Tuesday, December 13, 2016

AM-EX Steam Surface Condenser (Main Steam Condenser)

December 13, 2016 - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Did you know that American Exchanger Services, Inc. (AM-EX), specializes in the engineering, design, and fabrication of Steam Surface Steam Condensers? Contact AM-EX for your Steam Surface Condenser requirements.

Contact AM-EX for your solution to:

1) Combined Cycle Steam Surface Condenser
2) Biomass Steam Surface Condenser
3) Fossil Steam Surface Condenser
4) Nuclear Steam Surface Condenser

REMEMBER TO CHOOSE AM-EX FOR YOUR STEAM SURFACE CONDENSER MANUFACTURER


AM-EX Biomass Steam Surface Condenser

Friday, December 9, 2016

Shell & Tube Heat Exchangers - Pulp & Paper

12.09.2016 - December 9, 2016 - Milwaukee, Wisconsin 

American Exchanger Services, Inc. (AM-EX) - is most well known for our high pressure feedwater heaters, low pressure feedwater heaters, and intermediate pressure feedwater heaters. What many customers do not realize, is that AM-EX has been supporting the Pulp & Paper industry for well over 30 years. When it comes to shell and tube heat exchanger equipment in the Power House, Recovery Boiler, Vetrical Tube Evaporator Train, or any other misc shell and tube equipment, AM-EX is here to provide experience and expertise. AM-EX has a wide range of experience in all sorts of exotic alloys such as Inconel, Duplex, Hastelloy, AL6XN, etc along with more basic materials such as carbon steel, and austenetic stainless steel. 

Along with providing new designed and fabricated equipment (and replacement equipment), AM-EX also provides 24/7 emergency field service repairs. Typical repairs such as Feedwater Heater Retubing, Feedwater Heater Explosive Tube Plugging, Falling Film Evaporator Retube, Vertical Tube Condenser Retube, Steam Surface Condenser Repair, Steam Surface Condenser Retubing, Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger Retubing, and general Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger Engineering analysis and repairs. 

Contact your AM-EX specialists at Sales@amexservices.com for any of your Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger needs. AM-EX specializes in TEMA and HEI standards. 

AM-EX Digester Steam Economizer - Pulp and Paper - Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger - TEMA Type CET
AM-EX Digester Flash Liquor Cooler - Pulp and Paper - Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger - TEMA Type BES

AM-EX Cold Blow Cooler - Pulp and Paper Shell & Tube Heat Exchanger - TEMA Type NEN

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Bottom Circulation Heater - Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger Shipment

December 8th, 2016 

Yesterday, American Exchanger Services, Inc., or simply AM-EX for short, shipped a Vertical Head Up Bottom Circulation Heater to one of our valued Pulp & Paper customers. Along with power generation equipment such as Feedwater Heaters, Main Steam Condensers, and CCWs; AM-EX also specializes in Pulp & Paper shell and tube equipment. This bottom circulation heater is one such example. 

This TEMA type NEN heat exchanger has 2205 Duplex tubes, tubesheet, channel, and welded tubejoints. 

Contact AM-EX for more details at Sales@amexservices.com

AM-EX Pulp & Paper Heat Exchanger

Monday, December 5, 2016

American Feedwater Heater Manufacturer For Over 3 Decades!

American Exchanger Services, Inc. or simply AM-EX for short, has been manufacturing Feedwater Heaters for over 3 and a half decades. Contact AM-EX for more information on how we can provide you with your Feedwater Heater solutions.

AM-EX specializes in High Pressure Feedwater Heaters (HP Feedwater Heaters), Low Pressure Feedwater Heaters (LP Feedwater Heaters), Intermediate Pressure Feedwater Heaters (IP Feedwater Heaters), Feedwater Heater Retubing, Feedwater Heater Rebundle, Feedwater Heater Field Service, and Feedwater Heater Explosive High Pressure Tube Plugging.

Contact Sales@amexservices.com for more details or call 262-670-6600

Thursday, November 17, 2016

Do you need to replace your Feedwater Heater? Podgrzewacze Regeneracyjne, Speisewasservorwärmer, Speisewassererhitzer, ohříváky napájecí vody

Is your Feedwater Heater underperforming? Has your Feedwater Heater been in service for decades? Are you constantly opening and closing your Feedwater Heaters? Are you isolating your heaters for plugging? Is your Feedwater Heater over the recommended plugging margin?

If so, contact your Feedwater Heater experts at American Exchanger Services, Inc., or simply AM-EX for short.

AM-EX is capable of providing:

1) New (EPC) Feedwater Heaters (LP Feedwater Heaters, HP Feedwater Heaters, IP Feedwater Heaters)

2) Replacement Feedwater Heaters (LP Feedwater Heaters, HP Feedwater Heaters, IP Feedwater Heaters)

3) Feedwater Heater Rebudle and Design Modification

4) High Pressure Feedwater Heater Retubing (HP Feedwater Heater)

5) Low Pressure Feedwater Heater Retubing (LP Feedwater Heater)

6) Feedwater Heater Engineering Analysis

7) AM-EX Feedwater Heater Explosive Tube Plugging

8) Misc. Feedwater Heater Repair Services

9) 24 hrs a day - 7 days a week international emergency Feedwater Heater Field Service

Contact your Feedwater Heater Experts at Sales@amexservices.com

AM-EX is an HEI member company, and an ASME Code Shop.

