210 Applied Process Design for Chemical and Petrochemical Plants

Table 10-37 If pressure drop is too high, reselect and redesign unit,
Typical Cast Iron Section, Type B, Figure 10-127 making parallel units to reduce flow rate (and
coefficient hio), or select a larger pipe, reducing mass
Metal Cubic Internal External Eq. rate G, and hence hio. Recalculate the pressure drop.
Thickness, Contents, Wt./ Surf., Surf., Diam.,
in. gal Section ft2 ft2 in. Impregnated graphite coolers, Figure 10-131 and Table 10-
1
/4 2.7 130 11.0 10.0 1.57 38, are used in acids and other corrosive liquids. The selection
3
/8 2.7 180 11.0 10.8 1.57 charts of Figures 10-132, 10-133, and 10-134 can be used to
1
/2 2.7 210 11.0 11.5 1.57 determine expected transfer coefficients and total external
Note: Other types of sections are available to accomplish the same type cooling surface for a typical style of unit. Although these
of cooling. charts are specific to the manufacturer’s wall thicknesses and
Used by permission: Cat. HT-23, National U.S. Radiator Corp. Existence the thermal conductivity of the material, they are nevertheless
of company not confirmed (1998). convenient and generally acceptable. Exact selections should
be obtained from the manufacturers by giving them the flow
data and performance requirements. Pressure drops can be
estimated from Figures 10-135 and 10-136.

Pressure Drop for Plain Tube Exchangers

A. Tube Side

Pressure loss through the inside of the tubes during heat-

ing or cooling in heat exchangers is given for liquids and
gases by70

f G2t Ln f G2t Ln
"pt ! ! , psi (10-207)
2g%Di$t 5.221102 10Di s $t

The friction factor, f, ft2/ in. 2, must be obtained from Fig-

ure 10-138. Because it is not a dimensional factor, the "pt
relations take this into account.

# 0.14
$t ! a b for Re 7 2,100 (10-208)
#w
# 0.25
$t ! a b for Re 6 2,100 (10-209)
Figure 10-130. Pressure drop versus rate of flow for water at 70°F in #w
cast iron cooling sections, similar to Figure 10-127.
For noncondensing gases and vapors in Equation 10-207
use the average of inlet and outlet gas density referenced to
water at 62.4 lb/ft3 for the value of s.
If the calculations were started by assuming a pipe size A convenient chart for water pressure drop in tubes is
and length, determine the number of lengths from the given in Figure 10-138.
total area calculation and surface area per length of A convenient chart for all fluids38 including a 20%
pipe selected. increase in pressure drop over theoretical smooth tubes is
given in the copyrighted figure of Reference 36:
total surface A For streamline flow, Re ! 2,100:
No. lengths ! (10-206)
outside surface area>pipe length 16
ff ! (see note below regarding f) (10-210)
DiGt>#
Factor of safety or percent excess area should be at least
10–15%. and this can be used in Equation 10-214.
11. From a balanced design, determine the pressure drop The turbulent flow38 Re " 2,100:
for the entire series length of pipe in bank, including
DiGt 0.2
fittings. Use copyrighted chart in Reference 36, fluid ff ! 0.048> a b (10-211)
flow principles, or Figure 10-130 for cast iron sections. #
 Heat Transfer 211

Divide this f by 144 in order to use in "pt Equation10-191

or 10-207.
Stoever108, 109 presents convenient tables for pressure drop
evaluation.
Pressure drop through the return ends of exchangers for
any fluid is given as four velocity heads per tube pass70
4nv2
! , ft
2g¿

4nv2s 62.5
a b, psi (10-212)
12g¿ 2 144
"pr !

This is given in Figure 10-139.

where "pr ! return end pressure loss, including entrance
losses, psi
n ! no. of tubes passes per exchanger
g! ! acceleration of gravity, 32.2 ft/(sec)2
s ! specific gravity of fluid (vapor or liquid) referred
to water
v ! tube velocity, ft/sec
4n1G– 2 2 1
a b
162.5211442
"pr !
2g¿s
G" ! mass velocity for tube side flow,
lb/(sec) (ft2 cross-section of tube)

Total Tube Side Pressure Drop

! "pt ' "pr, psi (10-213)

Tube Side Condensation Pressure Drop

Kern70 recommends the following conservative relation:

9.561102 &12 f1Gt 2 2Ln

"pt ! , psi (10-214)
Dis

This is one-half the values calculated for straight fluid

drop, based on inlet flows; f is from Figure 10-137.

B. Shell Side

Pressure losses through the shell side of exchangers are

Figure 10-131. Typical sectional cooler using assembly of standard-
ized components. (Used by permission: SGL Technic, Inc., Karbate®
Division.)
subject to much more uncertainty in evaluation than for
tube side. In many instances, they should be considered as
approximations or orders of magnitude. This is especially
true for units operating under vacuum less than 7 psia.
Very little data has been published to test the above-atmos-
pheric pressure correlations at below-atmospheric pres-
sures. The losses due to differences in construction, baffle
clearances, tube clearances, etc., create indeterminate val-
ues for exact correlation. Also see the short-cut method of
reference 279.
212 Applied Process Design for Chemical and Petrochemical Plants

Figure 10-132. Cooling water requirements for cooler of Figure 10-131. (Used by permission: SGL Technic, Inc., Karbate® Division.)

