Heat Transfer Candidate Open Ended Questions

1. When designing a shell and tube (S&T) type heat exchanger, how does the designer
determine the type of bae used in the design! "escribe the capabilities, features,
and concerns of the common types of baes used in shell and tube heat exchangers.
a) #aes are used to satisfy $elocity conditions in the tubes and shell,and for good
heat transfer.
Type of bae is decided based up on the process %uid,sediments deposition
,a$oiding $apour blan&eting ,pressure drop,presence of fouling %uid,turbulence.
1)segmental bae'
(sed in normally as hori)ontal and $ertical cut percentages. "epend up on the cut
percentage free %ow area is determined.
1)$ertical cut baes *)hori)ontal cut baes
1)$ertical cut baes are best for remo$al of $apour blan&eting and preferable for
li+uids with condensable gases
*)hori)ontal cut baes should use only for li+uids and gases ser$ices except li+uids
ha$ing dissol$ed gases and sediment forming li+uids.
*)ori,ce baes' pressure drop is $ery high compared to oter but can use any
ser$ice.
-)disc baes' as good as segmental baes ,%ow is uniform through out the heat
exchanger.the %uid must be free of sediment forming li+uids.
.)impingement plates' to pre$ent %ow induced $ibrations.
*. /or a water cooled condenser design (e.g. water on the tube side of a hori)ontal
S&T condenser) a customer is as&ing' 0an the condenser design be done with a - psi
cooling water allowable pressure drop! What would be considered when answering
such a +uestion! Will there be a feasible design!
a) 1ressure drop of tube side %uid is depend up on number of tubes,number of tube
passes,length of the tube selected mass $elocity of the tube side %uid,$iscosity
speci,c gra$ity,e+ui$alent diameter. /or reasonable designs allowable pressure
drops should be 2 psi or higher for operating pressures in excess of 13 psi , less
pressure drop results high %uid $elocities could cause erosin and %ow induced
$ibrations and can cause damage to components of heat exchanger. we ha$e to
explain to client that sa$ings in the initial cost of heat exchanger may result in
higher operational costs and maintenance costs later.
-. 4 steam heated hori)ontal S&T thermosiphon reboiler is under5performing according
to the customer. The heat input is controlled by steam condensate %ow control, and
the customer indicates that the maximum steam %ow condensed by the reboiler is only
637 of design. What information would you re+uest to e$aluate the concern! What
steps would you ta&e to troubleshoot the reboiler operation! What are the possible
reasons for the obser$ed operation!
a) 8atural circulation heat exchangers are normally heated by steam.the best control
is achie$ed by controlling the condensing pressure by that temperature di9erence.
We ha$e to chec& that condensate forming in tubes are properly draining or not,
self $enting in condensate lines, no))les are si)ed to pre$ent excessi$e condensate
li+uid le$els. 8o))le is si)ed properly or not.
:nformation re+uested' mean temperature di9erence,steam control $al$e pressure
drop.
;eason' due to pressure drop at adiabatic conditions steam will get superheated
that causes reduced heat transfer duty.
Trouble shoot' need to e$acuate condensate formed in the tubes .
.. 4 customer wants to impro$e the thermal performance of a steam heated hori)ontal
S&T thermosiphon reboiler by using internally ,nned tubes or tube inserts. 4re either
of these a good idea! Why or why not! What would you recommend!
a)increasing the thermosyphon head is a good idea than abo$e two options as of my
&nowledge.
2. What are the ad$antages of a s+uare tube arrangement compared to a triangular
arrangement! What are the disad$antages!
a)s+uare tube
ad$antages ' ease of mechanical cleaning of outside tubes,low pressure drop
compared to triangular pitch

disad$antages' less heat transfer coe<cient compared to triangular arrangement.
=. >ow does a hori)ontal S&T thermosiphon reboiler compare to a $ertical S&T
thermosiphon reboiler! What are the ad$antages and disad$antages of each! What
other types of reboilers are used!
1) for hori)ontal thermosyphon reboilers less static head is re+uired compared to
$ertical thermosyphon reboilers
*)circulation rate can be controlled by throttling the inlet line in hori)ontal
thermosyphon heat exchangers compared to $ertical
-)reboiling in shell side for hori)ontal and tube side in $ertical. This causes two phase
%ow in tubes.
.)if $iscosity of li+uid is more than 3.2 cp hori)ontal is fa$orable than $ertical.
2)mechanical constrain' hori)ontal reboilers are usually not attatched directly to
column where $ertical will attatch directly to column.
