HEAT EXCHANGERS

OPERATING PRACTICES
IN
HEAT EXCHANGERS

2
 FOULING OF HEAT EXCHANGERS

 PARAMETERS AFFECTING FOULING

 NATURE OF FLUID.

 WALL TEMPERATURE.

 MATERIAL OF CONSTRUCTION.
 HOW TO MINIMISE FOULING - TUBESIDE

USE TYPES THAT FOUL LESS

 MAXIMISE FLUID VELOCITY.

 USE BIGGER TUBES.

 CHECK PRESSURE DROP WITH FOULING LAYER THICKNESS.

 USE SPARE BUNDLE/SPARE SHELL.

 USE TUBE INSERTS.

 CONSIDER ON-LINE CLEANING.

 HOW TO MINIMISE FOULING – SHELL SIDE

 USE FLOATING-HEAD OR U-TUBE DESIGN.

 USE SQUARE OR ROTATED SQUARE LAYOUT.

 MINIMISE DEAD SPACES BY OPTIMUM BAFFLE DESIGN.

 MAINTAIN HIGH VELOCITY.

 USE LARGER TUBE PITCH FOR VERY DIRTY SERVICES.

 CHECK PRESSURE DROP WITH NIL CLEARANCES / FOULING LAYER

THICKNESS .
 Heat Exchanger - Operational Problems

1. Decline in heat transfer efficiency

Both sides due to scales, coke, salt deposits, etc.
Use of anti-foulant, water injection, back flushing cutter stock dilution,
maintaining water quality. Damages & excessive clearance in the
baffles.

2. High pressure drop – Due to excessive Fouling / Scaling /

accumulation of corrosion products

3. Internal Leak - causing contamination between shell and tube fluid.

Floating Head gasket failure - due to thermal shock during start-up &
shut downs. Tube failure - Due to fatigue, aging & Corrosion.

6
 TROUBLES AND PROBABLE CAUSES
The performance of heat exchanger is poor:
• Presence of air pocket inside, which can work as insulating layer.
• Scale formation in tubes.
• Plugging due to foreign matters.
• Exchanger may be working under conditions different from
design.
Both tube side and shell side outlets running hot:
• Plugged tubes, or
• Dropped valves hit on cold liquid side.
Cold side too cold and hot side too hot:
• Faulty channel head
• Defect in floating head gasket
MAINTENANCE PRACTICES
IN
HEAT EXCHANGERS

8
 HEAT EXCHANGER MAINTENANCE

ROUTINE MAINTENANCE

- Inspection
- Cleaning
- Testing
- Repair
 HEAT EXCHANGER INSPECTION

GENERAL CHECKS

- Gasket and sealing faces condition

- Condition of channel head, shell etc.

- Bolts condition

- Pass partition
 HEAT EXCHANGER INSPECTION

TUBESHEET CONDITION

Corrosion Ligament cracking

 HEAT EXCHANGER INSPECTION

TUBE CONDITION

Erosion and corrosion

 HEAT EXCHANGER INSPECTION

TUBE CONDITION

Tube ends thinning and corrosion

 HEAT EXCHANGER INSPECTION

TUBE CONDITION

Tube-Baffle clearance Deposits of scale and foulant

 HEAT EXCHANGER INSPECTION
TUBE CONDITION

External tube erosion Bowed tubes indicating

excessive thermal expansion
 HEAT EXCHANGER CLEANING

WHY HEAT EXCHANGERS NEED CLEANING?

1 – Deposition of Sand, Clay, Mud

2 - Scaling

3 - Corrosion
 HEAT EXCHANGER CLEANING

ON-LINE CLEANING

OFF-LINE CLEANING
1 - Chemical Cleaning

2 - Mechanical Cleaning

3 - High Pressure Jetting

 ON-LINE CLEANING

Ball Collector

CW Inlet CW Outlet
ON-LINE CLEANING
 OFF-LINE CLEANING METHODS

1. Chemical Cleaning (Shell of fixed Tube Sheet Bundle)

Vacuum Condensers, Ejector Condensers, Reboilers
O.5% conc. HCl with inhibitor circulation for 8 hours,
Hot water wash, Branded chemicals
Online by wash water circulation

2. Kero-bath soaking (Crude, Asphalt services)

3. Hydro-blasting & Hydro-lancing
(Water jet at a pressure of 300 - 600 Kg/[Link])

4. Rodding / Sawing - Manual cleaning

5. Air Tool Reaming - for tube inside

Choked Tubes - Time consuming - Sulphur condensers

22
 CHEMICAL CLEANING

• Chemical Cleaning Procedure:

