What kind of heat exchanger is preferred for handling heavy thermal loads?
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Answer: C. Series and parallel set of shell and tube
Explanation
Handling very heavy thermal loads requires large heat transfer surface areas that single exchangers cannot provide. Arranging multiple shell and tube units in series and parallel increases capacity and fluid velocity. This modular approach maintains optimal flow regimes and manages high volumetric flow rates effectively. Shell and tube heat exchangers are the industrial standard for high-pressure and heavy-duty thermal applications. Parallel arrangements handle massive fluid flow rates by splitting the total stream across multiple units. Series arrangements increase the overall temperature driving force to achieve high fluid outlet temperatures.
Power plants use extensive networks of shell and tube exchangers to handle massive steam condensation loads. Petrochemical complexes rely on multi-unit exchanger networks to manage extreme heat duty requirements efficiently. Modular exchanger design simplifies maintenance and allows individual units to be isolated for cleaning. Double pipe heat exchangers are limited to small heat duties and low surface area requirements. Plate fin exchangers handle compact spaces and gas streams rather than massive heavy industrial thermal loads. The correct option provides a complete network solution, invalidating the none of these choice.
- Subject
- Engineering
- Category
- Chemical Engineering
- Topic
- —
- Difficulty
- medium
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