Heat Exchanger Design by

Bell Method
Part 2
Shell-and-Tube Heat Exchangers
Basic Design Procedure
Flow rates & compositions,
temperatures, pressures.
Process Eng Design Eng
Shell and head types, baffles,
tube passes, etc.
Preliminary design/analysis

Use heat transfer and

pressure drop correlations
 Preliminary Design
Estimate heat transfer coefficients and fouling resistances.

With h, Rfs, Rw, and overall surface efficiencies (in case

of fins on either side) estimated, evaluate the overall heat
transfer coefficient

This is the most general expression, also estimate Uc.

Take F = 1.0 for counterflow HEX (single tube pass), or
F = 0.9 for any even number of tube passes.
 Preliminary Design (continued)
Estimate heat load

Calculate Tlm,cf
Estimate the size of the HEX

This area is also related to tube diameter do and number of

tubes Nt

The objective is to find the number of tubes with diameter do,

and shell diameter Ds to accommodate the number of tubes,
with the given tube length.
 Preliminary Design (continued)
Shell diameter, Ds is

CL is the tube layout constant

CL = 1.0 for 90o and 45o, CL = 0.87 for 30o and 60o
CTP is the tube count calculation constant
CTP = 0.93 for one tube pass
CTP = 0.90 for two tube passes
CTP = 0.85 for three tube passes
PR is the tube pitch ratio, PT/do
Number of tubes, Nt is
Rating of the Preliminary Design (continued)
Which one is complicated b/w tube and shell side?
Tube side:
Shell side: more complicated

If rating output is not acceptable, modify

HEX cannot deliver the heat required: increase h or area
To increase hi, increase um in tubes, thus number of passes
To increase ho, decrease baffle spacing or decrease baffle cut
To increase area, increase length or shell diameter, or use shells in series
ptube > pall: decrease number of tube passes or increase tube
diameter (thus decrease tube length, increase shell diameter and
number of tubes)
pshell > pall: increase baffle spacing, tube pitch and baffle cut, or
change type of baffles
 Shell Side Analysis
Kern Method (simple method)
Shell Side Heat Transfer Coefficient
Baffles increase heat transfer coefficient due to increased
turbulence, tube correlations are not applicable
Without baffles, h can be based on De, similar to double-pipe
HEX, and Chapter 3 correlations can be used
On the shell side, McAdams correlation for Nu

square

triangular
Kern Method (simple method)
Shell Side Heat Transfer Coefficient (continued)
Gs (shell side mass velocity) can be evaluated from

where is the bundle crossflow area at the center

of the shell
Ds: shell diameter
C: clearance between adjacent tubes
B: baffle spacing
PT: pitch size
Gs evaluated here is a fictional value because there is actually
no free-flow area on the shell side. This value is based on the
bundle crossflow area at the hypothetical tube row possessing
the maximum flow area corresponding to the center of the
shell
Kern Method (simple method)
Shell Side Pressure Drop
Depends on the number of tubes the fluid passes through in
the bundle between baffles and the length of each crossing.
The following correlation uses the product of distance across
the bundle, taken as Ds, and the number of times the bundle
is crossed.

s = (b/w)0.14
Nb = L/B 1 is the number of baffles
(Nb + 1) is the number of times the shell fluid passes the tube
bundle
f takes into account entrance and exit losses

where
Kern Method (simple method)
Tube Side Pressure Drop

Total pressure drop including sudden expansions and

contractions during a return (for multiple tube passes)

Ignore second term if single tube pass

Bell-Delaware Method (complex method)

Shell side flow is complex, combines crossflow and baffle

window flow, as well as baffle-shell and bundle-shell
bypass streams and other complex flow patterns
Five different streams are identified; A, B, C, E, and F
Bell-Delaware method takes into account the leakage and
bypass streams, most reliable method for shell side
B-stream is the main stream, others reduce it and change
shell side temperature profile, thus decrease h
A: leakage through tube/baffle clearance, C: bundle bypass
stream, E: baffle bypass stream, F: multi tube pass
Bell-Delaware Method
Shell Side Heat Transfer Coefficient

hideal is the ideal heat transfer coefficient for pure crossflow in

an ideal tube bank
Js are correction factors
ji is the Colburn j-factor for an ideal tube bank (Figures 8.15-
8.17, depend on shell side Re, , tube layout,
and pitch size; or correlation 8.25)
As is the crossflow area at the centerline of the shell for one
crossflow between baffles, As = Ds CB/PT
Note that Res is different for this method (based on do)
Bell-Delaware Method
Shell Side Heat Transfer Coefficient (continued)
Correlation for the Colburn j-factor for an ideal tube bank

a1 a4 from Table 8.6 in book

Correlation for ideal friction factor

b1 b4 from Table 8.6 in book as well

Shell side pressure drop
Tube side heat transfer
coefficient
Tube side pressure drop
Bell-Delaware Method

Number of tube rows crossed in one crossflow section, Nc

Lc is the baffle cut distance from

baffle tip to inside of shell