SHORTCUT DESIGN APPROACH FOR SPIRAL

HEAT EXCHANGERS

M. Picón-Núñez
, L. Canizalez-Dávalos, G. Martı́nez-Rodrı́guez and G. T. Polley

Institute for Scientific Research, University of Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Mexico.

Abstract: This paper presents a shortcut method for the sizing of spiral plate heat exchangers.
The approach consists of an iterative process where physical dimensions like plate width and
external spiral diameter are given initial values; convergence is achieved until the calculated
pressure drop and heat duty meet the required specifications of the design problem. The results
of the application of the approach are compared with case studies reported in the literature. A
numerical study using computational fluid dynamics is performed to rate the performance of
the geometry. The temperature profiles of the exchanger calculated analytically show the
same tendency as those obtained numerically; thus, the method provides a good starting
point for estimating the dimensions of spiral heat exchangers in single-phase applications.
Keywords: compact heat exchangers; spiral plate heat exchangers; thermo-hydraulic model;
computational fluid dynamics.

INTRODUCTION Although the two fluids in a spiral heat

Correspondence to:
Dr M. Picón-Núñez, Institute
for Scientific Research,
University of Guanajuato,
Cerro de la Venada s/n,
36040, Guanajuato, Mexico.
E-mail:
picon@quijote.ugto.mx
DOI: 10.1205/fbp07073
0960–3085/07/
$30.00 þ 0.00
Food and Bioproducts
Processing
Trans IChemE,
Part C, December 2007
# 2007 Institution
of Chemical Engineers
Spiral plate heat exchangers consist of two
long plates rolled together, forming a spiral.
Studs welded to the plates fix the spacing
between the plates and provide mechanical
strength. In single-phase applications, it is
common for the hot stream to enter the
exchanger through the central part of the
exchanger and to exit at the periphery.
The cold fluid, on the other hand, enters the
unit from the outermost part of the unit and
circulates to eventually exit the exchanger
from the center, thus the two fluids flow
counter-currently (Figure 1).
An important feature of spiral plate exchan-
gers with respect to other exchanger technol-
ogies is its capacity to handle high viscosity
and dirty fluids, exhibiting lower tendency to
fouling. This is due to the particular geometry
that creates a constant change in direction
thus increasing local turbulence that elimi-
nates fluid stagnant zones (Wilhelmsson,
2005). This type of exchanger is common in
the paper, petrochemical, food and sugar
industries with applications in evaporation
and condensation (Trom, 1995). Due to the
counter-current flow pattern, in single-phase
processes this exchanger can be used in
duties that involve high thermal effectiveness.
In addition its geometrical features make it
suitable to accommodate a large heat transfer
area in a relatively small volume. The operat-
ing pressures of the fluids are limited. For
instance, the maximum plate thickness that
can be rolled is 0.013 m, which limits the
maximum operating pressure to 15 bar.
exchanger flow in counter-current fashion
the heat transfer is not pure counter-flow.
In the intermediate turns the hot stream
exchanges heat with two adjacent cold
streams which are at a different temperature.
The result is temperature driving forces that
are lower than those found in a pure counter-
current flow.
Bes and Roetzel (1992) developed an
analytical rating study to determine the temp-
erature profile within the plates; in their work
constant overall heat transfer coefficients
were assumed. They also studied the influ-
ence of various geometrical parameters in
the design and thermal performance. In later
work, Bes and Roetzel (1993) developed a
simple formula to determine the temperature
difference correction factor that applies for
any heat capacity rate ratio and for any
number of turns. The accuracy of the
method increases with the number of turns
and the overall heat transfer coefficient was
assumed to be constant throughout the
exchanger. In their study, the entrance effects
are not considered. Egner and Burmeister
(2005) did a numerical study of spiral ducts
of rectangular section using computational
fluid dynamics techniques and determined
the Nusselt number as a function of the
Dean number, showing the strong depen-
dence of the heat transfer coefficient upon
the spiral radii. They demonstrated that
except for the entry regions, the heat transfer
coefficient is nearly constant, however, at
entry regions, heat transfer coefficients may
be even as 50% larger than the fully

322 Vol 85 (C4) 322–327

 DESIGN APPROACH FOR SPIRAL HEAT EXCHANGERS 323

Figure 2. Geometrical features of a spiral heat exchanger.

