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Quotes - Engineering - SalesDEU High-Pressure U-Tube Exchangers
Special High-Pressure Closure
A D-type front head uses a forged, integral or specially designed closure rather than a conventional bolted flange. It exists because flange weight and bolt loading rise disproportionately with pressure and diameter, to the point where a standard head becomes impractical.
Why pair it with a U-tube. A U-tube bundle has no rear pressure-boundary joint at all. Combining the highest-integrity front closure with the rear head that has no joint gives the minimum number of high-pressure seals in a removable-bundle exchanger.
Typical service. High-pressure feedwater heaters in power generation, high-pressure gas coolers, hydrogen and hydrocracker service, and any duty where tube-side pressure runs into the thousands of psi.
What comes with it. Thick tubesheets, heavier examination coverage, strength-welded tube joints in many cases, and longer lead times driven by forging availability rather than shop capacity.
Typical Construction
- Front head: D - special high-pressure closure
- Shell: E - single pass
- Rear head: U - U-tube bundle, no rear joint
- Pressure range: Into the thousands of psi, service dependent
- Tubesheet: Thickness driven by differential pressure and diameter
- Tube joints: Frequently strength welded
- Examination: Increased radiographic or ultrasonic coverage
- Typical duty: Feedwater heaters, high-pressure gas cooling, hydroprocessing
- Materials: Carbon and low alloy steels, stainless, higher alloys
- Codes: ASME Section VIII Division 1 or 2; API 660 where specified
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Lead Time Is Driven by Material
On DEU work the schedule is usually set by forging and heavy plate availability rather than by the fabrication itself. Thick tubesheets and forged closures are long-lead items and they are not held in stock in useful sizes.
Start the conversation early. A design that could be simplified to a bolted head at a slightly lower design pressure is worth identifying before the forging is ordered, not after.