=)length of the tubes is restricted in design for $ertical thermosyphons as but in case
of hori)ontal it is not restricted.
6)if heating %uid ha$ing fouling tendency shell side heating as hori)ontal
thermosyphon is fa$orable
?)higher boiling point ele$ation is possible in hori)ontal compared to $ertical , this is a
serious disad$antage of hori)ontal thermosyphon reboilersparticularly in $accum
operations.in $ertical thermosypon this is less compared to hori)ontal.
6. What is the maximum allowable $elocity through the shellside of a shell and tube
type heat exchanger! What is the maximum tubeside $elocity!
a) /or tube sides' for tube sides the $elocity id depend on cross %ow area at centerline
depend on s+uare or triangular pitch arrarngements, in$ersely proportional to
density of the %uid and mass %ow.for %uids ha$ing solid settling tendencies
$elocities should be higher enough to a$oid settling and for slurries it should be less
than abrasi$eness of particles along the tubes.
b) Shell sides' to a$oid %ow induced $ibrations reasonably we need to select a
optimum $alue.
?. When are two or more shells in series re+uired for a S&T heat exchanger ser$ice!
a) When the process temperatures gi$e the correction factors /t (factor used to correct
when the arrarngement lac&s true counter current %ow), less than 3.62 it is
necessary to a$oid that arrangement and select shells in series *5. arrarngement
in shell and tube heat exchangers.
@. >ow do you determine the fouling margin pro$ided by a gi$en fouling resistance!
a)fouling depends on AB0 of tubes,types of %uids in$ol$ed,temperatures and
$elocities. Selection of fouling is depend on these factors.
13. >ow much additional heat duty can be obtained from a design that has 137 o$er5
design margin ((Cpredicted D (Cre+uired x 1.1) assuming %ow rates are held constant!
a) 4dditional heat duty will not obtained by increased margin on o$erall heat transfer
coe<cient.
11. When e$aluating the design of an air5cooled heat exchanger based on a $endorEs
datasheet, what are the items that would be chec&ed to con,rm it is a practical design
and has a chance of meeting the speci,ed thermal performance! 0onsider what you
could chec& without using computer design software.
a) ;e+uired fan horse power (#>1) per heatload to be chec&.
b) "etermine fouling factors.
1*. What is the lowest process outlet temperature that should be speci,ed for an air5
cooled heat exchanger!
a) corresponding dry bulb temperature of the air at the plant location.
1-. When specifying an air5cooled condenser that is followed by a water5cooled trim
condenser, what is considered when choosing the heat duty split between the two
condensers!
a)4s the temperature approach to the ambient air decreases , the power consumption
increases. The heat duty split must be balancing of both operating and ,xed costs.
1.. When designing an air5cooled heat exchanger, how is the air outlet temperature
selected!
a) We must assume an air %ow , which for the gi$en duty establishes the air outlet
temperature and mean temperature di9erence of the exchanger.
4ssume o$erall heat tranfer coe<cient and then substitute in
4ir temp rise(t*5t1) D 3.332F(F((T1GT*H*)5(t1)
12. "iscuss a challenging heat transfer problem you wor&ed on. What was the basic
issue, what did you do to address it, what was the result!
a)in an pharma plant , multiple e9ect e$aporator used to concentrate the paracetmol G
acetic acid mixture, they used forced circulation e$aporation to do that. #ut in
installation due to the mechanical constrain they reduced the piping from heat
exchanger outlet to $essel. :t is Iust immediate and with same ele$ation to the $essel
entry.
1roblem' "ue to the lac& of static head from heat exchanger outlet to $essel acetic
acid is changing phase and precipitating on tubes of heat exchanger, due to this they
ha$e to clean the heat exchanger e$ery day and they ha$e to maintain one spare
heatexchanger .
#y this they are daily cleaning the heat exchanger with man power .
Solution' arranged the heat exchanger with su<cient static head . it reduced the
problem of precipitating.
b) Jstimation of temperature rise in closed loop heat exchanger.
1ropylene glycol and water mixture is heated with a steam , estimating the accurate
temperature rise in closed loop and optimi)ing the heat exchanger area is another
challenging Iob which : faced .
1=. 1lease elaborate on experience with'
K ;ele$ant software such as >T;:, 4spen and >LSLS
>T;:'
Sol$ed heat exchanger ser$ices li&e
li+uid to li+uid heat exchangers
condensable $apours
$apours ha$ing non condensibles with weighted method.
