Baffle angle optimization of a typical shell and tube heat exchanger

An optimization study was conducted with the objective of enhancing the performance of a prevalent shell-and-tube heat exchanger model by modifying the baffle angles. The initial step was to verify the turbulence model results with numerical studies and analytical approaches documented in the literature. Subsequently, an investigation was conducted to address the contributions identified in the literature by determining the optimal angle for a shell-and-tube heat exchanger with six baffles. In the extant literature, the 36% baffle cut case, which is typically observed to provide the optimal heat transfer result, was selected for further analysis. A genetic algorithm optimization model embedded in a program was employed to evaluate the heat transfer and pressure drop jointly, thereby determining the optimal angles for all baffles. According to the performance evaluation criteria that considered both heat and flow results, the optimal angles were found to be 315°, 195°, 80°, 340°, 250°, and 95° from the first to the last baffle, respectively. Additionally, a comparison was conducted between the cross-arrangement baffle and the optimized baffle, which demonstrated superior performance by 5.5% and 19.5%, respectively, contingent on the increasing flow rate. Moreover, the novel configuration enabled enhanced mixing of the flow, which exhibited periodic movement in the staggered baffle configuration within the shell. This resulted in a notable enhancement of the heat transfer process.