Areprint from AMcGRAW-HILL PUBLICATION PUBLISHED EVERY OTHER MONDAY Heat-exchanger tube-to-tubesheet connections Stanley Voketl, Energy and Resource Consultens, IncHeat-exchanger tube-to-tubesheet connections Most heat-exchanger failures occur at the point where the tube is secured in the tubesheet. If you want tight, long-lasting joints, you must specify the proper manufacturing and quality control procedures. ~ Stanly Yoel, Energy and Rese Gna, Tt The rrnmaction af the tuber to the tubesheots fe the ost critical element of a shell-and-tube heat exchanger because its reliability depends upon the integrity of the many parallel tube-to-tubesheet joints, Consequently each of ne many jounts must De vittually tree of delects ‘The part of the tube held-to the tubesheet is stressed more severely than the main body of the tube. The con- figuration of joints allows only limited nandeetnesive examination, For these reasons, the tube-to-tubesheet Joint is the site of most failures. ‘To understand the degree of reliability needed, con- sider the functions vf Ure julit aun the euusequences OF failure, Joint functions and requirements ‘The main function of tube-o-tubesheet joints is to seal the tubes tightly to the tubesheets. And for most equipment, an additional major fanction is 10 support the tubesheet against pressure induced loads. Leaking joints may cause 1 Erosion of tube ends and tubchole walls, = Corrosion oF ine lower-allay side. 4 Poisoning or fouling of the atmosphere, 1 Fire or explosion, 1 Tube.wall fouling. © Catalyst poisoning. Product adulteration and degradation. Yield reduction. Power gencrativirapavity seducsion "= Plant shutdown and power outage. When joint leakage is intolerable, consider using dou- be tubesheets You can jusify the extra cout (I) when the hazard caused by a leak is great; (2) when joint failures are more probable than failures in tube bodies. The degree of tightnem you need depends upen tie service conditions. Minor leaks in commercial ow-pres- sure water heaters may be tolerable. Here, if you see a rop of water at the tube joint afer a half hour on hyarostate test, ts hardly sigmheant. Io try to reduce the leakage rate below wateiightness would hardly be worthwhile. On the other haw wusider het Ure portable chloride ion concentration in a surface condenser is 0.1 ppm. A typical brackish cooling. water supply might have a chloride ion concentration of 3 x 10 ppm (1) ‘Avsurface condenser producing 5.000 gpm (3.15 m/s) of condensate could therefore tolerate a total leak of approximately 0.1 gpm (6.3 x 10-® m/s) of brackish Winter The number of tubes in a sro-pats comdenane that could handle the steam load would be approx mately 50,000, making the average permissible leak of brackish water through each joint 10° gpm (oo xau? m/s) ‘Measuring joint tightness One way yon ean aesene the qualiyy of jeinte js to measure how light they are. eis reasonable to assume that if you sec the acceptable measured leakerate below what you can tolerate in service, you will assure that high-quality joins have been made, Depending upon the service conditions, you may use the following to gauge tightness: Boiiterontan ag Halogen-leak testing. # Helen sing Lipid pee ting Formos euimen th Ps see Feel Ce Pra ea argue When You emove techn oboe nee eese We You san rae sey pee ee se water Va aye sated th ve ee sper ates peed tine oneal her te minum seeptable ped) th eg wil betes Tbwever we the beste. igs prot i higher then that he elie te econo eae age vill baby bs fom the chan e bnget ito Es utnen You arenesaey ew ee oe sal eas bend the anes far owen {ite and Motngshend iy ey ave imposie ose tn faedtbenot changers Forte consent ron leauge nel by meaning ow peur ster an ened pod ‘Herat, his ASME plication wil be reed imply atte Ce Meroe rm EMEMEN ENGINEERING, Feb. 9K Copy 2082 by MeGrow Hl ne,(usually 24 h). If the pressure falls, assume there is a leak, However, you must remember that’ (1) ambient temperature changes may cause the pressure to Vary) and (2) small leaks in Stings and connections may Talely indicate joint Ienks By using a test uid more searching than water, you may test for a higher level of tightness than with the extended-time hydrostatic test. ‘Bubblefomatin tating -Afier you test the shell side hydrostatically, you may further test ube-joint tight: ness by performing the leak tests described in Article 10 of Section Vy "Nem destructive Enamination,” of the Code. To perform a gas-and-bubble-formation tet, fill the shell with inert gas or air at the design presure. After 19 min, How bubble solution over the jints and tube ends, The joints are acceptable if there is no continuous bubbling. The tett solution must not reals aveny fram the eve surfaces or break down rapidly because of air drying oF low surface tension. Household detergents and soap s0- Jutions are not suitable. You may obtain proper tet sututions fin sappliers uf siaterials for onideatueeve examination Halogen leak-testng-—For exchangers handling lethal or noxious Huis, halogen diade-detector testing may be suitable. For Cide purposes, the method is not consid- fered quantitative. However, with a 10% (by volume) tracer-gas concentration, the largest actual measured ET RR 79 Te Kynex Con leakerate allowed in Code este ip 1 3¢ 1071 etd mia ‘The detector or “sniffer” sucks air through a tubular probe and then passes it over a heated platinum ele. ‘ment (the anode). This clement ionizes the halogen ‘ap. The ions flow «0 8 collector plate (the cathode) Current, proportional to ion-formation rate, is indi- cated on a meter ‘The sniffer must first be calibrated against a capillary halogen standard that has a leakage rate of 0 to 1X 10" sid m/s of refrigerant gas, and again at in- tervals of not more than 2h during ute Specifi text proveduics vais, a typival procedure fol lows: Clean and dry the shell. Fill t with a mixture of 10% (by volume) tracer gas and clean, dry air or inert as, usually at 30 to 50 psi (207 to 345 kPa}, Allow at feast 30 min for tracer dispersion, Traverse cach weld and insert the probe into each tube end, Be careful to keep the probe tip within Yin, (3.2 mm) of the test srlace Determine the seanning rate by passing the probe over the leak-standard orifice at arate that detects leak- age of 1 x 1071 std m/e ‘Alternatively, encapsulate each tube with a funnel connected to the probe. Determine the response time by encapsulating the standard and measuring its response time The preferred tracer-gas is Refrigerant 12, but you may substitute Refrigerant 11, 21,23, 114 or methylene chloride,—_-Racromesuerjonts Serewctiver Components of a typical packed joint Pinte sing When he aa pred 3 Hey igh tng de ela mae eerste lan ny done wth poble mas sr wo eng doe wit ovate ae the we ted Te Spe one Se ae alos, The mmeoniy hed seat aaa TACs che et oie quate fo cul pups Hower he 198 Gy mS inn pag cauerraten betes seat be m?/s, ‘he hood mato in quunttive The Cae sah nepl gal ange ier SES Se tae Ss tbe mod eas tpi ee i Testing joint strength [3] ‘The pull-out or push-out strength of a tube-to- tubesheet joint cannot be conveniently. measured di rectly in a heat exchanger. Therefore, to find the typi strength of a given joint, you must test joints in a model. ‘The parameters of the model-—tubesheet and tube ma- letials, tube diameter and gags, tuhesheer thiclncas, hole-drilling tolerance and surface finish, hole grooving, weld procedure, ete.—must match those of the produe- tion exchanger. ‘ shiearload test [] 15 used. Both the size ot the ‘model and the number of tubes tested affect the signifi- ccance of the results, Results also vary because of the effects of the range of tolerances int hole drilling, whe manufacturing, material specifications, and joint-pro- ducing techniques. procedures, When you specify or buy equipment, serut nize the joint-fabrication procedures and supporting 80 CETL REE test rule a least as carefully as you sratnize mill test reports of the chemical and phsical properties of the metals and the welding procedures ‘When you doa shearoad test at room temperature, you do nat account for the effects of operating tempers ture [5]. At operating temperature, the different expan- Sm trey in tne ube mts combine th vet of tube and tobesheet strength to produce an unsatsac- tory joint. So for eritical service, consider performing test at operating temperature. ih ‘yeleal operation, Joins may ve_perodially loaded and unloaded, or the direction ofthe load may be reversed. Hence, failure may occur well below the point of failure in’ satie rear When the opernon af En exchanger isto be cyclical, calculate the join’ e- aquired load-bearing eapacity [6}. Test specimen by a- temately loading and unloading to thie value, or by ‘Syersng fads st iy falk Detetinng the humbee of eyes to failure in thi way is expensive, But it may avoid serious problems When you tes tube-o-tubesheet specimens. the ef: fects of ubeshet detection. interpaetemperaiore i ferences, tubesheet temperature gradients and vibra- tion ae excluded. You must