SHORTCUT DESIGN APPROACH FOR SPIRAL HEAT EXCHANGERS

n-Nu valos, G. Mart n ez , L. Canizalez-Da nez-Rodr guez and G. T. Polley M. Pico

Institute for Scientic Research, University of Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Mexico.

Abstract: This paper presents a shortcut method for the sizing of spiral plate heat exchangers. The approach consists of an iterative process where physical dimensions like plate width and external spiral diameter are given initial values; convergence is achieved until the calculated pressure drop and heat duty meet the required specications of the design problem. The results of the application of the approach are compared with case studies reported in the literature. A numerical study using computational uid dynamics is performed to rate the performance of the geometry. The temperature proles of the exchanger calculated analytically show the same tendency as those obtained numerically; thus, the method provides a good starting point for estimating the dimensions of spiral heat exchangers in single-phase applications. Keywords: compact heat exchangers; spiral plate heat exchangers; thermo-hydraulic model; computational uid dynamics.

INTRODUCTION
Spiral plate heat exchangers consist of two long plates rolled together, forming a spiral. Studs welded to the plates x the spacing between the plates and provide mechanical strength. In single-phase applications, it is common for the hot stream to enter the exchanger through the central part of the exchanger and to exit at the periphery. The cold uid, on the other hand, enters the unit from the outermost part of the unit and circulates to eventually exit the exchanger from the center, thus the two uids ow counter-currently (Figure 1). An important feature of spiral plate exchangers with respect to other exchanger technologies is its capacity to handle high viscosity and dirty uids, exhibiting lower tendency to fouling. This is due to the particular geometry that creates a constant change in direction thus increasing local turbulence that eliminates uid stagnant zones (Wilhelmsson, 2005). This type of exchanger is common in the paper, petrochemical, food and sugar industries with applications in evaporation and condensation (Trom, 1995). Due to the counter-current ow pattern, in single-phase processes this exchanger can be used in duties that involve high thermal effectiveness. In addition its geometrical features make it suitable to accommodate a large heat transfer area in a relatively small volume. The operating pressures of the uids are limited. For instance, the maximum plate thickness that can be rolled is 0.013 m, which limits the maximum operating pressure to 15 bar.
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Correspondence to: n-Nu n ez, Institute Dr M. Pico for Scientic Research, University of Guanajuato, Cerro de la Venada s/n, 36040, Guanajuato, Mexico. E-mail: picon@quijote.ugto.mx

DOI: 10.1205/fbp07073 09603085/07/ $30.00 0.00 Food and Bioproducts Processing Trans IChemE, Part C, December 2007 # 2007 Institution of Chemical Engineers

Although the two uids in a spiral heat exchanger ow in counter-current fashion the heat transfer is not pure counter-ow. In the intermediate turns the hot stream exchanges heat with two adjacent cold streams which are at a different temperature. The result is temperature driving forces that are lower than those found in a pure countercurrent ow. Bes and Roetzel (1992) developed an analytical rating study to determine the temperature prole within the plates; in their work constant overall heat transfer coefcients were assumed. They also studied the inuence of various geometrical parameters in the design and thermal performance. In later work, Bes and Roetzel (1993) developed a simple formula to determine the temperature difference correction factor that applies for any heat capacity rate ratio and for any number of turns. The accuracy of the method increases with the number of turns and the overall heat transfer coefcient was assumed to be constant throughout the exchanger. In their study, the entrance effects are not considered. Egner and Burmeister (2005) did a numerical study of spiral ducts of rectangular section using computational uid dynamics techniques and determined the Nusselt number as a function of the Dean number, showing the strong dependence of the heat transfer coefcient upon the spiral radii. They demonstrated that except for the entry regions, the heat transfer coefcient is nearly constant, however, at entry regions, heat transfer coefcients may be even as 50% larger than the fully
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Figure 2. Geometrical features of a spiral heat exchanger. Figure 1. Flow pattern for counter-ow arrangement in spiral heat exchangers.

