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Numerical Simulation of Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger with and Without
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ICNASET | February 24-25, 2017 International Journal of Engineering and Advanced Technology (IJEAT)
Madhav University, Sirohi (Rajasthan), India ISSN: 2249 – 8958, Volume-6, Issue-NASET17, February 2017
Numerical Simulation of Shell and Tube Heat
Exchanger with and Without Baffles
Karan Yadav, Vikash Gora, Mohan Jagadeesh Kumar Mandapati

Abstract: Numerical simulations were carried out to study the
temperature variations across a small sized shell and tube heat
exchanger with and without baffles. Heat exchanger with 12
copper tubes arranged in stagger grid was considered for the
numerical analysis. Diameter of the shell was assumed to be 40
mm and length as 100 mm. The outer diameter of the tubes was
assumed to be 5 mm and inner diameter as 3 mm. Two segmental
baffles each of 40 mm included diameter and 3.3 mm thickness
were considered. Inlet temperature for the shell fluid (hot water) is
assumed to be 95°C and for tube fluid (cold water) as 30°C. Flow
rate of shell and tube fluids are assumed to be 1.2 liters per min
and 1.388 liters per min respectively. It was observed from the
results that the temperature drop for the heat exchanger with
segmental baffles is 8oC greater than the heat exchanger without
baffles across the shell side. Similarly, the temperature rise for the
heat exchanger with segmental baffles is 6 oC greater than heat
exchanger without baffles across the tube side. The velocity,
pressure variations had also been presented.
Index Terms: Shell and tube heat exchanger, CFD, Segmental
baffles.
I. INTRODUCTION
Shell and tube heat exchangers are most commonly used
heat exchangers in various industrial and research
applications. Shell and tube heat exchanger found their
importance in high pressure applications because of its unique
shape. These heat exchangers can be used for various
applications such as heating, cooling, condensation and
boiling. In shell and tube heat exchanger generally hot fluid is
taken in shell side and tubes are filled with cold fluid, heat
transfer takes place between hot and cold fluid largely through
convection. To enhance the heat transfer in a shell and tube
heat exchangers various methods can be used. Generally,
baffles are used to increase the fluid velocity and heat transfer
coefficient which ultimately increases heat transfer through
the heat exchanger.
With the advancement of computer programming and
technology, numerical simulation has replaced the prototype
testing. Now a day, numerical simulations carried out to
optimize the performance of various devices, tools and
equipment. To accomplish the same objective, numerical
simulation has been done on 3D geometry of a shell and tube
heat exchanger using ANSYS FLUENT 15 to know the effect
of using segmental baffles in the heat exchanger.
Revised Version Manuscript Received on February 24, 2017.
Karan Yadav, Department of Mechanical Engineering, MNIT-Jaipur,
Jaipur, India, +91-8358966892, E-mail: karankaran.yadav@gamil.com
Vikash Gora, Department of Mechanical Engineering, MNIT-Jaipur,
Jaipur, India, +91-9413556416, E-mail: lucky.vikash.gora@gamil.com
Dr. Mohan Jagadeesh Kumar Mandapati, Department of Mechanical
Engineering, MNIT-Jaipur, Jaipur, India, +91-9549654794, E-mail:
mmjkumar.mech@mnit.ac.in
62
II. EXPERIMENTATION
Zena, et al. [1], performed CFD analysis for a cross flow
heat exchanger with a single copper tube and eight passes.
Numerical results of the heat exchanger with a plane tube
were compared with that of an integral finned tube. Air at
outside the tubes was considered at room temperature while
inlet temperature of hot water through the tubes was at 80°C.
Water flow rate of 2 liter/min and air velocity of 1 m/s were
considered. It was concluded that the temperature difference
and heat transfer coefficient across the heat exchanger is
relatively higher when integral finned tube was used.
Yonghua et al. [2], performed numerical simulation and
performance analysis for a small size shell and tube heat
exchanger with trefoil hole baffles. Structural modifications
were made to obtain better thermo-hydraulic performance and
the effect of distance between baffles was investigated. It was
found that there is 22% of rise in overall performance in the
shell side. In addition, convection heat transfer coefficient is
observed to be decreasing monotonically with the decrease in
number of baffles.
Eshita et al. [3], performed CFD simulations of a shell and
tube heat exchanger with and without baffles for different
mass flow rates. It was concluded that the conventional heat
transfer correlations are not applicable for the analysis of
small heat exchangers as flow near the nozzle significantly
contributes to the heat transfer. It was also observed that k-Ɛ
model with standard wall function gives best results compared
to the other models.
Usman Ur Rehman [4], performed heat transfer
optimization of an un-baffled shell and tube heat exchangers
using CFD simulations. Heat exchanger contained single shell
of 108 mm diameter and 19 tubes each of 5.85 m long. It was
found that only 1/3rd of the shell fluid is contributing for actual
heat transfer and rest is simply bypassing the tubes.
Significant fraction of total shell side pressure drop is found at
inlet and outlet regions. Maheswari et al. [5], analysed the
design and thermal performance of shell and tube heat
exchanger using ANSYS FLUENT. Performance of heat
exchanger was analysed with different tube materials. It was
found that copper tubes were giving higher heat transfer rates
compared to brass tubes.
III. MODELLING DETAILS
A. Governing Equations
Steady, incompressible, 3-dimensional and turbulent flow
is assumed. Constant fluid properties are assumed, i.e. fluid
properties are not varying within the
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ICNASET | February 24-25, 2017 International Journal of Engineering and Advanced Technology (IJEAT)
Madhav University, Sirohi (Rajasthan), India ISSN: 2249 – 8958, Volume-6, Issue-NASET17, February 2017