conser these effects when you design an enchangor If you de not consider thet uring design, you may have wo conser them when the exchanger fais How tbe-to-tubeslieet juints are made ‘Tube-to-tubesheet joints are made by © Stuffing the space between the tube and the hole with packing, Sealing the tube to the hole with an interference fit © Welding or brazing the tubes to the tubesheets, Using ¢ cuubinalon of methods. Packed joints Fig. 1 Js a shetch of a eypiral packed joint, At the inner side of the tubesheet, the clearance between the tube and hole is just enough to let the cube side through. The counterbored recess at the outer side of Ue lie bs Unreaded for approximately hall ts Gepth. A slotted, threaded ferrule is used to squeeze packing rings into the chamber. The {ition ofthe compresed pack. ing, against the tube and hole determines the erengrh and tightness of the joint. ‘The advantage of packed joins is that they are easy to assemble and rgtube. The tradeofT is that either the tubesheet igements are thi ute tube plteh Is spread. ‘The first alternative requires you to use thick tube: sheets. The second reduces the number of tubes you can install in the shell and also may reduce the shelside coeficient. It is not always as easy to replace tubes as you may have assumed when you decided to use packed joints ‘The threaded connections may beaome freeen: Goto quently, you may destroy the ferules when you try to remove them. Also, the packing may dry out, becoming iff and hard 10 remove, awlore economical and positive methods have largely replaced packed joints. Asie from some small auxiliary exchangers, their principal eureent use is in vertical,Sone econ eens asics different: If the tubes are firmly fastened to both tube- a here tcl oy dein era arpa card wk dpe ag “Alternatives to packed-end recuperator joints are: (1) en apa ea ip Se mace Seog Sly Sneasuen Interference-fit joints Af you were o shrink the holes in a tubesheet onto the tubes, interference between the tubes and holes would ‘create interfacial pressure. The nyaraulle tightness and strength of the joints would depend wpon: Interfacial ft pressure, Surface finish of the tube and hole. Statie coefficient of friction, = Length of tube embedded in the hole. Hole diameter © Poisson's connant Other properties of the pair of metals. An equation that relates ft pressure of shrink-fit Joints to the interference, when the tubes are thin walled (ratio of diameter to thickness more than 10), is (7): IE, 201 + Ee,/E where: P, = interfacial fit pressure, psi (Pa); I = inter- «o ference. in. (mm): b= auteide the racine, in (m); E, = tube elastic modulus, psi (Pa); Ey = tubesheet elastic, modulus, psi (Pa); | 6p = KI + 1) $= #1 = %)/2(b a); vy = Poisson's constant for he wubeshecs, % = Polsson’s constant for the tubes; and tbe radius, in (m). The pullout force is related to the interfacial fit pres- suse Uys Fa 2PM e/a ® vihere: Fe pullowt foreey tb (My a et BY/W(2 — a2); ¢ = radius of an imaginary ring of tube- sheet surrounding the tube, equivalent to a shrunk sing in. (cm) (c may be chosen to be b + the ligament atic coemncient of inction; and 1 = thickness of tubesheet, in, (m). Other symbols are as previously defined. In the derivation of this equation it was assumed that Poisson's constant was the same for both tubes and tubesheet, The effects of the assumption are inconse- quential if you use the average value, ‘The tensile force that will cause a tube to yield is: Fug = (0 + Nb ~ aS a where: Fy = force to cause tube-yield, Yb (N); and Sy. = yield stress of the tube, psi (Pa) 'f vou set the pullout force calculated by En.) ‘equal to the force that will eause tube-yield, calculated by Eq, (3), you ean determine the interfacial ft pressure associated with the strongest joint. This ix Pi = ala + HO — 05,./201 — 4) where: P, = fit pressure for strongest joint, psi (Pa), By reatranging Fa (1) and esherinoting Be for Py vou. ‘can estimate the interference needed to produce the strongest joint, based on an assumed coefficient of fri tion, 27.0 + E,ey!E,6,) : eee ® Tas ds equaion: = ct joint, in. (m). Trwould appear that this could be obtained by shrink firing. However, the sum ofthe holerlling and wihe- diameter tolerances is greater than the interference thet gives the strongest joint. For example: Based on a fric- tion coefficient of 04, I-in.(254-mm) O.D, tubes and Vin. (@Bct earn) thik tbeshecty he sung join I terference for various tube gages and meal pats varies in the range 0.0005 in. (0.013 mm) to 0.0015 i (0.038 mm), The permissible tube undersize is 0.00 (0.1524 mm), The permissible hole oversize is 0002 in (0.0508 mm) for 96% of the holes and. O01 in. (0.254 mm) for 4% The combined tolerance is 0.008 in, (0.2032 mm) to 0.016 in. (0.4084 mm) ‘Therefore, in Spite of attempts to size holes and tubes, shrink fitting has not been a commercial succes. ‘The practical way to achieve an interference fit is to capaitd tie tube into the hole, To eteateinterierence, the tube must be permanently enlarged to a diameter greater than the hele. You do this by applying ra force inside the tbe. ‘When you first load the tube into pesition there is clearance berween the tobe and hole. As you apply pressure, the tube bulges out. If the tube contacts the Bote befoe dhe eapaunling proanne clare ie beyond its elastic limit (yield stress/V3) and you then release the pressure, the tube will spring back to ie eriginal dimensions However ifthe pressure needed to cause contact ex- ceeds its elastic limit, the tube will be stretched perma- rently, Now, if you release the presture, the tube will recover somoohae, but not to fw original dee, The Amount of recovery depends upon the tube properties land tube and hole dimensions The recovery is elastic. Ifyou reestablish the pressure ana again release it, the tube will return to its previe ously relaxed size Measurements of the tube before and after you erference to make the strong- Ta atrom yonns roe py /TeNt a a f Tube : NE seep 1 fixe — 3 |} Threat” jf Get i Washer Hacdenes role tube, before expanding i. 2 stretch it permanently will show that the increase in dliameter is accompanied by a length reduction and by barely perceptihle wall thinning “The relative ammouncs of these dimensional changes are determined by Pois son's constant, the length of tlbe-end expanded, tube diameter and wall thickness. ‘Afi contac as yuu ralbe the pressure, the stress dit- tribution in the tube changes. If you ignore the effecs of adjacent holes and differences between tube and tube- sheet propenies, you can imagine the assembly as a large plate with a hole in its center, with pressure acting in the hole. With increasing pressure, enlargement continues and the plantie rene spreads ouimasl Depeud the paste zone, the stress is clastic. The strew in the elastic zone corresponds with the stress atthe boundary ofthe plas. tic zone, not the pressure in the tube. When the plastic zone reaches the tube exterior, the pressure on the hole is equal to the tube elasiclimit stress Tn the model of a hole in a large plate, the plastic zone radine inerentes beyond the outer tube wall radius as you continue to raise the pressure in the tube. When the plastic zone radius reaches 1.75 times the hole inside radius (1.750), you cannot obtain further enlargement Uecause the tube interior beging to extrude. Ihe corner sponding expansion pressure is (ube yield sess) 0, oF 1.158 Sy Aer you release the pressure. there is some rarowery, which is very nearly elastic. The inside of the tube it now larger than when you started. The assembly is per- ‘manently strained and there is a zone of residual stress ‘beyond the intesivs uf die cube, Realdual stress increases from zero atthe inside of the tube to a maximum, then declines with increasing radial distance. ‘The residual stress at the outside tube radiue ic the interfacial fit pressure, analogous to the pressure you would get by shrink Atting Expanding pressure is probably seldom applied to the peine of fully developing yield in de ubealents DE. cause the resulting tubesheet distortion may be unac- ceptable. Furthermore, the permanently enlarged holes could make it difficult to retube a unit ‘When the tube and tubesheet materials ae different, differences in modulus of elasticity, yield stress and Poisson's constant affect the residual pressure. The ft pressure is also affected by the ratio of outside to inside tube radius (2/0) At one extreme, the plastic limit may he reached in the interior ofa thick tube, while there is not enovgh stress at the outer wall to deform the hole. At the othe, thin springy, strong tube may enlarge elastically enough q permacndy defi a sussuuning be ina low-yield-strength, high-elastc modulus tubetheet, For such a metal pair, when you release the pressure, the tube recovers its original size, but the hole does ‘not therefore clearance is veeaied At neither extreme ean you produce an interference ft When you use Appendix, Sect. VIL, Div. 1 of the Cedp to tablish allowable Toads in expanded tube