Cold-drawn seamless tubes for heat exchange : processes, constraints and evolutions

Authors : Benoit Boulay, Jean-Marc Duhamel,
                 Anis Ayoub
                

Company : Salzgitter Mannesmann Precision
    
Country : France

Topic :

Tubes manufacturing
Piping Maintenance
Flow Accelerated Corrosion

ABSTRACT :

Since decades, carbon and low alloy seamless tubes are widely used on powergen heat exchange processes. Despite the apparent simplicity of a seamless tube, its manufacturing has many constraints which can explain the impositions of procurement (delay and quantity) and the characteristics of the final product (grade and dimensions)

By going through each process step from steel making to tube finishing and packing, we can better understand :

• the different tube industry constraints
• how they were taken into account by the norms and standards
• the way to deal with it
• the inspections and controls

In the same time, power plants productivity and efficiency has become an important issue for our economies. This generates higher demanding working conditions for the heat exchangers tubes. In order to best fit customer requirements and expectations, tubing manufacturers are continuously working to push back the constraints and enhance their products. New evolutions are available and could be developed to improve tubes life performance in powergen mainly for reducing FAC effects.