AM-EX is here to work with our customers across the globe if you call our equipment Feedwater Heater, Condensate Pre-Heater, Podgrzewacze Regeneracyjne, Speisewasservorwärmer, Speisewassererhitzer, ohříváky napájecí vody, or подогреватели
питательной воды. Contact Sales@amexservices.com for details

AM-EX Podgrzewacze Regeneracyjne
AM-EX Speisewasservorwärmer (Speisewassererhitzer)
AM-EX ohříváky napájecí vody
AM-EX подогревателипитательной воды


Monday, November 14, 2016

Low Pressure Feedwater Heater Refurbishment

November 14, 2016 - Hartford, Wisconsin

It is hard to believe that the photographed feedwater heater was fabricated decades ago. American Exchanger Services, Inc., or simply AM-EX for short, has completely overhauled, and replaced the bundle, to this old low pressure feedwater heater. The material in the old design was admiralty. AM-EX redesigned the new feedwater heater bundle with TP304 Stainless Steel. AM-EX was able to meet the same performance of the admiralty feedwater heater by utilizing design modifications on the replacement TP304 feedwater heater bundle. 

AM-EX Low Pressure (LP) Feedwater Heater Bundle Replacement

Please contact AM-EX for more details, and for how AM-EX can provide a solution to your Feedwater Heater requirements. Contact AM-EX Sales team at Sales@amexservices.com

AM-EX specializes in the design of feedwater heaters, fabrication of feedwater heaters, manufacturing of feedwater heaters, repair of feedwater heaters, retubing of feedwater heaters, rebundle of low pressure feedwater heatesr, and explosive tube plugging of high pressure feedwater heaters. 

Monday, October 24, 2016

American Feedwater Heater Manufacturer

American Exchanger Services, Inc. (AM-EX) has been a leading manufacturer of Feedwater Heaters for over 32 years, all under the same ownership! When it comes to High Pressure Feedwater Heaters, Low Pressure Feedwater Heaters, or Intermediate Pressure Feedwater Heaters, AM-EX will have the solutions to meet the most stringent customer specifications.

In order to provide our valued customers with the most reliable Feedwater Heaters available, AM-EX is a certified ASME Code Shop holding the “U” Stamp for fabrication, the “R” Stamp for repairs, and the “PP” Stamp for power piping. AM-EX has a full time field service crew for domestic and international after market repairs, as well as to support turnkey Feedwater Heater installation. AM-EX is also a member company of HEI, helping to write the standards for the entire heat exchanger industry.


AM-EX NEW FEEDWATER HEATERS 


Contact AM-EX with your specifications for your new Low Pressure Feedwater Heaters (LP Feedwater Heater), new High Pressure Feedwater Heaters (HP Feedwater Heater), or new Intermediate Pressure Feedwater Heater (IP Feedwater Heater).



AM-EX High Pressure Feedwater Heaters (HP Feedwater Heaters) For International New Plant Construction (EPC)

AM-EX REPLACEMENT FEEDWATER HEATERS


Contact AM-EX with your specifications for your replacement Low Pressure Feedwater Heaters (LP Feedwater Heater), replacement High Pressure Feedwater Heaters (HP Feedwater Heater), or replacement Intermediate Pressure Feedwater Heater (IP Feedwater Heater).




AM-EX High Pressure Feedwater Heater International Installation 

RETUBE FEEDWATER HEATERS


Contact AM-EX with your specifications for a retube of your Low Pressure Feedwater Heaters (LP Feedwater Heater),  retube of your High Pressure Feedwater Heaters (HP Feedwater Heater), or retube of your Intermediate Pressure Feedwater Heater (IP Feedwater Heater).



Low Pressure Feedwater Heater - Ready For AM-EX Retube

REBUNDLE FEEDWATER HEATERS (REPLACEMENT FEEDWATER HEATER BUNDLE ASSEMBLY)


Contact AM-EX with your specifications for a rebundle of your Low Pressure Feedwater Heaters (LP Feedwater Heater),  rebundle of your High Pressure Feedwater Heaters (HP Feedwater Heater), or rebundle of your Intermediate Pressure Feedwater Heater (IP Feedwater Heater).



AM-EX Will Replace This Low Pressure Feedwater Heater Bundle With a New and Improved Low Pressure Feedwater Heater Bundle. Materials Have Also Been Modified.

REPAIR FEEDWATER HEATERS - INCLUDING STATE OF THE ART EXPLOSIVE TUBE PLUGGING!


AM-EX can support 24hr international feedwater heater repairs with our full time field service crew. Contact AM-EX with your specifications for a repair of your Low Pressure Feedwater Heaters (LP Feedwater Heater),  repair of your High Pressure Feedwater Heaters (HP Feedwater Heater), or repair of your Intermediate Pressure Feedwater Heater (IP Feedwater Heater).

