Using a flange facing machine to restore a heat exchanger.

 For flange facing machines, there is a wide range of sizes to choose from. They are primarily used in the oil and gas and petrochemical sectors during maintenance or assembly of flanges in piping. Heat exchanger flanges are machined using precision machining models and a trustworthy flange facing services provider . First, let's understand what’s flange facing and its purpose in heat exchanger maintenance..

What is Flange Facing, and how does it differ from other methods?

 Flange facing services make it easier to maintain flange integrity. Over a course of time the flanges may leak and corrode if they are not adequately maintained and repaired regularly. To keep old flanges in good working order, these services are needed.


What is the purpose of Flange Facing?

Turbulent flow, collisions with other components, or cuts from gasket leakage can cause flanges to damage on an ongoing basis throughout construction,installation and everyday wear and tear. To give the flanges a spiral grooved look, industries use Flange facers. Gases and liquids are less prone to leak because they allow forcibly flow in a spiral rather than across the flange face. Repairing flanges during plant shutdowns or maintenance is regarded to be one of the most critical duties.

Is Flange Facing Necessary in Your Industry?

Flange facing is more common in sectors like oil and gas, petrochemicals, pharmaceutical manufacturing, pipelines, and power generation. So, yes! If you are into the above industries, flange facing is a must-have for you. Generally, flange facing services are commonly used in Thermoelastic industries.

What are heat exchangers used for?

A heat exchanger effectively transfers heat from one medium to another. You may either put the mediums in direct contact or build a wall between them. These machines commonly work for heating, cooling, refrigeration, air conditioning, power plants, chemical plants, petroleum refineries, and natural gas processing facilities. As an example of a Heat Exchanger, consider a radiator in a vehicle, whereby a hot engine-cooling fluid, water, transfers heat to the air that flows past it (i.e., the Heat Transfer medium).

It's typical for heat exchangers to be grouped based on the traits they share. The direction of flow of the two fluids relative to each other may be used to classify them.

Using Flange Facing to Restore Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger

Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger Maintenance

When it comes to transferring heat, heat exchangers are the most common method. Among the work processes they are usually called upon to do are:

  • Cooling of process liquids or gases

  • condensing vapor or steam in the process of cooling

  • Evaporation of process liquids, smoke, or refrigerants

  • Preheating feed water for use in process heat removal

  • conservation of thermal energy as well as the use of heat recovery

  • Compressor, turbine, and engine cooling, as well as oil and jacket water supply.

  • cools the lubricant and hydraulic fluid

  • There are several other industrial uses as well.

Low Costs & Sizes

Because of their low-cost, serviceable designs, shell and tube heat exchangers can transmit vast volumes of heat. They can deliver significant quantities of functional tube surfaces while decreasing the floor space, liquid volume, and weight requirements. Various sizes of shell and tube exchangers are available. Thermal technologies and manufacturing procedures have been utilized for over 150 years and are well-defined and implemented by current competitive firms. A broad range of tube surfaces is readily accessible, ranging from ordinary to unusual metals with plain or improved surface qualities. In the case of high flow rates, liquids, and temperatures, they may assist in determining the most cost-effective mechanical design.

Types of Shell and Tube Heat Exchangers

Shell and tube heat exchangers have two distinct types, based on the shell's diameter. Shell construction choices range from 2" to 12" in shell diameter and include welded steel and brazed pipe with hub forgings and cast-end Bonnets. For regular industrial application, models of this kind typically employ tubing ranging from 1/4" to 3/8" in diameter. Shell and Tube Heat Exchangers with shell diameters ranging from 10" to over 100" are the second most common form. Steel tubing that is commonly accessible may be utilized for up to 24 hours "by the inch.

Disclaimer- Twenty-four and above "It is more expensive and may have issues with a roundness to utilize rolled steel plate, which is welded together."

There are a wide variety of styles and materials in a heat exchanger;. Several features are also present in all of them. An outer shell has apertures for admission, and exhaust fluid or gas contains tubes mechanically connected to tube sheets. The working principle is to prevent fluid from leaking into the pipes and contaminating the liquid on the other side. One option is to have one tube sheet float within the shell or use an expansion bellows in the surface to expand and contract with temperature loads. Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger is used to clean the exchanger's shell circuit, which manages to withdraw the whole tube bundle assembly from the exchanger's shell.

Importance of Flange Facing in Heat Exchanger

Failure of the flanged connection is quite costly and time consuming if not corrected before final bolting. It is not uncommon for a large number of flanges in dire need to be resurfaced on a project costing a huge amount of incurring costs. However, the most impactful scenario is the delay to the schedule due to flange damage which inturn costs lost revenue.

The easiest way to define your project’s success is to opt for a trusted flange facing services vendor and protect your flange faces.

If you get it right. You’ll be the Hero of the project. Get it wrong and you will be looking at project delays and cost overruns.


Content Sources :- ABSGroup

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