What is a heat exchanger pipe?

A heat exchanger pipe (also commonly called a heat‐exchanger tube) is a pressure‐bearing tube specifically designed to transport one of the two fluids whose thermal energy is being exchanged. These tubes form the core of shell-and-tube, U-tube or plate-and-tube heat exchangers and must combine excellent heat-transfer performance with mechanical robustness and corrosion resistance.

1. Core Function

• Fluid channel: Carries the “tube-side” fluid (hot or cold) while an external fluid flows around the tubes (“shell-side”).

• Heat transfer surface: Thin walls and high thermal-conductivity material maximize the rate of heat exchange between the two fluids.

2. Key Design Characteristics

• Wall thickness & diameter

  • Thin walls (often 1–5 mm) to minimize thermal resistance

  • OD range typically from ⅜″ to 2½″ (10 mm–60 mm), depending on exchanger design

• Surface finish

  • Smooth interior to reduce fouling and pressure drop

  • Sometimes enhanced (e.g., finned or corrugated) to boost heat-transfer coefficients

• Pressure & temperature rating

  • Sized to withstand high pressures (up to several hundred bar) and temperatures (–200 °C to over 600 °C), as needed by process conditions

• Corrosion resistance

  • Critical where one or both fluids are aggressive (e.g., seawater, acids, amines)

3. Common Materials

4. Applicable Standards

• ASTM A179 / A192: Seamless carbon‐steel boiler tubes

• ASTM A213 / A249 / A268: Seamless/finned stainless steel tubes for high-temperature service

• EN 10216-2 / EN 10217: European standards for seamless and welded steel tubes

• ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code, Section II & VIII: Material specifications and design rules

5. Typical Applications

• Power generation: Steam condensers, boiler economizers

• Oil & gas: Heat recovery, crude pre-heating, gas coolers

• Chemical & petrochemical: Reactor heating/cooling, fractionation column reboilers

• HVAC & refrigeration: Chillers, condensers, evaporators

• Food & pharma: Pasteurizers, sterilizers

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