Proceedings of PVP 2008
2008 ASME Pressure Vessels and Piping Division Conference
July 27-31, 2008, Chicago, Illinois, USA
APPLICATION, DESIGN AND OPERATION CONSIDERATIONS FOR BRAZED
ALUMINUM HEAT EXCHANGERS IN LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS SERVICE
D. Douglas Miller
Black & Veatch, Inc., Overland Park, KS, USA
Tel: 913-458-6139
Email: millerdd@bv.com
Jane C. Tettambel
Black & Veatch, Inc., Overland Park, KS, USA
Tel: 913-458-6054
Email: tettambeljc@bv.com
ABSTRACT
Brazed Aluminum Heat Exchangers
(BAHX) are commonly used for heat transfer
equipment in liquefied natural gas (LNG)
services. Specific operational design parameters
as well as mechanical design characteristics are
critical to consider in the construction and
ultimately for the operation of the unit in order to
ensure a safe design and successful operation for
the facility. The growth and demand for natural
gas has been extensive in recent years as clean
burning fuels have become more of a priority
than coal plants. Due to limited natural gas
supplies, many LNG facilities have been
considered as a means to provide and meet the
consumers needs for natural gas. These LNG
facilities such as LNG import receiving terminals
or LNG Liquefaction Plants have a need for
handling cryogenic materials. In these LNG
applications, BAHX are an ideal fit for this use
and have many advantages as a result of being
able to be designed for minimal approach
temperatures as well as lower log mean
temperature differences (LMTD) than other
exchanger types. These parameters are key to
the plants refrigeration and overall energy loads.
Discussed and detailed in this paper will be
various uses and applications for BAHX along
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PVP2008-61627
Joe A. Belling
Chart Energy & Chemicals, Inc., LaCrosse, WI,
USA
Tel: 608-787-6780
Email: joe.belling@chart-ind.com
with design considerations for their use. Details
regarding materials of construction,
maintenance, and other mechanical aspects will
be presented that lead to a safe and reliable
means for transferring heat.
INTRODUCTION
The demand for natural gas has been on
a steady increase in recent decades. Natural gas
is a vital energy resource worldwide and an
attractive fuel since it burns relatively clean and
is efficient. This makes it an attractive resource
when compared to burning coal which produces
more greenhouse gas per unit of energy
generated. As demand for natural gas has
increased the supply has not followed suit. As a
means to provide the necessary natural gas
supply and meet shortages, liquefaction of the
natural gas has seen a dramatic increase in recent
years. Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) provides a
means for storage and transportation of natural
gas that is not feasible in its vapor state. As a
liquid, there is a 600:1 volumetric benefit
realized which allows a significant volume of gas
to either be transported or stored in a liquid state
until ready for use. Constructing vapor pipelines
to move gas from one remote area to another is
not practical from either a transportation or
energy perspective.
Copyright 2008 by ASME
 Natural gas vapor conversion to a liquid
is handled via numerous liquefaction
technologies present on the market today. These
include open art technologies such as an
expander process or patented process
technologies such as through a mixed refrigerant
process like the PRICO technology. In these
processes, natural gas is transitioned to its liquid
state allowing it then become known as LNG.
LNG is then able to be stored in tanks or
transported worldwide via ships to LNG loading
terminals, for example, in order to provide
additional make-up supply when the demand
increases. Then when the demand increases, the
LNG is vaporized to its gaseous state to provide
the additional supply desired.
Brazed Aluminum Heat Exchangers
(BAHX) are commonly used exchangers for heat
transfer equipment in these liquefied natural gas
(LNG) services. These exchangers are designed
in accordance with major pressure vessel codes
throughout the world. ASME Code stamped
BAHX meet the mechanical design, materials,
fabrication, testing, and inspection requirements
of various ASME Codes [1-4]. Further details
and requirements can be found by referencing
these documents.
Liquefaction of natural gas is a
cryogenic operation in order to condense the
methane gas to a liquid state. Operating in
cryogenic applications is just one instance of
added value for utilization of BAHX to provide
the heat transfer in these plant facilities. BAHX
are an ideal fit for this use and have many
advantages for their use as a result of being able
to be designed for minimal approach
temperatures as well as lower log mean
temperature differences (LMTD) than other
exchanger types. These parameters are key to
the LNG plants refrigeration capacity which
translates into energy loads. Details follow
regarding the background on BAHX and their
components as well as design considerations,
materials of construction, maintenance, and other
mechanical aspects will be illustrated that
ultimately result in a safe and reliable means for
transferring heat through these types of
exchangers.
