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3. Repair of heat exchangers

Repair of heat exchangers

Repair or replacement of shell and tube heat exchangers - one of the most relevant and frequently occurring tasks in the chemical and petrochemical industries. This is due to the presence of a huge fleet of similar equipment and the need to maintain it in a proper technical condition.

Natural wear and tear shell and tube heat exchangers due to the necessity of his work with aggressive working environments and operating under high operating pressures and sharp temperature fluctuations. All this leads to corrosion of heat exchanger tubes, scale formation inside the unit, as well as to a gradual weakening of the strength and tightness of pipe joints, tube sheet.

The solution to this problem may be a replacement of the entire unit as a whole, any repairs associated with the replacement of the tube bundle. Replacing the heat exchanger is not always economically justified due to its very high cost. Most often the problem is solved with the help of repair, despite the need for removal of the device from the process for some time.

The tube bundle can be replaced in its entirety, but the problem can be solved by replacing the old heat exchanger tubes, while maintaining the tube sheet. This calls for retrieval by a manual or power tool and the subsequent installation and mounting of new heat exchange tubes.

Before removing the pipes, in the case of combined compounds, special countersink is removed and the weld is made for a new facet joint. Extraction tubes by means of hydraulic extractors that allow quickly and without great physical effort by the operator to extract the pipe from the machine. Either removal can occur with the use of core drills for drilling, which thinned the wall of the pipe, facilitating its subsequent ejection of the special knockouts.

After extraction and recovery pipes, if necessary, the openings in the tubesheet should installation of new pipe welding them to the tube sheet (for the combined compounds) and subsequent flaring. The most effective for pipes, electric rolling plants and machinery such as LED with high efficiency and accuracy of working out the torque that provides long-term follow-up work of the repaired heat exchanger. For flaring recommended rolling TECHREMEX, proven reliability and improved wear resistance.