temperature range. The governing equations for the flow are

given by:

 Conservation of mass: .( V )  0 (1)

 Momentum equation
o x-momentum:
p  xx  xy  xz
.( uV)     
x x y z (2)
o y-momentum:
p  xy  yy  zy (a)
.( uV)       g
y x y z (3)
o z-momentum:
p  xz  yz  zz
.(  wV )     
z x y z (4)
 Energyequation
.(  eV )   p.V  .(kT )  q   (5)
In above equation Φ is the dissipation function that can be
calculated from:
(b)
  u 2  v   w  2   2 Fig. 1 Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger: (a) With Baffles,
 2          (b) Without Baffles.
  x   y   z   
  C. Mesh Generation
  u v   u w  2 
2

 
2 A simple triangular mesh has been generated. Good mesh is
              .V recognized from its generated cell number. Shell and tube
  y x   z x   heat exchanger has approximately 7427660 and 7400815
 2  number of cells for with and without baffles respectively.
   v  w  
  z y  
  (6)
B. Geometry
The geometry of shell and tube heat exchanger was created
in ANSYS Workbench with the dimensions as given in Table
1. Shell and tube heat exchanger with segmental baffles is
represented in Fig. 1 (a) and without baffles is represented in
Fig. 1 (b).
Fig. 2 Generated Mesh in Shell and Tube Heat
Table: 1 Heat Exchanger Dimensions Exchanger.
S. No. Description Dimensions (mm) D. Boundary Conditions
1 Shell diameter 40 Inlet and outlet boundary conditions are same for both shell
and tube heat exchangers, which are given in Table 2.
2 Tube outer diameter 5
Table 2 Boundary Conditions for Shell and Tube Heat
Exchanger
3 Tube inner diameter 3
Section Boundary Condition type
4 Shell/Tube length 100 Shell fluid inlet Velocity inlet
Shell fluid outlet Pressure outlet
5 Inlet/Outlet length 20
Tube fluid inlet Velocity inlet
6 Baffles diameter 40 Tube fluid outlet Pressure outlet

7 Baffles thickness 3.3 IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Numerical simulations have been carried out in ANSYS
FLUENT for the shell and tube heat exchanger with and
without baffles subjected to the boundary

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63 & Sciences Publication Pvt. Ltd.
ICNASET | February 24-25, 2017 International Journal of Engineering and Advanced Technology (IJEAT)
Madhav University, Sirohi (Rajasthan), India ISSN: 2249 – 8958, Volume-6, Issue-NASET17, February 2017

conditions as in Table (2). k-ε, RNG model with standard wall

functions had been used for the turbulent flow analysis across
the heat exchanger. Variations of temperature, velocity and
pressure have been obtained for constant flow rate of shell and
tube fluids. Flow rate across the shell side was considered as
1.2 liters per min and 1.388 liters per min of flow rate is
considered for the tube side.
A. Variation of Static Temperature:
Variations of static temperature on shell side of the heat
exchanger with and without baffles are presented in Fig 3.1
(a) and (b). Similarly, variations of static temperature on tube (a)
side of the heat exchanger with and without baffles are
presented in Fig 3.2 (a) and (b). It was observed from Fig 3.1
and Fig 3.2 that the temperature variations are more uniform
across heat exchanger when baffles were used. The
temperature drop across the shell side of the heat exchanger
was observed to be 8oC higher for the case with baffles
compared to the case of without baffles. The temperature rise
across the tube side of the heat exchanger was observed to be
6oC higher for the case with baffles compared to the case of
without baffles.

(b)
Fig 3.2 Variation of Static Temperature in tube side (a)
with Baffles, (b) Without Baffles

(a)

(a)

(b)
Fig 3.1 Variation of Static Temperature in shell side (a)
with Baffles, (b) Without Baffles
B. Variation of Velocity Magnitude:
Variations of velocity magnitude on shell and tube heat
exchanger with and without baffles are presented in Fig 4 (a)
and (b). It was observed from Fig. 4 that velocity distribution
is more throughout the heat exchanger when segmental
baffles were used. Uniform velocity distribution leads to
better heat transfer across the heat exchanger and enhances its
performance.
(b)
Fig: 4 Contours of Velocity Magnitude in Heat
Exchanger (a) with Baffles, (b) Without Baffles
A. Variation of Static Pressure:
Variations of static pressure on shell and tube heat
exchanger with and without baffles are presented in Fig 5 (a)
and (b). It was observed that pressure drop across the heat
exchanger with baffles is almost equal to that without baffles.

