Geometrical, Numerical and Materialistic Parameters used for Studying and Reducing Tube-Side Flow Inconsistency in Tube and Shell Heat Exchangers: An Overview

Year : 2025 | Volume : 13 | Special Issue 05 | Page : 603 621
    By

    Kartik Ajugia,

  • Vinayak H Khatawate,

  • Hari Vasudevan,

  1. Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, SVKM’s Dwarkadas J. Sanghvi College of Engineering, Mumbai, , India
  2. Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, SVKM’s Dwarkadas J. Sanghvi College of Engineering, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
  3. Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, SVKM’s Dwarkadas J. Sanghvi College of Engineering, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Abstract

A Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger (STHE) exchanges heat between two fluids flowing at different temperatures. More than 60% of the market is occupied by STHE’s out of all the different kinds of heat exchangers. Maldistribution is the uneven fluid flow distribution in the tubes of the STHE. The aim of this study is to provide a detailed review on the various methods used by researchers for reducing the maldistribution on tube side of STHE’s. With a view to lessen the non-uniformity in the tube side of a STHE, several researchers have employed various strategies. These include the use of baffles placed in the header, nozzle and orifices paced in the tube inlets etc. and a significant amount of reduction in the maldistribution has been observed with the use of these methods. Another way of improving the heat exchanger efficiency is making use of polymeric and composite materials. Some of these material have very high thermal conductivity resulting in drastic improvements of the heat transfer. The problem of maldistribution persist in heat exchangers whether the materials used are conventional or polymers and composites. This study can be further extended to check the feasibility of the various methods used by researchers to reduce the maldistribution at different inlet Reynolds number and different geometrical cases like the nozzle position and the area ratios in sync with high thermal conductivity material usage like the polymer and composites due to their different viscosity compared to conventional materials.

Keywords: STHE, maldistribution, tube side, header design, uniformity index, polymer, composites.

[This article belongs to Special Issue under section in Journal of Polymer and Composites (jopc)]

How to cite this article:
Kartik Ajugia, Vinayak H Khatawate, Hari Vasudevan. Geometrical, Numerical and Materialistic Parameters used for Studying and Reducing Tube-Side Flow Inconsistency in Tube and Shell Heat Exchangers: An Overview. Journal of Polymer and Composites. 2025; 13(05):603-621.
How to cite this URL:
Kartik Ajugia, Vinayak H Khatawate, Hari Vasudevan. Geometrical, Numerical and Materialistic Parameters used for Studying and Reducing Tube-Side Flow Inconsistency in Tube and Shell Heat Exchangers: An Overview. Journal of Polymer and Composites. 2025; 13(05):603-621. Available from: https://journals.stmjournals.com/jopc/article=2025/view=217187


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Special Issue Subscription Original Research
Volume 13
Special Issue 05
Received 16/01/2025
Accepted 22/04/2025
Published 18/07/2025
Publication Time 183 Days
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