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Quotes - Engineering - Sales| PRODUCT | STYLE | TEMA TYPE | BUNDLE |
| U-Tube Heat Exchanger | U-Tube, single tubesheet | BEU / AEU / BKU | Removable |
High-Pressure U-Tube Heat Exchangers
Fewer Joints at Higher Pressure
Every pressure-boundary joint is a place that has to seal and a place that can leak. A floating head design needs a seal at the rear tubesheet that moves during operation. A U-tube design does not have a rear tubesheet at all; the bend end floats freely inside the shell with no seal, no gasket and no bolting.
That absence scales well. At moderate pressure the difference is a cost item. At high pressure it becomes a design advantage, because sealing a moving joint against several thousand psi is expensive, and every such joint is a maintenance liability for the life of the unit.
Front head selection. Standard A and B heads cover a wide pressure range. Above that, a D-type front head with a special high-pressure closure is the usual answer, which is where the TEMA DEU designation comes from. Feedwater heaters and high-pressure gas coolers are the classic homes for it.
Tubesheet and testing. The single tubesheet carries the full differential and grows thick quickly with pressure. Hydrostatic testing, examination coverage and joint detail all step up accordingly, and on the highest-pressure work the tube-to-tubesheet joint moves from rolled to strength welded.
Typical Construction
- Pressure capability: Design pressures to several thousand psi, service dependent
- Front head: Bonnet or channel at moderate pressure; D-type closure above
- TEMA designation: BEU, AEU or DEU depending on front head
- Rear head: U-tube; no rear pressure-boundary joint
- Tubesheet: Thickness set by differential pressure and diameter
- Tube joints: Rolled, roll-plus-seal-weld, or strength welded
- Materials: Carbon steel, low alloy, stainless, duplex and higher alloys
- Testing: Hydrostatic test with documented records
- Codes: ASME Section VIII Division 1; API 660 where required
- Sour service: NACE MR0175 hardness control with post-bend stress relief
High-Pressure U-Tube Heat Exchangers
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High-Temperature U-Tube
High-temperature U-tube heat exchangers for thermal fluid and hot oil service. Unlimited differential expansion with no expansion joint, and design fo
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Corrosion-Resistant U-Tube
Corrosion resistant U-tube heat exchangers in duplex, Alloy 20, Hastelloy, AL-6XN and titanium. Alloy selection by attacking species, plus NACE limits
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Sanitary U-Tube
Sanitary U-tube heat exchangers in 316L with tri-clamp connections, drainable geometry and removable bundles. Built for 3-A duty and CIP circuits.
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Choosing Between U-Tube and Floating Head at Pressure
Both designs give you a removable bundle and both absorb thermal expansion, so the decision comes down to two questions. Does the tube side need mechanical cleaning? If yes, floating head, because you cannot rod a U-bend. If no, U-tube, because it is cheaper, simpler and has fewer things to seal.
High-pressure duty tends to answer the first question with a no, because the high-pressure stream is usually the clean one. That is why the combination shows up so consistently.
What Rises With Pressure
Tubesheet thickness climbs faster than most people expect, because it scales with both differential pressure and shell diameter. That has knock-on effects: a thicker tubesheet means longer tubes for the same effective length, and it can change the economics enough to favour two smaller shells over one large one.
Examination and documentation also step up. Higher pressure classes bring more radiography or ultrasonic coverage, tighter material requirements and more third-party involvement, all of which affect schedule as much as cost.
