For a project our customer (operating in the vacuum industry) desired gas coolers. These are assembled in a vacuum system skid that is delivered as a whole. The gas coolers provide the necessary cooling for the process gas.
The cooling is done by Shell & Tube type Gas Coolers, fed with cooling water. Normally there is no phase transition, but in the unlikely event that this does occur, there is an outlet sump in which condensate is collected. On the sump are connections installed for level control.
Due to the deep vacuum of the process in which these coolers are installed, there is a large volume flow. Pressure loss is critical for these systems because it partly determines the size of the pump. During operation, situations can occur in which condensation occurs, measures must be taken to make the heat exchanger suitable for this.
To keep pressure loss as small as possible (only 0.2 mbar), large nozzles and a no-tubes-in-window (NTIW) design have been used. This means that no tubes are placed in the window (space above the baffle), which increases the flow rate. Due to the possible presence of condensate (drops), an impingement plate (collision plate) was mounted above the bundle at the entrance. At the exit there is an outlet sump with level control connections.
Due to the possibility of simulating composite gas flows at low pressure and possible condensation of the various components, Robox successfully works with parties from the vacuum industry. By being involved in the design at an early stage, significant gains can be made in sizing the entire system.
Systems Manager at Busch BV
ROBOX heat exchangers are part of the vacuum systems that we develop and produce. In addition, ROBOX supports us substantively in the process simulation from gas to liquid through our in-house developed condensers. ROBOX’s careful calculations, performed with advanced HTRI software, make our condensers ideally designed and able to deliver optimum performance.
A number of our customers in the chemical sector require a large amount of documentation from us. Partly due to our cooperation with ROBOX, we can meet the size and expected quality of the documents. These data are checked extra critically because the projects or applications of these parties usually involve a security risk. It is then important that the documentation is completely correct. This feeds the confidence of our customers. On the other hand, it ensures efficiency within our business processes.
ROBOX embodies this efficiency for us: they immediately understand what is needed, respond quickly and are a reliable partner. A well-informed and substantively strong partner who is one of the few suppliers who actually knows how to understand the properties of our product systems.
It concerns Shell & Tube heat exchangers. A one-pass shell with removable U-bundle and removable hood, TEMA type BEU. Entirely in SS316 (L) according to PED cat.IV / Mod.H1 and ASME VIII Div.1 and TEMA B.