Investigation of the shell-side flow in a shell-and-tube exchanger with impingement plate

For studying the influence of impingement plates on the fluid flow within the shell-side of the shell-and-tube heat exchanger, two-dimensional numerical simulation is carried out using the Fluent software. The different distances between the impingement plate and the tube bundle are taken into consideration. Meanwhile the research investigates the flow field of the non-perforated impingement plate and the perforated impingement plates with various hole diameters. The results show that the fluid behind the non-perforated impingement plate contacts the tube insufficiently. The farther the distance between the non-perforated impingement plate and the tube bundle is, the more tubes contact with the fluid poorly. The flow field behind the perforated impingement plates is more uniform. The protective effect from flow impacting for impingement plates is positive. The perforated impingement plates are recommended in the engineering design of the shell-and-tube heat exchanger.