This paper presents a new case study of a Dutch contractor using mechanical pipe plugs to address the use of heat exchangers in their process flow by a natural gas production and distribution company.
Heat exchanger tube plugs are commonly used to plug leaking or degraded tubes to prevent cross-contamination of shell-side and tube-side media.A new use for a pipe plug has recently been discovered.A major natural gas production company contacted a contractor about a problem with a heat exchanger in its process.The gas layer the company is extracting is nearing the end of its productive life.As production declines, so do feedstock flows and pressures at processing plants.This reduction unbalances the efficiency of the unit and causes gas hydrates to form in its heat exchanger tubes, further reducing the efficiency of the unit and increasing maintenance downtime, poor end product quality, safety concerns and increased costs.These are costs that end users cannot afford.Working with the end user, the contractor reviewed a number of solutions and finalized a pipe plugging procedure that would reduce the number of pipes available in the heat exchanger, thereby increasing the flow rate of the production gas through the pipes.
The challenge is that the flow conditions of the heat exchanger have changed and are no longer the same as originally designed.
Alternatives were evaluated, including designing new heat exchangers or tube bundles.Tube plugging is a distant option until forward/backward analysis is performed (Table 1).
Pipe plugs were chosen due to the speed at which it can be accomplished and the flexibility of the overall operation.Tube plug technology was analyzed and an engineered tube plug solution, the Curtiss-Wright EST Group’s Pop-A-Plug Tube Plugs, was selected and implemented.
As a result, 1,200 plugs were received and installed, completing the work within a week.Contractors and end users will add this solution to their heat exchanger repair options in the future.
For more information, visit www.cw-estgroup.com/bic, call (281) 918-7830 or email est-sales@curtisswright.com.
Connecting people in business and industry for the benefit of all.Become an affiliate now