DISCUSSION BAHX Definition and
Components
Brazed aluminum heat exchangers
(BAHX) are highly efficient, custom designed
compact heat transfer devices that offer distinct
advantages over alternative heat exchange
methods. They are used for a variety of
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cryogenic and non-cryogenic heat transfer
applications including the above mentioned LNG
as well as industrial gas production,
petrochemical and hydrocarbon processing, and
hydrogen and helium liquefaction. Due to their
inherently high surface area compactness and
superior heat transfer capabilities, they can be a
cost effective solution for processing of non-
corrosive liquids and gases when compared to
other traditional heat transfer technology.
BAHX are manufactured as an all
brazed and welded pressure vessel with no
mechanical joints. The BAHX core matrix
consists of three main components: fins, bars,
and parting sheets. The core block is configured
in alternating layers of corrugated fins which act
as flow paths for individual streams. The layers
are separated by a parting sheet which acts as the
primary heat transfer surface. Each layer is
sealed around the edges with a solid bar. An
exploded view of a layer is seen in Figure 1.
Figure 1 - Illustration of Typical BAHX Layer
A wide range of fin patterns (plain,
perforated, herringbone, and serrated)
accommodate different thermal and hydraulic
process requirements enabling the exchanger to
be custom designed for an infinite number of
processes. Several fin designs are shown in
Figure 2. Following design and stacking of the
core block, the matrix is vacuum brazed in a
large vacuum furnace, resulting in an integral,
rigid heat exchanger block. Heat exchanger
block sizes can be manufactured in excess of
4W x 5D x 25H. Header assemblies and
supports welded to the brazed matrix complete
the unit as shown in Figure 3. Design variations
in the configuration of the heat exchanger matrix
can accommodate an almost unlimited range of
flow options, including counter flow, cross flow,
parallel flow, multi-pass, and multi-stream
Copyright 2008 by ASME
 formats. Detail design aspects are discussed
later.

Figure 2 - Sample Fin Arrangements

Figure 4 - Fluid Flow Path Diagram

Heat exchangers can be configured into

Figure 3 - Diagram of BAHX Components
Fluid enters the exchanger assembly
through a nozzle pipe. It is then distributed in the
header assembly to each separate layer. Once the
fluid enters the distributor section in the core
block, it is evenly dispersed across the entire
width of the block. Following the distributor
section, the fluid enters the heat transfer fin
section of the core block. Heat transfer takes
place through the primary heat transfer surface -
the parting sheet. As the fluid moves down its
flow path, turbulence is induced by the heat
transfer fin, breaking up the flow boundary layer.
Once the fluid reaches the end of its heat transfer
length, it is recollected through the outlet
distributor, exits into the header, then leaves the
exchanger through the outlet nozzle (refer to
Figure 4).
multiple unit assemblies when heat duty and heat
transfer coefficient/ surface area (UA)
requirements exceed the capability of a single
core block. By connecting multiple BAHX core
blocks together in parallel, nearly unlimited heat
loads can be accommodated. Heat exchanger
battery assemblies are formed by using a central
manifold pipe for each stream. Fluid then flows
through a separate nozzle branch to each core
block. Likewise, as the fluid exits the core block
and outlet nozzles, it is recollected in a central
manifold. Utilizing a central inlet and outlet
manifold allows the purchaser to minimize field
piping connections and typically results in a
more economical package. A typical battery
assembly is represented in Figure 5.

Copyright 2008 by ASME

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Figure 5 - Representative Battery Assembly
BAHX stand alone units and battery
assemblies in LNG applications typically operate
at cryogenic temperatures. It is therefore
necessary to insulate and fireproof units to
prevent heat leak to external, as well as frost
build up on the exchanger surface. Simple units
can be easily slab-insulated in the field. More
complex units like battery assemblies and units
with vessels pose great difficulty for field
insulation. Complex units are typically housed
inside a steel structure called a Cold Box. An
example of an installed cold box is shown in
Figure 6. A cold box is essentially a large box
that is built around the exterior of the BAHX
assembly and any associated components like
valves, vessels, etc. It is common in LNG
applications to have multiple BAHX combined
with other vessels and even valves all located in
the same cold box. After setting the box on site,
it is filled with granular insulation which fills in
all voids between the equipment effectively
insulating all equipment inside. The cold box
acts as a support structure, fire break, and
insulation device. Manifolds for each stream
penetrate the cold box walls for connection to
customer piping. Manifolds are typically
equipped with terminating flanges outside the
cold box for bolt-up connection of piping.
Materials and transition connections or piping
where dissimilar metals exist are extremely
important for consideration when there is a
change in metallurgy from the aluminum
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exchanger to the external piping which may be
stainless or carbon steel for example. Refer to
the Manufacturing section below for additional
details.
