view to calculate circumferential stress ......................................................... 61
Figure 6.1 Basic sketch of heat exchangers ................................................................................................ 64
vi
Figure 6.2 Gate valve .................................................................................................................................. 65
Figure 6.3 Globe valve................................................................................................................................. 66
Figure 6.4 Ball valve .................................................................................................................................... 66
Figure 6.5 Butterfly valve ............................................................................................................................ 67
Figure 6.6 Block diagram of the temperature controller ............................................................................ 69
LIST OF TABLES
Table 3.1 Information of hot and cool streams .......................................................................................... 17
Table 3.2 Constants to calculate bundle diameter ..................................................................................... 20
Table 3.3 Fined tube details ........................................................................................................................ 23
Table 4.1 Compositions of elements .......................................................................................................... 35
Table 4.2 Physical & Mechanical properties ............................................................................................... 35
Table 4.3 Number & diameter of tie rods ................................................................................................... 45
Table 4.4 Gasket factors and minimum gasket seating factor.................................................................... 52
Table 4.5 Different flanges of BN4504 PN2.5 type ..................................................................................... 54
Table 4.6 Standard dimensions for saddle supports .................................................................................. 57
Table 4.7 K1 and K2 values ......................................................................................................................... 60
Table 6.1 Selected pipe dimensions............................................................................................................ 64
Table 8.1 HAZOP study................................................................................................................................ 75
Table 8.2 Capital cost of the equipment ..................................................................................................... 76
Table 8.3 Materials for construction factor constant values [35] .............................................................. 77
Table 8.4 Tube length correction factor ..................................................................................................... 78
Table 8.5 Factors of cost estimation as a portion of purchase cost ........................................................... 79
vii
1.0 INTRODUCTION
This chapter contains a brief introduction about the design project and about the equipment: Heat
Exchanger.
Chapters to come will concentrate on a literature survey on available evaporator technologies and
the selection process of the most suitable evaporator configuration, parameter calculation
mechanical design, instrumentation and controls, operation and maintenance procedures finally
safety aspects and economical considerations.
Group design project is designing a Nitric Acid manufacturing plant to meet the demand for Nitric
Acid in Sri Lanka, and introduce locally produced Nitric Acid as a raw material to fertilizer
companies in Sri Lanka and thereby reduce the cost of production of fertilizer. 500 MT/day Nitric
Acid amount is produced in Sri Lanka using Ammonia, Air and water as the primary raw materials.
The plant is proposed to be established in Sapugaskanda area considering many factors such as the
availability of raw material, access to market, Impact on socio-economic geography and many
more.
The technology used in producing Nitric Acid in the proposed plant is the Ostwald’s method. The
medium pressure process is considered as the most suitable process considering capacity, emission
and other techno economic factors such as requirement of skilled labor, operating capabilities and
complexities.
The discounted payback period of the project is 4 years and 6 months. Based on the impact of N2O
emission, a Selective Catalytic Reduction has to be installed to minimize the environmental
impact.
1
Thereafter, considering the process chemistry and kinetics, the unit processes required is
established. Based on the requirement of unit processes decided and literature data, a process flow
is determined and the process flow diagram is drawn. Major units in the process can be named as
the Compressors, Evaporators, heat exchangers, filters, Reactor, Absorption tower, cooler
condenser and the SCR unit.
2
2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter consist a literature review on available technologies and types of heat exchangers in
order to determine the most suitable Heat Exchanger for the Nitric acid production plant.
Transfer of heat from one fluid to another is an important operation for most of the chemical
industries. The most common application of heat transfer is in designing of heat transfer equipment
for exchanging heat from one fluid to another fluid. Such devices for efficient transfer of heat are
generally called Heat Exchanger. The media of heat transfer may be separated by a solid wall, so
that they never mix, or they may be in direct contact. Heat Exchanger applications can be found in
almost all chemical and petrochemical plants, air conditioning systems, power production, waste
heat recovery, automobile industry, central heating system, electronic parts etc.
Heat Exchangers can be classified based on the transfer process, construction, flow arrangement,
heat transfer mechanism, according to construction etc. Among these, classification according to
the construction is the most commonly used classification in the industry.
Heat Exchanger classification according to the construction can be shown as in the Figure 2.1
below.
3
Double
Pipe
Counter Flow Tubes
Shell &
Tube
Tubular Prallel Flow Tubes
Spiral Tube
Pipe Coils
PHE Welded
Plate
Classification
Spiral Brazed
According to
Construction Printed
Circuit
Plate-fin
Extended Ordinary Seperating Wall
Surface
Tube-fin
Heating-Pipe wall
Rotary
Regenrative Fixed-Matrix
Rotating
Hoods
Classification according to construction is the most commonly used classification. Among the
types of heat exchangers in this classification, tubular type is the most commonly used type. These
exchangers are generally built of circular tubes, although elliptical, rectangular, or
round/flat twisted tubes have also been used in some applications. There is considerable
flexibility in the design because the core geometry can be varied easily by changing the
tube diameter, length, and arrangement. Tubular exchangers can be designed for high
pressures relative to the environment and high-pressure differences between the fluids.
Tubular exchangers are used primarily for liquid-to-liquid and liquid-to-phase change
(condensing or evaporating) heat transfer applications. They are used for gas-to-liquid
and gas-to-gas heat transfer applications primarily when the operating temperature and/
or pressure is very high or fouling is a severe problem on at least one fluid side and no
4
other types of exchangers would work. These exchangers may be classified as shell-andtube,
double-pipe, and spiral tube exchangers. They are all prime surface exchangers
except for exchangers having fins outside/inside tubes.
The double-pipe heat exchanger is one of the simplest types of heat exchangers. It is called a
double-pipe exchanger because one fluid flows inside a pipe and the other fluid flows between that
pipe and another pipe that surrounds the first. This is a concentric tube construction. Flow in a
double-pipe heat exchanger can be co-current or counter-current. There are two flow
configurations: co-current is when the flow of the two streams is in the same direction, counter
current is when the flow of the streams is in opposite directions. As conditions in the pipes change:
inlet temperatures, flow rates, fluid properties, fluid composition, etc., the amount of heat
transferred also changes. This transient behavior leads to change in process temperatures, which
will lead to a point where the temperature distribution becomes steady. When heat is beginning to
be transferred, this changes the temperature of the fluids. Until these temperatures reach a steady
state their behavior is dependent on time. In this double-pipe heat exchanger a hot process fluid
flowing through the inner pipe transfers its heat to cooling water flowing in the outer pipe. The
system is in steady state until conditions change, such as flow rate or inlet temperature. These
changes in conditions cause the temperature distribution to change with time until a new steady
state is reached. The new
steady state will be
observed once the inlet
and outlet temperatures for
the process and coolant
fluid become stable. In
reality, the temperatures
will never be completely
stable, but with large
enough changes in inlet
5
temperatures or flow rates a relative steady state can be experimentally observed [1]. A Double
pipe heat exchanger is shown in the Figure 2.2
Spiral Tube Heat Exchangers utilize one continuous spiral-wound tube or several parallel tubes in
a circular pattern connected to headers on both ends. This spiral coil is then installed in a shell
where another fluid is circulated around the outside of the tube, transferring heat between the
fluids. This construction allows for a ‘self-draining’ design when required.
In general, the higher pressure fluid is located in the tube while the lower pressure fluid is in the
shell. Many designs can be rated for extremely high pressures (i.e. <1000 PSI, Tubeside Only)
[2]. These heat exchangers offer unique advantageous for specific applications and are not
necessarily the most economical option for every day heat transfer applications. The spiral shape
of the flow for the tube side and shell side fluid creates centrifugal force and secondary circulating
flow that enhances that the heat transfer on both sides in a true counter flow arrangement. Since
there are a variety of multiple parallel tube configurations (Diameter, Number and Length),
efficiency is not compromised by limited shell diameter sizes as it is in shell and tube designs.
The profile of a spiral is very compact and fits in a smaller area than a shell and tube design. Since
the tube bundle is cooled, space requirement for tube bundle
removal are significantly reduced. When exotic material is
required a spiral tube heat exchanger minimizes the material
used since manifolds replace the channels, heads and tube
sheets of a conventional shell and tube design. The shell is
usually smaller than the tube design. The shell side is usually
smaller than a comparable shell and tube design and there
are no requirement for tube supports or pass dividers [3]. A
spiral tube heat exchanger is shown in the Figure 2.3.
6
2.2.1.3 Shell and Tube Heat Exchangers
Shell and Tube Heat Exchangers are one of the most popular types of exchanger due to the
flexibility the designer has to allow for a wide range of pressures and temperatures. There are two
main categories of Shell and Tube exchanger:
1. That are used in the petrochemical industry which tend to be covered by standards from TEMA,
Tubular Exchanger Manufacturers Association;
2. That are used in the power industry such as feed water heaters and power plant condensers.
Regardless of the type of industry the exchanger is to be used in there are a number of common
features.