developed values. An important contribution of their work is the general conclusion for estimating the thermal entry length for laminar Reynolds numbers between 100 and 500. In the work by Burmeister (2006) a more approximate solution to determine the thermal effectiveness versus the number of heat transfer units of this type of exchangers is developed. A limitation of the method, however is that it applies only to cases where the heat capacity rates of the two uids are equal. Empirical correlations for spiral heat exchangers were reported by Minton (1970). He presented a set of correlations for heat transfer coefcient and pressure drop for the laminar and turbulent regions based on average plate curvature. Martin (1992) also reports empirical correlations for heat transfer and friction factor that cover a wide range of Reynolds numbers. In the present work, we introduce a methodology for the preliminary sizing of a spiral heat exchanger with singlephase processes. In this case, the design approach is derived by using the allowable pressure drop as a design objective rather than a design constraint. Such an approach gives rise to what it is referred to as a thermo n-Nu n ez et al., hydraulic model (Polley et al., 1991; Pico 1999, 2006). The design approach introduced in this work is demonstrated using the case study reported by Minton (1970). Further validation of the approach is done through the numerical rating of the resulting geometry using computational uid dynamics.

section. So, for the purposes of design, empirical correlations that apply for the case of the average curvature of the spiral will be used in this work. The ow regime dictates the form of expressions used for the determination of pressure drop and for the estimation of the lm heat transfer coefcient. The choice of the appropriate expression depends on the values of the Reynolds number and the critical Reynolds number given respectively by Dh M mAc

Re and

(1)

Rec 20 000

Dh Ds

0:32

(2)

where Dh is the hydraulic diameter, M is the mass ow rate, Ac is the free ow area and m is the viscosity. The hydraulic diameter can be calculated from 2bH bH

Dh

(3)

EXCHANGER GEOMETRY
A thorough description of the geometry of spiral exchangers was published by Dongwu (2003), where expressions to calculate spiral diameter, number of turns and length of the semicircles are provided. The main geometrical dimensions of this type of exchangers are shown in Figure 2, where: H is the plate width, Ds is the spiral outer diameter, ds is the spiral inner diameter and b is the plate spacing.

Minton (1970) provided the following equations for the determination of the heat transfer coefcient and the pressure drop. These equations are dimensional and are presented here as originally developed by Minton using the Imperial System. For Re . Rec   Dh h 1 3:54 0:023Cp Vf Re0:2 Pr 2=3 Ds

(4)

Heat Transfer and Pressure Drop Equations

No empirical correlations are available in the open literature that account for the variation of the heat transfer coefcient along the length of a spiral with a rectangular cross
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  "  1=3 L M 2 1:3m1=3 H DP 0:001 s bH (b 0:125) M  16 1:5 L

(5)

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For 100 , Re , Rec h 1:86Cp Vf Re2=3 Pr 2=3  L Dh

N-NU N EZ et al. PICO

a general form are given by 1=3  0:14 mw mb (6) NTU UA CPmin (15)

   " L M 1:035m1=2 mw 0:17 DP 0:001 s bH (b 0:125) mb #  1=2 H 16 1:5 M L

(7)

where h is the heat transfer coefcient, mw is the uid viscosity at the wall temperature and mb is the uid bulk viscosity, L is the plate length, Vf is the uid mean velocity, Cp is the specic heat capacity of the uid, Pr is the Prandtl number, DP is the uid pressure drop and s is the relative density (relative to water at 208C). The mean uid velocity can be obtained from Vf M rAc (8)

where CP is the heat capacity rate (CP MCp). The design of a spiral exchanger involves the identication of four geometrical dimensions: the channel spacing for the hot stream (bh), the spacing for the cold stream (bc), the plate width (H) and the number of individual turns used (which can also be expressed as plate length L or exchanger diameter Ds). Once the value of the total surface are A is known, the plate width and the spiral diameter are calculated from equations (16) and (17) respectively: Hcalc A 2L (16)

2 1=2 Ds,calc 1:28L(bh bc 2t) ds

(17)

where r is the density of the uid and Ac is the free ow area given by Ac Hb The Prandtl number is dened as Pr Cp m k (10) (9)