 Shell - Fixed Tube Sheet Bundle
 Vacuum Condensers, Ejector Condensers,
Reboilers
 0.5% concentration HCL with inhibitor
circulation for 8 hours
 Hot water wash
 Branded chemicals
 Online by wash water circulation

23
 CHEMICAL CLEANING

- Usually produces better results than Mechanical

cleaning

- Most convenient technique (disassembly not required)

- Can be used for soft materials

- Expensive

- Environment Hazard
 OFF-LINE CLEANING

MECHANICAL CLEANING

- Following tools are used for cleaning exchanger Mechanically;

a – Flat, flexible metallic strips
b – Nylon brushes (for soft tube materials)
c - Rods
d – Wire brushes

- Following Exchangers cannot be cleaned;

a – Shell side of fixed-tubesheet units

b – U-tube units with small radii
c – Bundles with small tube spacing (less than 6.5 mm)
 OFF-LINE CLEANING

HIGH PRESSURE JET CLEANING

- Usually produces better results than mechanical cleaning

- Convenient technique (bundle pulling not required)

- Can be used for soft materials

- Less material loss than chemical cleaning

- No environment Hazard
 Hydro-blasting (For Tube exteriors)

Before Cleaning After Cleaning

28
 Hydro-lancing (For Tube interiors)

Manual Operation Power Lancing

29
 Hydro-lancing (For Tube interiors)

Before Cleaning After cleaning

30
 HEAT EXCHANGER TESTING

Hydraulic Test
Static Head Test

Pneumatic Test
- Pressure Test
- Leak Test

Ammonia Test
 HYDRAULIC TEST

- Suitable liquid is used as testing media e.g. water,

kerosene, oil, etc.
- For new equipment, test pressure is 1.5 x Design
Pressure.
- For used equipment, test pressure may be 1.5 x MAWP
or Design pressure or recalculated incorporating
corrosion allowance.

- Minimum dwell time is 30 min.

- Minimum test temperature 210C.

- Maximum test temperature 490C .

 PNEUMATIC TEST

PRESSURE TEST
- Extremely dangerous as gases store huge energy during
compression

- It must be avoided whenever possible

- May be used in place of Hydraulic test when:

a – Foundation problem preclude the use of water

b – For equipment not readily dried
c – Equipment having refractory lining
d – Any other reason
 PNEUMATIC TEST

PRESSURE TEST (STRENGTH TEST)

- Air/Gas is used to test the pressure at MAWP

- Temperature should be maintained at least 170C above

minimum design temperature

- Pressure should be gradually increased to ½ x MAWP

after that in steps of 1/10 of test pressure
 PNEUMATIC TEST

LEAK TEST

- Used to detect exact location of leakage

- Shell is pressurized with air and leakage is detect with

soap solution

- Testing pressure should be lower than 2 bars.

 AMMONIA TEST

- Leak 500 times smaller to bubble test

- Shell is pressurized with Nitrogen (85%) and Ammonia (15%) gas

- Pressurization steps
1 - Pressurize with Nitrogen up to 2.0 bar
2 - Pressurize with Ammonia up to 2.3 bar

- Leakage is detected with Ammonia sensitive paper or paste

- Soaking time is around 10 hrs

- Care should be taken while connecting gas cylinders directly

with exchanger
 TUBE PLUGGING
Taper Plug
- Included angle 5 1/20 or less (for press-fitted plugs)

- Can be easily manufactured

- Can be press-fitted or welded

- One sealing point (when press fitted)

- No pressure limit (for welded plugs)

- Difficult installation when tube ends are eroded

 TUBE PLUGGING
Two-Piece Plain Plug

- Used for high pressure (than press-fitted tapered plug)

- Specially designed for eroded tube ends

- Can be press-fitted only Plug

- Tube inside should be absolutely cleaned

Ring

- Serrated ring may be used when tube cannot

be cleaned.

Serrated Plug
 TUBE PLUGGING
Pop-a-Plug
- Can be used when tube ends are eroded

- Tested up to 96 bars

- Very quick method

- Remote tubes can be plugged

- Absolute tube cleaning is required

 GOOD PLUGGING PRACTICES

- Vent tubes of process heat exchanger to prevent

pressure building

- Good cleaning before plugging

- Choose compatible material for plug

- Stabilize damaged tubes

- Test exchanger after plugging

- Welding procedure if plug is welded

 TUBE BUNDLE RE-TUBING
• More number of tubes plugged
• Not possible to clear the tubes
• Scaling & poor heat transfer
• After average life of the bundle
• Frequent failures

41
 TUBE BUNDLE RE-TUBING
• Full or Partial - at Bundle Shop or at Position

42
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