A shell and tube exchanger consists of a number of tubes mounted inside a cylindrical shell. Two
fluids can exchange heat, one fluid flows over the outside of the tubes while the second fluid flows
through the tubes. The fluids can be single or two phase and can flow in a parallel or a cross/counter
flow arrangement. A shell and tube heat exchanger is shown in the Figure 2.4
Front Header—this is where the fluid enters the tube side of the exchanger. It is
sometimes referred to as the Stationary Header.
Rear Header—this is where the tube side fluid leaves the exchanger or where it is
returned to the front header in exchangers with multiple tube side passes.
7
Tube bundle—this comprises of the tubes, tube sheets, baffles and tie rods etc. to hold the
bundle together.
Shell—this contains the tube bundle.
Shell and Tube Heat Exchangers also can be classified into three categories.
Fixed tube exchangers
U-tube exchangers
Floating header exchangers. [4]
8
fluid. In most cases, the exchanger consists of a coiled pipe containing one fluid that passes through
a chamber containing another fluid. The walls of the pipe are usually made of metal, or another
substance with a high thermal conductivity, to facilitate the interchange, whereas the outer casing
of the larger chamber is made of a plastic or coated with thermal insulation, to discourage heat
from escaping from the exchanger [6]. A plate heat exchanger is shown in the Figure 2.5.
A gasketed plate heat exchanger consists of a stack of closely spaced thin plates clamped together
in a frame. A thin gasket seals the plates round their edges. The plates are normally between 0.5
and 3 mm thick and gap between them 1.5 to 5 mm. Plate surface areas range from 0.03 to 1 m 2,
with a plate width: length ratio from 2 to 3. The size of plate heat exchangers can vary from small,
0.03 m2, to very large 1500 m2. The maximum flow rate of fluid is limited to around 2500 m3/hr.
The basic layout and flow arrangement for a gasketed type plate exchanger is shown in Figure 2.6
9
2.2.2.2 Spiral Plate Heat Exchanger
The spiral plate heat exchanger is made of two concentric channels on which spacer pins are
welded to make the channel gaps. Each channel gap and the width of the channels are selected to
meet the specific requirements of each client and working conditions. When considering about the
flow rates, the size of particles for fouling fluids and pressure drops. These spacer pins facilitate
turbulent flow in each channel. At the beginning, the spiral plate heat exchanger has mainly been
used in the pulp and paper, where there have been frequent fouling problems with the classic shell
and tubes (or multi-channel heat exchangers) due to fibers in the effluents [7]. Over the past 20
years, the spiral plate heat exchanger has become essential in fields as diverse as refineries, Oil &
Gas, Petrochemical, or Environment, because of its thermal efficiency, its force and its versatile
design. Able to work in extreme conditions (pressure and
temperature), this single channel of the heat exchanger,
with self-cleaning effect, has become the alternative to
the exchanger tube bundle. More compact, and up to 3
times more thermally efficient, the spiral plate heat
exchanger gives the possibility to make a considerable
saving of installation, operation and maintenance. A
spiral tube heat exchanger is shown in Figure 2.7
Extended surfaces have fins attached to the primary surface on one side of a two-fluid or a multi
fluid heat exchanger. Fins can be of a variety of geometry (plain, wavy or interrupted) and can be
attached to the inside, outside or to both sides of circular, flat or oval tubes, or parting sheets. Pins
are primarily used to increase the surface area (when the heat transfer coefficient on that fluid side
is relatively low) and consequently to increase the total rate of heat transfer. In addition, enhanced
fin geometries also increase the heat transfer coefficient compared to that for a plain fin. Fins may
also be used on the high heat transfer coefficient fluid side in a heat exchanger primarily for
10
structural strength (for example, for high pressure water flow through a flat tube) or to provide a
thorough mixing of a highly-viscous liquid (such as for laminar oil flow in a flat or a round tube).
Fins are attached to the primary surface by brazing, soldering, welding, adhesive bonding or
mechanical expansion, or extruded or integrally connected to tubes [8].
A regenerative heat exchanger, or more commonly a regenerator, is a type of heat exchanger where
heat from the hot fluid is intermittently stored in a thermal storage medium before it is transferred
to the cold fluid. To accomplish this the hot fluid is brought into contact with the heat storage
medium, then the fluid is displaced with the cold fluid, which absorbs the heat.
In regenerative heat exchangers, the fluid on either side of the heat exchanger can be the same
fluid. The fluid may go through an external processing step, and then it is flowed back through the
heat exchanger in the opposite direction for further processing. Usually the application will use
this process cyclically or repetitively.
Regenerative heating was one of the most important technologies developed during the Industrial
Revolution when it was used in the hot blast process on blast furnaces, It was later used in glass
and steel making, to increase the efficiency of open hearth furnaces, and in high pressure boilers
and chemical and other applications, where it continues to be important today.
In the selected heat exchanger input hot stream which is released from the reactor is need to be
cooled using the flue gas which is released from the absorption column. Temperature of the input
hot stream is 446°C and discharges at 250°C. Temperature of the input cool stream is 71°C and
the output temperature is 350°C.
There are various types of heat exchangers available as mentioned previously. Selection of the
most suitable heat exchanger type is very much important. For that, have to consider about many
factors. Process stream should not contact with the cooling water as formaldehyde is very soluble
in water. So direct contact type heat exchangers are not suitable here. Also hot stream is a high
temperature gas mixture containing mainly formaldehyde and methanol. Aqueous formaldehyde
is corrosive but is not corrosive in vapor phase. Methanol is corrosive for some metals particularly
for Aluminum. So the selected type of heat exchanger should have the ability to withstand to high
11
temperature and corrosion problem. Among these heat exchanger types, advantages, disadvantages
and applications of several heat exchanger types which are widely used in industry can be
classified as follows.
Disadvantages:
12
Disadvantages:
Disadvantages:
Plate & frame heat exchanger is not suitable for our design as it cannot withstand the high
temperature. Manufacturing cost is lower in shell and tube and regenerative types than the Plate
and frame type. Since the outlet of the cooling gas stream is sent to the cooler condenser and then
to the absorption column the pressure drop should be minimum at the heat exchanger.
Shell and tube heat exchanger is selected as the type of heat exchangers considering its low
construction cost, low pressure drop, can be used in higher pressure and higher temperature
applications and also its wide range of applications. Since both fluids used in this heat exchanger
are gasses and they have low scaling and fouling, it’s not essential to clean the heat exchanger
often. Even though shell and tube heat exchangers has low heat transfer efficiency it has more
positive points than other heat exchangers.
13
2.3.1 Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger
As described in Section 2.2.1.3 shell and tube heat exchangers also can be classified in to three
categories.
In a fixed tube heat exchanger, the tubes are welded to the shell. This results in a simple and
economical construction and the tube bores can be cleaned mechanically or chemically. However,
the outside surfaces of the tubes are inaccessible except to chemical cleaning.
If large temperature differences exist between the shell and tube materials, it may be necessary to
incorporate an expansion bellows in the shell, to eliminate excessive stresses caused by expansion.
Such bellows are often a source of weakness and failure in operation. In circumstances where the
consequences of failure are particularly grave U-Tube or Floating Header units are normally used.
A Fixed Tube heat exchanger is shown in Figure 2.8
In this type of exchanger the tube sheet at the Rear Header end is not welded to the shell but
allowed to move or float. The tube sheet at the Front Header (tube side fluid inlet end) is of a larger
diameter than the shell and is sealed in a similar manner to that used in the fixed tube sheet design.
The tube sheet at the rear header end of the shell is of slightly smaller diameter than the shell,
allowing the bundle to be pulled through the shell. The use of a floating head means that thermal
expansion can be allowed for and the tube bundle can be removed for cleaning. A floating head
14
exchanger is suitable for the rigorous duties associated with high temperatures and pressures but
is more expensive (typically of order of 25% for carbon steel construction) than the equivalent
fixed tube sheet exchanger. A Floating Head heat exchanger is shown in Figure 2.9.
In a U-Tube exchanger any of the front header types may be used and the rear header is normally
a M-Type. The U-tubes permit unlimited thermal expansion, the tube bundle can be removed for
cleaning and small bundle to shell clearances can be achieved. However, since internal cleaning
of the tubes by mechanical means is difficult, it is normal only to use this type where the tube side
fluids are clean [4]. A U-Tube heat exchanger is shown in Figure 2.10
Considering these three types described above, the floating tube can’t be used because of its high
construction cost. U-tube cannot be used for this heat exchanger since the input temperature
15
difference high which exceeds the allowable value and also it is suitable for low temperature
applications.
