getting started - aspen shell and tube mechanical

2012 Aspen Technology, Inc. AspenTech, aspenONE, the aspenONE logo, the Aspen leaf logo, and OPTIMIZE are trademarks of Aspen Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. All othertrademarks are property of their respective owners. 11-1884-0612

Getting Started Aspen Shell & Tube Mechanical

A Brief Tutorial (and supplement to training and online documentation)

Tom Ralston, Product Manager, Aspen Technology, Inc.Steve Noe, Marketing Manager, Aspen Technology, Inc.

About AspenTech

AspenTech is a leading supplier of software that optimizes process manufacturingfor energy, chemicals,

pharmaceuticals, engineering and construction, power & utilities, mining, pulp and paper, and other mill

products industries that manufacture and produce products from a chemical process. With integrated

aspenONE solutions, process manufacturers can implement best practices for optimizing their

engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain operations. As a result, AspenTech customers are better

able to increase capacity, improve margins, reduce costs, and become more energy efficient. To see how

the worlds leading process manufacturers rely on AspenTech to achieve their operational excellence

goals, visit www.aspentech.com.



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Business BackgroundAspen Shell & Tube Mechanical is a complete mechanical design package that greatly improves engineering efficiency in

exchanger design. It provides a two-way interface to AspenTechs thermal design program, automating transfer of

information and minimizing costly rework. It is the only program that optimizes the design of all mechanical components,

producing detailed code calculations, customized cost estimates, a detailed drawing package, and complete bill of

materials.

When used with Aspen Shell & Tube Exchanger, Aspen Shell & Tube Mechanical ensures consistency between thermal

and mechanical designs. This enables engineers to both optimize and efficiently validate the thermal and mechanical

designs of shell and tube heat exchangers. When used as a standalone program in design mode, Aspen Shell & Tube

Mechanical can optimize the design of a full shell and tube exchanger with minimal input calculating flanges, tubesheets,

expansion joints, supports, shell, and nozzle reinforcement.

Scope of this DocumentThis document serves as a simple getting started guide, taking you through the most common progression of how the

equipment designer would use this standalone equipment design tool. This guide is not meant to be used as the only

reference source for documentation. We recommend that a range of other resources be called upon to give the new user a

comprehensive view of how to use this capability. This may include:

Online documentation which can be accessed through the Aspen Exchanger Design & Rating (EDR) software user

screens.

AspenTech support website (http://support.aspentech.com), which contains a wide range of knowledgebase items and

provides answers to frequently asked questions.

AspenTech courseware available in classroom and on-line versions, which provide formal training on process modeling

and heat transfer technology.

AspenTech business consultants.

This document covers standalone use of the Aspen Exchanger Design & Rating program. This guide assumes that the user

has Aspen EDR V7.0 or newer installed.

Problem OverviewAspen Shell & Tube Mechanical can be used to perform the mechanical design of shell and tube heat exchangers, either in

isolation or integrated with Aspen Shell & Tube Exchanger (for thermal design). The purpose of this guide is to take you

through the process of performing a mechanical design in isolation. This is often the case if another company has already

performed the thermal design and provided details of the required shell and tube heat exchanger on a TEMA specification

sheet.


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The Step-by-Step GuideLaunch the Aspen Shell & Tube Mechanical program from Programs | AspenTech | Exchanger Design & Rating accessed

from the Start button on the Windows Task bar. Select Shell & Tube Mechanical from the New tab and click OK (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Creating a New File

Aspen Shell & Tube Mechanical will open with its navigator tree shown on the left hand portion of the display. This serves

as a table of contents for both the input, and once the program is run, the output or results from the program calculations.

Categories marked with a red (X) contain input specifications which must be completed before the program will run

(Figure 2).

Figure 2. Aspen Exchanger Design & Rating (EDR) User Interface



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Input screens can be selected by clicking directly on the navigator folders or by using the navigation buttons Next Form,

Previous Form and Next, . This button opens the input screen containing the next required input. Required input

fields are identified by the blue-green background shading. The first required input is on the Input | Problem Definition |

Description screen. Here you can specify whether you are going to design a simple pressure vessel or a heat exchanger.

Select Heat Exchanger.

Figure 3. Description Heat Exchanger

On the Input | Problem Definition | Design Specifications screen you can specify the Design Pressures and Design

Temperatures for both the Shell Side and the Tube Side.