Joints, it is prudent to establish reliability factors for ‘conditions near these extremes by tes. Expanding is the most frequently used way to join, tubes to tubesheets It is the standard method wed for exchangers builto TEMA Standards [9} Tube expanding methods You may wie the following ways to obtain an inter- ference Bt: Expanding the ube by elng. Explocing cnarges in the ues ends # Compresing an elastomer axially the tube ends to create radial presure. #Sophing bycaule presse dry on the be Roller expanding “The tube roller shown in Fig. 2 consists ofa cylindri- cal cage with equally spaced longitudinal slots. Three seven rollers, nested in the slots, are made of hardened steel. The tapered rmanderl fe tween the roll, The drive end of the cage is threaded to receive a thrust collar and locking nut, You adjust the position of the rolls in the tube by adjusting the position of the thrust collar. To expand the tube, you push the mandrel forward, driving the rolls outward to press on the tube, and then rotate the mandrel Friction berween the mandeel and rolls causes the rolls to tam. Before the advent of power-driven rolling, hammer blows were used to drive the mandrel forward, and you ‘sumed the mandiel with a nscale In power-driven tube rollers, torque is supplied to the mandrel. AS the ‘mandrel tightly presses the rolls to the tube, the surface under each roll isslightly depressed. The tube wall is Squeezed as the rolls Fide up the side ofthe depression, You can supply the force to insert and retract the mandrel by a selfeeding arrangement. If you set the Sints in the cage te malo an angle with te logitdinel axis of the cage, the mandrel will selffeed. You withe raw it by reversing the direction of rotation. However, setting the rolls at an angle changes the ‘motion ofthe rolls to a combination of siding ad rll ing. Ifthe tubes are soft and the tubesheet hard, self feeding may cause the tube to take an hourglass shape. ‘The opposite conditinn may cance » hareel shape. EY ther reduces the amount of contact surface, making the Joint less satisfactory. With self-feeding, the tube is pulled in reaction to the 82 TSEC NOREEN ERTthrust of the roll, You can use the thrust collar to hold the tubes in their axial position as you expand, ‘Torqne ie supplied by electric, air or prac ioe tore, Hydraulically driven equipment is shown in Fig, 3, Unlike sef-eeding rolling tools, its roll slots are in line with the tube length. You insert and retract the man- arel hydraulically. Lhere is no roller thrust or reaction collar, so you must hold the tube in its axial postion some other way. When yo rll « ihe, the effact of the high contact pressure ofthe rolls on the tube is added to the effec of ‘adial stretching, There is markedly more tube wall re duction than if you apply pressure uniformly. This is suovunpanied by asia extrusion of the tube end. It is hard to measure the actual wall reduction. In production, you deduce the reduction by measuring the hale and tube before rolling. and the nihe interinr fier rolling. However, the after-rolling measurement ine cludes the stretching of the hole. Therefore, what you ‘measure is more appropriately termed “apparent wall reduction.” Wall reduction and tube extrusion have each been used a8 indicators of joint strength. However, when you roll thin, springy, strong tubes into a tubesheet. the re- ‘duction may be too small to be a significant indicator of rolling degree. To establish a repeatable procedure, you sense the neque heing dean by the roller, and set the control sop rolling torque at @ predetermined value. Many shops determine the torque eutoff point from measure- ments of wall reduction produced at a given torque level. The all reavcton ws im turn costtated with strength and tightness tests. However, the current trend is to relate torque values directly to strength and tight- Roller expanding demands careful attention to: © Cleanliness of the roller, tube interior, and exterior tube hole © Number of rolls. 1 Angle of rolls relative to tube axis. ™ Roller rotational speed 4 Lubrication and cooling of the roller. Condition of cage, rolls and mandrel. Shape of rolls Measurements Maintenance uf poke wique wut seungs (using a torque analyzer). © Technique of rolling. = Effects of worker fatigue When you have a heat exchanger with thick tube- sheets itis customary to limit the depth of hard rolling to the amount that provices a joint strength equal 10 tube etrangth, Thi ie considered t0 be achieved at depth of 1¥4 co 24, in. (10) ‘The current practice in the US. is to expand the tubes fora length not less than 2 in. or tubesheet thick. ness minus % in. for TEMA Class Rand B exchangers, and the least of twice ube diameter, 2 in, or tubesheet thickness minus % in. for TEMA Class C However, in avnid reeves anwetinn yon may have te bring the tube into contact with the hole for the full thickness of the tubesheet. ‘A less obvious reason for full-depth contact is that when you consider the tubesheet to be a perforated plate, the ef the inside contact with the hole, But, where there is clearance between the tube and hole the effective perforation sizes the diameter of the hole 1 you are concemed only with sealing the unex: panded space, the wo alternatives are: (1) Roll the tube into the tubesheet at the shell-ide face. Then roll the tube nto the mihetheet at the nshewid face “This proce are leaves the intervening space unexpanded; and {@) Expand the full depth, ‘The maximum practical depth that ean be rolled in wim step abuut 2 Iiy Becaune Of me torgue required and tube extrusion, The frst alternative (above) lis You seal the front and back of the tubesheet without excessive mbe compresion resulting from extrusion ‘The second alternative requires special attention to the rolling technique. Ifyou do the rst step at the inner end of the joint and successive steps progresvely out- ‘ward, the cube ond can move out of the hole wid causing the tube to be compresed Extrusion caused by roller expanding will cause tubeshertsto cock ifn improper technique is used, You should establish the sequence of rolling with the fabri- cator as part of the procedure for tubing or retubing a unit. A typical recommended sequence i shown in Fig. 4 When you roll tubes into double tubeshest, the ef fect of extrusion are intensified. The life of the ex changer will be shortened ifthe tubesheets are not set avail wish eath eiher oF If corresponding holes in adjacent tubesheets are not aligned accurately The sequence that will avoid these problems is (1) Fix the tubesheets at each end parallel with each other, with tube holes aligned (2) Set the pair of eubesheets at each end parallel with those at the other end, with holes aligned (@) Tube rthe bundle, fellewing the specified Uvaning procedure (@) Tack-expand the tubes in the front inner tube- sheet in the order shown in Fig. 4 (G) Fully expand the tubes tn the front inner tube- sheet, using progressive step rolling. (6) Repeat Steps 4 and 5 at the rear inner tubesheet () Tart the shall side {@) Repeat Steps 4and 5 atthe front outer tubesheet, (@) Test the gap, if is posible, or the channel side if the gap is exposed SET REESE ET 83Tyrieat 3 before beginning production expanding resmrocrvnemsr 19% Tupatheet Tube Fig 6 _--- Tubesneet jPescion eee _ Compressing od Sea rings “Expanding ° tort Hydrdute c eninge How Hitachi eubber expanding works Fig. 6 a (10) Repeat Steps @ and 9 for the rear outer tube sheet, When you fix the tubes at one end, then roll the tubes at the other, the friction of the rolls may cause the tube to twist. As a result, the bundle may have a noticeable seist after rolling is compleied. You van avid tis problem by using a tapered drift pin to lock the tubes to the second tubetheet ‘The other ways to expand tubes—exploding charges 1m the tube ends, compressing an elastomer in the tube ends, and directly applying hydraulic pressure—apply ‘expanding pressure uniformly Exploding charges in tube ends Setting off ofa charge in the tube ends is called near- contact forming, kinetic expanding, near-explosive ex. panning or Dechactorming™ (17), ‘In kinetic expanding, the tube is the workpiece. The tubesheet and the air gap in the clearance between the tube and hole make up a forming die. The explncves charge package consists of Primacord contained ina ovlinder of polyethylene. The polyethylene mediem transmits the expanding force to the tube in a con walled way Polyethylene is used because it: (1) is cheap; (2) is available; (3) is easy to handle; (4) is exible; (5) resists attack by water and most solvents: (6) has fairly hich density; (7) has a high-enough melting point; (8) does ‘ot react with the tube metal; and (9) does not create a cleaning problem after expanding. From the control standpoint polycthylonw io desinar ble because: (1) it is resilient, accommodating large elastic strains without cracking or bursting; and (2) stress waves are rapidly attenuated as they are prop- gate trough st. Lhe resiliency makes removing the wert easy. The