Fixed tube type is the suitable design which has the high temperature gas inside the tubes and
counter current flow arrangement is possible in this type. Counter current flow arrangement is the
thermodynamically most superior to any other flow arrangement. Also this is the simplest design
and economical shell and tube type. Therefore Fixed tube heat exchanger is selected as the type
for the design.
16
3.0 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING DESIGN
Thermal design of a shell and tube heat exchanger typically includes the determination of heat
transfer area, number of tubes, tube length and diameter, tube layout, number of shell and tube
passes, type of heat exchanger (fixed tube sheet, removable tube bundle etc), tube pitch, number
of baffles, its type and size, shell and tube side pressure drop etc [9].
The selected heat exchanger is used to heat the tail gas and cool down the output of the reactor.
Reactor output is need to be cooled to 250 °C from 446 °C. Tail gas is sent to the SCR to remove
NOx. This stream enters to the heat exchanger at 71 °C and this need to heated up to 350 °C before
it entered to the SCR. Input and Output streams of the heat exchanger is shown in Figure 3.1 below.
11 11A
14B 14A
Figure 3.1 Selected Heat Exchanger
Information about the hot stream and the cool stream are shown respectively in Table 3.1
17
Heat Duty of the hot stream = 𝑚̇CpΔT
= 3823.726 kW
Since the heat duty and temperature differences are very high it’s difficult to do the heat transfer
using a single heat exchanger. Therefore two heat exchangers in a series arrangement is used to
transfer this heat.
Take the temperature of the cool stream outlet of the first heat exchanger as 160 °C and calculate
the temperature of the hot stream input temperature by applying energy balance. Chemical
engineering design calculations for “Heat Exchanger 1” is shown . Sketch of the first heat
exchanger is shown in Figure 3.2
11 TH
14B TC
𝑇 = 312.52℃
Heat duty of the heat exchanger = (46577.16) × 1.06172 × (350 − 160) = 2609.963 𝑘𝑊
18
(𝑇1 − 𝑡2 ) − (𝑇1 − 𝑡1 ) (446 − 350) − (446 − 160)
∆𝑇𝑙𝑚 = = = 122.0887 ℃
𝑇 −𝑡 446 − 350
𝑙𝑛 𝑇1 − 𝑡2 𝑙𝑛 446 − 160
1 1
Temperature correction factor (FT) can be found using the graph given in the Figure 3.3.
𝐹𝑇 = 0.65
Both fluids are not corrosive, and the operating pressure not high. Therefore plain carbon steel
can be used for the shell and tubes.
Use 27 mm outside diameter, 25 mm inside diameter and 5 m long tubes on a 33.75 mm pitch.
Thickness of the tube is 2 mm.
19
𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝐷𝑢𝑡𝑦 2609.963 × 103
𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑓𝑒𝑟 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 = = = 2192.574 𝑚2
∆𝑇𝑚 × 𝑈𝑜 79.3576 × 15
𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑠 = 2
5172
𝑇𝑢𝑏𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠 = = 2586
2
𝜋
𝑇𝑢𝑏𝑒 𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 = (25 × 10−3 )2 = 0.00491 𝑚2
4
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠 = 𝑇𝑢𝑏𝑒 𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 × 𝑇𝑢𝑏𝑒𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠
= 0.00491 × 2586 = 1.2694 𝑚2
Constants ( K1 and n1) to calculate the bundle diameter can be found using the Table 3.4.
20
Shell-bundle clearance can be found from Figure 3.5.
𝐷𝑠 − 𝐷𝑏 = 32 𝑚𝑚
𝑁𝑡 𝑛1 5172 1
𝐷𝑏 = 𝑑𝑜 ( ) 1 = 27 × 10−3 × ( )2.207 = 2.441 𝑚
𝐾1 0.249
𝐷𝑠 = 2.4442 𝑚
𝐿 5
= = 200
𝐷 25 × 10−3
21
Suitable heat transfer factor can be found using Figure 3.6
𝑗ℎ = 0.009
𝑁𝑢 × 𝐾𝑓 84.13855 × 0.048573
ℎ𝑖 = = −3
= 167.3616 𝑊/𝑚2 ℃
𝑑𝑖 25 × 10
This value is acceptable with assumed value for overall heat transfer coefficient. But the shell
diameter is 2.46 m. a very large value and the cost will be very high when large diameter shells
are need to be constructed. Therefore this value can be reduced by adding fins to the tube. Heat
transfer area can be increased when finned tubes are used.
Hence it’s necessary to add fins to tubes, using finned tubes will be a better option for construction.
Since the construction cost can be lowered by using fined tubes. There are several fined tube
manufacturers and by refereing their standards its easy select the suitable finned tube for the
design.
Code number of the selected fined tube is “SA-179 Carbon steel 266035 Type 3” which has 1203
fins per meter [10]. A cross sectional views of the finned tube is shown in Figure 3.7.
2
𝐷𝑓𝑜 𝐷′𝑓𝑜 𝐷𝑓𝑜
Area of a fin (𝐴𝑓𝑖𝑛 ) = 2π( ( )2 − ( ) ) + 2𝜋( )𝑡𝑓
2 2 2
25.4 22.911 25.4
= 2𝜋(( )2 − ( )2 ) + 2𝜋( ) × 0.33 = 215.2149 𝑚𝑚2
2 2 2
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡 𝑓𝑖𝑛 (𝐴𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑓𝑖𝑛 ) = 𝐴𝑓𝑖𝑛 + 𝐴𝑢𝑛𝑓𝑖𝑛 = 215.2149 + 43.69006 = 258.905 𝑚𝑚2
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑡𝑢𝑏𝑒 = 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡 𝑓𝑖𝑛 × 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑠 = 258.905 × 10−6 × 1203 × 5
= 1.32499 𝑚2
𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑠 = 2
1656
𝑇𝑢𝑏𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠 = = 828
2
23
𝜋
𝑇𝑢𝑏𝑒 𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 = (19.609 × 10−3 )2 = 0.000302 𝑚2
4
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠 = 𝑇𝑢𝑏𝑒 𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 × 𝑇𝑢𝑏𝑒𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠
= 0.000302 × 1656 = 0.250052 𝑚2
𝑁𝑡 𝑛1 1656 1
𝐷𝑏 = 𝑑𝑜 ( ) 1 = 24.1555 × 10−3 × ( )2.207 = 1.303 𝑚
𝐾1 0.249
𝐷𝑠 = 1.335 𝑚
𝐿 5
= = 254.985
𝐷 19.609 × 10−3
Find the suitable heat transfer factor using the Figure 3.6
𝑗ℎ = 0.003
24
𝑁𝑢 × 𝐾𝑓 114.3294 × 0.048573
ℎ𝑖 = = = 283.2056 𝑊/𝑚2 ℃
𝑑𝑖 19.609 × 10−3
𝐷𝑆 = 1335 𝑚𝑚
1.1 1.1
𝑑𝑒 = × (𝑑𝑜 2 − 0.917 × 𝑑𝑖 2 ) = × (24.15552 − 0.917 × 19.6092 ) = 17.1516 𝑚𝑚
𝑑𝑖 25
𝐶𝑝 𝜇 1.06172 × 0.026912
𝑃𝑟 = = = 0.70545
𝐾𝑓 0.040503
Assume the baffle cut as 45%, value of jh can be found using the Figure 3.8.
25
Figure 3.7 Shell side heat transfer factor [9]
𝑗ℎ = 0.01
𝑗𝑖 = 0.01
𝑘𝑡
ℎ𝑠 = × 𝑗ℎ × 𝑅𝑒 × 𝑃𝑟 0.33
𝑑𝑒
26
0.040503 𝑊
= × 0.01 × 11555.03 × 0.705450.33 = 243.1904 2 ℃
17.1516 𝑚
𝑑𝑖
1 1 1 𝑑𝑜 𝑑𝑜 ln (𝑑𝑜 ) 1 1
=( + ) + + +
𝑈𝑜 ℎ𝑖 ℎ𝑖𝑑 𝑑𝑖 2 × 55 ℎ𝑠 ℎ𝑠𝑑
−3 27
1 24.1555 24.1555 × 10 𝑙𝑛 19.609 1
=( + 0.0003) × + +
283.2056 25 2 × 55 243.1904
+ 0.0003 = 0.059501
𝑊
𝑈𝑜 = 16.8064 ℃
𝑚2
The percentage increment or decrement of calculated and assumed overall heat transfer coefficient
should be calculated to before doing the other calculation steps.
𝑈𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 − 𝑈𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑑
0< < 30%
𝑈𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑑
𝑈𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑑 = 15 𝑊/𝑚2 ℃
16.8064 − 15
× 100 = 12. %
15
The percentage difference is in acceptable range. Therefore trial calculation should not be
continued anymore.
