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Corrosion
Dry electrostatic coating is performed exclusively on steel pipes with a proprietary process that provides steel tubes with their inherent strength as well as the heat transfer properties of steel due to the very thin 20 mil thickness of glass. Combined with the corrosionresistance properties inherent to glass, the end result is a shell-and-tube heat exchanger tube bundle that is strong, thermal conductive and corrosion resistant, and, due to the release properties of glass, not prone to fouling. The glass-lined steel heat exchangers can range in size from 1 m2 to 53.3 m2 depending on the design of the tube bundle. In brief, there are two designs of the glass-lined heat exchanger: 1) the glass-lined U-tube with 2 or 4-passes and 2) the straight-tube made of silicon carbide with 1 or 2-passes. Within these designs are several subdesigns that increase the versatility and application range of glass-lined heat exchangers. The glass-lined shell-and-tube bundle is one of the most common heat exchanger types with high chemical resistance. To achieve high chemical resistance on both shell and tube sides, silicon carbide tubes can also be used. A shrink fit system between glass-lined tubes and the‘ tube sheet’ ensures a tight connection without the use of gaskets, avoiding dead zones and temperature limitations that gaskets would present.
Why glass-lined steel is so much better than conventional alloys or tantalum The answer is multifaceted. When selecting a material of construction, several aspects have to be considered. In addition to suitability in terms of chemical resistance, the investment cost is usually a primary consideration to the owner. Furthermore, the thermal and hydraulic application limits as well as the robustness( operational lifetime) must be considered. Finally, the resistance to abrasion and fouling of the surfaces can significantly influence the choice of material. Operational temperature limits are often determined by the sealing materials. Further selection criteria include the thermal
Glass-lined heat exchanger with glass-lined U-tubes( WTU) and gasket-less tube sheet.
Corrosion-resistant properties of glass-lined steel.
conductivity of the material and the manufactured size, the GMP design, and the diffusion tightness. Finally, ecological aspects of raw material extraction and production should also be considered. In just about all these criteria, glass-lined steel as a construction material, especially when employing the modern method of applying two ultra-thin layers of glass to a thin substrate of steel, is starting to find success in a plethora of applications.
a. Corrosion-resistant properties The corrosion-resistant properties of glass are well known. The Bishop-Stern Chart is a well-known
Cleanability of glass-lined steel.
www. heat-exchanger-world. com Heat Exchanger World June 2025
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