rapid diminution of stress waves mini izes shocks to the tubes and tubesheets ‘To get consistent expansions in the desired expansion region, you must fit the Primacord carefully into the polyethylene insert, leaving no air gap. ‘The pressures generated when you set off an explo- sun Ueciease very Faptaly wlth distance, especialy very close to the explosion. This makes it possible to control precisely the length of tube that you expand, You may contactexpand tubes into a tubesheet after yas: make a primary front-facejoint weld. Precise control of expand g distance lets you avoid deforming the weld. Fig. 5 is a crosesection through a portion of a tube- sheet inte sshich a tube has Lest welded, Te sows tHe arrangement of Primacord, polyethylene medium wrapper and air gap fer controlled contact expanding of the tube without stressing the weld. Jo establish the charge size, perform pull-out load tests, You may substantiate the charge size by measur- ing the strain in unrestrained tubes that have been ex- panded hy sevting off 1 ted charge. ‘The detonation in the tube produces lese-severe sur- face distortion on the inside of the tube than does roll- ing. The tubesheet is not injured by the explosion in the ‘bes. The process is applied mostly to thick tubesheets. ‘The manufacturer must work out the expanding pro- ‘A ademate of FaerWheler Ener Corn ivneton 3cedure. If you review the manufacturer's procedure, ts of attention are: (1) how the charge is estab: hasnea; (2) What steps are taken to ensure that the cone nections t0 the charges are secure and reliable; (3) how misfies are to be prevented: (4) how misfires are to be corrected: (5) hnw the joint i sn he tested and (6) sshat is the procedure for cleanup after expansion. One of the uses of near-explosion expanding is the contact expanding of previously welded-in tubes into ich “ubesheeis Of high-pressure leeawater heaters, Another important use is 1o make expanded-only joints in low-pressure feedwater heaters. Aunique advantage in making explosive-expanded only joints is that with one explosion you can apply full ‘expansion pressure in the vicinity of annular grooves in the tube hole, and contact-only pressure in the balance of the tube end [22] ‘The other uniform-pressure expanding methods are Compessing an elastomer In the tube Hitachi calls its procedure for compressing an elasto- mer in the tube ends to achieve radial expanding force, mbher aepanding” Fig. 6 le a schematie dravring, showing how the Hitachi Rubber Expanding Machine works, The expanding medium is a cylinder of elast mer. The pressing rod, connected to the hydraulic cyi er, pastes througn the medium. When you hydraulic cally retract the pressing rod, the medium is compressed. It bulges radially, exerting pressure uni formly on the tube interior. The radial farre ie uniform at any section perpendicular to the tube axis, However, it probably varies with axial distance in the medium, ‘The seal rings at the inner and outer faces of the clestomer cylinder prevent i fu exuuding during compression, The nut and washer on the inner end of the pressing rod transfer compressing force to the me= ium, Reaction to the compressive force is contained by the thrust bushing seated in the retainer held to the hydraulic cylinder by the te rods When you rubber-expand, the degree of expansion is nd to the hydraulic cylinder retracting. prostuse, However, you cannot directly measure the expansion pressure in the tube end Applying hydsaulic pressure direuily You can supply expanding force by applying hy- draulic pressure direedy in the tube ends (J3./4), Be- cause there is na intervening medlsim, yn ean afrety measure and precitely control the pressure. Further. more, you can repeat the presture within a very narrow Tr diices hydraulic expanding, he working ola i demineralized or distilled water. The basi system con- sists of a two-stage pump and reservoir assembly, oper- ating un, and mandrel, plus needed hydraulic pipine. “ ahows the HydroSwage power unit with hous. ing removed. The compressed-ar-driven Haskel hy- draulie water-pump feeds a fixed-ratio intensifier to produce. hydvaule cppanding presmuve uf appruai ‘ately 40,000 psi (278 MPa). Adjusting the input to the *Aceademarh of Wate Inc The nriide dnb fr Hyde cqupment i Tuque snd Torsion Equpnent in, Camp, Cait Haskel Hyer with hyde wage power unit, swivel fittings ‘tubing, gun and mand Fig.? intensifier les you precisely control the expanding. To make the operation of the unit lesible, you may con- inact the low preesure side tothe intemsifr by rv unbil ical hose. High-pressure water is conveyed tothe gun and man: drel through sections of hydraulic whing joined by the four-axis swivel tings shown in Fig. 7 proxies ‘bility, vou place the ftings on the power unit, between equal lengths of hydraulic tubing, and on the gun (or yan can ne Hovihle capillary snRing) ‘The gun accepts mandrels sized for all cube diame- ters, gages and expanding-lengths. It hat three signal lights to indicate the sage of operation. An amber ight wit the bowomm shows tne start of expanding. green light on the top signals completion ofthe cycle, A red light in the middle comes on only when there isa prob- Jem in reaching the preset expanding pressure, It lights up when the intensifier has completed its stroke without attaining the pressure setting. This may result from a efective tube, or a need for new mandre! sal, ‘A gun and mandi aie alse ia Tig. The Mages that projects atthe forward end of the gun operates an adjustable pressure switch, It must be depressed by con- tact with the tubesheet to activate the switch and turn the gun on ‘The mandrel has front and rear O-rings with backup a Haskel HydroSwage and mandrel Fig. 8_—__ ut ro remesueer sores Haskel tubetock toot rings. You can set the O-rings to seal on the tube inte FoF exacily where you want expansion to stop. O-ring life is affected by the bead height if you use welded tubes. There sno limit wo the mandrel lengeh, therefore you can expand the fell depth of the tubesheet in ane operation. ‘The mandrel of the HydfoSwage systein has a sel centering feature that allows the inside tube diameter to Increase ao much 990.010 in. (1.016 mi) Janine cape sion, with one mandrel, When vou apply pressure to the tbe, the changes in the condition of the tube metal do not take place in- Stantaneously. Therefore, the gun is provided with an adjustable timer, which you set to an experimentally determined dvell ime. ‘Use the following sequence to oupand woes with the HydroSwage: (1) lead the mandrel into the gun; (2) insect the mandrel into the tube: (3) depress the ‘operating trigger button; (4) remove the mandrel when the green light comes on. If the Fed light comes on, n= vestigate the cause. Correct it and repest the procedure 86 When you are swaging, the mandrel is too tightly locked to the tube to be moved manually. The a forces are balanced, therefore you do not have to resist thrust, ‘You have to lock the tube in position before you make a uniform-pressure expanded joint, a joint made hy a hydraulically driven rollar with inline ral slots amd a weldedsfirt joint. For this purpose you may use @ | tapered drift pin, but if a power unit is available, it is more convenient, cleaner and faster to use the tube-lock tool alustrated 1m Fig. ¥. ‘The tuberlock tool operates from the low-pressure of the power unit. A hydraulic cylinder causes the polyurethane segments 19 expand when you apply prec sure. After you release the pressure, the tube has been bulged out enough to hold it axially. However, the tube is not in contact for the full depth of the hole, nor i it Nightly sales. ‘You may use the cube-test tool to verify the pressure given in the expanding-procedure specification. The tool, pictured in Fig. 10, consists of a mandrel threaded atone end, and with a boss on the other, An O-ring is provided as a seal between the rod and tube near the threaded end. A second O-ring seals the back of the boss to the face of the tubecheot in the ligament space suit rounding the tube, The testing procedure is: (1) insert short stubs of tub- ing from the same production heat into the tubesheet; (2) insert the tool into tude end and tighten the nut Against the thrust washer bearing against the tube stub; (8) introduce high-pressure test water through the man drel: (4) inspect for leaks Although the manufacturer supplies the tool as part of a system, you may use it to verify the tightness of. roller-expanded joints, welded- or brazed-only joints ‘ind welded- or brazed-fist, expanded joints, How temperature affects expanded joints The effects of metal temperature on expanded tube. to-tubesheet joints have not been adequately investi gated, Stil, the following elementary discussion may be Useful as a guide ‘You expand vabes into subesheste at swum veniperae ture, but usually operate heat exchangers at other tem. | peratures. The temperature change affects the joint strength and tightnes. Of concern are: 1 Litterences in expansion between tube and hole. ™ Changes in metal properties. © Gree B Changes in cheffciant of fiction, As the temperature changes, ifthe tube expands more than the tubesheet, the joint becomes tighter until there is inelastic deformation. In the opposite case, the joint Ubecomies looser. You can calculate the change in inter= ference by using the following equation A= 2 (T, ~T,) (ty — 4) © where: AY = change in interference; T, = operating temperature, "F (“C); T, = room temperature, “F ("C); ¥p = tubetheet mean coefficient of thermal ex- Pavaivnt jan GnnjCP) or m/(my"C); yy = tube mean coefficient “of thermal expansion, in/(in.)