Shell and tube heat exchangers are partition heat exchangers that adopt the wall surfaces of tube bundles enclosed inside a shell as heat transfer surfaces. This type of heat exchanger features simple structure, low cost, wide flow cross-section and easy scale cleaning. However, it has disadvantages including low heat transfer coefficient and large floor space. It can be manufactured from various structural materials (mainly metallic materials) and operate under high temperature and high pressure, making it the most widely used type.Shell and tube heat exchangers include several categories: fixed tube sheet steam-water heat exchangers, shell and tube steam-water heat exchangers with expansion joints, floating head steam-water heat exchangers, U-tube shell and tube steam-water heat exchangers, corrugated tube shell and tube steam-water heat exchangers, and sectional water-water heat exchangers. The main control parameters of shell and tube heat exchangers cover heating area, hot water flow rate, heat exchange capacity, heat medium parameters and so on.
It is widely used in scenarios such as crude oil heating in refineries, temperature control of chemical reactors, condensation systems in power plants, and cooling circuits of central air conditioning systems.
