🌀 Spiral Heat Exchanger Sizer (SHE)

Design and size spiral heat exchangers (Alfa Laval SHE Type 1): thermal duty (kW), overall U-value, Dean number, channel spacing, and pressure drop.

⚡ Fortran 90 Engine Double Precision (IEEE 754) ✓ ISO / ASME Validated

Heat Exchangers

📊 Solver Telemetry ● ACTIVE

👁️ Views 42

⚡ Solves 35

💾 Downloads 483 📦 Fortran Code 4.1 KB

📅 Released Jun 2026

⏱️ Latency < 1 ms

🌀 Archimedean Spiral Flow Channels & Centrifugal Secondary Vortices

Real-time visual simulation: Counterflow spiral paths (hot red inside-out, cold blue outside-in)

📝 Configuration & Presets

💩 Digested Sewage Sludge 🌾 Distillery Stillage Slurry 🪵 Pulp Mill Black Liquor 🧪 Viscous Polymer Resin

🔥 Hot Fluid Stream

Hot Fluid Medium:

Hot Mass Flow ṁ_h [kg/s]:

Hot Inlet Temp T_h,in [°C]:

❄️ Cold Fluid Stream

Cold Fluid Medium:

Cold Mass Flow ṁ_c [kg/s]:

Cold Inlet Temp T_c,in [°C]:

📐 Spiral Geometry Dimensions

Plate Width H [m]:

Sheet Length L [m]:

Hot Channel Gap s_h [mm]:

Cold Channel Gap s_c [mm]:

Archimedean Spiral Formulation:
• Dean Number: De = Re · √(D_h / 2 R̄)
• Curvature Nusselt: Nu_spiral = Nu_straight · √(1 + 1.77 D_h/R̄)
• Heat Duty: Q̇ = U · A · LMTD [kW]
• Self-Cleaning Effect: Single continuous curved channel prevents dead zones.

📊 Performance Results

📊 Output Summary
💾 Fortran Source

Transferred Thermal Duty (Q̇)

1374.9 kW (1.37 MW)

Overall U: 522 W/(m²·K) | Area: 67.2 m²

D_shell = 1.17 m

Hot Outlet Temperature (T_h,out) 55.6 °C Inlet = 85 °C

Cold Outlet Temperature (T_c,out) 41.9 °C Inlet = 20 °C

Hot Channel Pressure Drop 2.6 kPa 0.03 bar

Cold Channel Pressure Drop 6.7 kPa 0.07 bar

📈 Transferred Heat Duty Q̇ (kW) vs Sheet Length L (m)

📉 Hot Channel Pressure Drop ΔP (kPa) vs Flow Rate ṁh (kg/s)

=================================================================
 THERMOFLUIDCALC — SPIRAL HEAT EXCHANGER (SHE) SIZING REPORT
=================================================================
Case Title                 : Municipal Digested Sludge Heat Recovery
Hot Stream                 : Wastewater Sewage Sludge / Fibrous Slurry (mh = 12.00 kg/s, Th_in = 85.0 C)
Cold Stream                : Treated Water / Condensate (mc = 15.00 kg/s, Tc_in = 20.0 C)
Spiral Dimensions          : Width H = 1.20 m, Length L = 28.0 m, Gaps = 16.0 / 12.0 mm
-----------------------------------------------------------------
THERMAL HEAT DUTY (Q)      : 1374.85 kW (1.375 MW)
Overall Heat Transfer (U)  : 521.5 W/(m2.K)
Total Heat Transfer Area   : 67.20 m2
Calculated Shell Outer OD  : 1.17 meters
Hot Outlet Temperature     : 55.62 deg C
Cold Outlet Temperature    : 41.93 deg C
Hot / Cold Pressure Drops  : 2.59 kPa / 6.70 kPa
=================================================================

📘 Calculation Methodology & Spiral Heat Exchanger Standards

Self-Cleaning Single-Channel Geometry

Spiral heat exchangers consist of two concentric curved channels. If local fouling begins, cross-section narrows, locally accelerating fluid velocity and scrubbing deposits away.

Centrifugal Secondary Dean Vortices

Continuous curvature generates centrifugal Dean vortices that disrupt the thermal boundary layer, boosting heat transfer coefficients by $30 - 60\%$ compared to straight ducts.

Key Engineering Assumptions

True pure counter-current flow configuration (Alfa Laval Type 1).
Minton spiral friction factor and Nusselt curvature corrections.
Applicable to wastewater sludge, brewery wort, distillery spent wash, and paper pulp black liquor.

ThermoFluidCalc Engineering Report