Large eddy simulation-based analysis of the flow-induced noise characteristics of shell and tube heat exchanger

Abstract

The energy sectors and chemicals depend heavily on shell & tube heat exchangers, which are also employed extensively in the modern manufacturing industry. Flow-induced noise has an important impact on how heat exchangers function. and should not be overlooked. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and acoustic-solid coupling are used in this paper to investigate the fluidic and vibration noise of tubes in shell & tube heat exchangers. In order to study the characteristic law of noise caused by flow, the flow and acoustic fields are combined in this research, with the flow field being estimated by accepting a large eddy simulation. A combination methodology of theoretical analysis and numerical simulation is utilized to analyze the influence of pipe type, pipe spacing, flow direction outside the pipe, flow velocity outside the pipe, and pipe length on noise. The results indicate that as the diameter of the pipe increases, the noise level rises, and with increasing pipe spacing, the noise decreases. The noise increases as the incidence angle of the fluid inflow increases. When flow rate accelerates, so does the noise. The study presented in this paper can serve as a theoretical and computational foundation for the design of shell & tube heat exchangers.