Optimization of Heat Transfer through Baffles and Various Velocity of Cold and Hot Fluid in Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger

The present work investigates the influence of different baffle structure variations on the outlet temperature of "shell-and-tube heat exchangers" when used as waste heat recovery systems. The remaining thermal energy from liquid heated to 65 °C was reclaimed by passing water at 10 °C via a network of tubes at the entrance. Various mass flow rates of 0.5, 0.3, and 0.2 kg/s were used to circulate water through the shell inlet, while 0.2, 0.15, and 0.1 kg/s were used in the tube inlet. In this study investigate the various combination of mass flow rate of both shell inlet and outlet. A rigorous three-dimensional computational investigation was performed using ANSYS-Fluent under steady-state circumstances. The adoption of the credible k-epsilon turbulence model was motivated by the possibility of transitioning from laminar flow to turbulence. The temperatures, pressure drop, and velocity, for all the cases were compared at both outlet and along the length of STHXs. Flow visualisation was achieved through the presentation of temperature contours, pressure contours, and velocity streamlines. Upon comparing the simulation results of the various STHXs, it was discovered that case 5 has the maximum temperature rise at the tube side, which is 292.226 K.