(*F) or m/i(mX"C),You can then appraise its effet by using Eq, (1) and 2 ‘The tube and tubesheet may also expand at different rates along the axis ofthe tube: Imagine astaileserteel tube stub in a hole in a steel tubesheer, with the ends of the stub flush with the tubesheet faces. Ifyou heated the acembly, the tnhe enh world expand more than the tubesheet and protrude from each face. The force to restrain this movement is supplied by friction You can appraise this thermal effect by estimating ‘he intertacial pressure and interlerence needed. It you make the simplifying assumption that the tube is held in a ring of tubesheet having a radius equal to half the pitch, you can develop an eqiuatinn for the smite rium force or contact pressure. You can substi ue in rearranged Eq, (1) to calculate the associated increase in interference needed. ‘Tine equativus Ueveloped this way are Ps = WT, - TE - EDEL ING = PE, + aE In this equation: Py = interfacial pressure required to prevent axial movement af the rela psi (Pa); and = one-half tube holé pitch, in. (mn). ‘The interference that will develop this pressure is: WO + iby) ye = Boll + ib / Po) @ L z @) where: 1” = interference to ereate pressure psi (Pa), in ‘You can include the effects of temperature on metal properties by choosing the values of yield stres, modu- ‘uid seats cucMicicin OF eich expat ated operating temperature. The main impediment to using expanded tube joints at high temperatures is the tendency of the strain to relax with the passage of time. This tendency to creep is enhanced as temperature increases. You may test the creep behavior of the pair of metals by simulating oper- sting conditions in a mode ‘There does not appear to be much information avail- able on the variation of frition coeficients with temperature. Values of the coeficient could readily be determined at various temperatures for given surface conditions and pairs. However there may not be a i= rect relationship between these values and the actual conditiane after yn expand 2 tbe inta a hale Probably the best way to determine the effect of tem- perature on expanded joints is to perform pull-out or push-out tests atthe proposed design temperature after 4 sultable period of heat-soaking. Grooves, flaring and beading ‘A general rule of thumb for expanded joints i that rough tube-holes make strong joints, and smooth holes make tight ones. You can enhance the strength and tightness of the joints by providing annular grooves in thy bites, ‘Tests of the effects of grooving on roller-expanded botler-tube joints showed a 39% enhancement for one Specimen of a tube expanded into a double- grooved hole by uniform pressu Fig. 11 groove and 53% for two [15]. When you roll tubes into grooved holes, the tube metal extrudes into the grooves. ‘The shape of the extruded metal is approximately rec- angular. Overexpanging, which causes axial {0B eX ‘nision, tends to shear these keys, resulting in weaker, less-tight joins, ‘When you use one ofthe uniform-pressure expanding methods, the tube bulges into the groove as shown in Fig. 11. The metalsto-metal interference at the points where the nearly parabolic shape of the tube-bulge fucets the yioure ces fy seapaible 1) taking the Joine tight Many groove configurations have been used. The ‘TEMA Standards for Class R exchangers state, “All tube holes for expanded joints shall be machined with at Teast two grooves, each approximately ¥" wide by "fy" deep. When integrally clad or applied twbesheet facings are ved, all grooves chall be in the bace material unlest ‘otherwise specified by the purchaser.” The standard for ‘Class B units is identical except that “.... by the pur- chaser” is deleted, and the standard for Class C equip- ‘ment requires grooving for tubes %q men U.D. and larger for“. .. design pressures 300 psi and or temper- atures in excess of 330°F ...” Because uniform-pressure expanding bulges the rube inio grooves in the hole (in contrast to the extrusion that rolling causes), you can use explosive, rubber or hydraulic means to expand tubes into the gap between imtegeal duuble ulealesis (7) In uniform-pressure expanding, the groove width, depth and position affect the strength and tightness that you achieve [17]. ‘You obtain the optimum width when the product BW is in the range of 1.5 to 30. Here: B= V0 RE o where: W = width of groove in (mm); R = mean tube radius, in, (mm); and f = tube wall thickness, in. (mm, The joint strength varies almost linearly with groove depth, Ihe minimum depth of groove that you should specify for uniform-pressure expanding is Yo in. (04 mm). ‘Far mavimnm plant srength, tarate the gramuee near the outer tubeshect face. For maximum push-out, position them near the inner face. For alternating serv. Jce place one groove near each face. ‘ifthe direction of the forees resuling from pressure ‘on the tubesheets is outward, you will enhance the joint strength and tightness by flaring or beading the tubes. URGING RORY SE 871m lared-end tubes, you inerease the strength by the force needed to draw the tube down to its original size. ‘On beaded-end tubes, you raise the strength by the force that will shear the bead, Flaring and beading make the tube interfere withthe ‘outer edge ofthe hole. This meta-to-metal interference fea farther harvier to leakenge Another use for beading-over the tube ends is to pro- vide a welé-joint preparation. When you do this, the beaded and welded joint is tight and strong in both atrectons. Tube ends are sometimes flared or beaded to ease tubeside entrance effects You may accomplish this more effectively by expanding the tubes fush with the front face of the tobesheet, then machining a smooth taper or radius from the bore of each tube to a point just short of the middle of the ligament Welded and brazed joints Use welding, brazing, or welding and brazing to join tubes to tubesheets when: © The operating metal temperature is high. © Operation is highly eyclical. 1 Helium-leak tightness is specified. 1 Quality atrurance requires nondactructive euami nation of each joint, . = The dimensions and properties of the joints are unsuitable for expanding, ‘When You choose to weld or braze the tubes to the tubesheet, consider the following questions: © Can the metals be joined by welding or brazing? What is the most suitable process? Has a qualified procedure been established and used successfully in the shop and field? How will the dimensions of tubes and tubeshect WJ ule Teyout affece de welding ut brah? ‘© Will the proximity of the shell or pas partitions to tube holes interfere with producing good joints? Will it be necessary to preheat or to postweld heattreat the joints? If so how will the exchanger be affected? - '@ What nondestructive examinations can be used? Thete questions cannot be ancwored independently of each other. Whether or not metals can be joined by brazing or welding is partly a question of metallurgy, butt is also a question of process and dimensions, Its ‘ot possible, or example, fo fuston-weld titanium tubes to steel tubesheets, but they can be successfully explo- sion-welded. However, ifthe tubesheets are thin and the ligaments small, explosion-welding is not fracihla “The size of the exchanger may affect the procedure. In brazing and fusion-welding itis desirable to have the tubesheets horizontal (ie, with tubes vertical) when yuu do ihe work, The advantage of this arrangement i that the position in which you work on the tube end is constant. By contrast, when the tubes are horizontal, your position continually changes as you traverse the tube, However, few shops have facilities for serting large ‘exchangers vertically. Furthermore, heat exchangers are ‘usually horizontal during hydrostatiy cenuug, ‘Teter fore, it may be impractical or too castly to use the most desirable fusion-welding or brazing position, Basic information on welding and brazing is given in the “Welding Handbook" [14]. In addition, the Ameri- ‘ean Welding Soe. (AWS) publishes articles and dis Sons in ts Welding Journal The New York-based Weld- ing Research Council (WRC) pursues new developments. The council issues progress reports and Interpretive reporse When a. conclusion has, been reached on a new process or development, the Goureil publishes a final report in a WRC bulletin Bracing aud welding processes ‘The processes used mott often to bond tube ends to cubesheets are: (1) brazing; (2) fosionovelding proc. son; and (3) explonve wring Tn brazing, you produce coalescence by heating the assembly 10.2 temperature above 800°F (427°C), This ‘elisa nonferrous filler metal that lows into the space Ueoven sie cube abd hole by expiry aclon “he base metals have higher melting points than the filler and do not mel ‘The operating temperature at which you ean use brazed joint depends on the filer metal as well as on the base metals. Ifyou qualify a procedure satisfactorily under Section 1X of the Coda then under Sect. VITl, Dist the filler metal in considered fo be susteiy fr operating temperatures of 200°F (94°C) or les. You may use certain classifications of brazing filler metals for service temperavures at high as, 00°F (GPC) ityou meet addtional conditions listed inthe Code ‘You must use a suitable flux, atmosphere or ux- smorphera combination vo anclude atmospheric gests that can oxidize or embrittle the braze metal. You can braze either with a torch or in a furnace. Furnace braz- ing may be in an open-flame or a closed furnace “The Joint design and brazing technique must ensure flow of braze metal into the joint. You cannot easily see evidence of such penetration. Consequently, it is pru- dent and customary to reduce the joint efficiency factor. You can use a higher efficiency by preplacing bras ‘metal rings behind the tubesheet and having visible dence that the braze metal penetrated to the front. Tf you follow dhe lauic: procedure, you eliminate me crevice between the tube and hole. Therefore, it may be done to prevent crevice corrosion. When you make the primary joint by frontend welding, you may eliminate crevice corrosion by back-brazing. However, the shell side process fluids must be compatible with the braze deposit ‘Cleanliness of the parte is ssential in sucesaful bese ing. If there is any oil, grease, oxide scale or foreign matter present, you will get porous joints. When you examine a brazing procedure, be sure that a clea speciheation 1s part of It ‘The Code prohibits using brazed joints for lethal- material service and for unfired steam boiler. Moet metallieally hanced joints are made by f welding. The technology is highly advanced, Technical institutions, welding equipment manufacturers, fabri- cators and technical societies continually work to i prove the process ang techniques, Pere ita brit tu mary of the fusion-welding processes and their application to tube-to-tubesheet joints. 88 SANTA NRE TERT ART ETWhen you fusion-weld, you bring the base metals to a molten state. The metals then fuse, forming complex solutions. You may supply heat-ot-fusion by: (1) burning a mixture of gas and oxygen at the joint; (2) applying a voltage gradient to the parts, causing current to Bow neainst resitance: (8) inciicing an eincric current to flow in the metals; and (4) striking an are across a gap subjected to a voltage difference. Ih fusion-welding tubes to tubesheets, the electric are vcenes are normally used, sometimes supplemented by gas welding. Electrodes intended to be melted into joints are termed consumable. Electrodes meant to be used only as terminals are called nonconsumable; if they melt into the molten puddle, they make inferior welds When you use nonconsumable electrodes, you may faze the base metals only, of you may provide Giles metal. Filler may be fed continuously from spools of wire at rates controlled to match welding speed, or you may manually feed a rod of filler metal. In some joints at is advantageous to set rings of filler in place before striking che arc ‘Are welds can be made in the atmosphere, but they tend to become oxidized, embritiled and porous, There fore ar isexcloded from the molten metals by fluxes or shielding gases. You may also use fluxes to contribute metal elements to the weld ‘The Tuston-welging processes used to bond tubes to tubesheets are: WW Shielded metalarc welding or SMAW (“stick”) 1 Gas tunesten-are welding ar OTAW (or 716, tinge sten inert gas). ' Gas metal-are welding or GMAW (or MIG, metal inert ea). ‘© Onyfucl yes welding ur Fw. ‘When you use shielded metal arc (SMAW), you clamp ‘stick of fux-coated metal rod in the jaws of a welding handle. The process is manual, which puts a premium ‘on welding skill, The welder must follow the specified procedure faithfully. Joint quality varies with the sill and the physical and emotional state of the welder. You need an adequate ligament width to aickeweld tubes to tubesheets; the welds are fillet welds. Their best, applicatica is welding heavy-wall tubes to tubesheets. The lavest number of welded rubeso-ubeher joints is Te by using the gas tungsten-are welding proce ‘The nenconsumable elecuede. i Worated tungsten, You shield the weld from the atmosphere by blanketing it with inert gae(helinen, argan, C1) ar roiee tures). The gas flows at a controlled rate through an annular space between the electrode and surrounding nozale. You may also blanket the back side ofthe joint wwlah shieiding gas. You must take great care not to let the electrode touch the weld puddle, because tungsten inclusions ‘embrittle the weld. ‘A projection of the tube may melt to act as filler metal in the joint. You may also feed filler metal from a ‘wire spool continuously through the nozzle, or hand- Fd ateagticTenults wo she ‘A variety of systems is available for automatically ‘welding tubes to tubesheets by the GTAW process [19]. Kynex automatic welding gun for welding subae tn tha hal cde nf tha tuhechaat Fig 12 The Ciber-Tig* system consists of a gas-tungsten-are neluing niachine, programmer, auromatie wDetO-1Ube- sheet welding head, and motor speed controller. ‘The system automatically controls the flow of pre- urge gas, shielding gas and post-purge eas. wire feed- tate, rotational speed and weld voltage buildup and decline. Various accessories are available to contr the welding remotely, stabilize the are and record are volt ages, currents and sequences. The latter accesvory i cx tremely valuable for establishing welding procedure specifications and controlling their application. You can join the nubes to the front ar rear face of the tupesneet by using the GTAW process If you forge tube-hole projections on the rear face, you can butt weld the tubes to the projection, This permite you to radiograph the the-to-tuhecheet weld [20,21] ‘When you weld the tubes to the back side of the tube- sheet, the perforation in the tubesheet is the same as the tube LD. This gives you fexibility in making future peers ‘Kynex Corp. of Rome, N.Y., provides an onsite auto- matic tube-to-tubesheet joint-welding service. Fig. 12 shows the Kynex GTAW’ process gun for welding near the back side of a tubesheet. Fig. 13 shows the Kynex: automatic face-welding gun for performing welds where the tubes are ush with the front face. Tn the gas metal are welding proces the electrode iz consumed. You feed it from a spool through a nozzle. Shielding gases flow around the electrode through the nozzle. You may use gas up behind the joint as in “A ndetk of Habart Brot. Ca, Troy, Ohi. kyr tubes to front tubes“rose ro-renesueér jos raw. Orthe electrode may be a small tube, filled with ux that contributes alloying elements to the weld, This is called flux-cored wire ‘ihe most suitable use tor GMAW 1s to make fillet welds that join large-diameter tubes to front tubesheet frees. Reliable fusion welds must he free of poracity, none metallic inclusions, and cracks, To achieve this quality, you must meet the following conditions: (1) the base ‘metals must be compatible; (2) the tube ends and holes dmsust Le wonpleiely free of fuscigin inauces; (9) the env ronment must be clean and dry; (4) the Aux on coated rods must be dry; (5) shielding gas must be bone-dry; (6) the base-metal grain structure must be uniform: (7) ‘gases generated by welding must be able to escape the weld puddle; (8) the tube-to-tubesheet temperature ‘must be kept nearly constant after you begin welding; (©) you must eiclade condensation moistusy ninu yuu interrupt welding; (10) you must not let the voltage and current output of the welding source fluctuate; and (11) you must keep the welding area free of stray magnetic elas, Metals to be fusion-welded: must be able to form tough, crackfree solid solutions. When the tube/tube- sheet pair does not meet this requirement, yas may’ clad the tubesheet face with a metal compatible with the tubesheet and the tubes Ifthe tube and tubesheet are not serupulouly clean before welding, you cart count om porosity at best and complete joint failure at worst, Be sure that any weld procedure that you review requires mechanical cleaning. of the tube ends and holes followed by washing with a volatile chloride-ion-free solvent. To assure the quality of the joint, make this a quality-control held point. Ordinarily, clean, untreated atmospheri able welding environment. But for some bes svtal pairs you must surround the work area with uniferm= temperature, controlled-humidity, filtered air, You may do the work in a special room called ‘clean room’ or in housing that surrounds the tubesheet, ‘The