Figure 6 - Installed Cold Box White Martins -
Brazil
DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS Technical
Discussion and Applications
Historically this type of heat exchanger
has been used in cryogenic applications where
small approach temperatures and the superior
notch toughness of aluminum was important, i.e.
industrial gas production of nitrogen and oxygen.
However, as the significant benefits of Brazed
Aluminum Heat Exchangers have been
recognized by process designers and plant
operators, their application has broadened into
many other important areas in the industry. This
paper has addressed the importance that BAHX
have had recently in the LNG production
processes. For example, Brazed Aluminum Heat
Exchangers are standard for applications like the
main liquefaction exchangers in liquefaction
processes such as Mixed Refrigerant LNG
Processes or expander processes.
Other areas in Natural Gas Processing
have utilized BAHX as well such as cryogenic
gas plants using an expander technology where
high ethane recovery is desired. In these
applications, the BAHX has served as the
exchanger of choice for the inlet Gas to Gas
Exchangers, Demethanizer Reboilers and
Copyright 2008 by ASME
 Condensers, Feed Gas Exchangers and Product
Coolers for example.
Brazed aluminum plate fin heat
exchangers offer optimized heat transfer fin
designs, advanced brazing technologies, quality
ensured manufacturing processes and a
continuous improvement program. Additional
benefits and design consideration advantages of
BAHX include close temperature approaches
(1C / 2F) and lower MTD capabilities
compared to other exchanger types [5]. BAHX
also offer a design capable of various flow
options and a unique ability to exchange heat
with multiple streams (10 or more process
streams are possible) making the design and unit
extremely flexible from a process vantage point.
The multi-stream capabilities of products like
this simplify multiple shell-and-tube limited
stream configurations into a single compact
brazed aluminum unit which saves significant
plot space and plant footprint. Brazed
Aluminum Heat Exchangers are typically twenty
percent (20%) the size of comparable
performance carbon or stainless steel shell-and-
tube exchangers and are ten percent (10%) of the
weight. Together, these advantages can result in
installation and operating cost savings with
lower compression horsepower requirements and
increased plant output. These compact heat
exchangers can also reduce engineering,
insulation, support systems, testing,
documentation, transportation and site
arrangements. In addition, BAHX enable plant
managers to reduce on site liquid inventory and
improve plant safety.
Aluminum plate fin exchangers can be
implemented in a variety of applications. With
design temperature capability for aluminum
ranging from +150 F to -452 F which is near
absolute zero, and design pressure capability
ranging from full vacuum to over 2300 psig,
combined with multi-stream capability, BAHX is
especially well suited for LNG applications
where liquefaction occurs at cryogenic
temperatures and at various pressures with a
better benefit occurring at higher pressures [5].
Its important to consider application limits for
BAHX. Applications are limited to clean fluids
typical of hydrocarbon processing. No heavy
particulate matter can be present in the fluid due
to the very small passageways inherent to the
construction. Fluids should always be filtered
prior to introduction to the exchanger. Industry
standards call for 80 Tyler mesh or equivalent to
120 micron filtration.
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Additionally, fluids must not be
corrosive to aluminum. Such corrosive fluids are
mercury and caustic. There are exceptions,
however, for trace amounts of mercury. Brazed
aluminum equipment from a recognized industry
leader in technology innovation is often designed
with mercury tolerance in mind. Although
mercury is highly corrosive to some alloys of
aluminum, design options are available that are
mercury-tolerant whereby the exchanger can
operate with mercury present in the process fluid
while the equipment is able to resist corrosion.
Mechanical design of brazed aluminum
heat exchangers must meet the requirements of
the governing pressure vessel code, such as
ASME Section VIII, Division 1. Because of the
unique configuration of the exchangers,
straightforward calculations can not be done for
all of their components. The fins must be
designed to resist pressure loadings, but there are
no standard design formulae for fins in the
codes. Manufacturers have calculation methods
for fins, but much of the fin selection is based on
burst test results, as provided for in UG-101 of
ASME Section VIII, Division 1. Representative
brazed samples are pressurized up to bursting,
and a safety factor defined by the code is applied
to determine the maximum design pressure for
each fin design. Some components of the
exchangers can use the standard formulae from
the code, such as header and nozzle thicknesses
and opening reinforcement.
Each brazed aluminum heat exchanger
is pressure tested, with either a hydrostatic test or
pneumatic test in accordance with Code
requirements. In addition, a leak test is done to
ensure that there are no leaks from one chamber
to another.
