Heat transfer intensification of shell-and-tube heat exchangers of the crude oil distillation unit in Imam Khomeini oil refining company

The purpose of the current study is to investigate the performance of a shell-and-tube heat exchanger in the crude oil distillation unit of Imam Khomeini oil refining company in order to increase its heat exchange duty. The influence of different heat transfer intensification techniques such as using twisted-tape inserts, changing the baffle space and baffle cut of segmental baffles, using external tube fins, and replacing the conventional segmental baffle with helical baffles are investigated and the results are discussed. In order to simulate the heat exchanger performance, an in-house code is developed and utilized. Results show that the most effective techniques are using external tube fins and twisted-tape inserts while changing the baffle space and baffle cut or using helical baffles instead of segmental baffles do not have any effect on the heat transfer enhancement.