By doing the pressure drop calculations it can be decided whether the above calculations are
correct or calculations need to be done again with different values. For tube side the allowable
maximum pressure drop is 0.69 bar and for the shell side allowable maximum pressure drop is
0.48 bar [11].
27
𝐿 𝜌𝑈𝑡 2
𝑇𝑢𝑏𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑑𝑟𝑜𝑝 (∆𝑃𝑡 ) = 𝑁𝑝 (8𝑗𝑓 ( ) + 2.5)
𝑑𝑖 2
5000 2.971 × 10.504622
= 1782 × (8 × 0.006 ( 2 ) + 2.5) = 0.6038 𝑏𝑎𝑟
19.609 2
𝐷𝑠 𝐿 𝜌𝑈𝑠 2
𝑆ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑑𝑟𝑜𝑝 (∆𝑃 )
𝑠 = (8𝑗𝑓 ( ) ( ))
𝑑𝑒 𝑙𝐵 2
Since the Tube side pressure drop (0.6038 bar) < 0.68 bar and the Shell side pressure drop
(0.1211 bar) < 0.48 bar, above calculations are correct for the “Heat Exchanger 1”
From the calculation in chapter 3.2, TH is 312.52 °C and TC is 160 °C. Chemical engineering design
calculations for “Heat Exchanger 2” can be shown as in the Figure 3.10
TH 11
TC 14B
Heat duty of the heat exchanger = (46577.16) × 1.0484409 × (160 − 71) = 1200.107 𝑘𝑊
28
(𝑇1 − 𝑡2 ) − (𝑇1 − 𝑡1 ) (312.52 − 160) − (312.52 − 71)
∆𝑇𝑙𝑚 = = = 165.4086 ℃
𝑇 −𝑡 312.52 − 160
𝑙𝑛 𝑇1 − 𝑡2 𝑙𝑛
1 1 312.52 − 71
Value of the temperature correction factor (FT) can be found using the graph given in the Figure
3.3.
𝐹𝑇 = 0.96
Both fluids are corrosive, and the operating pressure not high. Therefore plain carbon steel can be
used for the shell and tubes.
Use 30 mm outside diameter, 28 mm inside diameter and 5 m long tubes on a 37.5 mm pitch.
Thickness of the tube is 2 mm.
𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑠 = 2
1782
𝑇𝑢𝑏𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠 = = 891
2
29
𝜋
𝑇𝑢𝑏𝑒 𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 = (28 × 10−3 )2 = 0.000616 𝑚2
4
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠 = 𝑇𝑢𝑏𝑒 𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 × 𝑇𝑢𝑏𝑒𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠
= 0.000616 × 891 = 0.548635 𝑚2
𝑁𝑡 𝑛1 1782 1
𝐷𝑏 = 𝑑𝑜 ( ) 1 = 30 × 10−3 × ( )2.207 = 1.673 𝑚
𝐾1 0.249
𝐷𝑠 = 1.6985 𝑚
𝐿 3
= = 107.1429
𝐷 28 × 10−3
𝑗ℎ = 0.0022
30
𝑁𝑢 × 𝐾𝑓 55.63952 × 0.042073
ℎ𝑖 = = = 108.1042 𝑊/𝑚2 ℃
𝑑𝑖 28 × 10−3
𝐷𝑠 = 1698.50 𝑚𝑚
1.1 1.1
𝑑𝑒 = × (𝑑𝑜 2 − 0.917 × 𝑑𝑖 2 ) = × (302 − 0.917 × 282 ) = 21.3015 𝑚𝑚
𝑑𝑖 28
𝐹𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 =
𝐷𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦
46577.16
= = 3.72872 𝑚3 /𝑠
3600 × 4.575349
𝐶𝑝 𝜇 1.04222 × 0.02148
𝑃𝑟 = = = 0.71286
𝐾𝑓 0.031403
Assume the baffle cut as 45% and value of jh can be found using Figure 3.8.
𝑗ℎ = 0.01
𝑗𝑖 = 0.09
31
𝑘𝑡 0.031403
ℎ𝑠 = × 𝑗ℎ × 𝑅𝑒 × 𝑃𝑟 0.33 = × 0.01 × 14661.8442 × 0.712860.33
𝑑𝑒 21.3015
𝑊
= 193.3032 ℃
𝑚2
𝑑𝑖
1 1 1 𝑑𝑜 𝑑𝑜 ln (𝑑𝑜 ) 1 1
=( + ) + + +
𝑈𝑜 ℎ𝑖 ℎ𝑖𝑑 𝑑𝑖 2 × 55 ℎ𝑠 ℎ𝑠𝑑
−3 30
1 30 30 × 10 𝑙𝑛 28 1
=( + 0.0003) × + + + 0.0003
108.1042 28 2 × 55 193.3032
= 0.05414
𝑊
𝑈𝑜 = 18.47 ℃
𝑚2
The percentage increment or decrement of calculated and assumed overall heat transfer coefficient
should be calculated to before doing the other calculation steps.
𝑈𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 − 𝑈𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑑
0< < 30%
𝑈𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑑
𝑈𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑑 = 15 𝑊/𝑚2 ℃
18.47 − 15
× 100 = 28%
15
The percentage difference is in acceptable range. Therefore trial calculation should not be
continued anymore.
𝐿 𝜌𝑈𝑡 2
𝑇𝑢𝑏𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑑𝑟𝑜𝑝 (∆𝑃𝑡 ) = 𝑁𝑝 (8𝑗𝑓 ( ) + 2.5)
𝑑𝑖 2
3000 2.971 × 10.504622
= 1782 × (8 × 0.01 ( ) + 2.5) = 0.03207 𝑏𝑎𝑟
28 2
32
𝐷𝑠 𝐿 𝜌𝑈𝑠 2
𝑆ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑑𝑟𝑜𝑝 (∆𝑃𝑠 ) = (8𝑗𝑓 ( ) ( ))
𝑑𝑒 𝑙 𝐵 2
According to Section 3.2.3 Tube side pressure drop (0.03207 bar) < 0.68 bar and Shell side
pressure drop (0.1211 bar) < 0.48 bar. Therefore parameter values taken for “Heat Exchanger 2”
are correct.
Summary of the chemical engineering design of “Heat Exchanger 1” and “Heat Exchanger 2” are
shown in this chapter.
33
Overall heat transfer coefficient = 16.8064 W/m2 °C
Tube-side Pressure Drop = 0.6038 bar
Shell-side Pressure drop = 0.1211 bar
34
4.0 MECHANICAL DESIGN
This chapter consist a literature review on available technologies and types of heat exchangers in
order to determine the most suitable Heat Exchanger for the Nitric acid production plant. Since
there are two heat exchangers, only the mechanical design for the “Heat Exchanger 1” is
considered in this chapter.
Depending on properties of heat transferring liquids, temperatures and operating pressure there are
several types of materials used to construct heat exchangers. The materials may be metals or
nonmetals like glass, graphite, ceramic, and plastics. Following are the factors that should be
considered when selecting a material for the heat exchanger.
Following are the most widely used materials for heat exchanger constructions.
a. Cast iron.
b. Carbon steel.
c. Low-alloy steel.
d. Stainless steel: martensitic, austenitic, ferritic, superferritic, duplex, superaustenitic.
k. Graphite.
e. Aluminum and aluminum alloys.
l. Glass.
f. Copper and copper alloys.
m. Teflon.
g. Nickel and nickel alloys.
n. Ceramics [12].
h. Titanium and titanium alloys.
i. Zirconium.
j. Tantalum.
35
Among these materials carbon iron is the most suitable material for the construction of this heat
exchanger since both fluids are gasses and none of them are corrosive neither highly fouling nor
scaling . Also carbon steel has high heat transfer properties, cheap and also carbon steel is the most
widely used material in the process industry. Also cast iron is not suitable where the temperature
exceeds 200 °C. Therefore carbon steel is the most suitable material for the construction of this
heat exchanger.
There are three main types of carbon steels available in the industry.
Therefore low carbon steel is selected as the most suitable material for the heat exchanger. Hence
the internal diameter of the heat exchanger is relatively large it has to constructed using carbon
steel plates [13]. There are a huge number of low carbon steel types available in the process
industry. Among these types SA 226, SA 285, SA 299, SA 352, SA 372, SA 382, SA 433, SA 442,
SA 455, SA 515, SA 516 and SA 537 are the carbon steel plate codes available for pressure vessels
[14]. These types have different carbon, manganese, silicon and phosphorus levels. Therefore the
strength, density, brittle hardness, prize varies with the code. Since low carbon steel is suitable for
this heat exchanger and considering the low prize SA-285 is selected as the suitable carbon steel.