DESIGN METHODOLOGY
The proposed methodology for identifying required exchanger geometry seeks to make full use of the allowable pressure drop for each of the streams as well as transferring the required quantity of heat. Whilst initial values are provided for all three of the required dimensions (spacing for hot and cold stream and plate width) only one of these needs to be xed for the nal design. The remaining three dimensions are determined by the proposed algorithm. In the case study reported below the xed dimension is the channel spacing of the cold stream. The method is as follows: Step 1. The rst step in the design is the calculation of the length of plate at which the allowable pressure drop for the cold stream is fully absorbed. This calculation is straightforward. Given values for plate width and channel spacing the Reynolds number can be calculated [equation (1)]. The critical value is dependent upon the exchanger diameter and this is not yet known. However, the length of plate that fully absorbs the pressure drop can be determined for each ow regime. The exchanger diameter associated with each of these lengths can then be computed. We then have sufcient information to determine the critical Reynolds number and to identify which of the possible lengths applies. Step 2. The procedure is repeated for the hot stream. We now have the two lengths associated with full use of pressure drop. Step 3. It is likely that the two lengths determined above will differ. However, if one channel spacing is xed, the spacing of the other stream can be adjusted. If the length for the other stream needs to be shortened then the channel width is decreased. If a longer length is required, the width is increased. These three steps are repeated until the two ow lengths are the same. Convergence is rapid. We term this length the hydraulic length. Step 4. In this step, the length of plate required to transfer the required quantity of heat is determined. Since, the objective is to identify a unit in which this length equates with that identied from the pressure drop analysis the Reynolds number information from those calculations can be used in determining the individual lm heat transfer coefcients.

where k is the thermal conductivity of the uid.

Heat Exchanger Design Equation

The overall heat transfer coefcient is given by U 1 1=hh t=km 1=hc (11)

where km is the thermal conductivity of the material of construction of the wall and t is the plate thickness. The overall surface area for heat transfer (A) required for a given duty is obtained from the design equation: A q UFT DTLM (12)

where q is the heat load, DTLM is the log mean temperature difference and FT is the temperature difference correction factor. This last term can be determined using the equation developed by Bes and Roetzel (1993). FT ln 1 CN 2 =CN 2 (13)

where CN is referred to as the criterion number and is dened by equation (14); NTUc and NTUh are the number of heat transfer units for the cold and hot side respectively and in

h ih i CN 2 (NTUc NTUh )1=2 pAc =A1=2

(14)

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DESIGN APPROACH FOR SPIRAL HEAT EXCHANGERS

The number of turns identied in the pressure drop analysis can also be used for the determination of the temperature difference correction factor. So, the heat transfer design equation can be solved to yield the required surface area. Then, from the specied plate width the length of plate needed in order to transfer the required quantity of heat can be determined. We term this length the thermal length. Step 5. The hydraulic and thermal lengths are compared. In the rst passage through the algorithm it is likely that they will differ. Step 6. The width of the plate is adjusted. If the thermal length exceeds the hydraulic length the width is increased otherwise it is reduced. Steps 1 to 6 are repeated until the thermal and hydraulic lengths equate. Convergence has been found to be rapid.

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CASE STUDY
The proposed methodology is demonstrated using the case study reported by Minton (1970). The average physical properties for the case study are shown in Table 1 and correspond to a light organic compound. The algorithm was implemented on a Math-Cad code. For this case study, a plate spacing of 6.35 1023 m, an internal diameter of 0.203 m and a plate thickness of 3.175 1023 m were chosen.
Table 1. Stream data for case study. Hot stream Flow rate Inlet temperature Outlet temperature Heat capacity Thermal conductivity Density Relative density Pressure drop Viscosity Plate thickness Internal diameter Plate spacing 0.7833 473.15 393.15 2,973 0.348 Cold stream 0.7444 333.15 423.55 2,763 0.322 kg s21 K K J kg21 K21 W m21 K21 kg m23 bar kg m21 s21 m m m

In the original case study, the allowable pressure drop on the hot and cold side are 6.89 1022 bar respectively. However, after the design is carried out, a pressure drop of 4.18 1022 bar on the hot side and 5.93 1022 bar on the cold side are obtained. The heat transfer area is 15.5 m2 with a plate length of 12.74 m and a plate width of 0.61 m. Using the same pressure drops as the ones of the nal design by Minton, the new algorithm gives a heat transfer area of 15.45 m2, with a plate length of 12.68 m and a plate width of 0.61 m. When the new algorithm is run to fully utilize the pressure drop of the cold stream (6.89 1022 bar), the results are shown in Table 2, where as it is expected, the new design is smaller. Plate spacing is kept the same for both uids so only the cold stream is allowed to maximize its pressure drop. Now, when the full design approach that maximizes both streams pressure drops is applied, the nal surface area is 11.24 m2, the plate length is 12.48 m and the plate width is 0.45 m. These results are also shown in Table 2. The value of the temperature correction factor (FT) is found to be 0.996. The values of Rec in Table 2 indicate that the ow regime is laminar. Under these conditions, the entry effects may result in heat transfer coefcients that are superior to the ones calculated using Mintons correlations. The result that we would expect if these effects were taken into account is an exchanger with a lower surface area. As a consequence, the heat transfer area calculated using the new approach might be slightly larger than strictly needed.

