Spiral-wound heat exchanger

Apart from the disadvantages you mentioned, the remaining goal is to utilize the smallest amount of space while achieving the largest possible heat exchange area. If there is no possibility of drawbacks with your heat exchanger, then it can be used.

It is only suitable for liquid-liquid heat exchange; it’s not very useful for other applications… Advantages: 1. The cost per square unit is very low, making it inexpensive. 2. For the same heat load, it requires less space compared to conventional shell-and-tube heat exchangers. 3. No other advantages. Disadvantages: 1. It is only suitable for liquid-liquid heat exchange, and moreover, this type of heat exchange requires that the spiral heat exchanger be installed vertically; it cannot be installed horizontally, as liquids will accumulate inside the exchanger. 2. In terms of heat exchange area alone, it seems possible to achieve a large heat exchange area with a small volume. In some cases, condensable gases can be condensed in the tube side, allowing a small volume to meet the heat load requirements. However, in reality, with this structure, a liquid film forms inside the tube side after the condensable gases are condensed – this actually reduces the heat transfer coefficient, resulting in an increased subcooling of the condensate and the condensable gases. In other words, although it may seem possible to have a smaller volume with a larger heat exchange area, this is not actually the case. 3. Materials with high melting points should not be used at all, as they will cause blockages that are truly frustrating… 4. The shell side can only handle liquids… I used it once and then never used it again… It may be cheap, but I can’t deceive my customers either

Because liquid will accumulate inside the heat exchanger: what is the reason for this? I don’t understand.

After passing through the condenser on the tube side, a liquid film forms within that tube side – which actually reduces the heat transfer coefficient, with the result being an increase in the subcooling of the condensate and the vapors that can be condensed Regarding this, isn’t it the same for other heat exchangers as well?

What you’re saying might represent an individual case; what you mentioned isn’t relevant at all. The reason it’s set up vertically is to facilitate thorough cleaning inside the spiral tube. The 2-tube shell type is more suitable for gas-liquid heat exchange than the plate type, not to mention liquid-liquid heat exchange, as its flow channels are larger. 3. Aren’t all shell-and-tube heat exchangers subject to condensation on the tube walls, since the temperature of the tube walls is definitely lower than the temperature at the center? As for the liquid film you mentioned, if it’s in a vertical configuration, gravity ensures that such a liquid film remains in place; in the case of horizontal tubes, it’s even less likely for this liquid film to flow away. 4. If you don’t understand something, don’t talk nonsense – your arguments make no sense at all. I don’t mind if you engage in commercial backhating, but don’t try to show off your intelligence in my comments and confuse everyone. 5. What I asked was about which types of application scenarios are suitable, not whether a certain place is good or not.

Yeah, this person is definitely someone who engages in commercial backhating; ignore them.

This post was last edited by gjn1970 on 2019-10-14 at 10:10. The spiral-threaded tubular heat exchanger is a new type of efficient and energy-saving heat exchange device that has been introduced in recent years. Its design completely breaks away from the traditional concepts of shell-and-tube heat exchangers; there are significant differences compared to traditional shell-and-tube heat exchangers in terms of material selection, structural design, and overall size. Numerous technological innovations enable this heat exchanger to surpass traditional ones in terms of both appearance and performance, overcoming the limitations of traditional heat exchangers such as simple structure, large size, rough appearance, and low efficiency. It represents an upgraded version of traditional heat exchangers. It features an extremely high heat transfer coefficient, typically 2-3 times that of conventional shell-and-tube heat exchangers, while also offering good energy-saving effects. The spiral winding structure completely eliminates the pulling force between the heat exchange tubes and the tube sheet, allowing the thermal expansion of the tubes to be self-compensated, **thereby increasing their service life. At the same heat transfer capacity, its volume is about 1/10 that of conventional heat exchangers, allowing for the saving of valuable space resources. It is the most popular new replacement product in the chemical, food, pharmaceutical, and heating industries; the heat transfer medium can be liquid-liquid or vapor-liquid.

Spiral tube heat exchangers are used in both low-temperature methanol washing units and refining plants; Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Construction Company and Dalian Linde have performed well in this area.

Everything that has advantages also has disadvantages. Sigh, it’s not easy to find something that’s perfect

1. Taking this into account, in conventional shell-and-tube condensers, the flow takes place through the shell side… 2. The liquid condensate moves downward along the tube side in a spiral pattern, so the distance it has to travel is much greater.