Influence of structural parameters on acoustic performance of shell and tube heat exchanger

Shell and tube heat exchanger, as an important component of water pipe system, has the geometrical characteristics of reactive muffler. Influences of different structures on the acoustic characteristics of heat exchanger have been studied by numerical method. The acoustic model was established with FEM in frequency domain. The boundary conditions were set based on the plane wave theory and the transmission loss of heat exchangers was calculated based on the numerical simulation. The transmission loss curves of heat exchangers with different inlet and outlet positions, expansion ratios, number and spacing of baffles were compared. The results show that the second passing frequency can be eliminated when the outlet offset angle is 180°. The larger the expansion ratio is, the better the silencing effect will be. With the number of the baffles increasing, transmission loss curves move to the lower frequency band, and noise elimination frequency bands become narrow. With the decrease of the distance between baffles, the noise reduction in the middle and high frequency range increases