All of AM-EX High Pressure Feedwater Heaters, Low Pressure Feedwater Heaters, and Intermediate Pressure Feedwater Heaters are manufactured in Wisconsin, USA. 


When it comes time for your Feedwater Heater Needs, make sure to include AM-EX among your approved Feedwater Heater Manufacturers. 

Feedwater Heater Repairs, Retubing, and Rebundle

Below are a couple photos of an old feedwater heater shipped to American Exchanger Services, Inc. (AM-EX) from one of our very valued customers.

Low Pressure Feedwater Heater Rebundle - Retube - Repairs at AM-EX facilities
This feedwater heater needs substantial work, no doubt about it. The feedwater heater will be "gutted", the existing tube bundle assembly will be replaced with an American Exchanger Services, Inc. (AM-EX) re-designed tube bundle assembly at AM-EX facilities, extensive shell repairs will be performed at AM-EX, and then the modified (upgraded) feedwater heater will sent back to our customer good as new (actually better than new).

Low Pressure Feedwater Heater Bundle - To Be Redesigned and Replaced By AM-EX
Contact AM-EX for more details HERE


Tuesday, October 18, 2016

High Pressure Feedwater Heaters Packaged and Ready For Shipment - October 2016

10.18.2016 - Hartford Wisconsin, USA

American Exchanger Services, Inc. or simply (AM-EX) for short was awarded a rush project for three (3) high pressure feedwater heaters (HP Feedwater Heaters or HP FWH). This project was a rush project and AM-EX was only given 16 weeks from the time of purchase order to the time of project completion, successful hydro, and readiness for export. AM-EX accepted the rush project, and was able to meet the customer requirements. The tubing for these HP Feedwater Heaters was to be SA213 T22.

AM-EX HP Feedwater Heater 1, HP Feedwater Heater 2, HP Feedwater Heater 3, along with Pressure Relief Valves Ready For Export

 Contact the writer of this blog at Sales@amexservices.com

A message about AM-EX: 

AM-EX is a manufacturer of the highest quality and most efficient heat transfer equipment such as high pressure and low pressure feedwater heaters, main steam condensers, and other miscellaneous shell and tube heat transfer equipment. AM-EX is an HEI member company, and an ASME code shop.


Monday, October 17, 2016

AM-EX Export Three (3) High Pressure Feedwater Heaters

10/17/2016 - American Exchanger Services, Inc. or simply AM-EX for short exported three (3) high pressure feedwater heaters for an international customer. Contact AM-EX for your Feedwater Heater, Condenser, and Shell & Tube Heat Exchanger requirements.

AM-EX is an HEI Member Company, and an ASME Code Shop. When it comes to HP Feedwater Heater Make AM-EX your supplier of choice!

AM-EX High Pressure HP Feedwater Heaters 

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Steam Surface Condensers Are Much More Than Just Tubes!

This article is published by American Exchanger Services, Inc. or simply AM-EX for short. AM-EX specializes in the design and fabrication of new steam surface condensers, as well as the field service and retubing of existing steam surface condensers. AM-EX has specialized in surface condensers for over 32 years.

Most of the operating attention of steam surface condensers is the tubing. There are many articles about cleaning and plugging because they contribute most to the operating cost of the condenser. Fouling of the tubing and plugging when the corrosion goes through wall can cost availability and efficiency as well as the direct costs for cleaning and plugging.

While not as critical to the normal operation until a failure, the tubesheet operates under a number of significant operational challenges. The edge of the tubesheet acts as a very large flat faced flange, often with one side permanently gasketed to the high vacuum of the shell and the other side of the tubesheet which sees the cooling water pressure. Gasket leakage on either side can be a significant issue.


Steam Surface Condenser Tubesheet - Photo Taken During AM-EX Condenser Retube
The tubesheets also see the same water as the tubes do. They are subjected to the same corrosion concerns as well. Since the tubes and tubesheet are coupled by conductive water, there can be concerns about the galvanic potential between the tubes and tubesheet. Impressed current systems or anodes may be required for corrosion protection. The tube material and the type of impressed current systems when chosen poorly can result in premature failure of the tubes or result in damage of the tubesheet. Improper selection of the anodes for the tube material can also result in more damage rather than protection.

Rolling tubes into tubesheets is critical to the operational integrity of the condenser. During production by quality manufacturers such as AM-EX, great attention is given to the size and finish of the tubeholes. With constant attention to wall reductions using actual wall thickness and actual hole ID’s instead of using averages, tight long term tubejoints can be achieved. In each of these joints, however, is some small expansion of the tubehole. If there was no such small increase in the tubehole, the tubesheet would not “hold” the tube tight. While the amount is very small, it does add up over thousands of holes. The net effect is to grow the tubesheet in size. When the size is constrained, the tubesheet wants to buldge. The tubesheet, however, is kept from buldging by the tubes which act as stays and by a long pass partition if the condenser is a two pass design. This will tend to put a longitudinal load on the tubes which may be compressive and/or tensile.