Thermal or pressure cycling is not
common for BAHX, but if it is expected a
fatigue evaluation should be done. It is best to
limit the maximum normal stress to be below the
endurance limit of the materials, but fatigue life
can be predicted using S-N curves obtained from
experimental data and stresses calculated by
finite element analysis [6-10].
LNG Liquefaction Specific Design
Concerns/ Considerations
Several specific design considerations
discussed above need to be considered carefully
in the use of Brazed Aluminum Heat Exchangers
in LNG liquefaction plants in particular.
Copyright 2008 by ASME
 Cool down during start-ups - Brazed
aluminum heat exchanger components are rigidly
connected to each other. Therefore, rapid cool
down creates large local temperature differences
with potential for high thermal stresses on the
unit which can then lead to failure of the
exchanger. Thermal induced stress limitations
are evaluated by methodologies such as finite
element analysis (FEA) [6-10]. Good start-up
procedures are critical to eliminate the potential
for excessive thermal stresses on BAHX.
Manufacturers of BAHX typically, for example,
recommend a rate of change in metal
temperature of 1 C per minute maximum as the
flows are introduced and the flow rates
increased. It is imperative that proper operator
training is conducted to address this important
cooling down criteria. As part of the training,
operators should become familiar with all the
equipment and instrument devices with respect
to their field locations as well. Utilizing hands-
on field training to learn the plant facility is also
a critical step in the educational process. The
written procedures must be in place and followed
in the plant operating manual that directs the
operation staff with precise actions to take and
temperatures to track in order to ensure proper
cool down. To help the operating personnel
control the cool down rate, BAHX can be
engineered with a unique design for temperature
measurement in the exchanger that requires
thermocouples to be installed in thermowells that
are embedded in several layers of the brazed
aluminum exchanger. These thermocouples are
distributed along the length of the exchanger to
give an indicative temperature profile for the
exchanger. Operators are then able to watch
these temperature readings on their HMI (Human
Machine Interface) or control system to ensure
that design parameters for cooling down the
exchanger are satisfied on the appropriate
timeline. These temperatures can be trended in
the forms of a graph on the display screen with
appropriate timer indications to facilitate the cool
down process. This data must be not only
available but easily accessible. Therefore, it is
customary to have a dedicated screen for the cold
box itself with the appropriate temperature
measurements outlined. Occasionally as start-
ups for plants occur, it is common for trips or
plant shut downs to happen along the way which
force operation to stop. It is important to note
that restarts of the BAHX have the same
importance and criteria for cool down as the
initial start-up. This is sometimes difficult and
requires added attention as the unit may have
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already begun its cool down process for instance
prior to being shut down and therefore be on the
verge of cooling more quickly. Process
parameters would then need to be controlled as
per the operating procedures for the facility to
ensure that the same rate of cooling requirements
is met. It is not practical to design a BAHX to
prevent damage from freezing liquid expansion.
The process design and operation must avoid this
occurrence.
Purging Prior to a start-up, brazed
aluminum heat exchangers must be purged with
nitrogen to remove any moisture and heavy
hydrocarbons. If any moisture or heavy
hydrocarbons remain, they can freeze or form
hydrates at the exchanger operating temperatures
in the LNG liquefaction process and cause
cracking in the exchanger. The purge should run
for 4 to about 24 hours depending on the size,
configuration, and complexity of the exchanger.
The moisture content at the end of the purge
should be less than 10 ppm.
Water Freezing during Operation During
the LNG liquefaction operation, it is critical to
prevent impurities from entering the BAHX that
could freeze or form hydrates at the cryogenic
operating temperature in the exchanger.
Therefore, such components as water, carbon
dioxide, benzene, and any heavy hydrocarbons
should be reduced in their concentrations prior to
entering the appropriate sections of the BAHX to
acceptable and appropriate levels which will
prevent the component from freezing.
Customarily, in the liquefaction process, the
water and the carbon dioxide are treated
upstream of the BAHX and reduced to levels that
will not freeze in the unit at operating
temperatures. Typically, any heavy
hydrocarbons are extracted from the process in
an intermediate step of the liquefaction process.
A stream exits the cold box from the BAHX and
separates the heavy hydrocarbons from the gas
before allowing the natural gas to return to the
BAHX and complete the liquefaction process.
Any free water is absolutely critical to prevent
from entering the exchanger. As noted above, it
can damage the core if it enters and freezes. If
there is any breakthrough in the plant
dehydration or treating systems, the brazed
aluminum heat exchanger must be immediately
shut down, isolated, and purged.
