Heat Exchanger Service
LEAKAGE
TEST
K°NOW HOW
CRACKS IN PLATE PACKAGES ?
Leakages can be triggered by material fatigue of thin-walled heat exchanger plates or wear caused by years of exposure to aggressive or abrasive media. In short-term heating, thermal stress during start-up and shutdown puts particular strain on the plates and gaskets.
High pressures and pressure surges can also provoke leakages, as they affect the plates and the seal seat. Many influencing factors that cannot be avoided in daily operation can therefore lead to leaks in the plate apparatus.
To avoid unplanned downtimes of your plant and to increase the process reliability, it is important to detect material fatigue at an early stage.
K°NOW HOW TO SOLVE IT !
A hydrogen-nitrogen mixture is fed into the closed plate heat exchanger on the water side and flows through the plate channels. If one of the plates shows even the finest hairline crack, minute quantities of this porous gas flow to the second, drained media side, where a sensor can detect them accurately.
The testing time per heat exchanger is reduced to about one hour and is thus only l/20th of a comparably reliable dye penetrant test.
Another big advantage is the use of completely non-hazardous hydrogen-nitrogen mixture (ISO 101569).
The hydrogen method is based on a test gas (consisting of 10% hydrogen and 90% nitrogen) that can be used for both leak detection and leak testing.
Hydrogen is the lightest molecule of all, and hydrogen components are not present in normal atmospheric air.
In contrast to the use of helium, it is therefore able to detect plate fatigue due to initial corrosion or material abrasion at a residual plate thickness of less than 0.2 mm.
EFFECTS ON YOUR PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE
A heat exchanger normally has a long life cycle curve but this can decrease drastically in the event of fouling or cracks occurring in the plates.
This leads to performance issues, costly unplanned downtimes and lost profitability.
With our service, these can be avoided. By testing for cracks and applying appropriate measures to ensure maximum performance, we can add value to the heat exchanger, ensuring it works reliably for longer.
Regular servicing prevents a premature decrease in performance or overloading the machine..
Contribution to the environment
As a result, the technical service life of a product is increased, fewer new products will therefore have to be produced overall in order to provide a required function on a permanent basis. This saves not only money, but also decreases both the material and the energy consumption for a sustainable business.
