Failure of the heat pipe in the furnace air preheater
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There are a few questions regarding the heat-tube type air preheaters used in heating furnaces; let’s discuss them together. Are heat-tube type air preheaters used in heating furnace air preheaters? How long does it usually take for a heat pipe air preheater to experience heat pipe failure? What are the causes of heat pipe failure? Is there a better air preheater that can prevent this from happening?
Heat pipes begin to fail gradually starting from 3 to 5 years, with the main cause of failure being the formation of non-condensable gases inside the heat pipe.
Reasons for heat pipe failure: 1. As mentioned above, prolonged operation leads to the formation of non-condensable gases inside; this is more common in water-steel heat pipes. However, the heat pipe isn’t damaged, only its performance declines； 2. Fluctuations in flue gas cause the flue gas at the heat absorption end of the heat pipe to suddenly exceed the safe operating limit for that heat pipe, resulting in tube rupture ； 3. The flue gas contains high levels of sulfur, or the flue gas temperature is low; the heat pipes are corroded by the condensation water formed as a result of cooling by the flue gas ； Use a different type of preheater: 1. Use an air preheater made of non-metallic materials, such as glass ； It can reduce the smoke exhaust temperature significantly without causing corrosion ； 2. Using a cast-iron preheater results in a smoke exhaust temperature that is higher than that of glass-based preheaters; moreover, it tends to get clogged over time, although such preheaters are more commonly used by domestic manufacturers