Should this condenser have an expansion joint?
Thread Content
Recently, our company underwent technical upgrades and acquired several condensers. DN700, length 6000mm, heat exchange area 200m2, design temperature 100 degrees, shell made of carbon steel, tubes made of 304. In the actual production process, the inlet temperature of the material to the condenser is around 165–175 degrees, while the outlet temperature is 40–60 degrees. No expansion joint is installed. Will there be any problems? Will cracks occur at the tube sheet and lead to leakage?
It’s right to be worried, but it depends on the design; the designer is responsible for that
Whether an expansion joint is needed should be determined through calculation.
Heat transfer calculations should be performed~`:)
I’m not in the design field; I’m only responsible for production. But having seen so much of it, I have such concerns.
The tubes being 304 material does not necessarily mean that the tube sheet is also made of 304; there are also cases where the tube sheet is clad with 304 material. In general, if the tube sheet is made of 304, an expansion joint is definitely required. Whether it is necessary based on calculations or not remains irrelevant. If the tube sheet is clad with 304, then an expansion joint should be installed only if calculations show it is necessary; otherwise, no such joint is needed. Also, the original poster would like to ask: since the actual temperature here exceeds the designed temperature, the heat exchanger is likely to get damaged. It is recommended that the poster consider raising the design temperature during the technical upgrade. And make it clear to the equipment design unit.
The problem lies right here; it’s not the parameters I provided to the equipment manufacturer. I raised this issue as soon as the equipment arrived at the site.
Hehe, since it’s the equipment design and manufacturing company that created it, they should be responsible for the structure, strength, and manufacturability of the equipment they designed; you don’t need to worry about too much. Generally, the process parameters for tasks are set by process engineers.
Although the temperature difference across the heat flux element is large, it is related to the type of heat exchanger, the side where the hot fluid is located, the flow pattern, and the temperature of the metal walls; therefore, the information provided cannot determine whether an expansion joint is needed. The selection and calculation of heat exchangers are the responsibility of the designers, and since there must be a reason for doing this, there’s no need to worry too much.
Thank you, –——————– –——————– –——————–
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