I have a question regarding the replacement of heat exchangers
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The original cooling system for the unit’s equipment used two heat exchangers, one in use and one as a backup; it has now been replaced with tube heat exchangers. Is it still necessary to have one unit in use and one as a backup? During tube replacement, the clean medium flows in the shell side, while the medium with a higher fouling coefficient flows in the tube side. Please give some suggestions. Thank you.
It is recommended to keep that backup unit in operation as well; otherwise, corrosion caused by air or by a stationary medium (circulating water) will occur more rapidly
To avoid future troubleshooting emergencies, it might be advisable to have another one on hand
Whether a backup is needed depends on the importance of the process; without a backup unit in case of shutdown, the indirect losses due to downtime are significant, so a backup is essential. During tube replacement, the clean medium flows in the shell side, while the medium with a higher fouling coefficient flows in the tube side. Isn’t that the opposite? The clean medium flows through the tube side, making it easy to clean
If there is enough space, two units can be installed, with each unit operating at 70% of its capacity. Under normal conditions, both units work together; if one unit fails, it can be taken out of service, while the other unit continues to operate at at least half of its capacity, thus preventing production stops and also saving on investment. With a normal setup of one unit in use and one as a backup, frequent switching between the two units is also troublesome
When changing from a plate heat exchanger to a tubular heat exchanger, one must proceed with caution. Under the same operating conditions, the overall heat transfer coefficient K for plate heat exchangers and tubular heat exchangers differs significantly – by a considerable amount, not just a little bit – so this aspect needs to be given great attention.
I’m not sure if there will be enough installation space with this change. Check if your budget and installation space are sufficient; if so, you can consider having an extra one.
Spiral-wound heat exchangers could be considered, 19963225018