Working principle of tube and fin heat exchangers for cogeneration plants

Working principle of tube and fin heat exchangers for cogeneration plants

The tube-fin heat exchanger is a common type of heat transfer equipment, widely used in thermal power plants and other industrial fields. Its working principle is to increase the heat exchange area by installing some fins on the outside of the tube to increase the heat exchange efficiency.

Specifically, the tube and fin heat exchanger works by passing the hot medium through the inside of the tube, while the medium to be cooled flows through the outside of the tube, with the heat transfer between the two mediums taking place through the fins. Because the fins increase the surface area of the tube and thus the heat transfer efficiency, the tube and fin heat exchanger can achieve a higher heat transfer efficiency in the same space.

What is the usual material of tube and fin heat exchangers for thermal power plants?

The choice of material for tube and fin heat exchangers for cogeneration plants usually requires consideration of several factors, such as operating conditions, nature of the medium, pressure and temperature. In general, the material used for tube and fin heat exchangers needs to have the following characteristics:

---- good thermal conductivity to improve heat transfer efficiency;

---- good corrosion resistance to suit the corrosiveness of the medium;

---- sufficient strength and stiffness to ensure stable operation of the equipment;

---- good machinability to facilitate manufacture and maintenance.

Common materials include stainless steel, carbon steel, copper and aluminium. 

Among them, stainless steel has good corrosion resistance and strength and is suitable for some high temperature and high pressure application scenarios; 

carbon steel is relatively inexpensive but requires anti-corrosion treatment; 

copper has good thermal conductivity and corrosion resistance and is suitable for some low temperature heat transfer scenarios, but is relatively expensive; 

aluminium has light weight and good thermal conductivity and is suitable for some scenarios requiring lightweight design, but is relatively strong The strength is relatively low.

Therefore, in thermal power plants, the material of the tube and fin heat exchanger is often selected according to the specific operating conditions and application needs of the stainless steel tube heat exchanger.