GEA Heat Exchangers launches new website for China

GEA Heat Exchangers has revealed its new website for the Chinese market.
The new site will picture and offer only GEA products that are marketed in the country and product information will be available in both Chinese and English. GEA currently operates six locations in China, which is seen by market leaders as one of the most important industrial countries in Asia.
“With our new country-oriented website and its content oriented to this market, we are supporting our business in one of the strongest growth regions of the world, which means we can react to regional requirements,” said segment president of GEA Heat Exchangers Christoph Michel.
“We want to assure closeness to our customer as well as top local service quality. Corporate presentation effectively adapted to market conditions is an essential part of our customer support efforts and contributes to future-oriented further development of our business.”

http://www.foodbev.com/news/gea-heat-exchangers-launches-new-website#.Ui3l2VuXdnI

Hunt Graham to supply Saudi project with heat exchangers

Corac Group subsidiary Hunt Graham has secured a contract to supply multiple heat exchangers to a project in Saudi Arabia.

The contact is valued in excess of £1.6m and is for five specialised heat exchanger units for delivery within one year.
The order was placed by VME Process, a US based Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) company and a supplier of process systems to the oil and gas industry, through their Asia Pacific office in Singapore.
http://www.theengineer.co.uk/channels/policy-and-business/business-briefs/hunt-graham-to-supply-saudi-project-with-heat-exchangers/1016816.article

Unison Announces Surface Cooler Heat Exchanger Enhancements

LE BOURGET, France, Jun 17, 2013 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Unison Industries today announced enhancements to their conformal Integrated Fin Technology(TM) surface coolers. These unique heat exchangers are in service on the GE powered Boeing 787 aircraft, and they were selected for Leap-1B and the new GE Passport engine. They will save customers thousands of dollars annually in specific fuel consumption (SFC) since they are lower weight and produce less drag. An additional benefit to the new design is flexibility in cooler shape, since the heat exchangers are no longer limited to "box" configurations. The Unison surface coolers lend themselves to whatever shape best suits the engine flow contours on which they will be installed. Unison's advanced heat exchanger technology is patented and patent pending.

Mike Grunza, president of Unison Industries, said, "We have been developing this innovative technology for several years and we believe we have only scratched the surface of what is possible with our Integrated Fin Technology(TM). The continuous evolution of the design confirms that Unison is committed to advancing the technology."

Unison surface coolers offer "always on" integrated oil de-congealing passages in their base. With this enhancement anytime oil is flowing through the system it is providing the warmth necessary to de-congeal oil in the core of the surface cooler after the system has been exposed to very cold temperatures for an extended time. These integrated oil de-congealing passageways are highly desirable features since the surface coolers tend to be long in circumferential length.

A second feature focuses on combining two or more heat-exchangers into a single assembly. This will be useful when both the generator cooler and engine lube oil cooler are located in close proximity. Since the manufacturing process accommodates such an arrangement, these features can be incorporated into Unison's conformal Integrated Fin Technology(TM) surface coolers.

Grunza added, "Engines already in service are also excellent candidates for Unison's surface cooler technology, and retrofitting to the Unison heat exchanger is a great opportunity to reduce weight and drag, reducing operating costs."

Unison Industries, LLC, is a leader in the design, manufacture and integration of electrical and mechanical components and systems for aircraft engines and airframes. Unison serves both original equipment manufacturers and aftermarket customers in commercial, military and general aviation markets. Unison's headquarters are in Cincinnati, OH, and it employs more than 4,000 people in fifteen manufacturing facilities and logistics centers worldwide. For more information, visit www.unisonaviation.com.

http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=bwnews&sty=20130617006303r1&sid=cmtx6&distro=nx 

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/unison-announces-surface-cooler-heat-exchanger-enhancements-2013-06-17

Xylem Lowara Launches New Range of Advanced Heat Exchangers

Xylem Lowara UK has launched a new range of advanced brazed and gasketed frame plate heat exchangers specifically designed for domestic, commercial and industrial applications.

The new heat exchange plates combine a chevron-style heat transfer between the frame and pressure plates for superior efficiency. The heat transfer plates have holes at the four corners that form a header, which distributes the fluids to the opposite sides of each plate when the plates align. This results in the fluid being confined to the heat transfer surface of the plate.

The new range, which is capable of dealing with temperatures ranging from -350C to 1700C, has a maximum flowrate of 1365 l/sec and can withstand pressures of up to 20 bar as standard. The modular design of the heat exchangers means the inlet and outlet connections are on the same plane, keeping installation and maintenance simple.

Gary Wilde, Business Development and Marketing Manager for Xylem Lowara UK, said: “The new heat exchangers have been designed to offer not only effective re-cycling of waste heat, but also a system which is simple to install and maintain.

“The versatility of the heat exchangers means they are ideal for use in an extensive range of domestic, industrial and commercial applications across the HVAC, food and beverage industry, marine and automotive sectors to name just a few.”

With a studded connection which comes in five different options, the heat exchangers require no welding when being assembled or any special tools to tighten the plate pack. The opening and closing of the unit requires no disconnection allowing easy expansion of the piping and the overall unit providing easy access to intricate components. 

http://impeller.net/magazine/News_en/doc6777x.asp

Lasers Can Effectively Weld Heat Exchangers

Can lasers perform welds precisely and reliably in the midst of thundering machinery? The prototype of a new laser welder developed by an international team of researchers has now withstood the worst.