34
SA-285 is designed for low pressure heaters, pressure vessels, tanks and other low pressure PVQ
applications.
In SA-285 there are three types called as Grade A, Grade B and Grade C. Composition of carbon
is different in these three types [15]. Compositions of elements are shown in the Table 4.1
Mechanical and physical properties of SA-285 is shown in the Table 4.2 [16].
Table 4.2 Physical & Mechanical properties
Considering these properties SA-285 Grade C is selected as the material to construct heat
exchanger 1.
The most common way to fabricate a heat exchanger is by welding. In this design toxic substances
are contained inside the shell. So, special restriction is prevailed at the weld joint. That is in this
case, all joints are restricted to butt joints and full penetration welds [12]. A joint efficiency of 1.0
is only permitted for butt joint formed by double welding and subjected to full radiographic
examination. Depending on the radiography applied, joint efficiencies vary from 1, 0.85 or 0.7.
The use of lower joint efficiencies in design, though reduce the cost on radiography, will result in
35
thicker, heavier vessel and the designer and the designer must balance any cost savings on
inspection and fabrication against the increased cost of materials. As the shell side containing toxic
substances fully radiography should be applied. Then joint efficiency will be 1.
This chapter consist of calculations of design pressure and the design temperature of the heat
exchanger is
For non-directly heated body like heat exchanger, design temperature is given by;
= 446𝑜 𝐶 + 10o C
The shell thickness (𝑡𝑠) can be calculated from the equation below based on the maximum
allowable stress and corrected for joint efficiency. Circumferential Stress (longitudinal welds).
𝑃𝑅
𝑡𝑠 = +𝐶
𝑓𝐽 − 0.6𝑃
𝑡𝑠 = shell thickness
36
P = design pressure
R = Shell Internal radius
𝐽 = Joint efficiency
C = Corrosion allowance
Since this heat exchanger is used in the chemical industry where severe conditions are expected,
corrosion allowance is taken as 3 mm for the selected material SA-285 [17].
506625 × 1.336
𝑡𝑠 = + 3 × 10−3 = 4.5 𝑚𝑚
450 × 106 × 1 − 0.6 × 506625
But according to some references for chemical industry where severe conditions are expected this
calculated value is not suitable for the shell construction. These values are presented in the Figure
4.1 [17].
Figure 4.1 Minimum shell thicknesses for where severe conditions are expected
Since the sell internal diameter is 1.33 m the minimum shell thickness is 14 mm. Therefore for
these requirements available plate thickness in the industry for SA-285 is 14 mm [19].
4.5 Heads
There are two types of heads in a heat exchanger such as front head and the rear head. There are
several types of heads given in TEMA (Tubular Exchanger Manufacturers Association) standards.
Figure 4.2 shows different types of heads given in TEMA standards.
37
Figure 4.2 TEMS standard heads
This is where the hot stream enters the tube side of the exchanger. It is sometimes referred to as
the Stationary Header. There are five types of front heads used in the process industry for heat
exchangers. Among these B-Type head is selected as the front head for “heat exchanger 1”. B-
Type head is the cheapest head among front head types. Also it has only one seal. Therefore it’s
not possible to remove the head without disturbing pipes. Also the tube side fluid is a gas and
possibilities of fouling and scaling effects are low it’s not necessary to remove the head often [20].
38
This is a tori spherical type head. Tori spherical heads are the commonly used type in the industry,
particularly for low pressure applications [12]. Therefore mechanical design of the tori spherical
head is shown below [20]. Type B front head is shown in Figure 4.3.
The required thickness for the tori spherical head is given by,
0.885𝑃𝑅𝑖
𝑡ℎ = , 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑟𝑖 = 6% Dinner
2𝑓𝐽 − 0.2𝑃
𝑅𝑖 = Crown radius
𝑟𝑖 = Knucle radius
𝐶 = Corrosion allowance
Assume 𝑟𝑖 = 6% Dinner
𝑅𝑖 = Douter
𝑅𝑖 = 1336 + 14 × 2 = 1364 𝑚𝑚
𝑟𝑖 = 6% × 1336 = 80.16 𝑚𝑚
The calculated minimum thickness of the shell cover is smaller than the shell thickness. But it
should be at least equal to the shell thickness. Therefore the thickness of the shell cover (front
head) is taken as 14 mm.
39
Schematic diagram of the tori spherical head is shown in Figure 4.4.
𝐷𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝐷𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑟
ℎ𝑖 = 𝑅𝑖 − √(𝑅𝑖 − ) × (𝑅𝑖 + ) + 2𝑟𝑖
2 2
40
𝑂𝐶 = 𝑅𝑖 = 1364 𝑚𝑚
𝐷𝑖𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑟 1336
𝐴𝐵 = − 𝑟𝑖 = − 80.16 = 587.84 𝑚𝑚
2 2
𝐴𝐶
sin 𝛼 = = 0.889
𝐵𝐶
𝛼 = 62.75
ℎ = 𝑟𝑖 × sin α = 71.26 𝑚𝑚
ℎ𝑓𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑑 can be specified by the customer. But it should not be less than 2/3 of total height.
2
ℎ𝑓𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑑 = ℎ𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙
3
2 2
ℎ𝑓𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑑 = [ℎ𝑓𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑑 + ℎ𝑑𝑖𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑑 + ℎknuckle ] = [ℎ𝑓𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑑 + 151.4 + 71.26 ]
3 3
ℎ𝑓𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑑 = 445.32 mm
159.61364 2
Therefore; 𝐷𝑏𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑘 = 1364 + + × 80.16 + 2 × 445.32 + 151.4 = 2491.95 𝑚𝑚
42 3
Same as the front head, there are eight types of rear heads used for heat exchangers in the process
industry. Among these Type-M Rear head type is selected as the suitable read head type for the
heat exchanger considering the low cost [20]. This is also a tori spherical type head. Therefore the
41
same calculation done in Section 2.1.5.1 is applied for calculations. Type-M rear head is shown in
Figure 4.5.
Minimum thickness of channel pass partition plates including corrosion allowance should be 10
mm for both carbon steel and alloy up to channel size of 600 mm. For higher channel size, the
same should be 13 mm carbon steel and 10 mm for alloy [21].
Tube sheet is a circular flat plate with regular pattern drilled holes according to the tube sheet
layouts. The open end of the tubes is connected to the tube sheet. The tube sheet is fixed with the
shell and channel to form the main barrier for shell and tube side fluids. The tube sheet is attached
either by welding (integral construction) or bolting (gasketed construction) or a combination of
Figure 4.6 Tube sheet types a) Integral construction on both sides b) One side integral construction & other side gasketed
construction c) Both sides gasketed construction
42
both types. Proper design of a tube sheet is important for safe and reliable operation of the heat
exchanger Types of tube sheet constructions are shown in Figure 4.6
Tube sheets less than 100 mm thick are generally made from plate material. Thicker tubesheets,
or for high integrity service, are made from forged discs. Clad plate is commonly used where high
alloy material is required for process reasons. The minimum tube-sheet thickness (TEMA
standard) to ‘resist bending’ can be calculated by;
𝐹𝐺𝑝 𝑃
𝑡𝑡𝑠 =
3
√𝑘𝑓 [21]
Where, 𝐹=1 for fixed tube and floating type tube sheet; 𝐹=1.25 for U-tube tube sheet 𝐺𝑝=diameter
over which pressure is acting (for fixed tube sheet heat exchanger 𝐺𝑝=𝐷𝑠, shell ID; 𝐺𝑝 is port
inside diameter for kettle type, for floating tube sheet 𝐺𝑝 shall be used for stationery tube sheet).
𝑃𝑇 = pitch
0.785 0.785
∴𝑘 =1− 2 =1− = 0.498
𝑃 1.25 × 𝑑0 2
( 𝑇) ( )
𝑑0 𝑑0
1 × 1336 506625
∴ 𝑡𝑡𝑠 = √ = 21.175 𝑚𝑚
3 0.498 × 450 × 106
Baffles are designed to support tube bundle, direct the flow of fluids for maximum efficiency and
to prevent effects of vibration. There are two types of baffles used in different types of vessels.
43
Orifice Baffles
Single segmental
Double segmental
Support/Blanking baffles
Deresonating (detuning) baffles used to reduce tube vibration
Transverse baffles: These are used in horizontal heat exchangers as a standard.
Therefore transverse baffles are used in this heat exchanger. Standard diameters specified for
transverse baffles are given in the Figure 4.7
44
Figure 4.8 Minimum baffles thickness
As in this case nominal shell diameter is 1336 mm and baffle spacing is 264.134 mm, minimum
transverse baffle and support plate thickness can be taken as 6 mm.
