Shell-Side Pressure Drop in the Multi-Baffled Shell-and-Tube Heat Exchangers

The baffle plate is the most important factor in the shell-side pressure drop of the multibaffled shell-and-tube heat exchangers. An experimental equipment which consisted of a shell with baffles but had no tube was constructed, and the pressure drop in it was measured and analyzed. The result was compaped with the pressure drop in an experimental heat exchanger which contained both baffles and tubes. Thus a method of estimating the pressure drop in heat exchangers was derived. This method is a simplification of Bell's method and is believed to be more accurate.