Heat Exchanger Operation, Maintenance and Troubleshooting

Start Date End Date Venue Fees (US $)
13 Apr 2025 Italy , Milan $ 4,950 Register
06 Jul 2025 Istanbul, Turkey $ 4,500 Register
12 Oct 2025 Dubai, UAE $ 3,900 Register

Heat Exchanger Operation, Maintenance and Troubleshooting

Introduction

Heat Exchangers are devices that facilitate the exchange of heat between two fluids which are at different temperatures while keeping them from mixing with each other. In this latter way, they differ from mixing chambers. In the industrial engineering sector, an understanding of the subject of Heat Exchangers is assuming greater importance, since the subject plays a crucially important role in the design, operation, and maintenance in areas such as heating and air-conditioning systems, vehicle engineering, power plants, refrigeration and chemical and industrial process engineering. The course focus on heat exchanger operation procedures and Heat exchanger maintenance and inspection. Disassembly and assemble the different types of heat exchangers

The course covers all aspects of the subject of Heat Exchangers from a mechanical viewpoint using lots of examples from current industrial practice with their associated problems whilst minimizing the use of mathematics.

Extensive discussions are included on the numerous types of heat exchangers encountered in industrial plants and the subject is developed through the basic engineering approach by using a wide range of examples of real problems which are typical of those encountered in various industries.

The delegate should have no difficulty in understanding this course, since the principles of heat transfer which are applied to this topic are seen to be based very much on our everyday experiences and observations. The absence of mathematically intimidating material will help too

Objectives

    To provide the delegate with a detailed knowledge of the principles and engineering practice of the subject of heat exchangers in the following areas:

    • Types of heat exchangers
    • Principles of heat transfer applied to different types
    • Design of heat exchangers
    • Heat exchanger operation principle
    • Heat exchanger maintenance
    • Heat exchanger inspection and test
    • Heat exchanger control and performance
    • Leak test and Hydraulic test principle
    • Industrial problem areas and solutions
    • Study the heat exchanger troubleshooting
    • Improvement in heat exchanger efficiency

    The topics are presented in such a way that the mathematical treatment of the subject is minimized and the more important issues of, operation and maintenance good practice are highlighted.

Training Methodology

A highly interactive combination of lectures and discussion sessions will be managed to maximize the amount and quality of information and knowledge transfer. The sessions will start by raising the most relevant questions, and motivate everybody to find the right answers. The delegates will also be encouraged to raise their own questions and to share in the development of the right answers using their own analysis and experiences. Tests of multiple-choice type will be made available on a daily basis to examine the effectiveness of delivering the course.

Who Should Attend?

  • Maintenance and operation engineers, supervisors and  technicians 
  • Practicing engineers from the mechanical, chemical and process industrial areas who have an interest in understanding and improving their knowledge of the subject of heat exchangers so as facilitate an improvement in the efficiency of plant processes.
  • Plant operators, designers and managers will find this course of crucial importance not only to enhance their awareness of the conservation of both local and international energy resources but also to provide the plant with more efficient means of heat exchange.

Course Outline

Part 1 Glossary 

Part 2 Fundamentals of Heat Transfer       

  • Introduction    
  • Types of heat-transfer fluids     
  • Properties
  • Density
  • Thermal conductivity     
  • Resistance (conductance).          
  • Conductance    
  • Resistance         
  • Transmittance  
  • Heat capacity    
  • Latent heat        
  • Heat transfer    
  • Definitions         
  • Pressure             
  • Pressure of liquids          
  • Pressure in liquids          
  • Flow     
  • Temperature    
  • Phase change   
  • Heat flux or thermal flux              
  • Emissivity           
  • Stefan-Boltzmann constant        
  • Viscosity             
  • Gravity acceleration.     

Part 3:  Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger 

  • Introduction      
  • Shell and tube heat exchanger design   
  • Shell-and-Tube Heat Exchangers types
  • Floating Head Heat Exchanger   
  • Fixed tube sheet heat exchangers          
  • U-tube heat exchangers
  • Floating head heat exchangers 
  • U-tube kettle reboiler Major Parts of a Shell-and-Tube 
  • Heat exchanger tube patterns
  • Flow Arrangements       
  • Flow Patterns   
  • Parallel Flow      
  • Cross Flow         
  • Application of heat exchanger  

Part 4 : Other Types of heat exchanger    

  • Air Fin Fan Coolers or Fin Type Coolers. 
  • Plate Type Heat Exchangers       
  • Common Heat Exchange Media and their Properties.    
  • Sensible Heat   
  • Latent Heat       
  • Media properties and use           

Part 5:  Heat Exchangers Design 

  • Ten questions for design consideration
  • Preliminary Design of Shell and Tube Heat Exchangers   
  • Basic Principles of Design             
  • Structure of the Heat Exchanger Design Problem.
  • Preliminary Design Decisions     
  • Procedure for Approximate Size Estimation        

Part 6: Heat exchanger performance & LMTD      

  • Heat Exchanger Performance Monitoring            
  • Introduction      
  • Benefits              
  • Case studyPredict Heat Exchanger Performance              

Part 7: Operational & Control         

  • Introduction      
  • Throttling the process fluid.       
  • Bypassing the process fluid.       
  • Split range.        
  • Opposite action.
  • Medium side throttling.
  • Cross exchangers.          
  • Uncontrolled heat exchange.    
  • Aerial coolers.  
  • Fan pitch control.            
  • Variable speed.               
  • Louver control.
  • Advanced tricks – feedforward.
  • Temperature optimization.        
  • Combination control.
  • Equipment protection. 
  • Safety. 
  • Accessory instruments.

Part 8: Heat Exchanger Inspection 

  • Periodic Inspection of Heat Exchangers
  • Safety  
  • Operational Continuity 
  • Efficiency            
  • Primary Causes of Heat Exchanger Deterioration              
  • Maintenance procedures            
  • Maintenance Activities 
  • Procedures for opening, inspection and repair  
  • Shell hydraulic test         
  • Tubes side hydraulic test             

Extraction of heat exchanger bundles from shell              

  • Extraction by Winch       
  • Extraction by Hydraulic Jack        

Part 9: Troubleshooting

Problems affecting performance in Shell and tube heat exchangers        

  • Fouling
  • Tube vibrations
  • Leakage              
  • Dead zones       
  • Fouling Factors 
  • Fouling Mechanisms      

Introduction of Fluid Corrosion 

  • General  Fluid Corrosion
  • Factors Influencing Corrosion    

Vibration problems

  • Causes of Vibration        
  • Mechanisms Flow-Induced Vibration     
  • Flow-Induced Vibration in Evaporations               
  • Possible Types of Damage          
  • Potential Solutions         
  • Common Operating Problems for Air-coolers     
  • Control Philosophy         

Part 10: Heat exchanger Practical inspection       

  • Heat Exchanger Inspection         
  • Channel in Heat Exchanger Inspection   
  • Floating Head Inspection             
  • Expansion Joint Inspection         
  • Tube Bundle Inspection:              

Part 11: Case Studies 

Operational case study         

  • Question    
  • Solution      

Case study2               

  • Typpioy Ammonia Plant Water Coolers
  • Background               
  • Causes of Failure     
  • Lessons learnt          

Case Study 3

  • Heat exchanger service tools

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