IOSR Journal of Mechanical and Civil Engineering (IOSR-JMCE) e-ISSN: 2278-1684,p-ISSN: 2320-334X, Volume 11, Issue 4 Ver. III (Jul- Aug. 2014), PP 65-69 www.iosrjournals.org www.iosrjournals.org 65 | Page Finite Element Analysis Based Structural Analysis of Stacked Heat Exchanger Patil Tushar Vishwas 1 , Supale Jayant P. 2 , Vinaay Patil 3 1 (Mechanical engineering SKN SITS, Lonavala / University of Pune, India) 2 (Mechanical engineering SKN SITS, Lonavala / University of Pune, India) 3 (Vaftsy CAE, Pune-411028, India) Abstract: A variety of heat exchangers are used in industry and in their products. A plate and frame heat exchanger is analyzed here for structural stability (stress optimization) using finite element method. Analyzed plate heat exchanger is a Waste Heat Recovery Unit (WHRU) that recovers heat from a hot gas stream while transferring it to a working medium. WHRU in this specific case is used in the application of the Claus process which is used for Sulphur recovery. The Sulphur due to high temperatures is in Vapour form and is condensed to obtain elemental sulphur. At this condensation stage a WHRU serves dual purpose of condensation as well as energy recovery . So WHRU is analyzed by finite element analysis method at working boundary conditions for identifying weak points in it. Modifications are made on weak points to reduce stress value and again WHRU is analyzed for same. The results are validated with the experimentation carried with thermal test equipment on the model. Keywords: Claus process, structural stability, sulphur recovery, WHRU. I. Introduction 1.1. Problem Statement: This is a stress optimization problem. In this a stacked heat exchanger with the provided dimensions is to be analyzed for structural stability using FEA software (ANSYS). We can calculate the mechanical stresses developed in heat exchanger but thermal behavior (stresses and deformation) is very difficult to obtain accurately because of ununiformed distribution of temperature in the body. Many parts of the heat exchanger may fail because of thermal loading. Thousands of stacked heat exchangers are used in the Claus sulfur recovery units worldwide. Toxic gases are involved in Claus process. So, safe working of stacked heat exchanger without failure due to excessive stresses is necessary because safety is our prime importance. 1.2. Objective: Analyze the current design WHRU for stress optimization (structural analysis) using FEA. Identify weak points and suggest remedies for them. II. Literature Review: Khaled Saleh, Vikrant Aute done the optimization of plate heat exchanger (PHE) using multi objective optimization techniques. In this author compared offline approximation and online approximation assisted optimization to optimize PHE design. Author verified final results with CFD simulation. At the end author concluded that online optimization approach predicted better optimum design with high accuracy. [1] A methodology to detect equivalent configuration is presented by Jorge A.W. Gut, Jose M. Pinto, “Modeling of plate heat exchanger with generalized configurations”. Here author developed a mathematical model for simulation. In results he got the temperature profile in all channels, thermal effectiveness and distribution of overall heat transfer coefficient. [2] An algorithm for optimization of PHE design is devolped by Fábio A. S. Mota, Mauro A. S. S. Ravagnani, based on screening method. Here number of plates is considered as optimization variable .[3] The reason for the effect on the flow pattern between the two corrugated plates was discussed by Zhang Guanmin, Tian Mao-cheng, in “Simulation and analysis of flow pattern in cross-corrugated plate heat exchangers”. Here flow fields between two corrugated plates with different values of the cor rugation inclination angle βwere simulated by using numerical methodology. The simulation results directly indicate that βaffects the flow pattern between corrugated plates, and the results are in good agreement with the experimental results reported by interrelated literature studied by the author. [4] III. Analysis Work For analysis purpose a 3-D model of stacked plate heat exchanger is needed. This model is developed using a cad software i.e. CATIA V5R14. The assembled model is shown in figure1.