Issues with water pressure and oil pressure in the oil cooler?
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Many devices come equipped with their own lubrication systems, and oil coolers, which are typically tubular heat exchangers, are also essential. Do you have any questions regarding the oil pressure in these oil coolers and the pressure of the cooling water (circulating water)? 1. The oil cooler is arranged such that the oil pressure is higher than the water pressure: in the event of a leak during operation, only a small amount of lubricating oil will leak into the circulating water, which does not cause contamination of the lubricating oil and does not affect the operation of the oil station. 2. Regarding the installation of the oil cooler, when the oil pressure is lower than the water pressure: if a leak occurs during operation and goes unnoticed, a large amount of circulating water will leak into the lubricating oil, which can easily lead to contamination of the lubricating oil. 3. It works whether the oil pressure is higher than the water pressure or the water pressure is higher than the oil pressure. To discuss the above viewpoint, it is about whether water leaks into oil during operation, or oil leaks into water, or whether neither substance leaks into the other. Of course, no heat exchanger can guarantee to be leak-free. We’re not discussing the use of backup oil coolers here; what do people mainly take into consideration during design, and does the pressure difference between the two have any impact?
If I were to design it personally, I would choose: oil pressure to be greater than or equal to water pressure, with oil used in the tube side and water in the shell side. It mainly depends on what medium needs to be protected. In this case, when water leaks into the oil, it causes contamination that reduces the quality of the oil to the point where it can no longer be used, and oil is much more expensive than water... Therefore, I chose to design the system with protecting the oil as the priority... :lol
I forgot to mention it: this is to prevent large fuel tanks, such as those in aircraft engines, from being contaminated by water. Generally, allowing some water to enter and then draining it through the bottom of the tank is sufficient to achieve this goal. I’m worried that the operators may not carry out thorough inspections. Please continue the discussion on how you designed it and how you considered the matter. Is it necessary for the oil pressure to be higher than the water pressure, or does it not matter?
Considering only the issue of leakage, an oil pressure higher than the water pressure is chosen. The reason is that if water leaks into the oil system, it contaminates the oil, severely affecting the lubrication performance of the machine, and may even cause fatal damage to the machine, resulting in significant losses； Conversely, when oil enters the water system, the pollution impact on the water is relatively more acceptable, and it can be detected in a timely manner for treatment.