At INTEGASA and ENSA, two companies in Spain that produce heat exchangers for heavy industry, the prototype proved itself precise and reliable under the difficult conditions of routine daily use.
“Manufacturers of heat exchangers were skeptical of laser anything until now,” confirms Patrick Herwig from the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS in Dresden. TIG-welding guns have traditionally been employed in assembly operations for welding thousands of tubes to the perforated tube sheets. This process, which is based on arc-welding technology, is very time-intensive however. The gun must be manually inserted into every hole and removed again after welding. As a result, the fabrication process is tedious, prolonged, and expensive. European manufacturers can hardly hold their ground today against competition from countries with low labor costs. Materials researchers, software specialists, production engineers and numerous users joined forces in the EU ORBITAL Project to jointly search for a cost-effective alternative. And found one.
Engineering that meets the most demanding requirements Instead of conventional TIG-welding guns, a laser does the job – tube sheets and tubes are welded to one another rapidly, precisely and accurately. In seconds, the tube is circumferentially welded in place and the robotic arm transporting the welding head can move on to the next hole. The welding head is designed so it anchors itself in the holes and is seated there so firmly than not even vibrations of the shop floor can disrupt the welding process. Precise guidance of the optical beam is handled by software-controlled mirrors that continuously direct it to the right location. Engineers and users from Italy, Spain, France, and Germany have been fine-tuning the process for two years. “The prototype we are exhibiting now at LASER 2013 facilitates the production of heat exchangers, and not just through its speed, but through its flexibility as well. It can even melt materials together that were considered difficult to weld until now,” according to Herwig, who was responsible for designing and testing the welding head during the EU project.
It is exactly these exotic combinations of materials that are needed by manufacturers of heat exchangers. They have to withstand extreme conditions in actual use. Heat exchangers are used in the chemical industry, ship engines, and power plants to remove heat from high-temperature, aggressive solutions of liquids. The tubing these liquids are passed through must therefore be corrosion-resistant. However, the liquid in the tank outside the tubing that absorbs the heat is chemically inert. Cost-effective materials can be employed here. Where tank and tubing meet, differing materials must be joined. “Traditional welding techniques hit their limits here, whereas the job can be handled with the laser,” says Herwig. The researchers are confident that laser welding can be implemented so effectively in production that European companies remain competitive internationally.

http://www.azom.com/news.aspx?newsID=36568

Air Products Wins First Domestic LNG Heat Exchange Contract

Despite having shipped 100 liquefied natural gas heat exchangers to various natural gas fields around the world, Air Products (NYSE: APD  ) has never had an order from a major domestic LNG producer. Until now.
The specialty gas producer announced that its proprietary C3MR liquefaction technology and equipment for use by LNG projects has been chosen for Dominion's (NYSE: D  ) major liquefaction facility that will be constructed at its existing Cove Point LNG import facility in Lusby, Md.
A joint venture between IHI E&C International and Kiewit selected Air Products' Main Cryogenic Heat Exchanger will be a central component of the proprietary propane pre-cooled mixed refrigerant liquefaction process.

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/04/30/air-products-wins-first-ever-major-lng-heat-exchan.aspx

Emerson introduces pre-engineered Heat Exchanger Monitoring Solution

Emerson Process Management has announced the release of an integrated Heat Exchanger Monitoring Solution.

Emerson Process Management has announced the release of an integrated Heat Exchanger Monitoring Solution. The solution is part of Emerson’s new suite of Essential Asset Monitoring applications. The pre-engineered heat exchanger solution embeds process and exchanger best practices into software using existing wired and new wireless instrument applications for cost-effective automated 24/7 monitoring enabling operations improvements and reduced energy costs.

Emerson’s Heat Exchanger Monitoring Solution allows maintenance personnel to schedule optimal time to clean to sustain optimal heat transfer. As a result, facilities can reduce energy and capacity loss due to fouling by up to 10 percent. For a 250,000-barrel-per-day refinery, that could mean a savings of as much as $3.5 million or more annually across all process units.

The environmental footprint is lessened by avoiding additional emissions from heater operation because of improved heat recovery in the process. And safety is improved as wireless data transfer reduces hazardous information-gathering trips to the field amongst exchangers that can be difficult to access, stacked, and filled with hot flammable fluids

"Typical world-class process facilities use hundreds of heat exchangers, which foul over time resulting in missed operating targets," commented Pete Sharpe, Emerson’s director of applications development. "Fouling typically occurs slowly but can be accelerated by inlet stream impurities or incompatible crude blends."
"Energy costs rise when fouling forces downstream process heaters to supply more energy

because of

heat transfer degradation in pre-heat exchangers," continued Sharpe. "Increased demand on downstream fired heaters can also diminish throughput as operating temperature limits are reached, and can increase emissions and potential fines. Avoiding these issues requires an effective cleaning program that enhances operations, and eliminates costs and time lost due to unnecessary schedule-driven cleaning or manual exchanger surveys."

The Heat Exchanger Monitoring Solution is scalable. Users simply choose the number and type of monitoring applications and instruments that are needed for their facility. Dynamic temperature and pressure measurements are trended, historized, and analyzed, delivering alerts of accelerated fouling and optimal time to clean.  Heat transfer, exchanger heat-transfer coefficient, fouling factors and cost of degradation can be calculated. Operations personnel can get valuable insight into operations that can be adversely affected by exchanger fouling.

The monitoring instruments are easily installed and commissioned to form a wireless field network for automatic online measurements. The Heat Exchanger Monitoring Solution uses AMS Suite operator graphics and maintenance screens to communicate continuous online diagnostics and application data to user host systems, control systems, and historians.

"The new automated monitoring solutions reduce costs through pre-engineering savings and wireless efficiency," said Sharpe. "Whereas wired continuous monitoring is traditionally afforded for only the most expensive and critical heat exchangers, the lower costs of Essential Asset Monitoring Solutions enable expanded asset oversight."

http://www.automationworld.com/emerson-introduces-pre-engineered-heat-exchanger-monitoring-solution