Resources & Information

What is needed to design and quote a shell and tube heat exchanger?

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When the design engineers at Thermal Products have a request from a customer to design a shell and tube exchanger, we will consider many factors, including:

  • What codes and/or standards will guide the design: ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, TEMA standards, and API (American Petroleum Institute), PED (Pressure Equipment Directive – Europe), CRN (Canadian Registration Number).  All guide our engineers to offer the most optimally designed shell and tube heat exchanger while ensuring safety, reliability, and efficiency.
  • Process requirements: These include process and utility fluid or gas types, flow rates, process side inlet temperature, process side outlet temperature, utility side inlet temperature, and operating pressure.
  • Configurations: Here our design engineers will take into account our customer needs and requests for how their shell and tube heat exchanger will look.
  1. What orientation do you need your shell and tube heat exchanger?  Horizontal, vertical or sloped for drainability?  
  2. Do you need all tube side connections on one side? 
  3. Where do you want your shell side connections oriented on the shell?  We can orient them 360 degrees around the shell in most cases to better suit your process needs.
  4. Are NPT or Flanged connection needed?
  • Design elements: Baffle cut, spacing, and orientation, as well as tube-side channel and nozzle design, can all affect performance with regards to pressure drop, velocity, heat transfer rate and final footprint size.
  • Construction materials: Shell materials can include carbon steel, stainless steel, or alloys, while tubes can be copper, aluminum, stainless steel, or other alloys.
  • Physical space: The available floor space for installation is also a consideration. 

Please look for Thermal Products Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger RFQ form or click here.