Integrated Mechanical Design and Finite Element Evaluation of a Shell-and-Tube Heat Exchanger for Industrial Applications

Abstract

Shell and tube heat exchangers are widely used in industry owing to their dependability, ease of maintenance and ability to handle high-pressure and high-temperature fluids. They are mostly used in power plants, oil refineries and large-scale chemical operations. The purpose of this work is to build a shell and tube heat exchanger that meets ASME Section VIII Division 1 and TEMA standards. The primary purpose is to do mechanical design calculations to determine the permitted thickness of the shell, tube sheet, and other key components so that they meet the ASME allowable stress limitations. The design considers pressure, temperature, corrosion allowance, and material selection. The exchanger is then modeled in appropriate software and analyzed in ANSYS to confirm that the selected variables in the design process contribute significantly to the basic requirement of a safe design and are economically feasible.