Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer Characteristics Investigation in the Shell Side of the Branch Baffle Heat Exchanger

The branch baffle heat exchanger, being an improved shell-and-tube heat exchanger, for which the flow manner of the shell-side fluid is a mixed flow of oblique flow and local jet. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method has been implemented to investigate the fluid pattern and heat transfer performance. The accuracy of the modeling approach has been confirmed by an experimental approach using a Laser Doppler Velocimeter system. Flow field, temperature field, and pressure field are displayed to study the physics behavior of fluid flow and thermal transport. Heat transfer coefficient, pressure drop, and efficiency evaluation criteria are analyzed. In contrast with the shell-and-tube heat exchanger with segmental baffles and shutter baffles, the pressure loss in the proposed heat exchanger with branch baffles has been dramatically improved, accompanied by a slight decrease in heat transfer coefficient under the same volume flow rate. The efficiency evaluation criteria of the heat exchanger with branch baffles are 28%-31%,13.2%-14.1% higher than those with segmental baffles and shutter baffles, respectively. Further analysis in accordance with the field synergy principle illustrates that the velocity and pressure gradients of the heat exchanger with branch baffle have finer field coordination. The current heat exchanger structure provides a reference for the future optimization design to reach energy saving and emission reduction.