August, 12, 2023
SUMMARY
DOUBLE PIPE HEAT EXCHANGER
Name
Class
NPM
Subject
Supporting Lecturer
 Double Pipe Exchanger
For the derivations in Chap. 5, a concen-
tric-pipe heat-transfer apparatus was
: Sartika Anggraini.
: 4 KIB.
: 062140422529.
: Heat Transfer.
: Dr. Leila Kalsum, M.T.
 Definition
Heat-transfer equipment is defined by the function it
fulfills in a process. Exchangers recover heat between two
process streams. Steam and cooling water are utilities and
are not considered in the same sense as recoverable
process streams. Heaters are used pri- marily to heat
process fluids, and steam is usually employed for this
purpose, although in oil refineries hot recirculated oil
serves the same purpose. Coolers are employed to cool
process fluids, water being the main cooling medium.
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employed. The industrial counter part of

this apparatus is the double pipe

exchanger shown in Fig. 6.1.

The principal parts are two sets of

concentric pipes, two connecting Tees,

and a return head and a return bend.

The inner pipe is supported within the

outer pipe by packing glands, and the fluid enters the inner pipe through a threaded connection located
outside the exchanger section proper. The Tees have nozzles or screwed connections attached to them to
permit the entry and exit of the annulus fluid which crosses from one leg to the other through the return
head. The two lengths of inner pipe are connected by a return bend which is usually exposed and does not
provide effective heat-transfer surface. When arranged in two legs as in Fig. 6.1, the unit is a hairpin.

Fig. 6.1. Double Pipe Exchanger

The double pipe exchanger is extremely useful because it can be assembled in any pipe-fitting shop from
standard parts and provides inexpensive heat-transfer surface. The standard sizes of Tees and return heads
are given in Table 6.1.

Outer Pipe, IPS Inner Pipe, IPS

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2 1
1
4
1 1
2 1
2 4
3 2
4 3
Table 6.1. Double Pipe Exchanger Fittings

Double pipe exchangers are usually assembled in 12-, 15-, or 20-ft effective lengths, the effective length
being the distance in each leg over which heat transfer occurs and excludes inner pipe protruding beyond
the exchanger section. When hairpins are employed in excess of 20 ft in length corresponding to 40
effective linear feet or more of double pipe, the inner pipe tends to sag and touch the outer pipe, thereby
causing a poor flow distribution in the annulus. The principal disadvantage to the use of double pipe
exchangers lies in the small amount of heat-transfer surface contained in a single hairpin. When used with
distillation equip- ment on an industrial process a very large number are required. These require
considerable space, and each double pipe exchanger introduces no fewer than 14 points at which leakage
might occur. The time and expense required for dismantling and periodically cleaning are prohibitive
compared with other types of equipment. However, the double pipe exchanger is of greatest use where the
total required heat-transfer surface is small, 100 to 200 ft2 or less.

 Fluids Flowing in Annuli

The Equivalent Diameter. When a fluid flows in a conduit having other than a circular cross section, such
as an annulus, it is convenient to express heat-transfer coefficients and friction factors by the same types
of equations and curves used for pipes and tubes. To permit this type of representation for annulus heat
transfer it has been found advantageous to employ an equivalent diameter De The equivalent diameter is
four times the hydraulic radius, and the hydraulic radius is, in turn, the radius of a pipe equivalent to the
annulus cross section. The hydraulic radius is obtained as the ratio of the flow area to the wetted

perimeter. For a fluid flowing in an annulus as shown in Fig. 6.3 the flow area is evidently ( π4 )( D −D )
2
2
2
1

but the wetted perim- eters for heat transfer and pressure drops are different. For heat transfer the wetted
perimeter is the outer circumference of the inner pipe with diameter D1, and for heat transfer in annuli

2 2 2 2
4 × flow area 4 π ( D 2−D 1) D 2−D 1
D e =4 r h= = = (6.3)
wetted perimeter 4 π D1 D1
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In pressure-drop calculations the friction not only results from the resist- ance of the outer pipe but is also
affected by the outer surface of the inner pipe. The total wetted perimeter is π (D 2 + D 1) and for the
pressure drop in annuli

' 4 × flow area 4 π ( D22−D 21)

D=e = =D2−D1 (6.4)
frictional wetted perimeter 4 π (D2 + D1 )

This leads to the anomalous result that the Reynolds

numbers for the same flow conditions, w, G, and μ, are

different for heat transfer and pressure drop since D e

might be above 2100 while D 'e is below 2100. Actually

both Reynolds numbers should be considered only

approximations, since the sharp distinction between streamline and turbulent flow at the Reynolds
number of 2100 is not completely valid in annuli.

 Pressure Drop in Pipes and Pipe Annuli

The pressure-drop allowance in an exchanger is the static fluid pressure which may be expended to drive
the fluid through the exchanger. The pump selected for the circu- lation of a process fluid is one which
develops sufficient head at the desired capacity to overcome the frictional losses caused by connecting,
piping, fittings, control regulators, and the pressure drop in the exchanger itself. To this head must be
added the static pressure at the end of the line such as the elevation or pressure of the final receiving
vessel. Once a definite pressure drop allowance has been designated for an exchanger as a part of a
pumping circuit, it should always be utilized as completely as possible in the exchanger, since it will
otherwise be blown off or expanded through a pressure reducer.

 The Calculation of a Double Pipe Exchanger

All the equations developed previously will be combined to outline the solution of a double pipe
exchanger. The calculation consists simply of computing h o and hio to obtain Uc. Allowing a reasonable
fouling resistance, a value of UD is calculated from which the surface can be found with the use of the
Fourier equation Q = UDA.∆ t.
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Usually the first problem is to determine which fluid should be placed in the annulus and which in the
inner pipe. This is expedited by estab- lishing the relative sizes of the flow areas for both streams. For
equal allowable pressure drops on both the hot and cold streams, the decision rests in the arrangement
producing the most nearly equal mass velocities and pressure drops. For the standard arrangements of
double pipes the flow areas are given in Table 6.2.

In the outline below, hot- and cold-fluid temperatures are represented by upper and lower case letters,
respectively. All fluid properties are indicated by lower case letters to eliminate the requirement for new
nomenclature.

 Process conditions required

Hot Fluid : T1, T2, W, c, s, or ρ , μ, k, ∆ P, Rdo, or Rdi

Cold Fluid : t1, t2, w, c, s, s or ρ , μ, k, ∆ P, Rdi, or Rdo

The diameter of the pipes must be given or assumed.

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