Engineering

What We Need to Rate a Duty

Both fluids identified with flow rates, inlet temperatures and required outlet temperatures. Operating and design pressures on each side. Allowable pressure drop. Any code, alloy, hygienic or documentation requirement. Available space and the orientation you can accommodate.

Then the practical detail that actually changes designs: expected turndown, known fouling history, how the unit will be cleaned, and how much clearance exists to pull the bundle. If part of that is unknown, tell us which part rather than guessing, and we will size against a stated assumption.

Rating Before Quoting

Stock units get the same thermal check as custom builds. A shelf exchanger that nearly makes the duty is not a bargain, and we would rather tell you it does not fit than let you find out at startup.

Where the rating shows a poor configuration - a low LMTD correction factor, a velocity outside the useful band, a pressure drop that exceeds what the system can deliver - we will say so and propose an alternative rather than quoting the unit you asked for.

Reverse Engineering a Replacement

A large share of our work replaces equipment that already exists, sometimes from manufacturers that no longer do. Original drawings are ideal, the ASME U-1 data report is nearly as good, and a clear nameplate photograph with field measurements is usually enough.

Replacement is also the natural moment to correct what the original got wrong: upgrade the alloy, change the pass arrangement, add a vent that should always have been there. The fit stays identical and the exchanger gets better.