Figure 10-133. Overall heat transfer coefficient for Karbate® impervious graphite cascade cooler. (Used by permission: SGL Technic, Inc., Kar-
bate® Division.)
 Heat Transfer 213

Figure 10-134. Required cooling surface. (Used by permission: SGL Technic, Inc., Karbate® Division.)

Figure 10-136. Tube-side liquid pressure drop for cascade cooler. For
Figure 10-135. Tube-side fluid velocity for cascade cooler. (Used by nonwater liquids, multiply pressure drop by (#!)0.140(s)0.86 (Used by per-
permission: SGL Technic, Inc., Karbate® Division.) mission: SGL Technic, Inc., Karbate® Division.)
214 Applied Process Design for Chemical and Petrochemical Plants

Table 10-38
Data for Coolers of Figure 10-131

Total Effective Weight Each Weight Set

Inside Effective Effective Max. No. Outside Area Cooler of Tie Rod
Cooler Pipe I.D. Pipe O.D. Cross- Inside Area Outside Area of Sections for Max. No. Section, Assemblies,
Size, in. (Nom.), in. (Nom.), in. section, ft2 Per Section, ft2 Per Section, ft2 Per Cooler of Sections lb lb

1 1/2 1 1/2 2 00.01227 10.60 14.14 26 367.6 040 182

2 2 2 3/4 0.0218 14.14 19.44 20 388.8 065 299
3 3 4 0.0491 21.21 28.27 13 367.6 180 381
4 4 5 1/4 0.0873 28.27 37.11 10 371.1 285 541
Used by permission: Cat. S-6820, ©1953. National Carbon Co. Existence of company not confirmed (1998).

Figure 10-137. Heating and cooling in tube bundles—tube-side fric-

tion factor. (Used by permission: Kern, D. Q. Process Heat Transfer, 1st
Ed., p. 836, ©1950. McGraw-Hill, Inc. All rights reserved. Using
nomenclature of Standards of Tubular Exchanger Manufacturers
Association.)

Unbaffled Shells

For short exchangers with no shell-side baffles, pressure

drop is usually negligible. Allowances should be made for
nozzle entrances and exits if the pressure level of the system
warrants this detail.
For longer units requiring support plates for the tubes,
the pressure drop will still be very small or negligible and
can be estimated by Figure 10-140 using the appropriate baf-
fle cut curve to match the tube support cut-out of about Figure 10-138. Pressure drop for water in smooth tubes at 68°F.
50%. Kern70 recommends that the flow be considered simi- (Used by permission: Scovill Heat Exchanger Tube Manual, 3rd Ed.
Scovill Manufacturing Co.)
lar to an annulus of a double pipe and treated accordingly.
Equivalent shell-side diameter for pressure drop, De!:

4 1flow area of space between shell and tubes2

!
wetted perimeter of tubes ' wetted perimeter of shell I.D.
(10-215)
(D2s >4 & N(do2>4
where De! ! equivalent diameter for pressure drop of bundle in
4c d shell, ft
144 Ds ! shell I.D., in.
De ¿ ! (10-216)
N(do Ds N ! number of tubes
'(
12 12 do ! tube O.D., in.
 Heat Transfer 215

4nv2s 62.5 where fs ! friction factor from Figure 10-140, for plain bare
"pr ! a b, psi tubes, fs ! f/1.2 (from Figure 10-140), shell side
2g¿ 144
Gs ! mass velocity, lb/hr (ft2 of flow area)
De ! equivalent diameter of tubes, ft. See Figure 10-54 or
Table 10-21.
Ds! ! I.D. of shell, ft
Nc ! number of baffles
(Nc ' 1) ! number of times fluid crosses bundle from inlet to
outlet
g ! 4.17 ) 108
s ! specific gravity of gas or liquid referenced to water
$s !(#/#w)0.14, subscript w refers to wall condition
# ! viscosity, lb/hr (ft) ! (centipoise) (2.42)

For values of specific gravity for noncondensing gases and

vapors use the average density at inlet and outlet conditions
referenced to water at 62.4 lb/ft3.

Alternate: Segmental Baffles Pressure Drop

"ps ! "pb ' "pc (10-220)

a. Baffle Window Pressure Drop, "pb, psi

This drop is usually very small unless the baffle cut has
Figure 10-139. Tube side end return pressure drop per tube pass; vis-
been limited to a low value.36
cosity close to water.

