TYPES OF EXCHANGERS DOUBLE PIPE EXCHANGERS

The inner pipe consists of a finned section and two lengths of finned pipe welded
to a 180 return bend . The element or hair pin formed is then inserted into two
shell pipes . The outside diameter of the fins is slightly less than the inside
diameter of the shell . The shells are welded to an end plate , where the floating
end of the hair pin is closed with a bolted and gasketed cover providing enough
clearance for expansion and contraction of the inner tubes or elements .

The inlet and outlet connections are made at the head end . The inlet and outlet
pipe are sealed by a conical metal to metal machined facing . These double pipe
exchangers are then joined into banks to form larger heat exchangers .
SHELL AND TUBE HEAT EXCHANGERS

A shell and tube heat exchanger consists of a number of parallel tubes enclosed
in a cylindrical shell .

One fluid flows inside the tubes and is called the tube side fluid . The other fluid
flows outside the tubes and is called the shell side fluid . all shell and tube
exchangers consist of basically the same parts , although they may be arranged
differently to suit a specific need .

Shell and tube exchangers may be divided into the following classifications from
the construction of the tube sheet . In all cases , the tubes are rolled or welded
with the tube sheet to prevent leakage into the shell .

1. FIXED TUBE SHEET - This is the simplest form of exchanger , but has
limitations:

a. Temperature limit of 65C between the two fluids as there is no provision for
expansion .
b. Refiner cannot clean shell side . Limits the shell side fluid to a clean surface .

2. FLOATING HEAD - To allow for tubes to expand due to the temperature

difference in a heat exchanger , one tube sheet moves inside the shell . This
floating head sheet must be enclosed by a floating head cover within the shell to
return the tube side fluid to the channel end . Most heat exchangers are of this
type .

3. U - TUBE - The tubes are one piece and made for a particular exchanger . The
tubes can expand and contract and only on tube sheet is required . The bundle
may be pulled for inspection , and cleaning the shell , but the tubes may only be
cleaned with the use of chemicals . Most common use is in reboiler s where
steam is condensed in the tubes .

TUBE BUNDLES

TUBE BUNDLES - Consist of three main parts; tubes , tube sheets , and baffles .
Tubes are necessary to keep the shell and tube side fluids separate . The tube
sheet is for the same reason and the tubes are attached to the tube set . Baffles
direct the flow of liquid through the shell side and support the tubes inside the
sell . Tubes are spaced in the tube sheet in one of three patterns :
TRIANGULAR PATTERN - This gives the most tubes for a given size but cleaning
the outside of the tubes can only be done by chemical means .

SQUARE PITCH - This type is easiest to clean the outside of the tubes .

DIAGONAL PITCH - is similar to square pitch but being rotated through 45 . This
layout contains the least number of tubes .

Increasing the number of passes on the tube or shell side increases the velocity
flow of the fluid which in turn increases the heat transfer rate .

FLOATING TUBESHEET EXCHANGER

This type of exchanger is the most common type used in refinery operation . Note
the flow arrows through the different tube passes and how the floating head has
room to move inside the shell cover .

The shell side flow is single pass but the liquid path is controlled by the baffles .
Without baffles , the tubes would sag and the flow would be parallel to the tubes
and give poor heat transfer . Each exchanger is designed for a specific heat duty
with baffles at set distances .
DETAILS OR A FLOATING HEAD

At one time , the floating head was bolted directly to the floating tube sheet and
could be left on the tube sheet when it was removed from the shell . But this
assembly left a large dead space between the outside row of tubes and the shell .

The split backing ring makes full use of the shell but has to be removed before
the bundle can be pulled . Note the gaskets and how an internal gasket failure
can cause contamination of the liquids between shell and tube
COOLING TOWERS

In water cooling towers , heat is transferred from the water to the air by direct
contact . cooling is obtained by the evaporation of some of the water . The air
entering the cooling tower is only partly saturated with water and as the air rises
up through the tower , the water content of the air rises - until it becomes fully
saturated .

There are two main types of cooling tower , natural and mechanical draft .
Mechanical draft towers circulate air by either forced or induced draft fans .

In forced draft fans , the fans are at ground level . The chief advantage of this is
for maintenance of the fan . The disavantage is that it is possible to recirculate
hot saturated air , reducing the cooling .

Induced draft towers have the fans located on the top of the tower and the air is
pulled through . The possibility of recirculation of hot saturated air is reduced by
the velocity of the air leaving the fan .

In each type of cooling tower , the air enters the bottom and leaves at the top .
The hot water enters at the top where it is distributed evenly and falls counter -
current to the rising air . Normally , inside each tower there are stats to break the
fall of the water and effect a more intimate mixing , which increases the heat
transfer .

The temperature of the cooled water depends upon :

a. Quantity of water to the tower

b. Temperature of water to the tower

c. Atmospheric temperature

d. Humidity of the air

e. Volume of air circulated

f. Size of tower

g. Mechanical condition of water distributor and slats in tower

Maximum allowable cooling water temperature is 50 C . Above this temperature ,

scale formation starts on the inside of the cooling water pipe work .