While two piece tube plugs are becoming more common, there is still a significant amount of usage of taper pin plugs. When these pins are hammered into a tube or tubehole, they can dramatically increase the tube and tubehole diameter as well as change the shape of the hole to a taper. Such deformations can add substantially to the stresses in the tubesheet and the tubes. A large quantity of taper pin plugging can essentially destroy the usability of the tubesheet if a condenser retube is warranted. On second retubings this can become an even greater problem since the tube joints are being rerolled (i.e. expanded tubeholes) plus the accumulation of deformations from two sets of plugging. The saving grace to this issue is the fact that the differential pressure that the tubejoints need to seal is often only 100 psi or less. Poorly rolled or over rolled tubejoints can seal well enough to pass the shellside standing water tubejoint test normally performed after retubing.

When the tubesheet strain gets high, the tubes and tubejoints must take the strain since the tubesheets want to deform and this deformation is resisted by the tubejoints and transferred to the tubes.

When considering a retube with a new tube material, it is important to consider the replacement of the tubesheets as well. AM-EX has the capabilities to drill and replaced condenser tubesheets to meet critical path delivery. This will also afford the opportunity to replace the support plates to upgrade and/or modify the design as well for the new material. Such replacements may be done as complete bundles (modular replacement) or as packages (tubesheets, support plates and internals) when space is limited. Using a company with field experience and design and fabrication expertise is very important when going beyond stripping old tubes and stuffing new tubes. Please contact AM-EX in this regard.

When tubesheet replacement is performed, it is often advisable to replace the condenser to tubesheet gasketed joint with a welded joint. Welding the replacement tubesheets to the condenser instead of gasketing will minimize the long term potential for the shell/tubesheet gasket to be a source of air inleakage. Sealing a tubesheet to shell flange type leak is difficult.

AM-EX Replacement Surface Condenser Tubesheet During Condenser Retube
When welding the tubesheet to the condenser shell, it often becomes a question of the weldability between the carbon steel shell and the tubesheet. For some combinations of tube/tubesheet this may not be possible. Favored tubesheet materials such as Muntz are leaded to facilitate drilling, but make the material virtually impossible to weld. Welding Copper Nickel to the steel is possible but requires skilled welders and procedures to make it work, especially in an overhead position. In the shop, such welds, along with the requisite quality controls and ability to position, make them more achievable. Some Titanium tubed units will have an explosively clad titanium layer on carbon steel which makes the final weld carbon steel to carbon steel. When using a super ferritic tube material such as SeaCure™, high strength Duplex alloys such as 2205 for fresh water and 2507 for seawater are often provided as tubesheets which can be welded to the carbon steel condenser shell.

Besides the discussion of the tubesheets, another operational concern in the steam condenser is the high energy drains. Usually, these drains are from the feedwater heaters. The flashing of the drains as they enter the very low pressure in the condenser can cause significant damage to nearby tubes and internals. The flashing of drains is normally done against some impingement device. In condensers built by AM-EX, the energy from these drains are usually dissipated by an internal heavy Cr-Mo diffuser  sleeve. It is designed for the significant amount of differential thermal expansion which such inlet lines can experience. This type design is highly erosion proof and provides the volume for the expansion prior to the entry of these drains into the open portion of the condenser.

The air removal section in the condenser is critical to the operation of the condenser and the plant. Erosion damage or lack of cooling surface in the zone, can significantly increase the steam pressure in the condenser shell. Any increase in the back pressure can be an expensive proposition. As non-condensables accumulate, the partial pressure of the steam decreases. This decreases the saturation temperature and lowers the LMTD which then lowers the amount of steam which is condensed and the amount of steam drawn through the turbine for generation. The air removal section is usually a separately shrouded portion of the tubes. There are tubes in this section which knock out non-condensables and allow egress of the remaining vapor to the lower pressure provided by the air ejectors or vacuum pumps. This air removal section is exposed to the more corrosive non-condensables with corrodents such as amines and oxygen. The OD of the tubing in this section may exhibit additional corrosion concerns and the shrouds may suffer premature failures. Loss of full performance of this section can significantly impact thermal performance.

Another advantage of the tubesheet replacement option in which the supports are also replaced, is the ability to modify the air removal shroud design. This allows for the venting system in the condenser to be replaced or modified to allow for better performance.

Getting the cooling water into the tubes requires the waterboxes. These are on each end of the condenser. They are often coated with a coal tar or other coating for corrosion protection. Holidays in these coatings can result in rapid perforation of the waterboxes and require downtime and weld repairs.

The cooling water nozzles are also a source of corrosion and occasional need of replacement. Of particular concern is the expansion joint in the piping. When they are perforated, the entire waterbox needs to be removed and the replacement made. These are large diameter pipes and expansion joints which are design for relatively low pressures.

