I would like to know the differences and advantages and disadvantages between copper tubes and stainless steel tubes in compressors and heat exchangers
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I would like to know the differences and advantages/disadvantages of using copper tubes versus stainless steel tubes in the heat exchangers of compressors of the same model. What are the differences in requirements for circulating water when copper tubes or stainless steel tubes are used in the heat exchangers? Does the energy consumption change under the same temperature rise of the circulating water?
Copper pipes are more prone to leaks, but they might be cheaper.
Copper tubes have better heat transfer performance; under the same conditions at the gas inlet and with the same required increase in water temperature, copper tubes will require a larger flow rate of water in order to remove more heat
Copper prices are extremely high; they won’t get any cheaper. Stainless steel is definitely cheaper. Copper pipes offer better heat exchange performance. The choice of pipe mainly depends on the material
When manufacturing heat exchange tubes, copper tubes are used with a relatively thin wall thickness, making them lightweight; moreover, many air-cooled compressors using copper tubes are prefabricated products, which may give them a price advantage. Copper has better thermal conductivity than iron, but this difference is not significant when used in heat exchangers.
For the air compressor heat exchangers we produce, the wall thickness of stainless steel tubes should be thinner, while that of copper tubes should be thicker
This is indeed the case under high stress, because the allowable stress of copper is low. Are you using a shell-and-tube heat exchanger?
Yes, both the air compressor oil cooler and the aftercooler are shell-and-tube heat exchangers. The primary and secondary coolers of the compressor generally use copper tube-and-fin types
Oh, that’s right. Generally, copper tubes are used for air cooling at low pressures, while shell-and-tube systems with steel tubes may be necessary at high pressures
Copper has a high heat transfer efficiency, so copper tubes with the same heat transfer area have a smaller volume
Copper tubes are expensive, but they have high heat transfer efficiency and better corrosion resistance