Tie-rods and spacers are be provided to retain sill cross baffles and tube support plates accurately
in position, and should be of a material similar to that of the baffles. Number of tie-rods and
Table 4.3 Number & diameter of tie rods
diameters for various sizes of heat exchangers can be placed in accordance with Table 4.3. Other
combinations of tie-rod number and diameter with equivalent metal area are permissible; however,
according to the figure the minimum number of rods shall be 10, and the minimum diameter shall
be 13 mm.
45
4.10 Nozzles and Openings
Nozzles should be strong enough to withstand the accidental loadings which may occur during
transit and erection of the vessel; they should also be strong enough to withstand reasonable loads
from connecting pipes. Their sizes are arrived after calculating permissible fluid velocity limited
by erosion-corrosion, impingement attack and pressure drop. Cross sectional view of a nozzle is
shown in Figure 4.9.
There are four nozzles in a heat exchanger such as two shell side nozzles and two tube side nozzles.
Calculation steps of these nozzles are shown below.
12.94
Volumetric flow rate = = 3.73 𝑚3 𝑠 −1
3.47
3.73
Area require = = 0.124 𝑚2
30
0.124×4
Nozzle inlet diameter =√ = 397.34 𝑚𝑚
𝜋
Assuming, that the weld joint efficiency is 1 [18] for nozzles. Theoretical thickness of the nozzle
(t)
46
𝜎𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛 for SA-106 Grade B = 160 MPa [22]
𝐷𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 × 𝑃𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛
𝑡=
2 × 𝜎𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛 × 𝜑
0.397 × 556625
𝑡= = 0.691 𝑚𝑚
2 × 160 × 106
“SA-106 Grade B” low carbon steel pipes are selected for nozzles [14] [23]. SA-106 pipes are
usually used in the industry boiler and pressure vessels [24], there are a wide range of diameters.
Considering nominal pipes sizes and available tube sizes in SA-106 schedule 10, 16” pipes are
selected. Dimensions of selected pipe [24],
Considering available sizes in the industry, tubes which having 406.4 mm outer diameter and 6.35
mm thickness selected.
H2
Where H1 and H2 are the length of the nozzle outwards and towards the shell from shell wall
47
𝐻2 = √(𝑑 + 2𝑐)(𝑡𝑛 − 2𝑐) 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑜𝑧𝑧𝑙𝑒
From the calculations in the above (Section 2.1.11) nozzle diameter of the hot gas outlet and
thickness are respectively 406.4 mm and 6.5 mm.
17.12
Volumetric flow rate = 2.458 = 6.97 𝑚3 𝑠 −1
6.97
Area require = = 0.232 𝑚2
30
0.232×4
Nozzle inlet diameter =√ = 543.5 𝑚𝑚
𝜋
0.553 × 556625
𝑡= = 0.962 𝑚𝑚
2 × 160 × 106
Considering nominal pipe sizes and available sizes in the industry, SA-106 schedule 10, 22”
nominal size tubes are selected for the nozzle.
48
H1 = √(0.558 + 0.006) × (0.0065 − 0.003) = 0.0444 𝑚
Considering available sizes in the industry, tubes which having 558.8 mm outer diameter and 6.35
mm thickness selected.
From the calculations in the above (Section 2.1.10) nozzle diameter of the hot gas outlet and
thickness are respectively 558.8 mm and 6.5 mm.
According to these calculations, the calculated value for ℎ𝑓𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑑 in Section 2.1.5.1 has to be
changed. Therefore calculated values for heads has to be changed.
𝐷𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑟 2
𝐷𝑏𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑘 = 𝐷𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑟 + + 𝑟𝑖 + 2ℎ𝑓𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑑 + 𝑡
42 3
159.61364 2
𝐷𝑏𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑘 = 1364 + + × 80.16 + 2 × 600 + 151.4 = 2772.64 𝑚𝑚
42 3
4.10.5 Reinforcements
There can be a possibility for a failure at the opening of the vessel since the strength of the vessel
can reduces at the opening. This can be avoided by adding reinforcements. Necessity of
reinforcement has to be checked for openings using following steps.
When the larger openings doesn’t require reinforcement, smaller openings also doesn’t require. If
not openings has to be reinforced. In this heat exchanger, hot fluid inlet and outlet are the largest
openings. Therefore following calculations are done to find the necessity of reinforcements.
49
Cross sectional view of the shell wall to calculate the area need to be removed is shown in Figure
4.11
The following equation shows the area remove to construct the nozzle,
= 3.666× 10−3 m2
The excess area available in the nozzle (An) is calculated using the equation
An = Ao + Ai
Ai = (t nozzle - C) × 2H2
4.11 Gaskets
Gaskets are used to make the metal to metal surfaces leak-proof. Gaskets are elasto-plastic
materials and relatively softer than the flange materials. Deformation of gaskets under load seals
the surface irregularities between metal to metal surfaces and prevents leakage of the fluid. For
design pressures <16 kgf/cm2 and when there is no contact with oil or oil vapor, the compressed
asbestos fiber, natural or synthetic rubber or other suitable gasket and packing materials having
the appropriate mechanical and corrosion resisting properties may be used [12].
The residual gasket force should be greater than that required to prevent the leakage of the internal
fluid. According to this condition the final equation can be given as follows.
𝐷𝑂𝐺 𝑌 − 𝑝𝑚
=√
𝐷𝐼𝐺 𝑌 − 𝑝(𝑚 + 1)
p = Design pressure
m = gasket factor
Solid flat metal gasket selected and Construction material is taken as stainless steel. [12]
51
Table 4.4 Gasket factors and minimum gasket seating factor
Solid flat metal – stainless steel is selected as the gasket material since both fluids used in the heat
exchanger are gases.
DOG = 1361.169 mm
1361.169−1335.92
Gasket width = = 12.885 𝑚𝑚
2
According to standards, gasket width should be higher than 13mm for large diameters. Therefore,
the selected gasket width is 20mm.
52
4.12 Flange and Bolts
According to flange specifications, considering the shell outer diameter the suitable flange type is
selected as BS4504 PN2.5 code 101 Flanges [25]. Characteristics of selected flange is shown in
Figure 4.12 and dimensions of various flanges of type BS4504 PN2.5 are shown in Table 4.5
below.
53
Table 4.5 Different flanges of BN4504 PN2.5 type
According to the above figure, flange for 1400 mm shell is selected as the suitable flange for this
heat exchanger.
M27 bolts are selected as the suitable bolts that having 30mm diameter. Also number of bolts are
taken as 36.
4.13 Insulations
In this heat exchanger, hot air stream at 446 ˚C is entering to the shell side and leaving at 312.52
˚C. This heat should be completely transferred to the cool liquid. Also when considering the safety
aspect insulation of the heat exchanger is important.
The heat transferring body is assumed to be cylindrical with a diameter of 1350 mm and length of
5 m.
54
Rock wool is selected as the insulation material considering health, safety and durability aspects.
Conductive heat transfer is 0.04 W/mk.
Rock wool is selected as the insulation material considering health, safety and durability aspects.
Conductive heat transfer is 0.04 W/mk.
Convective heat transfer coefficient of shell side gas is assumed as 35 WK/m2 [26]
Assume that 1% of heat loss through insulation and ambient temperature is 30 °C.
2609.963 × 103
Heat flow through insulation = × 0.01 = 26.0996 𝑘𝑊
24 × 3600
𝑄̇ = 𝑈𝑖 (2𝜋𝑟1 𝑙)∆𝑇
∆𝑇 = 𝑇𝑠 − 𝑇0 = 255 − 30 = 225 ℃
𝑇0 = Outside Temperature
26099.6
𝑈𝑖 = = 5.527 𝑊/𝑚2 𝐾
2 × 𝜋 × 668 × 10−3 × 5 × 225
55
𝑟2 = outside radius
𝑟3 = 677.15 𝑚𝑚
4.14 Supports
Most exchangers and pressure vessels are mounted on two saddle supports and require no axial
stiffening. In general, saddle supported heat exchanger has sufficiently high fundamental natural
frequency such that it behaves as a rigid body to external disturbances, such as earthquakes. . The
saddle must be design to withstand the load and its content. Usually they are made from bricks,
concrete or fabricated metal. Figure 4.13 shows the cross sectional view of the saddle support.
56
Table 4.6 Standard dimensions for saddle supports
According to Figure 2.14 and the diameter of the hell, supports that are used for 1.2m diameter
vessels are selected as the suitable dimensions for supports.
