Kettle Reboiler Tube Pitch.
Kettle Reboiler Tube Pitch.
(OP)
Why do kettle reboilers usually feature an "open" tube pitch, with p/d ratios on the order of 1.5 - 2.0 as opposed to 1.25 for conventional shell and tube exchangers? Vapor blanketing? Pressure drop? Thinner tubesheets?
Thanks.
-Christine
Thanks.
-Christine





RE: Kettle Reboiler Tube Pitch.
Christine:
I've never heard about 'an "open" tube pitch'; I've always used a square tube pitch on my kettle reboilers - some of which I designed and built myself.
The reason I always used a square pitch is to enable the cleaning of the external surfaces of the tubes in the usual U-tube bundle. Otherwise, if you resort to using triangular pitch, the cleaning is next to impossible.
Vapor blanketing, Pressure drop, or Thinner tubesheets have nothing to do with the selection of the type of pitch.
RE: Kettle Reboiler Tube Pitch.
Do you want a cleanable bundle, do as Art suggests. Do you want an efficient bundle, tighten (close) up the pitch to the minimum required by TEMA for your tube OD, square or triangular.
rmw
RE: Kettle Reboiler Tube Pitch.
My first line of attack where there was a fouling situation of any heat exchange was to try to force opening up the tubes with a square pitch set. At least you could clean them when they fouled.
RE: Kettle Reboiler Tube Pitch.
rmw
RE: Kettle Reboiler Tube Pitch.