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Heat Exchangers

                                          

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Heat Exchangers

Heat exchangers are commonly used to transfer heat from steam, water, or gases, to gases, or liquids.  Some of the criteria for selecting materials used for heat exchangers are corrosion resistance, strength, heat conduction, and cost.  Corrosion resistance is frequently a difficult criterion to meet.  Damage to heat exchangers is frequently difficult to avoid.

The tubes in a heat exchanger transfer heat from the fluid on the inside of the tube to fluid on the shell side (or vice versa).  Some heat exchanger designs use fins to provide greater thermal conductivity.  To meet corrosion requirements, tubing must be resistant to general corrosion, pitting, stress-corrosion cracking (SCC), selective leaching or dealloying, and oxygen cell attack in service. 

Failures of Heat Exchangers

Some common causes of failures in heat exchangers are listed below:

  •   Pipe and tubing imperfections

  •   Welding

  •   Fabrication

  •   Improper design

  •   Improper materials

  •   Improper operating conditions

  •   Pitting

  •   Stress-corrosion cracking (SCC)

  •   Corrosion fatigue

  •   General corrosion

  •   Crevice corrosion

  •   Design errors

  •   Selective leaching, or dealloying

  •   Erosion corrosion

 

          

Failure analysis can identify the root cause or causes that have contributed to your heat exchanger failure.


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Last modified: September 11, 2007