Figure 1. Flow pattern for counter-flow arrangement in spiral heat
exchangers.

section. So, for the purposes of design, empirical correlations

that apply for the case of the average curvature of the spiral
developed values. An important contribution of their work is will be used in this work.
the general conclusion for estimating the thermal entry The flow regime dictates the form of expressions used for
length for laminar Reynolds numbers between 100 and the determination of pressure drop and for the estimation of
500. In the work by Burmeister (2006) a more approximate the film heat transfer coefficient. The choice of the appropri-
solution to determine the thermal effectiveness versus the ate expression depends on the values of the Reynolds
number of heat transfer units of this type of exchangers is number and the critical Reynolds number given respectively
developed. A limitation of the method, however is that it by
applies only to cases where the heat capacity rates of the
two fluids are equal. Dh M
Empirical correlations for spiral heat exchangers were Re ¼ (1)
mAc
reported by Minton (1970). He presented a set of correlations
for heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop for the laminar
and turbulent regions based on average plate curvature. and
Martin (1992) also reports empirical correlations for heat transfer
and friction factor that cover a wide range of Reynolds numbers.
0:32
Dh
In the present work, we introduce a methodology for the Rec ¼ 20 000 (2)
preliminary sizing of a spiral heat exchanger with single- Ds
phase processes. In this case, the design approach is
derived by using the allowable pressure drop as a design where Dh is the hydraulic diameter, M is the mass flow rate,
objective rather than a design constraint. Such an Ac is the free flow area and m is the viscosity.
approach gives rise to what it is referred to as a thermo- The hydraulic diameter can be calculated from
hydraulic model (Polley et al., 1991; Picón-Núñez et al.,
1999, 2006).
The design approach introduced in this work is demon- 2bH
Dh ¼ (3)
strated using the case study reported by Minton (1970). Further bþH
validation of the approach is done through the numerical rating
of the resulting geometry using computational fluid dynamics. Minton (1970) provided the following equations for the deter-
mination of the heat transfer coefficient and the pressure
drop. These equations are dimensional and are presented
EXCHANGER GEOMETRY here as originally developed by Minton using the Imperial
System.
A thorough description of the geometry of spiral exchan-
For Re . Rec
gers was published by Dongwu (2003), where expressions
to calculate spiral diameter, number of turns and length of

the semicircles are provided. The main geometrical dimen- Dh
h ¼ 1 þ 3:54 0:023Cp Vf Re0:2 Pr 2=3 (4)
sions of this type of exchangers are shown in Figure 2, Ds
where: H is the plate width, Ds is the spiral outer diameter,
ds is the spiral inner diameter and b is the plate spacing.

  "
1=3
L M 2 1:3m1=3 H
Heat Transfer and Pressure Drop Equations DP ¼ 0:001
s bH (b þ 0:125) M
No empirical correlations are available in the open litera- 
ture that account for the variation of the heat transfer coeffi- 16
þ 1:5 þ (5)
cient along the length of a spiral with a rectangular cross L

Trans IChemE, Part C, Food and Bioproducts Processing, 2007, 85(C4): 322– 327
324 PICÓN-NÚÑEZ et al.

For 100 , Re , Rec a general form are given by

1=3
0:14 UA
L mw NTU ¼ (15)
h ¼ 1:86Cp Vf Re2=3 Pr 2=3 (6) CPmin
Dh mb
where CP is the heat capacity rate (CP ¼ MCp). The design
 "
 of a spiral exchanger involves the identification of four geo-
L M 1:035m1=2 mw 0:17
DP ¼ 0:001 metrical dimensions: the channel spacing for the hot stream
s bH (b þ 0:125) mb
(bh), the spacing for the cold stream (bc), the plate width