consumables—weld rods and shielding gases— must be dry. When you evaluate a shop's capability of making «annd then-twhesheet forian welds, make ‘certain that itis standard shop practice to store opened containers of flux-coated rods in moisture-excluding ‘ovens. On the working floor, opened packages of loose tude vuyli w9 be held in portable rod-warmess, Note alo that, before a cylinder of shielding gas is connected. to the welder, it should be tested with @ moisture-sensi- tive paste ‘The grain structures of tubesheets made from large rolled plates or forgings may vary across the surfaces. If a tube hole pierces the tubesheet where an unsatisfac- tory local condition exists it van wause a faulty weld ‘This may show itself at a spot where the local carbon ‘content is 100 high to make a tough weld. You can sur- ‘mount this problem by cladding the tubesheet with a thin layer of weld deposit of acceptable composition before you dril it Ifthe gates produced by fusion welding cannot freely inerape fram the weld puddle, the tube jeint welds may >be porous and predisposed to cracking. When you make the joints at the front face of the tubesheet, using the 90 CERT ERTS PRD geometries shown in Fig. 14, you must hold the tubes in place. You may do this by tack-welding the tubes, ex- anding the tube ends with a drift pin to make line Contact, oF using a device like the previously described Haske tube-setting tool The practice of setting tubes by lightly rolling them belie wading ie likely cane trouble by ($) net par mitting an adequate escape path for welding gases at the root of the weld; and (2) introducing foreign matter to the surfaces to be welded (lubricants and flakes from the roller ana cage ot the expander). Ifyou let the tubesheet temperature vary widely dure ing welding, the size of the root opening will vary from Joint to joint. As welding heat spreads thenmghevm the tubesheet, the holes deviate from roundaes. The amount they recover depends on the change in radial ‘temperature gradient. As the welds solidify they shrink, hich further diswres che hles near he Joba being made. To reduce the amount of distortion, keep the tubesheet at 2 uniform temperature. ‘When welding is interrupted, itis advisable to warm the ubesheet beloreresaring, Restart warming ctep- arate from pre-heating and. post-weld heat-treating, which serve different purposes. The re-start warming alto halpe to diepel condensation moisture Ifyou interrapt the welding for a long time, conden- sation moisture may settle in the unvelded joints. It can ‘make subsequent welds porous when the moisture va- Porize Good practice isto put acoth bay of devecemt in a plastic wrapping around the assembly. Although you might not notice it, the line-voltage Auctuater These variatinne tay change current and are-gap length, and cause unseen changes in the weld penetration and metal deposits. For best results use a voltage regulator on the supply to the welding machine. ‘Slnvpo ate full of stray magnetic Nelds (often gener ated by neatly coiled leads of welding cable). External magnetic fields add to the effect of are blow, a defec- ‘lon of welding current in directcurrent welding caused by variations of magnetic flux in the work piece. Arc blow may cause skips and uneven tube-joint welds The reliability of fusion welds also depends upon the Joins design. When you desiga « jut mas faciuia ‘consider are the leak path and the strength ofthe weld, For tightness, the Jeak path through the weld throat should be at least as long as the tube wall thickness You can design the weld joint to be as strong as the tube in resisting axial loading, or to just meet the Code requirements, Tube welds probably fail more from lo- alive strve tan From axial loading (22) Simply add ing weld metal does not always help. “The joint design should allow the basic weld configu- ration to be replicated easily. Furthermore, there are so ‘many Joints that you have to consider It key that some will fail on test or during the life of the exchanger. Therefore, joint geometry should permit repairing. For joint designs for high-presmire evchangere or those in nuclear or other hazardous service, consider also [22} Joint weld-stress due to tubeshect flexure = Tuwwsactivus Yeoveri dhe ubes and tubemneet ree sulting from differential thermal expansion, Residual welding stress.1 Effects of combining welding with expanding. You may examine the fatigue strength of specific joint designs by using Code methods for these service Taivement, Explosive welding ‘When the metals are not compatible for fasion weld- ing, but you need the tightness and strength of welded Joints, consider explosive welding ‘The AWS defines explosive welding (EXW) as 1)" solid-state welding process wherein coalescence is ef fected by a high-velocity movement produced by acon wwollea detonation ‘There are three requirements for explosive welding {23}, One, you must progresively bring together the ‘two components. thereby producing a collision fenne that traverses the surfaces :0 be joined. Two, the veloc- ity of the collision front must hot exceed 120% of the Cl a tI Ft ft LL Some typical weld:joint configurations Fig. 14 SR RERENE TROT TT 1Tepe To-TUpESMEEE orsTs sonic velocity of the materials. And three, the pressure created at the interface must be several times the yield Srongth af the materiale Tf you meet these conditions, the component surfaces become molten at the collision front. The molten metal, together with any surface contaminants, is propelled Delore tne colnsion tront in the form of jet. Ihe jet is jected from the interface at the tube end. Upon pas- sage of the jet, the cleaned surfaces, in contact under high preasine, diffs into each nther 0 farm a mevate lurgical bond, Any tube projection is severed at the rubesheet face. ‘The bond interface has the shape of a sinusoidal wave This preven wipe wivkeninecal ejesion because some i entrapped by the vortices astociated with the wave peaks and troughs. Although the velocity front must not exceed 120% of the sonic velocity, explosives that produce a higher- velocity front are cheap and casy to handle. To use them you must make an angular joint preparation. Fig. 15 ia a ochematic representation of the process The tube hole, tapered outward toward the front face, makes an angle with the tube. When you detonate the ‘explosion near the junction ofthe tube and the untap- Insert poiionng tet ¢_ Detonator ube, Detonation —= “uesheet ~ bolten jet ring wang Welding compl Explotive tube-welding sequence Fig. 15 2 SISTER CRE ered part of the hole, the blast makes the tube collide with the hole, The distance the tube must travel to the collision point ie progressively greater along the tube because of the taper. This reduces the collision-point velocity below the detonation velocity and makes it pos sible to use high-velocity-front explosives, ‘he snereasing gap Detween the tube and hole limits the surface area you can weld. However, this is accepta: ble because you can get enough welded surface to attain fall weld strength, ‘The depth of the countersunk taper usually is 10 % in, The angle used lies between 10 and 20 deg. High angles produce larger wave lengths than do smaller Cones, afd hls causes less jet-metal entrapment at the interface. Therefore, you should use high angles when the combination of molten tabe and twbesheet materi- als produces a britle interme However, when you must have small ligaments, you have to reduce the angle to machine less metal out of the ligament. You must make a compromise between the geometry and metal segura ‘The tube-wall thickness mainly governs the ligament thickness needed to avoid deforming the hole. Because thick tubes accelerate more slovly than thin ones, they need higher charges to reach the collision velocity re- quired for explosive welding. Ifthe tube wall-mase ac- Celerated to this velocity distorts the ligament, the colli- flan preeeare will he reduced, ‘You may partially circumvent this problem by put- ting tapered plug supports in adjacent unwelded holes. Another expedient is to reduce the tube wall in the re- gion of the joint, Tube-wall thicknesses versus ligament ‘widths for unsupported and supported ligaments have been experimentally determined and tabulated 23], Fig. 16 is a photograph af a crnes eeetian af an expe. sively welded tube-to-tubesheet joint. Inspecting brazed and welded joints ‘The configuration of brazed and frontface fution- welded joints restricts your ability to perform signif ‘cant nondesinictive tests An evperionced welding inepecter, using © etrong light, can detect most surface flaws. Properly done, Buld’penetrant examination can reveal surface porosity and cracks that might not be found on the visual exam- nation. Netiher visual Inspection nor Nund-penetrant examination will disclose the presence of subsurface porosity, inclusions and cracks. Nevertheless, they are important becausé: (1) surface defects reaconahly may bevassumed to indicate internal defects; and (2) these checks are simple to do. ‘Weld