Metal temperature of shell-and-tube heat exchangers
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How is the design temperature of a shell and tube heat exchanger determined? What is the relationship between the design temperature and the metal temperature?
The design temperature refers to the metal temperature of the components in a heat exchanger under normal operating conditions (the average temperature across the cross-section of the component’s metal).
The design temperature shall not be lower than the highest temperature that the metal components may reach under operating conditions. For metals at temperatures below 0 degrees, it must not be higher than the lowest temperature that the metal of the component can reach. The temperature of metal components can be calculated using heat transfer principles, measured on similar containers that have been used, or determined based on the temperature of the fluid inside.
The design temperature refers to the metal temperature of the components in a heat exchanger under normal operating conditions (the average temperature across the cross-section of the component’s metal). For heat exchangers, the design temperatures for the tube side and shell side should be included. Metal temperature should refer to the wall temperature of the metal, and it is quite useful in calculating the tube sheet of fixed-tube-sheet heat exchangers.