Regarding the tube plugs seen in the drawings of floating head heat exchangers
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In the floating-head heat exchanger drawings downloaded from the website, it can be seen that both the upper and lower discharge ports of the side tube box of the floating-head heat exchanger use a structure consisting of pipes connected by plugs. I would like to ask what exactly these plug devices are Are there any standards? How should it be designed? Furthermore, for the shell side under high pressure, wouldn’t a plug structure be less safe? Later, I checked other drawings and saw that some designs used blind flange connections; I would appreciate guidance from those with experience. Thank you!
Tube plugs and tube clamps are commonly used in heat exchangers; they achieve sealing through threads and are often employed at the exhaust and drain ports of the tube side and shell side. The operating pressure is below 4.0 MPa, and this design is both economical and convenient. A flange plus flange cover structure is used when the pressure is high.
The upper and lower discharge ports of the heat exchanger are provided for safety and ease of maintenance; they are not used in normal operations, and usually need to be blocked or fitted with valves.
The design of pipe collars and pipe plugs is generally carried out according to the drawings provided for standard heat exchangers, or in accordance with Sinopec’s SHJ standard at 16.0 MPa.