246 Equipment Design Handbook Utility lines connecting to a header in the yard can be arranged on any side of the exchanger centerline without increasing the pipe length. Cooling water lines are generally below grade and should run right under the aligned channel nozzles of all coolers. The cooling water return header is usually adjacent to the cooling water line, ‘Aceass to valve headwheels and instruments will influence piping arrangement around heat exchangers. Valve handwheels should be accessible from grade and from a convenient access way. These access ways should be used for arranging manifolds, control valves and instruments, ‘The piping arrangement should also provide access for tube removal. This usually means a spool piece or flanged elbow in the pipe line connecting to the top of the channel nozzic. The designer should avoid unnecessary loops, pockets and crossovers. He should investigate, nozzle-to-nozzle, the whole length of piping routed from the exchanger to some other equipment, aiming to provide not more than one high point and one low point, no matter how long the line. Very often a flat tum in the yard, an altemative position for control valves or manifold, changed nozzle location on the exchanger, etc., can accomplish this requirement, Avoid excessive piping strains on exchanger nozzles from the actual weight of pipe and fittings and from forces of thermal expansion. For valves and blinds, the best location is directly at the exchanger nozzle. An elbow nozzle on an exchanger should be checked to be sure that, sufficient clearances are provided between the valve handwheel and the outside of the exchanger. Elevated valves are usually chain operated. The chain should hang freely at an accessible spot near the exchanger. Figure 7-71 shows sketches high- lighting exchanger piping details. Orifices. Orifice flanges in exchanger piping are usually in horizontal pipe runs. These lines should be located just above usual headroom and the orifice itself accessible with a mobile ladder. When convenient, lines with orifice and dp coll measuring elements can be at grade (grade to pipe centerline dimension should be about 2-1/2 ft). Orifices in a liquid line and mercury-type measuring elements yequire more height. The long vertical measuring U-tube must be just below the orifice. At gas lines, the U-tube can be above the line with the orifice. Height here, consequently, is not critical, Lines with orifice flanges should have the necessary straight runs before and after the orifice flanges as required in specifications or standards. Instruments. Locally-mounted pressure and temperature indicators on exchanger nozzles or on the shell or process lines should be visible from the access aisles. Design For Maintenance In exchanger maintenance either the complete unit is removed, cleaned and repaired, or only the tubebundle is removed for cleaning and repair — the shell is cleaned in place, If the complete unit is removed, all piping must be disconnected. If only the tubebundie is removed, only the channel nozzle piping need be disconnected. The piping designer can help maintenance in three ways: 1, By designing and supporting piping so that no temporary support will be required when removing the channel and tubebundle, or at least temporary supports can easily be built, 2. By providing easily removable spool pieces, flanged elbows, break flanges, or short pipe runs to provide adequate clearances for tube removal equipment, 3. By leaving space and access around the exchanger as shown already in Figure 7-70. Thermosyphon Reboiler Piping Force of Circulation Horizontal reboilers, with natural circulation, have a simple circulation system. Liquid flows from an elevated drum, tower bottom or tower trapout boot through a downcomer pipe to the bottom of the exchanger shell. The liquid is heated and leaves the reboiler in the return piping as a vapor or vaporliquid mixture and flows back to the tower or drum. There is no pressure difference between the inlet and outlet nozzles. The cir culation is forced by the static head difference between the tio liquid columns (see Figure 7-72). ‘Use the exchanger centerline as a reference line. 61 is the hot liquid density in the downcomer and pH; /Lid = P, is the pressure at: the level of the exchanger centerline. Similarly pz is the hot mixture density and pH, /144 = P, is the vapor liquid column pressure at the same level. These two forees work against each other and the difference between them is the driving force necessary for natural citculation. This is also the pressure difference available to overcome exchanger and piping friction losses: Py ~ Po = P= (1f144)(01 Hy - po He)Cover Rerevan Provies Removens Piece Fou Tume S~ Leave Clean ance Serween Pires And To OF Davir 4705 Fr Piping 247 A a ) Waren CLEARANCE Between Borram Of Pipe Ano, GRaoe ae Gaace, ero 9" 7 7 ( Q 202-6" i T we] | Grace Provioe Cucanance Berwren Excunoen Cueen Clearance Se Sine Be te sa x Grave Grave Figure 7-71. By carefully following these sketches of piping arrangement many problems can be avoided. If a safety factor of 2 is introduced, the available pressure difference for friction losses is halved: AP = (1/288) (01H - pote) Hy - Ho is usually 8 feet (see Figure 7-72). Consequently, a minimum driving force of AP nin = 3/288 p, = 0.01 p, is always available “at horizontal exchangers. Friction losses in reboilers are generally given as Ap, = 0.25 to 0.6. It should be noted whether this,248 Equipment Design Handbook figure includes entrance and exit Josses. Generally, unit Josses in downcomers and rizers are in decimal fractions of one psi per 100 feet. ‘To avoid trial and error calculations, a reboiler pipe size selection graph is presented in Figure 7-13. It is based on the limiting velocities of 2 to 7 feet/second and pipe wall thicknesses of Schedule 40. Entering the graph with known liquid flow quantities, downcomer pipe sizes can be inter- sected in the shaded portion of the graph (also, corresponding velocities can be obtained, at the same time, for calculating Reynolds numbers). The riser can be assumed as one or two sizes larger than the downcomer pipe size. ‘A kettle type reboiler produces high evaporation rates. For this reboiler, a large diameter return line might be necessary. The process flow diagram, of course, should indicate flow rates and the physical properties of the flowing fluid, (Figure 7-78 can also be used for estimating pipe diameters at gravity flow process piping.) Draw-off Nozzle Elevation Side Draw-off. (see Figure 7-72.) For the minimum downcomer nozzle elevation above the eu vee uguiO + varoR 39" wet T waxiMuy, fy evi teva’ He sro 20 | 3s'To 58° i Figure 7-72. Typical flow in thermosyphon reboiler pip- ing. horizontal reboiler centerline, H; may be found from the equation for AP where H, = H, - 3 ft: _ 288 AP-3p» , Pi Pa ‘Phe value of H, is useful when elevation adjustments are made to vessel heights during plant layout or when the vessel can be located at a minimum elevation. The coefficient. for pa in the above equation is the elevation difference between the downcomer and rizer nozzle. If this is other than 3 feet, the correct dimension, in feet, should bbe inserted. The downcomer nozle cannot be lower than Hy. Af replaces AP in the above equation and is the sum of the downcomer pipe, riser and exchanger friction losses: Af> fa + Af, + Af. Many towers have a bottom draw-off pump, NPSH requirements usually elevate the process wager e900 engao 0.000 P0000 $000 30900 20900 Hee Figure 7-73. Nomograph for estimating reboiler down- comer pipe sizes.