2.91102 &13 1Gb 2 2 1Nc 2

"pb ! , psi (10-221)
s
The friction factor, fs, is determined using Figure 10-140 Donohue36 reports agreement of * 36% in turbulent
for shell-side pressure drop with De, used in determining Re. flow conditions.
For bundles with bare tubes (plain tubes), fs ! f/1.2 (see
Figure 10-140), calculate pressure drop: where "ps ! total shell-side pressure drop, psi
"pb ! pressure drop across window opening of segmental
fsGs2LNc baffles, total for all baffles, psi
"ps ! psi (10-217)
5.221102 10De ¿s$s "pc ! pressure drop across the bundle in cross-flow, psi
s ! specific gravity of gas or liquid referenced to water
where Nc ! 1 for single-pass shell, no baffles Nc ! number of baffles
$s ! (#/#w)0.14 Gb ! flow rate, lb fluid/(hr) (ft2 of flow cross-section
"ps ! shell side pressure drop with no baffles, psi area through window opening in baffle)

b. Bundle Cross-flow Pressure Drop, "pc, psi, Williams126

Segmental Baffles in Shell
cbff 1Gc 2 2
Figure 10-140 is used for determining the friction factor "pc ! a b 1nc 21Nc ' 12 (10-222)
10 g%1#>#w 2 0.14
9
(dimensional) for segmental type baffles. The loss across the
tube bundle and through the baffle “window” is represented
in the combined factor, f, which is to be used with the equa- ff ! (f, from Figure 10-140) (144)
Note: f from Figure 10-140 must be divided by 1.2 when
tion for pressure drop.70
plain bare tubes are used.
cb ! 1.07 for bare tubes
fsGs2Ds ¿1Nc ' 12
"ps ! , psi (10-218) ! 1.2 for low finned tubes
5.221102 10Des$s
fsGs2Ds ¿1Nc ' 12 As an alternate, the equation of Chilton and Gener-
also, "ps ! (10-219)
2g%De$s aux:28, 82
 216
Applied Process Design for Chemical and Petrochemical Plants
Figure 10-140. Shell-side friction factors for low-finned and plain tubes. (Used by permission: Engineering Data Book, © 1960. Wolverine Tube, Inc.)
 Heat Transfer 217

"pc ! 4fs’’ nc G2max> 12g’%2 11442 (10-223) 9.561102 &12 1fs 2G2s Ds ¿1Nc ' 12
"ps ! , psi (10-228)
De ¿s
For triangular pitch: 57, 58, 82
This equation gives values that are half of those calculated
as total gas flow for the shell side by using friction factors
rt from 1.5 to 4.0 from Figure 10-140. (Note that fs for plain or bare tubes
0.1175 DoGmax &1.16 ! f/1.2 (with f from Figure 10-140)).
fs – ! c 0.25 ' da b (10-224)
1rt & 12 1.08
#f ¿ The method of Buthod22 has given unusually good
checks with data from industrial units. In general this
For square or in-line pitch:57, 58, 82 method appears to give results that are slightly higher than
field data but not as high as the other methods presented
rt from 1.5 to 4.0 previously. For shell-side pressure drop:
0.08r1 DoGmax &0.15
fs – ! a 0.044 ' ba b (10-225) "ps 1total2 ! "plong. ' "pc
1rt & 12 a
(10-229)
#f ¿
1.13 1. Calculate loss due to longitudinal flow through tube
a ! 0.43 ' (10-226)
r1 bundle; use Figure 10-141.
0.04Ws
where cb ! constant G1longitudinal2 ! , lbs>sec 1ft2 2 (10-230)
1Ds & Ndo 2Bca
( 2
ff ! dimensionless friction factor for shellside cross-flow
4
Gc ! mass flow, lb/(hr) (ft2 of cross section at minimum
free area in cross-flow)
Gmax ! mass flow, lb/sec (ft2 of cross section at minimum where Ws ! shell-side flow, lb/hr
free area in cross-flow) Ds ! shell I.D., in.
% ! fluid density, lb/ft3 do ! tube O.D., in.
g! ! acceleration constant 32.2 ft/(sec)2 N ! number of tubes in bundle
#/#w ! viscosity ratio of fluid at bulk temperature to that at Bca ! baffle cut area, expressed as fraction, representing
wall temperature opening as percent of shell cross-section area.
#f! ! absolute viscosity, lb/sec (ft), #t! ! (centipoises)
(0.000672)
nc ! minimum number of tube rows fluid crosses in
flowing from one baffle window to one adjacent.
Nc ! number of baffles
"pc ! bundle cross-flow pressure drop, psi

Tube pitch, in. transverse to fluid flow, dimensionless

rt !
Tube O.D., in.
Tube pitch, in. longitudinal value in direction of fluid
rl !
Tube O.D., in. flow, dimensionless

McAdams82 points out that at rt of 1.25, the pressure

drop may deviate high as much as 50% and is high for
rt ! 1.5 and " 4.
Streamline flow shell-side cross-flow; modified Dono-
hue:38
1nc 2Gc #¿
"pc ! 3.021102 &5 , psi (10-227)
s1p & do 2
s ! specific gravity of fluid referenced to water
p ! tube pitch, in.
do ! tube O.D., in.
#! ! viscosity, centipoise, at average temperature

Shell Side Pressure Drop in Condensers Figure 10-141. Pressure drop in exchanger shell due to longitudinal
flow. (Used by permission: Buthod, A. P. Oil & Gas Journal, V. 58, No.
Kern recommends Equation 10-228 as being conservative:
70
3, ©1960. PennWell Publishing Company. All rights reserved.)