1=2 #
H 16 (H) and the number of individual turns used (which can
 þ1:5 þ (7) also be expressed as plate length L or exchanger
M L
diameter Ds).
Once the value of the total surface are A is known, the
where h is the heat transfer coefficient, mw is the fluid vis- plate width and the spiral diameter are calculated from
cosity at the wall temperature and mb is the fluid bulk vis- equations (16) and (17) respectively:
cosity, L is the plate length, Vf is the fluid mean velocity, Cp
is the specific heat capacity of the fluid, Pr is the Prandtl A
number, DP is the fluid pressure drop and s is the relative Hcalc ¼ (16)
2L
density (relative to water at 208C).
The mean fluid velocity can be obtained from  1=2
Ds,calc ¼ 1:28L(bh þ bc þ 2t) þ ds2 (17)
M
Vf ¼ (8)
rAc
DESIGN METHODOLOGY
where r is the density of the fluid and Ac is the free flow area
given by The proposed methodology for identifying required
exchanger geometry seeks to make full use of the allowable
Ac ¼ Hb (9) pressure drop for each of the streams as well as transferring
the required quantity of heat.
The Prandtl number is defined as Whilst initial values are provided for all three of the required
dimensions (spacing for hot and cold stream and plate width)
Cp m
Pr ¼ (10) only one of these needs to be fixed for the final design. The
k remaining three dimensions are determined by the proposed
where k is the thermal conductivity of the fluid. algorithm. In the case study reported below the fixed dimen-
sion is the channel spacing of the cold stream. The method is
as follows:
Step 1. The first step in the design is the calculation of the
Heat Exchanger Design Equation length of plate at which the allowable pressure drop for the
cold stream is fully absorbed. This calculation is straightfor-
The overall heat transfer coefficient is given by
ward. Given values for plate width and channel spacing the
1 Reynolds number can be calculated [equation (1)]. The criti-
U¼ (11) cal value is dependent upon the exchanger diameter and this
ð1=hh Þ þ ðt=km Þ þ ð1=hc Þ
is not yet known. However, the length of plate that fully
where km is the thermal conductivity of the material of con- absorbs the pressure drop can be determined for each flow
struction of the wall and t is the plate thickness. The overall regime. The exchanger diameter associated with each of
surface area for heat transfer (A) required for a given duty is these lengths can then be computed. We then have sufficient
obtained from the design equation: information to determine the critical Reynolds number and to
identify which of the possible lengths applies.
q Step 2. The procedure is repeated for the hot stream. We now
A¼ (12)
UFT DTLM have the two lengths associated with full use of pressure drop.
Step 3. It is likely that the two lengths determined above
where q is the heat load, DTLM is the log mean temperature will differ. However, if one channel spacing is fixed, the spa-
difference and FT is the temperature difference correction cing of the other stream can be adjusted. If the length for
factor. This last term can be determined using the equation the other stream needs to be shortened then the channel
developed by Bes and Roetzel (1993). width is decreased. If a longer length is required, the width
  is increased. These three steps are repeated until the two
FT ¼ ln 1 þ CN 2 =CN 2 (13) flow lengths are the same. Convergence is rapid. We term
this length the hydraulic length.
h ih i Step 4. In this step, the length of plate required to transfer
CN ¼ 2 (NTUc NTUh )1=2 ðpAc =AÞ1=2 (14) the required quantity of heat is determined. Since, the objec-
tive is to identify a unit in which this length equates with that
where CN is referred to as the criterion number and is defined identified from the pressure drop analysis the Reynolds
by equation (14); NTUc and NTUh are the number of heat number information from those calculations can be used in
transfer units for the cold and hot side respectively and in determining the individual film heat transfer coefficients.

Trans IChemE, Part C, Food and Bioproducts Processing, 2007, 85(C4): 322– 327
 DESIGN APPROACH FOR SPIRAL HEAT EXCHANGERS 325

