Tankjkt ― Features

TANKJKT has a large number of features. But it remains easy to use with a clear user interface.

This page describes the data entry procedure, results you'll see, calculation subroutines, built-in database, and reference data.

The single-user price is only $79 if you download TANKJKT from the internet. Credit card orders are accepted by telephone. Payment by check or money order may be mailed.

A sample problem (3000 gallon stainless steel reactor, water inside, 40wt% Therminol FS in the jacket) is given in an Adobe pdf document  (550 kB file, requires Adobe Reader) containing output from several worksheets within the TANKJKT Excel Workbook. Please look!

Data input is consolidated into one worksheet. You can enter data about different types of jackets (e.g., half-pipe and baffled conventional), then play "what-if..." by toggling back-and-forth between the two. Choose your jacket fluid from the pull-down list of more than 100 fluids (and you can add your own to the database). TANKJKT calculates physical properties automatically. Input agitator information. Calculations are performed instantly.

Your data can be saved at the click of a button. Recall a previous calculation by selecting it from a pull-down list. You only have to enter physical data for a vessel one time. TANKJKT saves you time.

Data entry is grouped into five sections:

1. Project data. This is information that appears on the title blocks of printed reports. Your name, project name, project number, etc.
2. Vessel data. Here you put in the vessel diameter and height. Choose the type of bottom tank head (e.g., 2:1 elliptical, hemispherical, etc.) from a list. Enter the operating volume -- TANKJKT calculates how much of the jacket is actually effective against a partially full tank.
3. Jacket data. Data sections are provided for each type of sidewall jacket (half-pipe, conventional, dimple) and bottom head. Plus there is an entry area for internal coils. Choose any combination of sidewall, bottom head, and internal coil.
4. Jacket Fluid. The choices are displayed in a pull-down list. You can add more compounds to the database. Input the temperature and the physical properties (thermal conductivity, density, specific heat, viscosity, and vapor pressure) are immediately displayed. You choose which method to use for determining the jacket fluid flow -- specify a flow yourself, specify a velocity in the jacket, or set the pressure drop.
5. Vessel Fluid. Due to the unlimited combinations of fluids used in vessels, TANKJKT requires that you enter the physical properties yourself. Note: the vessel wall temperature is determined in the calculations, and TANKJKT automatically estimates the viscosity of your fluid at the wall using a published correlation.

The calculations are performed in a stepwise fashion on their own worksheet. If you need to see the details, they are right there, including references to the formulas used for determining outside and inside heat transfer coefficients. If you have a proprietary correlation (for instance, there are very few correlations published for dimple jackets), you could modify TANKJKT to utilize your own formulas. That's the power of a spreadsheet!

Some of the calculations require iterative solutions. They are performed in VBA (Visual Basic) subroutines. All of the VBA function calls and macros are documented to enable you to validate them or to extend their functionality.

With more than 100 fluids in the database, chances are your favorite is already included. But if not, TANKJKT includes a calculator that determines correlation coefficients for thermal conductivity, density, specific heat, viscosity, and vapor pressure. To use it, you enter values for the properties at seven temperatures. The coefficients are instantly computed. Then, by clicking on a button, the data is immediately added to your database.

Helpful pop-up comment boxes are sprinkled throughout TANKJKT to provide guidance on its use. For instance, a pop-up box appears by the "roughness" input cell, giving recommendations for values to enter.

Documentation is included with full instructions on how to complete the data entry fields, and details about how the program works and can be modified with additional data.

TANKJKT Spreadsheet Template: $79

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