The other expansion joint on the condenser is usually between the transition dome in the top of the condenser and the turbine. This joint sees the high vacuum and also responds to the cycling of the condensers during operation. The corrugations in some of the transition joints can suffer from fatigue cracking and corrosion. The rubber joints can become hard and brittle during years of operation.
When they are installed, there may be substantial welding involved which may be subjected to flow erosion, piting or cracking. Weld repairs can be difficult to make due to tight clearances.

The modern steam condenser is a critical part of the steam plants. It provides the motive source to bring the steam through the turbine. While the tubing is the focus of much of the heat exchanger service market, there are a number of other areas to focus on when you contemplate a major repair or retubing. Tubesheets should be examined, air removal shrouds looked at, cracks and damage to the high energy drain lines repaired, waterbox lining repaired, and the expansion joints checked for cracks and damage. All these factors can result in loss of performance and availability. These types of repairs along with the potential for new tubesheets and/or bundles make it critical that you utilize the capabilities of a service contractor who also has design and fabrication expertise

If you have any questions, please contact Kellen Muldoon (Director of Global Sales - Feedwater Heaters and Condensers) at KellenMuldoon@amexservices.com

ON TIME and ON BUDGET

Three Replacement IGCC Process Tube Bundles. All Three Units Have Duplex 2205 Components. The Tube Bundles Were Packaged and Ready For Shipment From American Exchanger Servcies, Inc. (AM-EX) ON TIME and ON BUDGET. Shipment From AM-EX Facilities in Hartford Wisconsin. Contact AM-EX for details.

AM-EX Alloy 2205 Replacement Heat Exchanger Bundles

AM-EX Alloy 2205 Replacement Heat Exchanger Bundles
These three replacement tube bundles have all duplex alloy 2205 components, duplex alloy 2205 U-Tubes, and welded tubejoints. Contact AM-EX for your replacement tube bundle requirements. 

Monday, August 29, 2016

Two Low Pressure Feedwater Heaters Nearing Completion


AM-EX is nearing completion on two low pressure feedwater heater replacement bundles. These low pressure feedwater heater bundles have shipping shells included to ship under nitrogen blanket for storage, and protection during shipping and storage. Contact AM-EX for details.

AM-EX Low Pressure Feedwater Heaters

These low pressure feedwater heater bundles also include AM-EX long drains cooler design. The long drains cooler design in a more robust, and reliable, feedwater heater design compared to the industry standard short drains cooler design.

Contact AM-EX at 262-670-6600 x 104 for more details!

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

High Pressure Feedwater Heater with Explosive Expanded and Explosive Welded Tubejoints

High Pressure Feedwater Heater with Explosive Expanded and Explosive Welded Tubejoints. Please contact AM-EX for more details regarding Explosive Expansion and Explosive Welding of High Pressure Feedwater Heaters.

AM-EX High Pressure Feedwater Heater with Explosive Expanded and Explosive Welded Tubejoints
This particular High Pressure Feedwater Heater has SA213-T22 tubing.

Monday, August 8, 2016

Congrats to the Yetti Cooler Winner

Congratulations to the winner of the AM-EX Yetti cooler raffle at the 2016 EPRI Feedwater Heater Conference! Find AM-EX at our next conference for a chance to win something cool!


Contact AM-EX for all things Feedwater Heater. We satisfy your Low Pressure Feedwater Heater, High Pressure Feedwater Heater, Intermediate Pressure Feedwater Heater, Condenser Neck Feedwater Heaters, and any other Feedwater Heater requirements.

AM-EX leads the Feedwater Heater industry with innovative solutions for your Feedwater Heater requirements!

Friday, August 5, 2016

Verification of Shell Side Design Temperatures - HEI and TEMA Standards

AM-EX is an HEI member company, and design our feedwater heaters to HEI standards. However, if you are an engineer, you will tend to question everything just like me, and just because the standards (which were written long ago) tell us something, myself and AM-EX engineers in general feel it is important to verify. Yes, we are nerds, as myself and another engineer performed this research on our own free time, and sometimes at very early morning over weekends, etc. In general, if you tell me that a car has X horse power, I am going to ask for the torque and rpm and verify that the information you are providing is accurate. I did not expect the standards to be inaccurate, however simply wanted to verify that it was in fact correct, as there was no evidence that it had ever been verified by an outside source.

Anyhow, feedwater heater designs incorporate many design parameters which are provided by standards and codes, such as HEI, TEMA, and ASME code. The standards are there to provide a uniform set of guidelines to provide the heat exchanger industry a common set of guidelines to follow for safety, long term operation, and heat exchanger performance. The objective of this research was to simply verify, the existing approach, and that the standards used have an adequate safety factor. HEI and TEMA have published standards governing the feedwater heater design temperature. It is the focus of this blog to examine this standard within the context of a larger thermal evaluation of the top extraction feedwater heater in a supercritical power plant.

