Design and Industrial Applications of a Compact Spiral Rod Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger

The shell and tube heat exchangers are extensively used in the different industrial processes and conventional designs mostly suffer from higher manufacturing costs and lower thermal efficiency. This study presents the fabrication, design and industry level performance evaluation for a cost-effective and compact shell and tube heat exchanger using a spiral rod for enhancement of heat transfer. The experiment was performed on a unit, developed from mild steel components and copper valves providing higher affordability and durability. The experimental trials were conducted in real-time industrial conditions by using chilled and shower as working fluids under a configuration with performance estimated using thermal effectiveness, heat transfer rate, Reynolds number, log mean temperature difference (LMTD). The addition of spiral rod resulted in significant turbulence, quantitatively improved the heat transfer rate from 7.63kW to 9.01kW, improved effectiveness from 51% to 84%, and provided significant improvement in thermal performance. Moreover, the cost analysis indicated a fabrication cost of approximately 38700PKR/=, representing 25%-30% saving when compared to conventional heat exchangers.