Published By:
Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering
64 & Sciences Publication Pvt. Ltd.
ICNASET | February 24-25, 2017 International Journal of Engineering and Advanced Technology (IJEAT)
Madhav University, Sirohi (Rajasthan), India ISSN: 2249 – 8958, Volume-6, Issue-NASET17, February 2017

(a)
(b)
Fig 5 Variation of Static Pressure in Heat Exchanger (a)
with baffles, (b) Without Baffles
V. CONCLUSION
In the present work, variations of temperature, velocity and
pressure across a shell and tube heat exchanger with and
without baffles were investigated numerically. Temperature,
velocity and pressure are more uniformly distributed across
the heat exchanger when baffles were used. The temperature
drop across the heat exchanger was increased for both shell
and tube fluids with the use of baffles. The pressure drop is
more or less same when baffles were used in the heat
exchanger. The velocity is more uniformly distributed in the
heat exchanger when baffles were used. From the results, it
can be concluded that introduction of baffles provide uniform
velocity, increases temperature difference and hence leads to
better heat transfer across the heat exchanger.
REFERENCES
1. Kadhim Zena K, Kassim Muna S., Abdul Hassan Adel Y., “CFD study
for cross flow heat exchanger with integral finned tube”, IJSRP, vol. 6
(2016) 668-677.
2. You, Chen, Xie, Luo, Jiao, Huang, “Numerical simulation and
performance improvement for a small size shell and tube heat
exchanger with trefoil hole baffles”, Applied thermal engineering 89
(2015), 220-228.
3. Pal, Kumar, Joshi, Maheshwari, “CFD simulation of shell side flow in
a shell and tube type heat exchanger with and without baffles”,
Chemical engineering science 143 (2016) 314-340.
4. Rehman Usman Ur, “Heat transfer optimization of shell and tube heat
exchanger through CFD studies”, Master’s thesis in innovative and
sustainable chemical engineering, 2011:09
5. K. Maheshwari Devi, G.V. Nagamani, “Design and thermal analysis of
shell and tube heat exchanger by using fluent tool”, IJMETMR, 2
(2015), 359-366.
6. Singh D., Pal Narayan Das, “Designing and performance evaluation of
shell and tube heat exchanger using ANSYS (CFD), IJSEAS, 2 (2016),
427-446.
7. Bhutta, M., Hayat, N., Bashir, M., Khan A., Ahmed K., Khan S., “CFD
applications in various heat exchangers design: A review”, Applied
thermal engg. 32 (2012), 1-12.
8. Kapale, U., Chand, S., “Modelling for shell side pressure drop for
liquid flow in shell and tube heat exchanger”, Int. J. Heat Mass transf.
49 (2006), 601-610.
9. Ozden, E., Tari, I., “Shell side CFD analysis of shell and tube heat
exchanger”, Energy convers. Manag., 51 (2010) 1004-1014.
10. Gaddis, E., Gnielinski, V., “Pressure drop on the shell side of shell and
tube with segmental baffles”. Chem. Engg. Process, 36 (1997),
149-159.
11. Kim, W., Aicher, T., “Experimental investigation of heat transfer in
shell and tube heat exchanger without baffles”. Korean J. Chem. Engg.
14 (1997), 93-100.
Karan Yadav, is a post graduate Scholar in
Department of mechanical engineering at
Malviya National Institute of Technology,
Jaipur. His area of interest is CFD, solar thermal
energy and heat transfer.
Vikash Gora, is a post graduate Scholar in
Department of mechanical engineering at
Malviya National Institute of Technology,
Jaipur. His area of interest is solar thermal
energy and heat transfer.

Nomenclature
g gravitational acceleration (m/s2)
P pressure (Pa)
T temperature (oC) Dr. Mohan Jagadeesh Kumar Mandapati is
Q heat flux (W/m2) an Assistant professor in Department of
Mechanical Engineering at Malaviya National
K kinetic energy of turbulent fluctuations per Institute of Technology, Jaipur. His areas of
unit mass research include CFD, Fluid mechanics, Heat
u,v,w velocity component transfer and Renewable energy. He has
velocity vector published more than 10 papers in various
V reputed and refereed international journals
x,y,z position coordinate conferences.

Greek Symbols
µ dynamic viscosity (Pa.s.)
Φ dissipation function
λ viscosity coefficient
ρ density (kg/m3)
τ shear stress (N/m2)

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