RODbaffle heat exchanger technology

The RODbaffle heat exchanger concept was conceived in 1970 as a means of eliminating the destructive, flow-induced tube vibrations that exist in conventional, plate-baffle heat exchangers. The early RODbaffle design utilized elliptically shaped baffle rings oriented at 45{degrees} angles from the tube bundle axis; intersecting pairs of baffles contained either horizontal or vertical support rods located between each tube row. In addition to solving the existing tube vibration problem, this early RODbaffle exchanger exhibited reduced shellside pressure losses and increased thermal performance. Subsequent research efforts have resulted in a simplified RODbaffle design concept and have established thermal-hydraulic predictive methods. This paper describes various aspects of current RODbaffle heat exchanger technology.