Life of the heat exchange tubes in the heat exchanger
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How many years is the service life of the heat exchange tubes in a heat exchanger? In the calculation books, corrosion allowance is not taken into account – are the heat exchange tubes basically replaced during overhauls?
The design life varies depending on the material; carbon steel generally has a design life of 6 years
The service life of the heat exchange tubes in a heat exchanger is 5 years, with a maximum of 8 years. When their service life is up, they are replaced during the major overhaul of the heat exchange tubes.
The service life of the heat exchange tubes in a heat exchanger is 5 years, with a maximum of 8 years. When their service life is up, they are replaced during the major overhaul of the heat exchange tubes.
In actual use, it should be determined based on the conditions of the heat exchange medium. Here, in our catalytic units, the heat exchanger tube bundles that are highly corrosive are basically replaced every time a major overhaul is carried out. Steel is cheap nowadays, so material upgrades are being carried out by replacing them with stainless steel tube bundles, which doubles their service life.
Where is this rule? Still based on experience?
The function of the heat exchange tube is to facilitate heat transfer; if it is too thick, the heat transfer efficiency is poor. Typically, its thickness is 2 or 2.5 units, so no corrosion margin is taken into account during design. Additionally, regarding the material upgrade mentioned by others later on, I think the issue of reduced heat exchange efficiency should be taken into consideration; I’m not sure if my understanding is correct.