The impact of baffle configuration on the performance of a shell-and-tube heat exchanger using the Bell-Delaware approach

Shell-and-tube heat exchangers (STHXs) are frequently used across industries. Their performance is determined by the thermal and hydraulic characteristics, which depend on inlet conditions, flow conditions, and the geometry of the shell and tubes bundle. A computational model was generated to solve the governing equations, utilising Microsoft Excel 2016. The program predicts the performance of the STHX for shell-side heat transfer coefficient (hs), pressure loss (ΔPs) and the performance ratio (hs /ΔPs) by employing the Bell-Delaware method. This method showed the best reliability against experimental results. The aim of the study is to analyse the influence of variations in baffle number, baffle cuts, tube layouts, six fluid characteristics, and mass flow rate. The findings of the investigation indicate that the heat transfer coefficient and pressure loss increase, while the value of (hs /ΔPs) decreases as the baffle number increases for all the tube layouts. The hs and ΔPs decrease with increasing baffle cuts for all layouts. A baffle count of six exhibits the highest value of (hs /ΔPs) for all the fluids and layouts. The rotated square tube arrangement yields higher hs and moderate ΔPs, which in turn yields the highest (hs /ΔPs) ratio compared to triangular and square layouts.