Table 1. Design Temperatures and Pressures

Shell Side Tube Side

Design Pressure 500 psig 300 psig

Design Temperature 300 F 290 F


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Figure 4. Design Temperatures and Pressures

On the Input | Exchanger Geometry | Shell screen select the orientation of the exchanger as Horizontal and enter the

Shell Cylinders Inside Diameter as 40 inches.

Figure 5. Exchanger Position and Size

Next, Tube and Baffle data needs to be specified:

Input | Exchanger Geometry | Baffle Details Baffle Number = 12 and Baffle Spacing = 10.



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Figure 6. Baffle Data

Input | Exchanger Geometry | Tubes Tube Length = 144 and Tube Outside Diameter = 0.75

Figure 7. Tube Data

So far we have not specified nozzle dimensions for this exchanger. In order to run an initial design, nozzle data is not a

required input. However, since we do know the details of the nozzles, these can be specified. On the navigator, select

Input | Exchanger Geometry | Nozzles-General then the Nozzles tab.


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Table 2. Nozzle Details

Figure 8. Nozzle Data

Enough data has now been specified in order for you to run the case. Many program defaults will be used, for example,

flange types, tube-to-tubesheet joint, and most importantly, materials of construction. As you use the program more, you

will become more familiar with these defaults.

Select the Run button or select Run from the menu drop-down box, Calculations + Cost + Drawings. When Run is

selected, the program will design each component in turn and also consider the interactions between adjacent

components. In many cases the component design will be optimized to determine the least cost option. In order to give

the program as much freedom as possible when considering different options, it is better to initially specify as little data as

possible, and then after running the case add more data and re-run.

After the mechanical design has determined the required geometry of each component and the overall exchanger, the

costing calculation is run. This simulates the fabrication process, considering the cost to purchase the materials of

construction and each of the different steps required in the fabrication process. The final stage is the generation of

fabrication drawings. This includes a Setting Plan, Tube Layout and a range of Detail drawings.

Name Function Nominal O.D. Location Angle

T1 Inlet 8 2 180

T2 Outlet 8 2 0

S1 Inlet 6 7 0

S2 Outlet 6 3 180



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The results can now be reviewed:

Input Summary Listing of all specified inputs

Design Summary Warning Messages, Summary of Design Data and Materials, Overall Dimensions

Vessel Dimensions Detail dimensions of all components

Figure 9. Vessel Dimensions

Price Summary of Cost (materials and labor), Bill of Materials, Breakdown of Labor

Figure 10. Cost Summary


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Drawings Setting Plan, Tube Layout, Summary of Materials

Figure 11. Setting Plan

Code Calculations Detail Calculations of each component, MAWP, MDMT, Hydrotest Pressure, Seismic Analysis,

Weights, etc.

Figure 12. Mechanical Code Calculations

The results can be taken from the program in a number of different ways:

The File drop-down menu allows data to be printed or exported to Word or Excel.

Results tables can be copied to the clipboard.

Drawings can be either copied to the clipboard or saved as a dxf file.



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This mechanical design has been fairly straight-forward. In this example, default materials have been used. When

performing a mechanical design, careful consideration is required of the material types and the product forms that are

selected.

Additional ResourcesFor further information on this workflow, or any of the individual products or elements covered briefly in this written

tutorial, please consult:

Public website

The following web page provides information on Aspen Exchanger Design & Rating:

http://www.aspentech.com/core/aspen-edr.aspx

Support website

The support website provides an extensive and growing knowledgebase on Aspen Exchanger Design & Rating. The

following knowledgebase article provides a getting-started location:

http://support.aspentech.com/webteamasp/KB.asp?ID=130722

Worldwide Headquarters

Aspen Technology, Inc.200 Wheeler RoadBurlington, MA 01803United States

phone: +17812216400fax: [email protected]

Regional Headquarters

Houston, TX | USAphone: +12815841000

So Paulo | Brazilphone: +551134436261

Reading | United Kingdomphone: +44(0)1189226400

Singapore | Republic of Singaporephone: +6563953900

Manama | Bahrainphone: +97317503000

For a complete list of offices, please visit www.aspentech.com/locations

2012 Aspen Technology, Inc. AspenTech, aspenONE, the aspenONE logo, the Aspen leaf logo, and OPTIMIZE are trademarks of AspenTechnology, Inc. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. 11-1884-0612

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