Common practice selects a design shell side temperature for the skirt section of a three zone FWH by the HEI Standards for Feedwater Heaters suggested method of utilizing the Mollier diagram. The Mollier diagram is a graphic approach to depict the relationships between the surrounding air temperature, pressure, enthalpy, entropy, and quality. HEI Standards for Closed Feedwater Heaters Seventh Edition section 3.3 for Design Temperatures states that shell side skirt design temperature is to be found by entering the Mollier diagram at normal operating steam temperature and pressure and follow the isentropic line to the maximum operating pressure. These pressures are provided to the heat exchanger designer by the purchaser. The normal operating and maximum steam pressures are obtained by collaboration between the turbine manufacturer and the architect engineer derived from various heat balance iterations to obtain the optimum cost and capitol cost for the end purchaser. Once this optimal situation is agreed upon, the turbine manufacturer provides the referenced pressures. The temperature at that pressure rounded to the nearest 10 degrees F is the design temperature. This method is completely dependent upon the maximum allowable pressure, which is provided by the customer. For verification, these numbers, various data samples were gathered near the shell side extraction steam inlet on an existing FWH to offer some indication on actual operation temperatures at the skirt, which is compared to the HEI standard method. These temperature data samples are skewed due to the use of a steam box DHZ shroud inside the skirt where the temperatures were measured with type K thermocouples. To double check the data which could be gathered by the thermal couples on the shell, actual DCS data was provided by the power plant to acquire actual steam temperature.

Design barrel temperatures of the shell are selected at the saturation point corresponding to the design pressure provided by the purchaser. This value is a more reliable number versus the skirt design temperature simply due to its direct correlation to analytical steam tables and data which have been established to be effective sources of information over hundreds of years. Shell data was collected with thermocouples on the DHZ exhaust where shell temperature would be large. It is speculated that the design shell side temperature is insufficient at the DHZ exhaust location.

Feedwater Heater with Thermal Couples Rigged Up
Contact me for the data and the methods used to acquire the shell side temperatures and for the hard fast data. Unless you contact me, you are going to have to take my word for the below conclusion.

After taking, and analyzing the data - which upon request I would be happy to forward on - Design temperatures provided by HEI standards appear to be adequate for the skirt side design temperatures. For the shell, design temperature appears to be too low in the area of the DHZ exhaust. These design temperatures are based upon pressure which shall be verified before heat exchanging equipment is purchased. With 220 ̊F of temperature difference between the measured skirt temperature and that of design temperature, it is clear to say that the design temperature is adequate with a sufficient safety factor. With only 20 ̊F of difference between the shell temperature near the DHZ and the design temperature, it appears the design temperature may at times be insufficient. Design temperature and operating temperature are below the temperature where creep and stress failure mechanism generally occur for the provided materials. When upgrading a turbine, it is important to note the affect of possible increase in temperature and pressure and how this may adversely affect the feedwater heaters.

If you are interested more in the methods used for this blog post, please do not hesitate to contact me at 262-670-6600 and ask for Kellen Muldoon or shoot me an email at KellenMuldoon@amexservices.com.





Monday, August 1, 2016

Feedwater Heater Manufacturers - American Exchanger Services, Inc. (AM-EX)

Feedwater Heater Manufacturer - When it comes time for a new, replacement, replacement bundle, retube or any service (include explosive tube plugging) of you Feedwater Heater(s) - contact AM-EX for expert technical advise and cost competitive pricing.

AM-EX Vertical Head Down High Pressure Feedwater Heater
AM-EX specializes in the manufacture and field service of High Pressure Feedwater Heaters, Low Pressure Feedwater Heaters, Intermediate Pressure Feedwater Heaters, Vertical Head Down Feedwater Heaters, Vertical Head Up Feedwater Heaters, and Horizonal Feedwater Heaters.

Ask you AM-EX professional about AM-EX signature designs such as the Long Drains Cooler and No-Tube-In-Window desuperheating zone and drains cooler.

AM-EX has three locations, all located in Wisconsin, USA. AM-EX is an American Owned and Operated business, under the same leadership for over three decades. Contact AM-EX about your Feedwater Heater needs.





Friday, July 29, 2016

EPRI Feedwater Heater Seminar & Conference - YETI ROADIE 20 COOLER RAFFLE

Are you and your utility planning to be at the EPRI Feedwater Heater Seminar and Technology Conference? Please stop by the AM-EX exhibit for a chance to enter our raffle of a YETI Roadie 20 Cooler! Also, please make sure to attend the EPRI Feedwater Heater Seminar and Conference presentations by AM-EX



EPRI Feedwater Heater Seminar - Tuesday August 2nd, 2016

Tom J Muldoon - AM-EX President 
1) 08/02/2016 at 8:00 am local time - Basic Mechanical and Thermal Design of Feedwater Heaters 

EPRI Feedwater Heater Conference - Wednesday August 3rd, 2016

James Frankiewicz - AM-EX Engineer
1) 08/03/2016 at 9:00 am local time - Diagnosing the Root Cause(s) of a Series of Failures in a new HP Feedwater Heater

Joe Bruno - AM-EX VP Sales & Marketing 
1) 08/03/2016 at 1:00 pm local time - Vertical Head Down Feedwater Heater Performance Improvement

Below are links to the 2016 EPRI Feedwater Heater Seminar and Conference Pages:

A) Seminar Page - CLICK HERE 

B) Conference Page - CLICK HERE 

When it comes to your Feedwater Heater Needs such as EPC New Construction, Replacement, Retubing, or On Site or Turnkey Service choose AM-EXAM-EX is a member company of HEI for Feedwater Heaters. AM-EX is also a certified ASME Code Shop holding the U, R, and PP Stamps.

