What Is a Tube Sheet for a Heat Exchanger?

Tube sheets have holes drilled to accept a series of tubes inside of an enclosed tubular pressure vessel. These pressure vessels, commonly referred to as shell and tube heat exchangers, are the most common heat exchangers used in oil refineries and large chemical plants. The tube sheet itself serves as a supporting element in heat exchangers and boilers. The tube sheet is called this because the tubes–which are carefully arranged in a specific pattern–penetrate the tube sheet in multiple places to allow the fluid within these tubes to flow in and out of the heat exchanger. The fluid flowing through the tubes within the shell exchanges heat with the fluid that flows into the shell but flows past the outside of the tubes exchanging the heat with the tube fluid.

Uses of Shell and Tube Heat Exchangers

These types of heat exchangers are commonly used for cooling hydraulic fluid and oil in engines and transmissions, but can be used for heating and cooling many other applications such as the water in swimming pools and even pull waste heat from exhaust gases and funnel it into other processes, resulting in tremendous energy savings.

How Are Tube Sheets Made?

Tube sheets are typically constructed from a round flat piece of plate–usually consisting of a thermally conductive, corrosion resistant metal such as aluminum, copper, steel, nickel or some other alloy of these metals. The tube sheet then has holes drilled in the precise locations where the tubes will be within the exchanger. These are typically produced using a combination of CAD software to design and determine the exact positions of the holes, which are then drilled using a computer numerical control (CNC) machine. Next, the tubes are attached using hydraulic pressure or by roller expansion.

The tube sheet is an essential component of a shell and tube heat exchanger because it must support and isolate the fluid within them from the other fluid flowing through the shell. In some cases, where it is particularly important to prevent the tube fluid from mixing with the shell fluid, a double tube sheet might be installed within the exchanger.

FCI Manufactures Forged Tube Sheets and Other Custom ASME Pressure Vessel Connection

Forged Components Inc. (FCI) is the leading ASME pressure vessel connections manufacturer that also specializes in the production of forged tube sheets for various heat exchanger fabricators throughout the North America. For more information, please call us at (281) 441-4088 or contact us online to get a quote from our sales staff.