Calculation of heat exchanger tube sheet thickness
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For the company’s new chemical project, design work was carried out on cooling equipment such as the condenser at the top of the distillation tower. The material flowing at the top of the tower passed through the shell side; when determining the design temperature, the highest temperature for the shell side was set based on the temperature of the liquid drawn from the bottom of the distillation tower. Previously, the highest temperature for the shell side was 230°C, but it was now set at 350°C, with the design temperature being 350°C plus 20°C. In other words, the design temperature for the shell side of the top condenser was set at 370°C. I haven’t mastered the concepts related to chemical processing equipment well and am not familiar with the calculation processes involved. I would like to ask those who are familiar with these calculations: does this choice have an impact on the thickness of the tube sheet, the thickness of the shell side cylinder, and the thickness of the head? Is the impact significant?
I don’t understand; as the temperature increases, the allowable stress decreases, and the thickness surely increases. But exactly by how much needs to be calculated
The allowable stress of materials at different design temperatures varies; 350 degrees falls within one of these temperature ranges, so theoretically there is a difference. However, the selection of materials must be determined by taking into account the properties of the materials under the specified operating conditions, as well as factors such as pressure and temperature. When using software for strength calculations, you can draw conclusions by making comparisons on your own. On a side note, I’m not aware of the properties of your material; if the gas at the top of the tower has characteristics of a weak heat donor, an internal finned heat exchanger could be considered. If you’re interested, feel free to get in touch via my signature.