Shell and Tube

Both Shell-and-Tube, and, Brazed-Plate Heat Exchangers Have the Ability to Cool or Warm Hydraulic Fluid.

A typical oil-to-water (water) cooler is the shell-and-tube cooler. With this type of cooler the water flows through the shell and around the tube bundle that carries the oil. Baffles are used to cause the cooling water to flow essentially perpendicular to the tube bundle. This provides a more efficient temperature gradient than what could be achieved by having the water flow parallel to the tube bundle. The rate of the heat flow is directly proportional to the temperature difference, therefore, the cooler the water at any point in the heat exchanger, the more effective it will remove the heat from the hydraulic fluid.

Shell-and-tube exchangers are usually single-pass or double-pass units but are also available in four-pass designs. The term pass refers to the number of times the water flows the length of the exchanger between entering the inlet port and being discharged at the outlet port.

• Single-pass: The two fluids usually enter at opposite ends
• Double-pass: The cooling water enters and leaves the shell through the ports at the same end. The hydraulic fluid usually enters at that end also but exits through the opposite end