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑙 = 𝜋(𝑟22 − 𝑟12 ) ℎ𝜌𝑔 = 𝜋 × (0.6752 − 0.6682 ) × 7900 × 9.81
= 2288.86 𝑁
𝑏𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑘 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 2
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑 = 𝜋 ( ) 𝜌𝑔 × 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠
2
2.492 2
=𝜋×( ) × 7900 × 9.81 × 0.014
2
= 5291.88 𝑁
= 10350.93 𝑁
𝐷𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 2
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑡𝑢𝑏𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑡 = 𝜋 ( ) 𝜌𝑔 × 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 − 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠
2
1.352
= 𝜋×( − 0.01212 ) × 7900 × 9.81 × 0.021175
2
= 2348.21 𝑁
57
Total Weight = 27919.97 N
𝑊1 𝐿 1 + 2(𝑅 2 − 𝐻 2 ) 4𝐴
𝑀1 = [ − ]
4 4𝐻 𝐿
1 + 3𝐿
Assume A = 500 mm
W = 27919.97 N
L = 5000 mm
R = 675 mm
H = 445 mm
58
𝐴 𝑅2 − 𝐻2
1 − 𝐿 + ( 2𝐴𝐿 )
𝑀2 = −𝑊1 𝐴 [1 − ]
4𝐻
1 + 3𝐿
500 6752 − 4452
1− +( )
5000 2 × 500 × 5000
= −27919.97 × 500 [1 − ] = −2085.844 𝑁𝑚
4 × 445
1+
3 × 5000
Figure 4.15 shows the stressed point of the shell and the following equations can be used to
calculate the longitudinal stress.
𝑝𝐷 𝑀1
𝜎1 = − 𝑎𝑡 ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡
4𝑡 𝜋𝑅 2 𝑡
𝑝𝐷 𝑀1
𝜎 ∗1 = + 𝑎𝑡 𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡
4𝑡 𝜋𝑅 2 𝑡
𝜎1 = 122124.779 𝑘𝑃𝑎
𝜎 ∗1 = 12214.080 𝑘𝑃𝑎
𝜎1 = 𝜎𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑣𝑒 ≤ 𝜎𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛 × 𝜑
𝜎1 = 𝜎𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑙𝑒 ≤ 𝜎𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛 × 𝜑
𝜑 = 1(𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑑 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦)
59
4.14.3 Longitudinal Bending Stress at Support
𝑝𝐷 𝑀2
𝜎2 = − 𝑎𝑡 𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡
4𝑡 𝐾1 𝜋𝑅 2 𝑡
𝑝𝐷 𝑀2
𝜎∗2 = + 𝑎𝑡 ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡
4𝑡 𝐾2 𝜋𝑅 2 𝑡
A = 500mm
R/2 = 675 mm
𝜎2 = 12317.37 𝑘𝑃𝑎
These two values are also below the maximum allowable stress. So these stresses won’t be a
problem for the design.
60
4.14.4 Circumferential Stress
Figure 4.16 shows the cross sectional view that can be used to find the circumferential stress.
𝐾5 × 𝑤1
𝜎𝑐 =
𝑡(𝐵 + 10𝑡)
𝐿⁄ = 7.407 < 8
𝑅
At the lowest point of the section, when
𝐿⁄ < 8
𝑅
𝐾5 × 𝑤1
𝜎𝑐 =
𝑡(𝐵 + 10𝑡)
𝜎𝑐 = 4457810.336 𝑘𝑝𝑎
61
4.15 Summary of Mechanical Design of Heat Exchanger 1
This chapter consist of the summary of the mechanical design of “Heat Exchanger 1”
62
5.0 MECHANICAL DRAWING
63
6.0 INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL
In this section selection of suitable pipes, valves, pumps, other auxiliary items such as steam traps,
instruments is done. In addition, processing controlling aspects are also being considered.
Pipes are required for the transportation of liquid concentrate and steam and vapor. In this design
pipes are required for the following purposes,
The basic sketch of the heat exchanger is shown in Figure 2.1 below.
Carbon steel pipe can be used since both streams are not corrosive. Therefore low carbon steel
“SA-179 Grade B Schedule 10” pipes that are used to construct nozzles can be used [23] [24].
64
6.2 Selection of Pumps
Pumps are required to feed heat transfer fluids to the heat exchanger and to take out them from the
heat exchanger. Since both streams are gases it is not required to put pumps to the heat exchanger.
Valves are an integral part of a vessel to facilitate flow regulation. There are different types of
valves: shut-off valves, control valves and non-return valves based on their primary function.
Control valves are used to control the amount of regulate the medium to consuming unit. These
can be manual or automatic. Shut-off valves are used to stop the flow medium 100% when
completely in the closed position. Shut off valves will also close around any product to make sure
there is a 100% seal. Non-return valve allows a medium to flow in only one direction. A non-return
valve is fitted to ensure that a medium flows through a pipe in the right direction, where pressure
conditions may otherwise cause reversed flow.
Also main types of valves used in the chemical and process industry can be categorized as follows,
Gate valve: The Gate valves are characterized by a siding gate which is moved by the stem
perpendicular to the direction flow. These are used for
on-off application. Suited for high temperature and
pressure use with variety of fluids. They are not
primarily used for slurries, viscous fluid etc.. Advantage
of gate valve is the low pressure drop when fully open
and tight sealing. Disadvantages are causing vibration,
seat disc wear in partial open condition, slow response
characteristics and require large actuating force.
Globe valve: In globe valves disc or plug is moved on or off the seat. The seat opening is
directly proportional to the travel of the plug. It is short stem travel, high seating capacity,
large pressure drop and high flow controllability. They are used primarily for throttling
65
purposes. It may be considered a general
purpose flow control valve high temp
application. Advantages of globe valve can be
listed as Faster to open or close, most reliable
form of seating, throttling to control the flow
to any desired degree, positive shut-off. Seat
disc wear in partial open conditions is the
disadvantage of globe valves.
Ball valve: This is improvisation of the plug valve. It is basically a ported sphere in a
housing. The seat matching the ball
is circular so that the seating stress
is circumferentially uniform. The
seats are usually made up of PTFE
which is inert to all chemicals, has
low coefficient of friction and
resiliency
66
Butterfly valve: These are rotary valves with a disc rotating at right angles within a pipe
section body. The stem passes through the disc is
supported by both ends of the body. The shaft is
ensured to the disc either by bolts or pins.
Rotating stem through 90 degrees. Fully opens or
closes the valves. Butterfly valves are used in
large flow control, low pressure applications
where leakage is unimportant.
Since both streams are gaseous, butterfly valves are used due to following characteristics,
Most widely used in gas flow control
Light weight with a quick response time
Economical
Low resistance to flow
6.4 Instrumentation
Temperature control
Flow control
Pressure control
To control temperature, pressure and flow, measuring them is one of the important things.
Several instruments are available in the industry to measure these parameters.
67
6.4.1.1 Temperature Measurement
Temperature is the most important parameter in a heat exchanger as the purpose of a heat
exchanger is to reduce the temperature of a stream. Therefore temperature of the following streams
are to be measured.
Thermocouples, Thermistor and Resistive Temperature Detector (RTD) are the most commonly
used temperature sensors. Temperature range of thermocouples are between -180 °C and 2320 °C.
The nominal of range thermistor is about 0 °C – 100 °C [27]. In resistive temperature detector the
range is about -200 °C – 500 °C [28]. Therefore for this heat exchanger thermocouples is the most
suitable temperature measuring sensor.
Maintaining the internal pressure is a most important thing for the safe operation of the vessel. For
this accurate measurement is required. Therefore diaphragm type pressure sensor is used to
measure the pressure which has an operation range of about 0.35 bar to 20 bar over a wide range
of temperature [29].
Flow rate can control the pressure and temperature of the fluids coming and going out from the
heat exchanger. Therefore accurate flow measurement is required. Therefore orifice plate flow
meter which gives accurate flow measurements in a wide variety of applications and also it is
relatively low cost.
Temperature control, pressure control and flow control are essential to facilitate an optimum
behavior for the heat exchanger.
1. Safety
a. Maintain safe operating limits.
68
b. To detect dangerous situations as they develop
c. To react when something out of order starts to happen
d. To avoid dangerous operating procedures
2. Production rate
3. Quality
4. Cost
To minimize cost
Generally controlling of these aspects can be done by manipulating the flow rates. But in this heat
exchanger both hot and cool streams are outputs and inputs of the nitric acid production. Therefor
it’s not possible to control flow rates of both streams.
Controlling the temperature of two process streams is the main function of the heat exchanger. The
hot streams goes to the cooler condenser and the cool stream goes to the SCR. Temperature of the
cool stream outlet has to be maintained between 300°C-400°C. But the temperature of the hot
stream can be varied within a temperature range. Therefore the temperature of the cool gas stream
has to be maintained carefully. Therefore a PID controller has to be used to control the temperature.
Temperature
set point
Temperature Sensor
(Thermocouple)
69
6.5 Piping and Instrumentation Diagram
70
7.0 OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE PROCEDURE
This chapter contains information of installation, startup & shutdown procedures and emergency
procedures for safe operations.
