Aliminum Tubed Exchanger

[SnTMan]

Hello to you all. I have a semi-hypothetical question. We got an RFQ for a fixed tubesheet cooling water exchanger, carbon steel materials, moderate size, temps and pressures.

One option was for aluminum tubes and aluminum-clad tubesheets, seal welded.

We chose to no-quote this option based on lack of experience, but I am wondering if this is any problem to do.

I figure the engineering side would be pretty straight forward, since as the apps engineer and I agreed "its just numbers".

I am guessing the tubesheets would be available as det-clad, no big deal.

Assuming we had a procedure (and a qualified welder) for the tube-TS welding, is fabricating aluminum any problem? We did discuss maybe using aluminum baffles instead of CS.

Any experience out there to share?

Regards,

Mike

 

[MikeMet]

Cleanliness and surface oxide are the big issues with aluminum welding. If you understand this and control, welding aluminum is not a big deal. Try the website below for some very good information.

 

[SnTMan]

MikeMet, thanks for the reply. While important, the welding was not my primary concern, just looking for any non-obvious pitfalls.

Regards,

Mike