12/31/2020 Heat Exchanger Glossary - MechPro Heat Exchanger Parts and Service

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Heat Exchanger Glossary

Ba e Plate. Also called support plate. Tubes pass through this plate for support.
Provides a blocked path for the shell-side medium, forcing the medium across the
tubes for better heat exchanger performance.

Ba e Spacing. The space between ba e plates on a tube bundle. Ba e spacing

is adjusted to achieve maximum heat exchanger performance.

End Plate. A cover that has been welded to the heat exchanger. Most end plates
are used on bonnet assemblies.

Fixed Tube Sheet. A nonremovable tube sheet; the tube sheet on a core assembly;
or any tube sheet that is an integral part of the shell assembly.

Floating Tube Sheet. The tube sheet at one end of a removable-tube bundle. The
oating tube sheet always has a smaller diameter than does the stationary version.
The oating tube sheet moves freely with the expansion and contraction of the
tube bundle due to temperature changes in operation.

Gasket. A sealing device used between two parts to prevent leakage. Types include
inside-the-bolt circle (no bolt holes) and full face (with bolt holes and the same
diameter as the ange).

Impingement Plate. A small perforated- -plate or bar assembly placed inside the
shell-side nozzle, usually a dome-type nozzle. The plate also can be attached

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directly to the bundle by being tack-welded to the tie rods. The impingement plate
protects and prolongs tube life by breaking up and slowing down the shell side
uid, which otherwise would erode the tubing.

Nipple. A short piece of pipe threaded on both ends.

Design Pressure. Also called maximum allowable operating pressure. Used by

engineers to calculate part thickness and heat exchanger design. Generally, it is
slightly higher than the most severe condition or highest operating pressures seen
by the heat exchanger.

One, Two, Four Pass. The number of times the uid passes through the tube
bundle. In a one-pass unit, the tube-side medium passes through all the tubes
once. In a two-pass unit, it passes through one-half of the tubes and returns
through the other half. A four-pass unit goes through approximately one-quarter
of the tubes, down and back four times. Greater-than-one pass heat exchangers
are referred to as multipass units.

Operating Pressure. The pressure a heat exchanger is actually operating at while

in use.

Outer-Tube Limit (OTL). The diameter created by encircling the outermost tubes

in a tube layout. Engineers use the design OTL to calculate clearances between
bundle parts. The actual OTL is usually a few-thousandths less than the design
OTL.

Test Pressure. Generally 1.5 times the design pressure. It is used during a

hydrostatic test that detects leaks at any joint on the heat exchanger.

Removable Bundle. A type of heat exchanger in which the tube bundle can be
removed from the shell pipe. This provides easy cleaning of the shell side and a
less expensive way of replacing worn out tubes.

Shell Assembly. The assembly into which the tube bundle ts. The shell also
contains the shell-side connections.

Shell Head. A formed plate welded to the shell, or bonnet, pipe. It can be many
styles or shapes, including anged and dished, elliptical, ellipsoidal and

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hemispherical. Generally, as a head gets atter, it gets weaker; therefore, designers

can use a at-end plate or a thinner formed head to do the same job.

Shell Side. The side of a heat exchanger where the uid circulates around the
outside of the tubes.

Stationary Tube Sheet. The tube sheet at one end of a removable bundle. It has a
larger diameter than the oating tube sheet and is held together in a permanent
position between the bonnet and shell anges.

Tube Sheet. A plate that secures both ends of the tube in a heat exchanger. Both
the shell-side and tube-side mediums come in contact with it.

———–

1, 2, 4 Pass – The number of times, one, two or four, the liquid passes through the
tube bundle. Anything greater than a one pass is considered a multi-pass unit.

Ba e Plate – Plate the tubes pass through for support that provides a blocked
path for the shell side ow, which forces the ows across the tubes and improves
the heat transfer performance. This is shaped in various ways, but is basically
segmental.

Ba e Spacing – The space between the tube bundle ba e plates that is adjusted
to maximize e ectiveness.

Bonnet – Like a channel with straight tubes but without a removable cover. These
do not have divider walls and are at each end of the heat exchanger.

Bonnet Assembly – Manages the tube side liquid for circulation through the tubes.
This can also hold the tube side inlet and outlet connections and/or pass ribs.

Box Linear Style – Heat exchanger tubes parallel to each other from the inlet to the
outlet manifold.

Bundle Assembly – The tubing assembly in removable bundle heat exchangers.

This typically includes tubes, tube sheets, ba es, spacers and tie rods.

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Capscrew – A threaded bolt that holds the bonnet onto the core of some types of
heat exchangers.

Channel – A kind of front end with a removable cover from which the tube side
ows in and out. A dividing wall separates the inlet and outlet ow.

Channel Assembly – Same function as a bonnet assembly, except that the cover is
removable and provides access to the ends of the tubes.

Collector – What the tubes in a heat exchanger drain into.

