How is the baffle spacing determined?
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For the design of a floating-head heat exchanger with a diameter of 800, an operating pressure of 1.6 Mpa, a temperature of 250 degrees, and a working fluid of heavy oil, the length of the heat exchange tubes is 600. What should be the appropriate spacing between the baffle plates?
The spacing between baffle plates affects heat transfer between the tubes, as well as resistance, and it also influences issues such as instability and vibration of the heat exchange tubes. This spacing should be determined through a combination of process calculations and mechanical design; if no specific values are provided by the process, it can be determined based on the outer diameter of the shell and the diameter of the connections, with a range of 1.5Di to 0.5Di – approximately 300 mm would be a suitable value.
I have seen floating-head heat exchangers with a DN700 size, and the spacing between the baffle plates is 200 mm
GB151 specifies that the minimum spacing between baffle plates shall be not less than 1/5 of the inner diameter of the cylinder, and not less than 50 mm. So it should be around 200mm.