Optimization Design and Comparative Analysis of Enhanced Heat Transfer and Anti-Vibration Performance of Twisted-Elliptic-Tube Heat Exchanger: A Case Study

The intercooler is a crucial component of the rich gas compressor. Due to the shortcomings of the conventional segmental baffle intercooler, an optimization design of the novel industrial-grade twisted-elliptic-tube intercooler is proposed. This study aims to compare the heat-transfer performance of these two types of intercoolers in a delayed coking unit at Sinopec. During the plant revamp operation, the original segmental baffle intercooler was replaced by the novel twisted-elliptic-tube intercooler. Experimental determination and comparison analysis of the industrial locale operation of the two types of intercoolers before and after the revamps were conducted. The evaluation results show that the novel twisted-elliptic-tube intercooler has a higher cooling capacity, with a 13.2% increase, compared to the conventional intercooler. Under identical operating conditions, the overall heat-transfer coefficients increase by 87.8%. Moreover, the heat-transfer area and gas pressure drop decrease by 37.4% and 36.9%, respectively. The tube bundles’ vibration and loud noise problems of the old intercooler are eliminated. The average exit temperature of the enriched gas that requires cooling is 38.4 °C, which is 7.3 °C lower than that of the conventional intercooler. These outcomes indicate that utilizing this innovative twisted-elliptic-tube heat exchanger can provide substantial advantages in terms of high heat-transfer efficiency and exceptional anti-vibration performance.