Heat exchanger tube rupture
Thread Content
In chemical processing units, for high and low pressure heat exchangers (i.e., those with a design pressure on the low-pressure side that is less than 80% of that on the high-pressure side), tube rupture scenarios must be taken into consideration； Most sources state that the high-pressure side is located in the tube side; then, if the high-pressure side is in the shell side, is it still necessary to consider safety relief devices? I consulted experts in equipment design; if the high-pressure side is located on the shell side, although the design pressure for the tube side can be set lower, during the design process these experts will check whether the tube side can withstand the high pressure from the shell side (external pressure). As a result of this assessment, it is ensured that the tube side can handle the design pressure applied from the shell side.
The flow configuration for high and low pressure heat exchangers is generally high pressure in the tube side and low pressure in the shell side. Conversely, it is equivalent to a high-pressure heat exchanger; since the tube side must be able to withstand the pressure from the shell side, the design pressure is increased accordingly. So it’s not economical.
I haven’t come across many heat exchangers with high shell-side pressure. Is it problematic when the shell-side pressure is high? How to deal with the pipe connections in such cases?
The high-pressure tube side and low-pressure shell side are considered from the perspective of design calculations; since the heat exchange tubes are of small size, a thickness of 2 is sufficient to withstand relatively high pressures, which helps to reduce material costs and also lowers the overall weight of the equipment. However, the problem that arises is the difficulty in detecting leaks (when there is a leak from the tube side to the shell side). In such cases, if the tube side carries a medium that is less likely to cause corrosion, does this provide some protection for the heat exchanger itself? This way, even if a leak occurs from the tube side to the shell side, it will not result in damage to the heat exchanger.
The hydrogen generated from cracking returns to the cooler; the pressure in the shell side is 16 MPa, while the pressure of the water in the tube side is 0.4 MPa. Is it reasonable not to install safety valves?
It is relatively rare to install safety discharge facilities directly on the heat exchanger; usually, such facilities are installed for the entire piping system