Flow Analysis in Shell Side on the Effect of Baffle Spacing of Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger

In this paper, the flow analysis in shell side on the effect of baffle spacing of shell and tube heat exchanger has been studied using theoretical and numerical methods. The researched is carried out in shell and tube heat exchanger for oil cooler of Locomotive. The shell side pressure drop for acceptable limits is 0.3 bar for shell and tube heat exchanger of oil cooler of Locomotive. In the theoretical method, the effect of different geometric parameters and thermal energy exchange in shell side flow has been considered. Theoretical is calculated for eight baffle spacings are namely 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8 and 0.9 of inside diameter of shell. Then, suitable baffle spacing occur 0.5 of inside diameter of shell because it is less than allowable pressure drop. The design is satisfied because the pressure drop for shell side 0.289 bar is lower than the limited pressure drop,0.3 bar. The flow of the shell side was also analyzed using COMSOL Multiphysis with suitable baffle spacing. The pressure values from the simulations results compared with theoretical.