New software for the design of shell and tube heat exchangers has been further enhanced after its first update introduced a new Tube Assistant feature, making more information instantly accessible to users during the design process.
AHED (Advanced Heat Exchanger Design) was officially launched in December 2020 and has been specifically designed to bring the latest theories and design techniques to a wide group of potential users, from students and academics through to industrial engineers and system designers.
One of the key features of the collaborative, cloud-based AHED system is its database of 2,000 different fluids, meaning that key property parameters are available to users without need to look things up outside of the system. In January, a new AHED system update introduced another database in the form of the Tube Assistant.
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- The new Tube Assistant feature is accessed through AHED’s geometry section
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- The Tube Assistant includes tube outer diameter and wall thickness details for commonly used tube sizes
Updated versions of AHED now feature a ‘magic wand’ symbol in the geometry section of the program. Clicking on this opens the new Tube Assistant feature, which contains details of different tube dimensions, including those commonly used for heat exchangers, as well as standard ISO, ANSI, and millimetre metric tube types. Fields in the table correspond to a specific tube outer diameter and wall thickness. Selecting the appropriate field then allocates these dimensions to the shell, inner tube, or nozzle in the current AHED project as required.
AHED Software General Manager Arnold Kleijn comments: “It is our aim to continually look to improve the usability and functionality of AHED, both in terms of ease of use, and also the data that underpins the model. With the new Tube Assistant users have quick access to common, internationally used tube dimensions without the need to look them up externally. This helps to quickly define the heat exchanger geometry.”