Core Assembly – The shell and tube assembly in xed tube sheet heat exchangers.

Coupling – The parts that connect the piping to the heat exchangers, come in many
varieties.

Cover/Cover Assembly – Used to cover an opening on a heat exchanger. Covers are

di erent from end plates because they can be removed to clean the interior of the
tube side, without distressing any piping.

Cradle Assembly – The part used to support the heat exchanger and to secure it to
the mounting surface when welded or strapped to the shell. Cradles may be xed
or moveable.

Design Pressure – Calculations of part thickness and heat exchanger design based
on the most severe conditions or highest operating pressures seen by the heat
exchanger, to make the pressure slightly higher.

Dome – A type of nozzle connection that provides a larger nozzle opening between
the pipe size and heat exchanger tube bundle, typically to prevent tube erosion
due to high inlet velocities.

End Plate – Covers welded to the heat exchanger. The majority of end plates are
used on bonnet assemblies.

End Zone – The rst ba e space on a tube bundle, occurring between the tube
sheet and the rst ba e plate. It is adjusted to maintain the ba e plates within the
two shell side nozzles.

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Ferrule – A small copper or stainless steel piece of tubing that is crimped or

squeezed onto the tie tube, up against the last ba e, and locks the ba es into
position.

Fixed Tube Sheet – A tube sheet that is an essential part of the core shell assembly.

Floating Tube Sheet – Placed at one end of a removable tube bundle and allowed
to move freely with the expansion and contraction of the tube bundle due to
temperature changes in operation. It always has a smaller diameter than the
immobile tube sheets.

Gasket – A device used between two parts that helps prevent leakage.

Impingement Plate – A small perforated-plate or bar assembly in the shell-side

nozzle that can also be attached directly to the bundle. This protects and prolongs
tube life by breaking up and slowing down the shell side uid, which slows the
erosion of the tubing.

In and Out End – The side of the heat exchanger containing the tube side inlet and
outlet connections in a multi-pass unit.

Lantern Ring – A metal or nylon ring on some packed joint heat exchangers that
holds the packing rings in place.

Operating Pressure – The pressure a heat exchanger is operating at while in use.

Packed End – The end of a heat exchanger, which contains the packed joint and the
packing rings.

Pass Lane – A lane in a tube layout where there are no tubes and where the pass
ribs mate.

Pass Rib – A separator plate inside a bonnet or channel that merges with the pass
lane surface, used to form multi-pass heat exchangers. By arranging the ribs, a
designer can direct the ow of the tube side substance.

Protector Rod – Protects the heat exchanger parts (tubes, tube sheets and
bonnets) from corrosion by acting as a sacri cial anode so that when water is

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owing through the tube side it is consumed instead of the other heat exchanger
parts.

Range Temperature – The temperature di erence of a single uid as it ows

through the heat exchanger.

Removable Bundle – A heat exchanger that has a removable tube bundle from the
shell casing. This provides easy cleaning of the shell side and also a more feasible
way of replacing depleted tubes.

Reversing End – The end of a multi-pass heat exchanger where the tube side uid
reverses its ow. This usually contains only small vent and drain connections.

Shell – The container where the tube bundle is placed and is the conduit for one of
the uids in the heat exchanger.

Shell Assembly – The assembly into which the tube bundle is placed. It also houses
the shell side connections.

Shell Head – A formed plate that is welded to the shell (or bonnet) pipe. It comes in
many styles and shapes, including anged and dished, elliptical, ellipsoidal and
hemispherical.

Shell Side – The part of a heat exchanger where the uid circulates around the
tubes.

Spacer – Tubing that holds the ba e plate in place.

Stacking – Two or more heat exchangers connected together side by side or one on
top of the other. Interconnecting piping hooks them together.

Stationary Tube Sheet – The tube sheet at one end of a removable bundle that has
a larger diameter than the oating tube sheet. The stationary tube sheet is held in
a permanent position between the bonnet and shell anges.

Stu ng Box Flange – A ange used at a packed end joint. When a packed joint is
tightened, the packing ring is forced into this by the lantern ring/lantern gland.

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Support Foot – Bolted to the heat exchanger using bonnet to shell ange bolting.

Test Pressure – Test that detects leaks on the joints of a heat exchanger.

Tie Rods – Bars mounted between the tube sheets to support the ba es.

Tie Tube – A tie tube takes the place of the tie rod in a small diameter heat
exchanger, and serves the same purpose.

Tube – A ow channel for one of the uids in the heat exchanger. These are often
parallel within the shell to provide a large surface area for heat transfer.

Tube Layout – Shows the positioning of the tubes inside the heat exchanger and
the locations of the tie rods.

Tube Sheet – The apparatus that the tubes are a xed into that holds them in
place. It also provides a seal between the tube-side and shell-side liquid.

Tube Side – The uid that circulates through the inside of the tubes of the heat
exchanger.

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