metal in which surface defects have been found sthvuld be send wri sound neta Is found. Before & repairis attempted, take extreme measures to make sure the pars are cleaned meticulously. When visual exam- nation under strong light discloses no visible evidence of foreign matter, clean the surfaces with at least three ‘washes of distilled water, Follow this with three solvent washes and clean-air drying. Acetone has been used dutecssully. However, tis highly Runnabe aun caper ‘vapors is Undesirable, use it carefully You can examine radiographically joints made by welding the tubes to the rear tubesheet face [24], Plac-snd rte ea gi a Combining joining methods When you make the primary joint by welding at the front tubesheet face, you obtain the following benefits by aloo expending the tulns to iishe Tight cuunact wide the hole wall: 4 You close the crevice between the tube and hole. For the purpose of eliminating crevice corrosion, this is preferable to boring enlarged holes inthe tubesheet behind the joi You reduce the effective perforation diameter, thereby increasing the tubecheet etifness and its load bearing capacity. '@ You isolate the weld vibration, thus increasing re- sistance to fatigue feilure (25). You reduce discontinuity Hexural stress between tube and ligament. In addition to these benefits, you make a tighter, sronger joint, and igolate the weld from axial lnade ‘when you strength-expand (expand enough to develop full expanded joint strength) the tubes after welding. However, ifthe tube and tubesheet have different line cat weifeienis Of herital expansion and dhe operating temperature is high, the restraint of the strength- expanding will impose thermal stress on the weld If you make the primary tube-fastening by expand- ing, scal-welding provides a second barvier to leakage. ‘The sequence in which you combine welding with expanding may determine the results you get. There are several reasons to weld first, Foremost is the need to provide welding surfaces that are totaly free of foreign substances. If you use hydraulic or rubber expanding you may obviate this problem, *Sthere are other reasons to weld fist. The previously discussed restraint of differential axial thermal expan- ion between tube and tubesheet may cause weld-root re and oracle if you expand fret In addiciony whan. the tube is tightly pressed against the hole wall, gases produced by welding must escape from the surface of the weld puddle. This increases the prospect of porosity. it the tube-oint welding procedure requires you t post-weld hest-treat, there is no point in expanding first The heat treatment will relax the tube. Tt ix inconveniant ta world fret hecanen wld metal ay overlap the tube end, and weld shrinkage may re- duce the tube LD. so that it is dificult to insert expand- ers, Deal with these problems by reaming out excess etal at the tube mut Jin non-U-tube exchangers, another way of combin- ing joining methods is to weld the joints at one end and expand them at the other. You may choose this con- struction because one end operates at @ high tempera- ture and the other end is cool, or because the fluid envi- ronment makes it desirable. Section through explosh Welded tube-totubesheet joint Fig. 16 Joints can be made by combining expanding and packing (gasketing) [26], Fig. 17 is a photograph of a section through a joint in an explosively clad tubesheet, ‘To make this Joint you prepare te hele By machining an annular groove into the base metal and another in the alloy cladding. The grooves are somewhat deeper than the TEMA standard depth, but are Hnted hy the ligament thickness A suitable rubber gasket (usualy temperaturestessiant silicone) is inserted. into the grooves. The tube ends are cleaned, inserted, and the tie fp expanded Uy ke OF dhe presiously Uecribed methods ‘The specific application ofthis with the case of high-strength. thi L modulus tubes to be joined t6 low-strength, high-elas -modulus tubesheeis. When you design this kind of Joint, you cannot assume that the tubes support the tubetheet. ‘A modification of this combination is 1 use O-ring grooves and O-rings. You do this at one end of a twor tubesheet unit, while fixing the other end. Each tube may then float individually to accommodate diferene tial expansion between adjacent tubes, Expanded and gasketed joint Fig. 17 THROAT ONES RAR ET 93reserorsesieerjonrs Failures in tube-to-tubesheet joints You will ind most failures in the region of the rear face of the tubesheet. That is where most tubes are an shoved to the subeslcet and rective bending and tors sional loads. Also, if the tubes are subjected to vibra: tion, this area may fail When the tubes are expanded into the holes, there is a wanstion from the expanded diameter to the original diameter near the back face. This is also the location of the highest fluid shear on the tubewall and consequent sresion/carrorion in the tubes In thinwalled tubes, an error in expanding tech- nique in which the tubes are expanded beyond the rear face may lead to crackin I you ue a regresve (font to rear) olle-expanding technique, you will create compressive loads in the tubes and the reaction will be taken here. Inside the tube, shires may reeult from workshard- ening, stress-corrosion-cracking and fatigue Outside the crevice, corrosion may attack When you fusion-weld austenitic stainless-steel tubes ww cubealicis, there may be precipitation of complies carbides in a heat-affected zone behind the weld. An sxmosphere that the stainless stel ordinarily resists may tome this ane When a tube-joint welding procedure requires pre- heat or postoweld heat treatment, the emplacement of thermocouples to control temperature Is eritical to voiding distortion and undesised metallurgical changes Fusion welds may fil because of (1) hidden porosity oF large gas pockets; (2) blowholes caused by burn: Through ot the tube wall; and (3) Tost bead tears, Root bead tears may cause stres risers. Grain-bound- ary precipitation, underbead cracking, and thermal stress compound the eect. High stress in the joint may cause cracks to grow normal tothe tube wall. Base metals sensitive to fasure cracking may sensitize the weld metal, Root tears may ‘open the way to weld failures Summary Pay careful attention to the design and production of tube-to-tubesheet joints, because their functions are cr sential and the consequences of failure are dire. Make adequate tests of tightness and strength, Be sure to qualify testing and manufacturing procedures and personnel, Relate the kind of joint, manufacturing provesert, testing and nondestructive examinations to the service of the unit, Consider the size and shape of the ex. changer when you select a joint design and joining method. Remember that the way the jot are nace affects the overall structure of the equipment. ‘To produce acceptable joints, cleanliness and faithful adherence to qualified procedures are essential. ‘Take advantage of the best features of different kinds of joints by combining them. Pay special attention to the part of the joint where the tube emerges from the rear face of the tubealncs, because itis the most likely place for failure to occur, Rey V. Hughon, Edie References 1 Serr. H. Ute, “The Oca Noh frre Sime MSR at ght Reo VN fh Se DT a Der i a Shain on he beable nator oe ea nt Neel i nna Bas SR Bpeccnton Be oct se nt Sand fr Povey Pag Hest Eahaoen” te Te He champ intce Cen Oka 0 TOE howe sbus ees Imumrecnmended meal empeora or ebanddicena meses) Bey 6 ASME Boe and Pent Vel Co Seton VI, i. 1 2. Yelay 1 °A Working Guide othe Shell and Tbe Heat Esha SSSR Vie cc ln a art * Ge) ad Seen 6: Te Hg Pe hale te os at fy 1980 amar remind Chit, eof Tula Eehanger Manufacture Asoiaton” 6h ey, The Tubular Ethane Samuacnses hay Ses Wo NE 10. Gondie, J 8 and Scam Joy 1. Reman I, and Serecaer JW, Nex Eaplove Forming, “Explosive fe et Bes aie 12 era ae Se Dom Pe Pa aon FuEitionEnen, es Coonan Spc ene ey Ra 13. dead ple ered teestat 14. Kips H, and Podhonts, M, Hyémulie Expnsion o Tube. 168 Rrgctnt (Se German’ Ny te Bees ott 13, Mapwell G.'4. Practical specs of Making Expanded Jima, aw {aE de 36, ola S, Double-Titeter Hee Exchanger Dalgy Siopt She Tabe Leahy: Ec Sia 19, p13 Yose Sanbohet Mh okt Tatts Se (pin non 1. is Haha cae Wg an, OER ach array ie fe amy re Siva ages Soon Poca Sai Ti he Ng 2 Re Fe in, Iman ne ae xan ads ce 2, rata Ho Fn A Wa ot Sean Gna 2 SSERLL ie ipa oe Inet katte rated epee 2 Hac. RG tr Faun nd Neg ane Rai Jai ate nd Pe, 7 Tne Fate a a i sl 7. p 43.1877), [Description of a new technique) Baddest fy Kl on of Mecho Engncen nual Nes Bee fai ee ‘The author Sane Yael i Seni Conan or (208 Cooper Ave, Upper Montclair, NP somes ues BENE fim New York Unvertiy, and Praterean ater hd Tinember of the Space Working See Vil, ASHE Boiler rate Cll SMa SETWORLD LEADER IN HYDRAULIC EXPANSION TECHNOLOGY SPECIALTY TOOL SERVICES A Division of Specialty Tool & Supply, Inc. 2330 N. FM 3083 RD. E. CONROE, TX 77303 PH: 936-760-1100 FAX: 936-760-3100 TOLL FREE 800-360-TOOL (8665) www.SpecTool.com