Condensers / Heat Exchangers

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Fulton Systems has supplied heat Exchangers to the Paper Industry since the 30's. This experience is reflected in the success of our designs and over 1500 installations.

Heat Exchangers have several applications in a paper mill:

  • Convert spent steam into condensate for return to the boiler

  • For some paper grades, particularly the lighter ones, Heat Exchangers allow the wet end dryers to be operated at the lower temperatures required by the sheet.

  • Heat exchangers can be used to heat make-up water or other fluids.
There are two basic designs of Heat Exchangers:

U-Tube Heat Exchangers
As the name implies, have tubes that have been formed in a U pattern. The U-tubes are nested and their ends are attached to a single tube sheet. The tube sheet is fixed to the flanged end of the heat Exchanger shell and the tubes are allowed to expand within the shell.

Floating Head
These units have straight tubes with their ends attached to two tube sheets. One tube sheet is fixed to shell while the other is allowed to "float" and expand.


Typical Fulton Heat Exchanger


Comparison of the two types:

Item
Floating Head Condenser
U-Tube Heat Exchanger

BEST USE

 Any, particularly good for cycling loads and poor quality cooling water Best for steady loads and fair-good quality cooling water
TUBE CLEANING
 Flushing, chemical and mechanical brushing are all possible Flushing and chemical only. Brushing limited to straight portion of tube
THERMAL CYCLING
 Straight, equal length tubes share stresses evenly Highest stresses on shortest tubes with tightest bends
STEAM FLOWS
 Optimum flow and heat transfer with good baffle design Design relies on open space to dissipate and distribute flows
HEAT TRANSFER
 Larger shell diameter means lower steam velocities, which improve heat transfer Smaller, longer shells reduce heat transfer rates and increase installed and bundle removal space