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Welding
Enhanced welded tubes : From the strip to the heat exchanger performance
Examples of Neotiss ’ enhanced tubes for heat exchange efficiency
Regardless of the application , the main challenge in heat exchanger design is to achieve the optimal balance between layout / footprint , costs , weight and , of course , the thermal efficiency and longevity . The performance and lifetime of shell and tube heat exchangers depend heavily on the choice of material and tube design .
By Olivier Favrat , Innovation and Development Manager , NEOTISS
To enhance and optimize heat transfer efficiency in heat exchanger tubes , various innovative solutions have been developed . These include the application of external low fins , internal ribs ( commonly referred to as microfins ), or a combination of both . These enhancements are adaptable to a wide range of materials , such as titanium , stainless steel , duplex or nickel alloys , copper , and aluminium , ensuring versatility in addressing diverse industrial requirements .
Enhanced tubes benefits and expected performances Enhanced tubes can be utilized for both new heat exchanger design and retrofitting existing heat exchanger . It enables to increase heat duty for a limited heat exchanger size , to decrease the layout of a heat exchanger by decreasing their size or by limiting the number of heat exchanger in case of multiple heat exchangers or , to lower the total heat exchanger cost ( tube and assembly costs ). For sensible heat transfer ( no phase change ) heat duty transferred though the tube surface can be written as :
Q = U . A . ∆T [ 1 ],
Where Q is the exchanged heat duty ( W ), U is the heat transfer coefficient ( W . m -2 . K -1 ), A is the exchange area ( m ²), ∆T is the temperature difference between hot and cold fluids ( K ).
Low-fin OD
Smooth ID
Low-fin OD
Internal rib
Low fin crosssection
Figure 1 : Illustration of low fins and internal ribs enhancements
32 Heat Exchanger World March 2025 www . heat-exchanger-world . com