The number of turns identified in the pressure drop analysis
can also be used for the determination of the temperature
difference correction factor. So, the heat transfer design
equation can be solved to yield the required surface area.
Then, from the specified plate width the length of plate
needed in order to transfer the required quantity of heat
can be determined. We term this length the thermal length.
Step 5. The hydraulic and thermal lengths are compared.
In the first passage through the algorithm it is likely that
they will differ.
Step 6. The width of the plate is adjusted. If the thermal
length exceeds the hydraulic length the width is increased
otherwise it is reduced.
Steps 1 to 6 are repeated until the thermal and hydraulic
lengths equate. Convergence has been found to be rapid.
CASE STUDY
The proposed methodology is demonstrated using the case
study reported by Minton (1970). The average physical proper-
ties for the case study are shown in Table 1 and correspond to a
light organic compound. The algorithm was implemented on a
Math-Cad code. For this case study, a plate spacing of
6.35  1023 m, an internal diameter of 0.203 m and a plate
thickness of 3.175  1023 m were chosen.
Table 1. Stream data for case study.
Hot stream Cold stream
In the original case study, the allowable pressure drop on
the hot and cold side are 6.89  1022 bar respectively. How-
ever, after the design is carried out, a pressure drop of
4.18  1022 bar on the hot side and 5.93  1022 bar on
the cold side are obtained. The heat transfer area is
15.5 m2 with a plate length of 12.74 m and a plate width of
0.61 m. Using the same pressure drops as the ones of the
final design by Minton, the new algorithm gives a heat trans-
fer area of 15.45 m2, with a plate length of 12.68 m and a
plate width of 0.61 m.
When the new algorithm is run to fully utilize the pressure
drop of the cold stream (6.89  1022 bar), the results are
shown in Table 2, where as it is expected, the new design is
smaller. Plate spacing is kept the same for both fluids so only
the cold stream is allowed to maximize its pressure drop.
Now, when the full design approach that maximizes both
streams pressure drops is applied, the final surface area is
11.24 m2, the plate length is 12.48 m and the plate width
is 0.45 m. These results are also shown in Table 2. The
value of the temperature correction factor (FT) is found to be
0.996.
The values of Rec in Table 2 indicate that the flow regime is
laminar. Under these conditions, the entry effects may result
in heat transfer coefficients that are superior to the ones cal-
culated using Minton’s correlations. The result that we would
expect if these effects were taken into account is an exchan-
ger with a lower surface area. As a consequence, the heat
transfer area calculated using the new approach might be
slightly larger than strictly needed.

Flow rate 0.7833 0.7444 kg s21 NUMERICAL ANALYSIS

Inlet temperature 473.15 333.15 K
Outlet temperature 393.15 423.55 K The exchanger geometry produced with the new design
Heat capacity 2,973 2,763 J kg21 K21 methodology was modelled using Gambit and Fluentw
Thermal 0.348 0.322 W m21 K21 (Ansys, Inc.). The construction of the spiral consists of two
conductivity plates and two flow sections in counter-current arrangement;
Density 843 843 kg m23
Relative density 0.843 0.843 the spirals were divided into 5258 zones along the
Pressure drop 6.89  1022 6.89  1022 bar length. Figure 3 shows some of these zones separated by
Viscosity 3.35  1023 8.0  1023 kg m21 s21 points. Each metallic zone contains 32 cells (4  8) whereas
Plate thickness 3.175  1023 m the zones for fluid flow contain 80 cells (10  8). The cell size
Internal diameter 0.203 m
Plate spacing 6.35  1023 m
varies from 4.46  1024 m2 to 1.93  1023 m2. The number
of computational cells was 294 448; from these, 210 320

Table 2. Comparison of results between new method and Minton’s.

New method maximize New method maximize

Minton’s design cold side pressure drop both pressure drops

Heat transfer area 15.5 14.77 11.24 m2

Re (hot side) 3839 4390 5208
Re (cold side) 1530 1750 2073
Rec (hot side) 8568 8868
Rec (cold side) 8568 9271
Heat load 1.865  10þ5 1.865  10þ5 1.865  10þ5 W
Heat transfer coefficient, hot side — 455.17 604.07 W m22 K21
Heat transfer coefficient, cold side — 467.15 619.93 W m22 K21
Overall heat transfer coefficient 220.3 230.5 305.7 W m22 K21
Plate length 12.74 13.81 12.48 m
Plate width 0.61 0.53 0.45 m
Spiral outer diameter 0.59 0.61 0.57 m
Pressure drop, hot side 4.18  1022 4.89  1022 6.89  1022 bar
Pressure drop, cold side 5.93  1022 6.89  1022 6.89  1022 bar
Plate spacing, cold side 6.35  1023 6.35  1023 6.35  1023 m
Plate spacing, hot side 6.35  1023 6.35  1023 5.08  1023 m

Trans IChemE, Part C, Food and Bioproducts Processing, 2007, 85(C4): 322– 327
326 PICÓN-NÚÑEZ et al.