NUMERICAL ANALYSIS
The exchanger geometry produced with the new design methodology was modelled using Gambit and Fluentw (Ansys, Inc.). The construction of the spiral consists of two plates and two ow sections in counter-current arrangement; the spirals were divided into 5258 zones along the length. Figure 3 shows some of these zones separated by points. Each metallic zone contains 32 cells (4 8) whereas the zones for uid ow contain 80 cells (10 8). The cell size varies from 4.46 1024 m2 to 1.93 1023 m2. The number of computational cells was 294 448; from these, 210 320

843 843 0.843 0.843 6.89 1022 6.89 1022 8.0 1023 3.35 1023 3.175 1023 0.203 6.35 1023

Table 2. Comparison of results between new method and Mintons. Mintons design Heat transfer area Re (hot side) Re (cold side) Rec (hot side) Rec (cold side) Heat load Heat transfer coefcient, hot side Heat transfer coefcient, cold side Overall heat transfer coefcient Plate length Plate width Spiral outer diameter Pressure drop, hot side Pressure drop, cold side Plate spacing, cold side Plate spacing, hot side 15.5 3839 1530 1.865 105 220.3 12.74 0.61 0.59 4.18 1022 5.93 1022 6.35 1023 6.35 1023 New method maximize cold side pressure drop 14.77 4390 1750 8568 8568 1.865 105 455.17 467.15 230.5 13.81 0.53 0.61 4.89 1022 6.89 1022 6.35 1023 6.35 1023 New method maximize both pressure drops 11.24 5208 2073 8868 9271 1.865 105 604.07 619.93 305.7 12.48 0.45 0.57 6.89 1022 6.89 1022 6.35 1023 5.08 1023 m2

W W m22 K21 W m22 K21 W m22 K21 m m m bar bar m m

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N-NU N EZ et al. PICO

Figure 3. Mesh details for the numerical simulation.

cells are for the ow sections and 84 128 cells are for the metallic plates. The Reynolds stress model was used in the simulation. This model is reported to extend across all ow regimes. Convergence was achieved within 189 iterations. For the turbulence intensity, the nal values of 8.9 and 9.9 for the hot side and cold side were used respectively. The simulation was run for steady state conditions and average physical properties were used. The solution of the numerical model provides information such as the bulk temperature prole of the uids. For the purpose of comparison, the temperatures of the uids along the length of the exchanger are also calculated using the general analytical expression (Bes and Roetzel, 1993): 1 1 exp(Cr 1)NTU FT 1 Cr exp(Cr 1)NTU FT (18)

Figure 4. Temperature prole along the length of the exchanger for the cold stream.

The expression above includes the effect of the deviation from the true counter-current ow by means of the temperature correction factor. For the calculation of the temperature prole, the values of the overall heat transfer coefcient (U), the temperature correction factor (FT) and the exchanger dimensions are taken from the results obtained in the section above. The term Cr is the ratio of the heat capacity rate of the stream that exhibits the minimum value to the heat capacity rate of the stream that exhibits the maximum value (CPmin/CP/max). The procedure is as follows. For various points along the length of the exchanger (Li), the surface area is calculated (Ai 2HLi), then the number of heat transfer units is computed (NTUi) using equation (15); next the corresponding thermal effectiveness (1i) is calculated from equation (18); nally, Tout,i and tout,i are respectively computed from Tout,i Tin 1i Cr (Tin tin ) and tout,i tin 1i (Tin tin ) (20) (19)

Figure 5. Temperature prole along the length of the exchanger for the hot stream.

the numerical and the analytical results. Therefore, both methods show approximate results.