>LSLS'
Sol$ed material and energy balance calculations of poly ethylene terepthalate plant
"istillation column , separating water and ethylene glycol
;eco$ery of sol$ents li&e iso propyl alcohol and water which forms a)eotropic mixture.
;eco$ery of sol$ents by fractionating method.
K ;ele$ant codes such as 41:, 4SAJ, 4STA, and TJA4.
a)>a$ing &nowledge in 41: 2*3,2*1 selection and si)ing of pressure relie$ing de$ices.
41: =13 1ump hydraulic considerations
41: *333 for atmospheric tan&s relief considerations.
4SAJ ,4STA , ha$ing idea of mechanical considerations .
TJA4 ha$ing &nowledge in standards of selecting heat exchanger types
16. What is meant by Mapproach temperatureN! What are the typical approach
temperatures for cooling water and air in condensers! What are the typical approach
temperatures for steam and hot oil in reboilers! Where is approach speci,ed!
a) 4pproach'
/or counter %ow' the di9erence in temperature of hot %uid inlet and cold %uid outlet.
Br di9erence in temperature of hot %uid outlet to cold %uid inlet. Whiche$er is smaller
we ha$e to consider that as approach.
water and air' )ero
Steam and hot oil' )ero
1?. Why are air condensers placed abo$e recei$ers, while water condensers are typically
below! When might a water condenser be placed abo$e the recei$er!
a) air condensers are placed abo$e the recei$er for ease of %ow of air to cooler.
b) Water condenser will place in abo$e the recei$er when sub cooling with li+uid
seal is pr$ided.
1@. Which type of reboiler re+uires the hottest heating medium! Which can use the
coolest! Why!
5

*3. What is meant by thermosyphon!
a)Thermosyphon is a natural circulation phenomena of hot and cold li+uids
depending on di9erences in densities.
>ot %uid ha$ing low density than cold %uid, so by buoyancy hot water will come up
and cold water will get down.
*1. "escribe these absolute once5through reboilers'
a) Oettle
These are TEMA K-type exchangers with shell-side vaporization. They hold a boiling liquid
pool on a tube bundle either by level or use o! an internal over!low weir.
/eature' easy maintenance and cleaning, con$enient when heating medium is
dirty,contains $apour dis engaging space.
b) Stabbed5in ' "asically an #$T exchanger without the shell it %ost o!ten is a &-tube
bundle. The tube bundle is inserted into a liquid pool in the vessel. The %a'or bene!it is
eli%ination o! external piping. This design !requently is chosen !or services where %ini%izing
potential piping lea(s is critical or experience has shown the service is very clean and
%ini%al bundle %aintenance is li(ely to be necessary.
**. What are the typical weight percent $apori)ations for the reboilers below! When is a
once5through not acceptable!
a) ;ecirculating thermosyphon
b) ;ecirculating ,red heater
c) Bnce5through
*-. What is high %ux tubing and when should it be used! Which unit often uses it in its
reboiler!
Heat Transfer Candidate Multiple Choice Questions
4 typical o$erall heat transfer coe<cient (#tuHhr5ft*5/) based on ,nned area for an air
cooled exchanger would be'
a. -
b. -3
c. -33
a) - #tuHhr5ft*5/
:n a heat exchanger, a temperature McrossN refers to a situation where
a. The hot side outlet temperature is less than the cold side outlet temperature
b. There is a phase in$ersion between the process streams
c. 0old and hot side enter perpendicular to each other.
4nswe' a
0omparing a s+uare pitch with a triangular pitch in a shell and tube exchanger,
a. The s+uare pitch allows more tubes to be inserted in a gi$en shell diameter
abo$e statement is wrong triangular pitch allows more tubes in a shell and tube
heat exchanger compared to s+uare one.
b. The s+uare pitch is easier to clean
4bo$e statement is correct compare to triangular s+uare pitch is easier to clean
c. The s+uare pitch is more li&ely to cause $apor blan&eting
0hances are high due to $apour dis engagement space is low compared to s+uare.

4 hori)ontal thermosyphon reboiler for a distillation column would typically be designed for
what percentage $apori)ation!
a. 137
b. -37
c. =37
d. @37
4nswer' typical 135127
To re5rate an existing shell and tube heat exchanger for a new %ow rate, you could
estimate the new ,lm heat transfer coe<cient by raising the mass %ow ratio to what
power!
a. 3.2
b. 3.=
c. 3.?
d. *.3
4nswer' 3.?