The patented novel shell-and-tube heat exchanger with splitter-and-hole diaphragms was designed to enhance heat transfer in the shell-side

whose performance was experimentally examined in the present paper. Compared with the conventional baffle exchangers

it lowers the total shell-side pressure drop to 45% and the pressure drop over the tube bundle to 84%; meanwhile

it gives heat transfer coefficients of 14% higher than the bafflebundle

and 25% higher than the contracted-expanded-tube bundle of type (II)

and 88.6% higher than the ROD baffle bundle at the condition of Re = 104. The exchanger with splitter-and-hole diaphragms is shown to be superior to the others in terms of the generalized performance evaluation criteria

such as characteristic ratio of heat transfer

jH factor

convective heat transfer coefficients underlined by equal friction work

and the surface efficiency.