Rate and simulate spiral plate exchangers

Xspe^® is an incremental program that lets you quickly and easily predict the thermal-hydraulic performance of Type I (i.e., spiral-spiral flow) single-phase spiral plate exchangers. The program is continually improved using the heat transfer and pressure drop correlations from our ongoing research.

As a module in Xchanger Suite^®, Xspe lets you quickly transfer process and property information to other components.

Features

• Models Type I (spiral-spiral flow) exchangers with sensible liquid or vapor streams.
• 3D incrementation calculates localized profiles for heat transfer and pressure drop.
• Detailed output reports provide overall and localized results.
• Extensive visualization tools show exactly how the exchanger is performing.
• Integrated physical property system eliminates requirement for additional property generation software. Xchanger Suite includes VMGThermo™, an extensive and rigorous fluid physical property generator from Virtual Materials Group, Inc.
• Includes built-in interface to most process simulators.
• Can be embedded as a unit operation in any process simulator supporting CAPE-OPEN.
• Both input and output can be displayed in multiple unit sets, including user-defined sets. Dynamic display of values in all unit sets.
• Session view allows tracking and retrieval of all runs made during a session.

Geometry Specifications

• Type I configurations (spiral-spiral flow)
• Cocurrent and countercurrent flow configurations
• Graphical nozzle location panel
• Built-in standard nozzle sizing tables
• Adjustable gap spacing and stud pitch

Calculation Features

• Rigorous heat transfer and pressure drop calculations using a 3D incrementation scheme that divides the exchanger into a large number of zones
• Flexible process input allowing specification of known process information (temperature, weight fraction vapor, and/or flowrate) with the program calculating missing information based on energy balance
• Two modes: rating (known duty and geometry) and simulation (unknown duty and known geometry)
• Automatic calculation of the number of turns
• Optional specification of heat transfer coefficients and safety factors
• User adjustable increments specifies calculation resolution

Outputs

• Extensive set of spreadsheet-style output reports that can be printed or exported to Microsoft^® Excel^®
• Summary reports with overall results in one or two pages
• Detailed reports for local profiles of all important parameters (temperature, pressure, heat transfer coefficients, heat flux, etc.)
• Graphing of all local profiles
• 2D drawing of exchanger core
• User-defined graphs for easy accessibility