Heat Exchanger Types

Heat exchangers are primarily categorized into shell-and-tube, plate, spiral plate, tube-in-tube, and fin-and-tube types, with shell-and-tube heat exchangers being the most widely used.

1. Shell-and-Tube Heat Exchanger

The shell-and-tube heat exchanger (also known as a shell-and-tube heat exchanger) is the most commonly used type in industry. Its core structure consists of a shell, tube bundle, tube sheet, baffles, and headers. Based on differences in tube bundle design, it can be divided into the following subcategories:

Fixed Tube Sheet Heat Exchanger: Simple structure, low cost, suitable for clean media.

Floating Head Heat Exchanger: One end of the tube bundle floats to eliminate thermal stress, suitable for conditions prone to scaling or large temperature differences.

U-Tube Heat Exchanger: The tube bundle is U-shaped, resistant to high pressures and easy to clean, and is commonly used in the power industry.

Stuffing Box Heat Exchanger: Poor sealing performance, suitable for low-pressure environments.

2. Other Common Heat Exchanger Types

Plate Heat Exchanger: Made of stacked corrugated plates, it offers high heat transfer efficiency and is suitable for the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Spiral Plate Heat Exchanger: Its spiral flow path design is highly effective in handling high-viscosity fluids.

Tube-in-Tube Heat Exchanger: Its concentric tube structure is primarily used for high-pressure heat exchange.

Fin Tube Heat Exchanger: Its fins enhance heat transfer on the gas side and is suitable for air conditioning or waste heat recovery.

3. Special Design Heat Exchangers

Single Coil Heat Exchanger: Its compact structure and low cost make it suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Spiral Wound Heat Exchanger: Its high turbulence improves heat transfer efficiency by 30%-40% and is suitable for the chemical and energy sectors.

Vertical Shell-and-Tube Heat Exchanger: Its small footprint makes it suitable for high-viscosity or particulate-laden media.