AM-EX Manufactures LP Feedwater Heaters, HP Feedwater Heaters, IP Feedwater Heaters, Condenser Neck Mounted Feedwater Heaters, Vertical Head Down Feedwater Heaters, and Vertical Head Up Feedwater Heaters. Choose AM-EX as your AMERICAN Feedwater Heater manufacturer.

Chief Marketing Officer of the Year - Milwaukee Business Journal - Joe Bruno

AM-EX would like to offer our most sincere congratulations to our very own JOE BRUNO for winning the Milwaukee Business Journal Cheif Marketing Officer of the Year Award! Thank you Joe for all that you have, and continue, to do for AM-EX! We all truly appreciate you and your years of dedication. The awards ceremony was held last week in Milwaukee (July of 2016)

CLICK HERE to read more



Joe Bruno - July of 2016

Joe Bruno and His Wife - Award In Hand - At the Award Ceremony (July 2016)
Joe has spent years dedicated to the heat exchanger industry, with particular focus on Feedwater Heaters, Steam Surface Condensers, and Various Other Shell and Tube Heat Exchangers.

See Joe Bruno's LinkedIN page for his personal profile. While you are there, please follow American Exchanger Services, Inc. company LinkedIN page.  

CONGRATULATIONS JOE!

Thursday, June 23, 2016

High Pressure Heater Shipping June 2016

June 23rd, 2016 AM-EX shipped a High Pressure Feedwater Heater. The heater had copper nickel tubing. AM-EX dedicated field service crew will be performing the High Pressure Feedwater Heater install over the weekend and into next week.

Photos to come.

Contact AM-EX for your Feedwater Heater needs at KellenMuldoon@amexservices.com

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Retubing - AM-EX

Did you know that American Exchanger Services, Inc. (AM-EX) provides retubing services for various shell and tube heat exchanger applications? AM-EX was even featured in an Energy-Tech article which can be seen found HERE. You can also find a link to a publication by AM-EX by clicking HERE.

AM-EX High Pressure (HP) Feedwater Heater Retube


AM-EX has extensive history with regards to:
1) High Pressure (HP) Feedwater Heater Retube
2) Low Pressure (LP) Feedwater Heater Retube
3) Intermediate Pressure (IP) Feedwater Heater Retube
4) Component Cooling Water (CCW) Heat Exchanger Retube
5) Steam Surface Condenser Retube
6) Steam Jet Air Ejector Condenser Retube
7) Pulp and Paper Heat Exchanger Retube
8) Process and Petrochem Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger Retube
9) Vertical Tube Condenser Retube
10) Any other Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger Retube

Contact AM-EX for more details at 262-670-6600 or KellenMuldoon@amexservices.com

Monday, June 13, 2016

High Pressure Feedwater Heater - Shipment

Photo taken during the final steps of fabrication of a high pressure feedwater heater:


This High Pressure Feedwater Heater was manufactured at our facilities in Wisconsin. Contact AM-EX for more details regarding High Pressure Feedwater Heaters and

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

AM-EX Explosive Tube Joint Welding

When it comes to engineering and manufacturing of High Pressure Feedwater Heaters, tubejoint selection is critical. To meet your highest degree of reliability, explosive tubejoint welding provides the highest level of tubejoint integrity possible. This solid state joining of metals provides a level of strength, corrosion resistance and leak tightness, which is equal to the parent metals. Since in explosive welding there is no melting and re-solidification of the materials, there is no significant change to the material properties. The weld remains protected from the operating fluids since it is located in the bore of the tubehole. Since the process involves an internal expansion, there are no high residual thermal stresses as a result of the cooling off of the weld. In traditional welded tunejoints, the hot tube is welded, and wants to shrink after cooling off. The explosive process is essentially a cold process with no heat effected zone. The welds come from achieving significant material reduction in mechanical strength to the point where the materials are acting as liquids while at the same time as applying a high interfacial pressure. The key point with explosive tube joint welding is that the faster you move a metal, the lower is its' strength. 

Contact your AM-EX for you High Pressure Feedwater Heater Requirements! 

Contact AM-EX for more details regarding explosive tube joint welding.

Read more about explosive welding on our webpage by clicking HERE

Thursday, May 26, 2016

Look Inside an Old Feedwater Heater Bundle

Ever wonder what the inside of your feedwater heater looks like after years of operation? Take a look at this photo below:
AM-EX Opens Up a Feedwater Heater For a Retube
Choose American Exchanger Services, Inc (AM-EX) for your Feedwater Heater Manufacturer and Service Provider. AM-EX specialize in new, replacement, retubing, and re-bundling of feedwater heaters. AM-EX also provides explosive tube plugging options for the most reliable tube plugs available.

