In general, a shell & tube heat exchanger installed as a heat condenser weighs 26 tons, is 10m long, measures 1.6m in diameter and consists of 1,804 pipes. It transmits a heat output of 51 megawatts through its heating surface of 800m2.
Whereas a fully welded VAU Thermotech hybrid tubular plate heat exchanger used for generating district heated hot water has a heat output of 52 megawatts, but its heating surface measures 382m2 and weighs 7.8 tons.
In contrast to classic plate heat exchangers where connections are attached directly to the plate, the connections of the hybrid are located at the welded-on inlet and outlet headers. This results in several advantages: depending on the geometric size of the plate packs any nominal connection width can be attached, for example diameters up to DN 1,500 at the steam inlet. Special operating modes and functions also require additional connections.
For nearly 30 years fully welded hybrid tubular heat exchangers have actively been working without malfunction as heat condensers. They are to be found in power plants, heat and power plants as well as waste incineration plants. Fully welded hybrid tubular plate heat exchangers have achieved a service life the same as the classic shell & tube heat exchanger.
These heat exchangers are economic, flexible in design, have low weight and offer high heat capacity at less space. They are characterized in operation by their ease of maintenance, fatigue resistance, efficiency, and flexible adaptation to different requirements.
Thanks to their long service life they ensure safe and continuous availability in district-heated hot water generation. A power plant expansion or re-planning using a hybrid tubular plate heat exchanger could increase overall efficiency, economy and variable utilization of the entire facility.