CONCLUSIONS
A new methodology for the sizing of spiral heat exchangers has been introduced. The major simplication involved in the derivation of this method is the use of empirical correlations that do not account for the variation of the heat transfer coefcient with the curvature and do not consider the entry length effects. However, this is justied on the basis that the purpose of this work is to provide a simple methodology

Figures 4 and 5 show the comparison of the temperature proles between the numerical results and the analytical approach. These proles exhibit differences of up to 6 K for the case of the cold stream and of up to 14 K for the case of the hot stream. However they show a similar tendency. The exit temperatures of the both streams show a difference of only 2 K between

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DESIGN APPROACH FOR SPIRAL HEAT EXCHANGERS

that will serve as a preliminary step in the design, selection and costing of this type of units. Consideration of the variation of the heat transfer coefcient will bring about larger values at the entry length, as large as 50% as suggested by some authors, whereas the variation of the heat transfer coefcient with the curvature is less important as the uid moves in the outer direction; in any case, we would expect smaller unit sizes if these effects were taken into account. Despite the differences between the numerical and analytical temperature proles around the middle part of the unit, the target temperatures are close enough to indicate, that for practical purposes, this design approach provides good estimates of the required heat transfer area.
r t
density, kg m23 plate thickness, m uid bulk conditions cold side hot side ith position along the length of the exchanger inlet conditions outlet conditions wall temperature conditions calculated value minimum value maximum value

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Subscripts
b c h i in out w calc min max

REFERENCES
Bes, T. and Roetzel, W., 1992, Distribution of heat ux density in spiral heat exchangers, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 35(6): 13311347. Bes, T. and Roetzel, W., 1993, Thermal theory for spiral heat exchanger, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 36(3): 765 773. Burmeister, L.C., 2006, Effectiveness of a spiral plate heat exchanger with equal capacitance rates, Journal of Heat Transfer, 128: 295 301. Dongwu, W., 2003, Geometric calculations of the spiral heat exchanger, Chemical Engineering Technology, 26: 592 598. Egner, M.W. and Burmeister, L.C., 2005, Heat transfer for laminar ow in spiral ducts of rectangular cross section, Journal of Heat Transfer, 127: 352356. Martin, H., 1992, Heat Exchangers, pp. 7382 (Hemisphere Publication Corporation). Minton, P.E., 1970, Designing spiral heat exchangers, Chemical Engineering, May (4): 103 112. n-Nu n ez, M., Polley, G.T., Torres-Reyes, E. and GallegosPico Munoz, A., 1999, Surface selection and design of plate-n heat exchangers, Applied Thermal Engineering, 19: 917 931. n-Nu pez-Robles, J.L. and Mart n nez-Rodr guez, G., ez, M., Lo Pico 2006, Alternative design approach for multi-pass and multistream plate heat exchangers for use in heat recovery systems, Heat Transfer Engineering, 27(6): 12 21. ez, M., 1991, Rapid design Polley, G.T., Panjeh, M.H. and Picon Nun algorithms for shell and tube and compact heat exchangers, Chemical Engineering Research and Design, Trans IChemE, 69, Part A: 435 444. Trom, L., 1995, Use spiral plate exchangers for various applications, Hydrocarbon Processing, 74(5): 7381. Wilhelmsson, B., 2005, Consider spiral heat exchangers for fouling application, Hydrocarbon Processing, July: 83. The manuscript was received 2 May 2007 and accepted for publication after revision 5 September 2007.

NOMENCLATURE
Ac Ap A b CN Cp CP Cr Dh ds Ds FT h H k km L M NTU Pr Dp q Re Rec s T DTLM t U Vf free ow area, m2 plate area, m2 heat transfer area, m2 plate spacing, m criterion number heat capacity, J kg21 K21 heat capacity rate, W K21 heat capacity rate ratio hydraulic diameter, m inner spiral diameter, m outer spiral diameter, m temperature difference correction factor lm heat transfer coefcient, W m22 K21 plate width, m thermal conductivity, W m21 K21 thermal conductivity of the metal wall, W m21 K21 plate length, m mass ow rate, kg s21 number of heat transfer units prandtl number pressure drop, bar heat load, W reynolds number critical Reynolds number Relative density hot uid temperature, K log mean temperature difference, K cold uid temperature, K overall heat transfer coefcient, W m22 K21 uid mean velocity, m s21 thermal effectiveness viscosity, kg m21 s21

Greek symbols
e m

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