COLD BLOW COOLER - AM-EX

AM-EX designs and manufactures various pulp and paper heat exchangers.  This cold blow cooler was scheduled with a very tight delivery on a full stainless shell and tube heat exchanger. AM-EX crews worked tirelessly to meet the delivery and the unit left during third shift between 3am and 4am.
AM-EX Designed & Manufactured Cold Blow Cooler Shell & Tube Heat Exchanger 

Contact AM-EX for your Pulp and Paper Heat Exchanger Requirements 

American Exchanger Services, Inc, is an international supplier of Pulp and Paper Shell and Tube Heat Exchangers

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Replacing a Tube Bundle for this LP Feedwater Heater

AM-EX is your source for Feedwater Heater Retubing and Rebundling services, either onsite or at our facilities. It is generally preferred to perform this work at AM-EX facilities, however every job is different, and has different requirements. AM-EX has a long, deep rooted, experience list with regards to retubing Low Pressure (LP) Feedwater Heaters and High Pressure (HP) Feedwater Heaters.

In the photograph below, AM-EX unloads an entire LP Feedwater Heater from a customer. The LP Feedwater Heater photographed will be replaced with an AM-EX manufactured replacement LP Feedwater Heater Tube Bundle (New Tubes, New Tubesheet, New Support Plates, New Baffles, Etc).

AM-EX Retubing Low Pressure (LP) Feedwater Heater (FWH)
Contact AM-EX as your source for Feedwater Heaters at AMEX@amexservices.com

Monday, May 16, 2016

EXPLOSIVE TUBE PLUGGING

American Exchanger Services, Inc. or simply AM-EX for short is the world wide industry leader when it comes to Explosive Tube Plugging. Explosive tube plugging is the most reliable form of heat exchanger tube plugging available, and most suitable for high pressure applications. Typical applications are with regards to High Pressure Feedwater Heaters. Contact AM-EX for your explosive welded tube plugging field services.  AM-EX has been providing explosive tube plugging services for over 32 years! 

As a global provider of emergency services for your most time-critical problems, AM-EX explosive tube plugging and explosive tube plug services are available 24 hours a day 7 days a week to ensure heat exchanger integrity to meet your outage requirements. AM-EX explosive tube plugging services are available for both domestic and international customers.

Contact the AM-EX team for your explosive tube plugging needs and additional information at Kellen@AM-EX.com

*Choose AM-EX for your Explosive Tube Plugging Requirements 
**Choose AM-EX for your American Field Service and Emergency Time Critical Service Provider

LONG DRAINSCOOLERS FOR LOW PRESSURE FEEDWATER HEATERS

NEW LOOK at an OLD SOLUTION for RELIABILITY:

Published for the 2013 EPRI Feedwater Heater Technology Seminar

Author: Thomas J Muldoon, PE and President of American Exchanger Services, Inc. (AM-EX).

Abstract:

In Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) conferences during the 70’s and 80’s, discussions on high reliability feedwater heaters included consideration of the use of long partial pass drainscoolers (L-DC) in horizontal feedwater heaters. The result of these reports was a recommendation by EPRI to use L-DC’s for greater reliability than the S-DC. These reports point out that the external DC’s are the most reliable and efficient but are considerably more expensive. Since then, contrary to the EPRI recommendations, there have been very few long drainscoolers or even external drainscoolers put in service in the United States. Short full pass drainscoolers (S-DC) are the standard. While S-DC have provided good service, there have been many heaters replaced or expensive repairs made due to problems with the design and operation of these zones. Many utilities have experienced high drainscooler approaches, shroud weld failures, water hammer in outlet piping and tube failures as a result of the operation of the S-DC. The L-DC design is more robust and less sensitive to low pressure and off-load operation. Eliminating the drainscooler end plate (DCEP) through the use of a L-DC, eliminates many of the problems associated with the S-DC. Submerging the shroud also reduces the high cost of shroud weld issues. The principal advantage of the S-DC is a slightly lower cost and simpler thermal design than the L-DC.

Contact AM-EX for the full paper at KellenMuldoon@amexservices.com 

AM-EX Four Pass Long Drains Cooler Low Pressure Feedwater Heater
AM-EX 4 Pass Long Drains Cooler LP Feedwater Heater

Friday, May 13, 2016

Condensate Polisher - On Time Shipment

American Exchanger Services, Inc. (or simply AM-EX) is your source for the highest quality, on time, and on budget shell and tube heat exchangers. This week AM-EX shipped a Condensate Polisher, Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger, to a domestic customer. Contact AM-EX for any of your Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger requirements. 



AM-EX performs all designs, fabrication, and manufacturing out of our three locations in Wisconsin, USA. Contact you AM-EX professionals for any technical or commercial requirements. Follow American Exchanger Services, Inc. on LinkedIn. 

* Choose AM-EX as your American Feedwater Heater Manufacturer 
** Choose AM-EX as your American Steam Surface Condenser Manufacturer 
*** Choose AM-EX as your American Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger Manufacturer