Abstract
A new strategy for fast, approximate analyses of fluid flow and heat transfer is presented. It is based on Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and is intended for large yet structurally fairly simple heat transfer equipment commonly used in process and power industries (e.g., cross-flow tube bundle heat exchangers), which can be described using sets of interconnected 1-D meshes. The underlying steady-state model couples an FEA-based (linear) predictor step with a nonlinear corrector step, which results in the ability to handle both laminar and turbulent flows. There are no limitations in terms of the allowed temperature range other than those potentially stemming from the usage of fluid physical property computer libraries. Since the fluid flow submodel has already been discussed in the referenced conference paper, the present article focuses on the prediction of the tube side and the shell side temperature fields. A simple cross-flow tube bundle heat exchanger from the literature and a heat recovery hot water boiler in an existing combined heat and power plant, for which stream data are available from its operator, are evaluated to assess the performance of the model. To gain further insight, the results obtained using the model for the heat recovery hot water boiler are also compared to the values yielded by an industry-standard heat transfer equipment design software package. Although the presented strategy is still a “work in progress” and requires thorough validation, the results obtained thus far suggest it may be a promising research direction.
Highlights
During design, operation, and troubleshooting of various process and power equipment-containing tube bundles, it often is important to know the velocity and temperature fields in both the tube and the shell sides
A new strategy for fast, approximate analyses of fluid flow and heat transfer is presented. It is based on Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and is intended for large yet structurally fairly simple heat transfer equipment commonly used in process and power industries, which can be described using sets of interconnected 1-D meshes
Zhou et al [3] focused on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) investigation and optimization of a compact heat exchanger comprising a single row of tubes, and Łopata et al [4] published an article covering the experimental investigation of flow distribution in a similar cross-flow heat exchanger, but with a tube bank consisting of elliptical tubes
Summary
Operation, and troubleshooting of various process and power equipment-containing tube bundles, it often is important to know the velocity and temperature fields in both the tube and the shell sides. These are obtained predominantly using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models and, articles covering a wide range of such applications are available. Zhou et al [3] focused on CFD investigation and optimization of a compact heat exchanger comprising a single row of tubes, and Łopata et al [4] published an article covering the experimental investigation of flow distribution in a similar cross-flow heat exchanger, but with a tube bank consisting of elliptical tubes. CFD evaluation and optimization of solar collectors, commonly using a single row of risers, were discussed, for instance, by García-Guendulain et Energies 2020, 13, 1664; doi:10.3390/en13071664 www.mdpi.com/journal/energies
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