Figure 3. Mesh details for the numerical simulation.

cells are for the flow sections and 84 128 cells are for
the metallic plates. The Reynolds stress model was used in
the simulation. This model is reported to extend across all Figure 4. Temperature profile along the length of the exchanger for
the cold stream.
flow regimes. Convergence was achieved within 189 iter-
ations. For the turbulence intensity, the final values of 8.9
and 9.9 for the hot side and cold side were used respectively.
The simulation was run for steady state conditions and aver-
age physical properties were used.
The solution of the numerical model provides information
such as the bulk temperature profile of the fluids. For the pur-
pose of comparison, the temperatures of the fluids along the
length of the exchanger are also calculated using the general
analytical expression (Bes and Roetzel, 1993):

1  exp½(Cr  1)NTU FT 
1¼ (18)
1  Cr exp½(Cr  1)NTU FT 

The expression above includes the effect of the deviation from

the true counter-current flow by means of the temperature correc-
tion factor. For the calculation of the temperature profile, the
values of the overall heat transfer coefficient (U), the temperature
correction factor (FT) and the exchanger dimensions are taken
from the results obtained in the section above. The term Cr is
the ratio of the heat capacity rate of the stream that exhibits the
minimum value to the heat capacity rate of the stream that exhi-
bits the maximum value (CPmin/CP/max). The procedure is as fol-
lows. For various points along the length of the exchanger (Li), the Figure 5. Temperature profile along the length of the exchanger for
surface area is calculated (Ai ¼ 2HLi), then the number of heat the hot stream.
transfer units is computed (NTUi) using equation (15); next the
corresponding thermal effectiveness (1i) is calculated from
equation (18); finally, Tout,i and tout,i are respectively computed
from the numerical and the analytical results. Therefore, both methods
show approximate results.
Tout,i ¼ Tin  1i Cr (Tin  tin ) (19)

and
tout,i ¼ tin  1i (Tin  tin )
Figures 4 and 5 show the comparison of the temperature pro-
files between the numerical results and the analytical approach.
These profiles exhibit differences of up to 6 K for the case of
the cold stream and of up to 14 K for the case of the hot
stream. However they show a similar tendency. The exit tempera-
tures of the both streams show a difference of only 2 K between
CONCLUSIONS
(20)
A new methodology for the sizing of spiral heat exchangers
has been introduced. The major simplification involved in the
derivation of this method is the use of empirical correlations
that do not account for the variation of the heat transfer
coefficient with the curvature and do not consider the entry
length effects. However, this is justified on the basis that
the purpose of this work is to provide a simple methodology

Trans IChemE, Part C, Food and Bioproducts Processing, 2007, 85(C4): 322– 327
 DESIGN APPROACH FOR SPIRAL HEAT EXCHANGERS 327

that will serve as a preliminary step in the design, selection r density, kg m23
t plate thickness, m
and costing of this type of units.
Consideration of the variation of the heat transfer coefficient Subscripts
b fluid bulk conditions
will bring about larger values at the entry length, as large as c cold side
50% as suggested by some authors, whereas the variation of h hot side
the heat transfer coefficient with the curvature is less important i ith position along the length of the exchanger
as the fluid moves in the outer direction; in any case, we in inlet conditions
out outlet conditions
would expect smaller unit sizes if these effects were taken into w wall temperature conditions
account. Despite the differences between the numerical and calc calculated value
analytical temperature profiles around the middle part of the min minimum value
unit, the target temperatures are close enough to indicate, that max maximum value
for practical purposes, this design approach provides good
estimates of the required heat transfer area.
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Greek symbols
e thermal effectiveness The manuscript was received 2 May 2007 and accepted for
m viscosity, kg m21 s21 publication after revision 5 September 2007.

Trans IChemE, Part C, Food and Bioproducts Processing, 2007, 85(C4): 322– 327