Double Perforated Impingement Plate in Shell-and-Tube Heat Exchanger

This article presents a solution to a chronic problem causing repeated tube failure at shell-and-tube heat exchangers. The problem is related to the fouling process on the tubes' surface, which accumulates downstream from the impingement plate at the exchanger inlet nozzle within the first tube rows due to low velocity and vortices production. In fouling services, the suspended deposits, fouling, accumulates on the tubes' surface downstream from the impingement plate, causing under-deposit corrosion, raising the tubes' surface temperature due to lack of cooling, and accelerating fouling process. Under-deposit corrosion attacks tubes and causes repeated tube failure, costing a lot of money in terms of material, maintenance, and production losses. Normal practice of extending tube life and delaying their failure is to upgrade the tubes' metallurgy. So the article objective is to present an economical solution option through modifying the impingement plate in the shell-and-tube heat exchangers where the impingement plate is recommended by the Tubular Exchanger Manufacturers Association (TEMA). The impingement modification is to replace the solid conventional impingement plate with double spaced plates having offset holes, called double perforated impingement plates (DPIP). The objective of this work can be met by comparing the simulation of the shell-side inlet flow distribution around the conventional and modified (DPIP) impingement plates and ensuring enhancement of the flow pattern distribution at the area behind the impingement plates. Since experimental work in flow investigation is time-consuming and costly, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) Fluent software was implemented as a cost-effective helpful tool to conduct the simulation for comparison purposes. The modified impingement plate, DPIP, will destroy vortices created behind the conventional plate, retarding fouling accumulation. DPIP will enhance shell-side flow distribution downstream from the impingement plate and will stop fouling accumulation on the tubes to prevent under-deposit corrosion.