×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

AMMONIA CONDESER

AMMONIA CONDESER

AMMONIA CONDESER

(OP)
An ammonia condenser has well water as cooling media on the tubeside. Condensing Ammonia on the shell side. After just ~6 years in service, tube leaks developED. Obvious first hand solution was to plug the leaking tubes with tapered plugs. Now during retubing, if you try to drill out the plug, existing pressure is noticed behind the plug! why is that? what is the mechanism for this to happen? Theoretically, leaking tubes should release to atmosphere when the exchanger is depressurized.

RE: AMMONIA CONDESER

You're correct that "theoretically" there should be no pressure.  However, it could be the internal pressure on the tubes that was causing the leak through a small leak path.  Circumferential thermal expansion which _might_ open a crack could also be an explanation.  Finally, the leak path could also have sealed itself with corrosion products to the extent that it might retain a small amount of pressure.  That certainly is troublesome though.  I hope no one was hurt!

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources