| Compressor IntercoolersCompressors need inter-stage heat recovery to maximize capacity while minimizing head and power requirements in the pumping of gases through process equipment. Lower compressor inter-cooler pressure drop translates into decreased energy consumption for the compressor when upgrading with improved heat exchanger designs. Well designed compressor intercoolers can have a useful life of 10-20 years, but occasionally failures result from higher loads caused by gradual plant expansion. Additional operating problems also develop, such as reduced intercooling from fouling, generally from the cooling water side or mechanical leaks through the tubes or at tube-tubesheet joints, resulting in gas loss into the cooling water. In certain low gas pressure intercooler applications failures causing leaks may result in cooling water entering the compressor with the gas, resulting in damage to interstage seals and deteriorating compressor efficiency and capacity. In instances of such leakage, contamination can become a critical problem, since suspended and dissolved solids from cooling water pass into the compressor and build up or result in other problems. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| When redesigning exchangers, changing TEMA Shell types can provide cost efficient solutions for achieving reduced intercooler gas pressure losses and energy savings. For example, TEMA X cross-flow designs can provide extremely low pressure drop performance at lower performance based cost compared with the more commonly used TEMA E, F and J shell types. In the application of cross-flow intercoolers, careful attention must be given to proper design of seal strips and dummy tubes in partition spaces in multi-tube pass configurations to prevent shell side fluid bundle bypassing, which could otherwise impact on thermal performance. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Compressor Intercoolers
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