7.1 Installation
The heat exchanger should be located in a clean and open area which has sufficient space which
allows to remove heads and to remove tubes. Also the foundation of the heat exchanger should be
adequate so that the unit will not settle and cause piping strains. Foundation bolts should be set to
allow for settling inaccuracies. Heat exchanger should be set level and square so that the pipe
connections can be made without forcing. Long radius elbows should be used in lieu of standard
elbows whether possible, because of their superior flow characteristics. Also care should be taken
to eliminate or minimize mechanical vibrations of the equipment.
All the openings should be inspected carefully for foreign materials. Protective plugs and covers
should not be removed until just prior to installation. The entire system should be cleaned before
starting operation [30].
Check whether all the parts such as tube shell, heads and valves of the heat exchanger are
fixed.
Check whether all temperature, pressure and flow measuring sensors are connected to the
heat exchanger.
Open all vent connections
First circulate the cool gas.
Close the vents slowly. Make sure cool gas entirely filled before closing vents.
Then circulate the hot air and when the heat exchanger is completely filled with gasses
close all the vents.
Start the operation gradually. Do not let the heat exchanger subject to sudden temperature
fluctuations [30] [31].
71
Let the cool gas stream flow until the heat exchanger’s temperature approaches ambient or
coolant temperature, then turn off the cool gas flow control valve completely.
Let all the gasses drain from the equipment.
Open inert gas (N2) valves of tube side and shell side inlet to remove remaining gases [31]
[32] [33].
7.4 Operations
Retighten bolting on all gasket joints after the heat exchanger has reached the operating
temperature to prevent leakages and gasket failures.
During the operation heat exchanger should not be subjected to pressure and temperature
that exceed the recommended operating limits.
For a safe operation, maintaining the unit very carefully and inspection are most important and
critical things of a heat exchanger.
Before disassembly it has to be make sure the unit is depressurized, vented and drained. Remove
both entire bonnets [30].
When removing the tube bundle, it has to be assured the tube bundle doesn’t get damaged
by improper handling.
To avoid possible damages during the removal of the tube bundle, a removing device can
be used
Since this is a horizontal tube bundle, it should be lifted by means of suitable slings [30].
72
7.5.4 Cleaning Tube Bundles
Since both hot and cool fluids are gasses, circulating hot fresh water is sufficient to clean the
tube bundle [30].
73
8.0 SAFETY AND ECONOMIC ASPECTS
This chapter includes information about the safety of the equipment and the safety of workers.
This includes the safety of the equipment and the safety of workers. Safety of an equipment is one
the most important aspects in a process engineering plant. This focuses on preventing fires,
explosions and accidental chemical releases to the environment. Safety of workers depends on the
workers behavior.
Safety and loss prevention in process design can be considered under following topics.
HAZOP is a systematic and structured technique commonly used in identifying potential hazards
and/or problems with plant operability, recognizing consequences arising from various causes and
providing recommendations for safety improvements in design and operations. As part of a full
HAZOP study design changes are proposed and implemented to upgrade the safety and operability
of the plant. Developed HAZOP study for the heat exchanger is shown in Table 8.1.
74
Table 8.1 HAZOP study
The total cost of the heat exchanger is a function of the total material cost, construction and
installation cost, direct labor cost and other overloads.
This heat exchanger is constructed using SA-285 plates, SA-106 tubes and carbon steel 266035
Type 3 finned tubes made of SA-179. Further rock wool is used as the insulation material. In the
market price is allocated for the weight of the material. Capital cost of both heat exchangers are
shown in Table 8.2
75
Table 8.2 Capital cost of the equipment
LKR
Market cost of materials = 150.66 × 17852.635 USD
USD
Market cost of materials = 2689678 LKR
Since these are world market prices, it should be added with CIF (Cost, Insurance, Freight)
expenses which consists of 15% VAT, 5% PAL and 2% NBT of total cost.
𝐶𝑃 = 𝐹𝑃 𝐹𝑀 𝐹𝐿 𝐶𝐵
𝐶𝑃 = Purchase cost
𝐹𝑃 = Pressure factor
76
𝐹𝑀 = Materials factor
𝐶𝐵 = Base Cost
𝐶𝐵 = 20301.031 $
𝐴 𝑏
𝐹𝑀 = 𝑎 + ( )
100
𝑎=0
𝑏=0
𝐹𝑀 = 1
𝑃 𝑃 2
𝐹𝑃 = 0.9803 + 0.018 (100) + 0.0017 (100) [35]
77
𝐹𝑃 = 0.996
By extrapolating 𝐹𝐿 = 0.938
Total cost for the equipment is a summation of equipment erection, installation, design and
engineering, piping and instrumentation, utilities, buildings and process and etc. These additional
costs can be expressed as portions of purchased cost. Following is one such expression.
Factors of cost estimation as a portion of purchase cost are given in Table 8.4
78
Table 8.5 Factors of cost estimation as a portion of purchase cost
Physical equipment cost = (1 + 0.4 + 0.7 + 0.2 + 0.1 + 0.15 + 0.5 + 0.15 ) × 28,574,476.92 LKR
= 78,579811.53 LKR
= 35,360915.19 𝐿𝐾𝑅
Therefore;
Total cost of the equipment = Physical cost of equipment + other fixed costs
80
9.0 CONCLUSION
This report contains an overview of designing a heat exchanger used in nitric acid manufacturing
plants. The heat exchanger in this report is used to as an economizer that is used to cool the tail
gas using the output gaseous stream of the reactor. Since both streams are gases the rate of heat
transfer is slow.
In order to achieve a good heat transfer, it is better to use a tubular heat exchanger. Among different
types of tubular heat exchangers, fixed tube type shell and tube heat exchanger is selected
considering its availability, cost and design complicity.
Since heat duty is comparatively very large, the heat exchanger is designed as a two heat exchanger
unit arranged in a series. Both heat exchangers has a large heat duty and both are designed as single
shell pass and two tube pass heat exchanger. The kern’s method is used to size both heat
exchangers. First heat exchanger is 5m long and second heat exchanger is 3m long. First heat
exchanger has 1656 tubes and second heat exchanger has 1782 tubes. Thereafter pressure drop of
both tube side and shell side are calculated for both heat exchangers using the calculated data
shown that they are within the required range.
First heat exchanger is designed using SA-179 carbon steel finned tubes and the second heat
exchanger is designed using SA-179 carbon steel tubes. Mechanical design is done only for “Heat
Exchanger 1” since it is has the largest heat load and is difficult to design it “Heat Exchanger 1”
than the “Heat Exchanger 2”. Material is selected as SA-285 Grade C carbon steel. All required
calculation steps for mechanical designing is done and mechanical drawing of the “Heat Exchanger
1” is provided.
Suitable pipes are selected using nominal pipe sizes of SA-106 Grade B carbon steel. Suitable
valve types are selected and required process controls are given with the Piping and
Instrumentation diagram. Operation, maintenance procedure and safety aspects for the heat
exchanger are given with details. Finally the economic evaluation for both heat exchangers is done
current market prices of selected steel. Total cost of the equipment is found to be 114 million LKR.
81
REFERENCES
[10] "Heat Exhcnager Tubing," in Fine-Fin Engineering Data, New Jersey, High Perforemance Tube, Inc.
[11] Animes K Golder, Vaiban V. Gound, Process Design of Heat Exhcnager, National Programme on
Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL), 2013.
82
[16] "http://www.makeitfrom.com/," 2009. [Online]. Available: http://www.makeitfrom.com/material-
properties/ASTM-A285-Carbon-Steel. [Accessed 01 01 2016].
[17] Specification for Shell and Tube heat exchangers, New Delhi: Bureau of Indian Standards, 1968.
[21] Animes K Golder, Vaiban V Gound, Mechanical Design of Heat Exchangers, National Programme on
Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) , 2013.
[22] "Processs PIipes- Temperature and Allowable Stress," The Engineering Toolbox.
[23] Carbon Grade Comparisson Chart: ASTM A106 vs ASTM A53, American Piping Products.
[24] Evergreen Product Catalogue, Evergreen seamless pipes & tubes pvt. Ltd.
[30] Installation, Operation & Maintenance instructions for JFD Shell & Tube heat exchangers, Hamden:
JFD TUbe & Coil Products .
[31] Standard operating procedure and safety guide for shell and tube heat exchanger apparatus,
Fredericton: Environmental Health and Safety Office, University of New Brunswick, 2011.
[32] Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger Start-up and Shutdown Procedures, H & C Heat Transfer Solutions.
83
[33] Shell & Tube Installation, Operation and Maintenance Guidelines, Delaware: Metek Chemical
Products, 2009.
[35] W. D. Seider, "Equipment Sizing and Capital Cost Estimation," in Product and Process Design,
Pennsylvania, University of Pennsylvania.
84
85