Fluid Distribution Design considerations
for LNG liquefaction plants often involve two-
Copyright 2008 by ASME
 phase fluids. For flows in critical applications
(tight approach temperatures, small MTDs, large
% of the duty being done by the two phase
stream, or where the outlet temperatures of each
stream are very important), most exchanger
fabricators recommend external phase separation
and distribution of the vapor and liquid
separately to ensure proper distribution of the
liquid and vapor to each layer of the exchanger.
In some cases, two-phase flow can be handled
without separation with the use of perforated
plates or sparge pipes in the inlet header.
When there are two or more cores within a cold
box, distribution between the cores must be
considered to avoid excessive thermal stresses.
To ensure that refrigerant is evenly distributed
between cores, the refrigerant flow (both liquid
and vapor) are controlled and metered to each
core. On the other hand, feed gas is metered to
each cold box and then split with parallel piping
inside the cold box to each core. This works
well because the largest amount of the pressure
drop in the gas flow path is in the exchanger
core. Also, if there are minor variations in the
gas distribution between cores, the refrigerant
can be adjusted to match up with the gas flow to
optimize the operation.
Distribution of the two-phase low pressure
refrigerant into the core is a critical
consideration. When there are two or more cores
within a cold box, a good recognized engineering
practice is to remove the high pressure
refrigerant from each core, put it through a
dedicated Joule-Thomson (JT) valve, and put it
back into that core. This allows greater control
than taking the high pressure refrigerant from all
of the cores through a single JT valve and
redistributing this stream to multiple cores.
MANUFACTURING PROCESS
The manufacturing process for BAHX
is very unique and specific for this type of
exchanger only. Brazing methods are also
specific and proprietary to the manufacturers.
BAHX are made of several separate components
that are brazed and welded together to form a
single unit. Welding on ASME exchangers is
performed to ASME BPVC Section IX Qualified
Procedures [4]. The core block itself consists of
three main components: fins, parting sheets, and
side bars. All of these components have a base
material of 3003 alloy aluminum. The parting
sheets also have a very thin layer of another alloy
of aluminum called cladding. The cladding is on
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the outer surface of the parting sheet. Its purpose
is to form the braze material. During the vacuum
brazing process, the core block is slowly heated
to brazing temperature. When the core block
reaches that brazing temperature, the cladding
material melts and diffuses into the base 3003
material of the parting sheets, fins, and side bars.
After a sufficient time at brazing temperature,
the block is cooled and the braze material re-
solidifies forming a rigid brazed core matrix.
Headers and nozzle assemblies are
typically formed with 5083 alloy aluminum.
Depending on the application, other alloys of
aluminum such as 6061 or 5454 may be used for
headers and nozzles, but 5083 is typically
utilized for LNG applications. Both headers and
nozzles can be made from pipe or brake-formed
from flat plate to form whatever radius is
required for the application. Header/nozzle
assemblies are welded to the core block during
final assembly (reference Figure 7). Each stream
is pressure tested to ensure structural integrity.
Figure 7 - Core Block with Headers and
Nozzles
Nozzles can terminate in various ways
to accommodate specific customer connection
preferences. If a customer prefers to weld their
aluminum pipe directly to the exchanger, the
manufacturer can supply the nozzle connections
with a test plug that is removed upon installation.
Exchanger nozzles can also be supplied with
flanged connections as shown in Figure 8 for
bolting directly to customer piping. Flanges are
typically Raised Face Weld Neck (RFWN) type
6061-T6 alloy. RFWN flanges allow a
mechanical gasket connection between two
dissimilar metals like aluminum to carbon or
stainless steel. Another alternative is a bi-
metallic transition joint. Transition joints are a
bonded connection that is fabricated from
different materials to allow a direct non-
Copyright 2008 by ASME
 mechanical connection of dissimilar metals.
Individual transition joint manufacturers have
established designs and manufacturing processes
that meet the requirements of ASME B31.3 [11].
For most LNG applications, the transition joint
will be 6061-T6 aluminum on the exchanger
side, terminating in 304 or 316 stainless steel on
the customer interface side. Transition joints are
commonly used when customer preferences
dictate that penetrations to the cold box consist
of stainless steel piping. The transition joint
allows the customer to utilize a non-mechanical
connection inside the cold box between the
exchanger and terminating piping. To reduce the
opportunity or points for leaks to occur,
connections with flanges are typically all down
outside of the cold box such that inside the cold
box all the connections with the BAHX are
welded.
Figure 8 - Core Block with Flanged
Connections
OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE
Customers and/or users of BAHX only
consider suppliers that conform to the standards
of ALPEMA (Brazed Aluminum Plate-Fin Heat
Exchanger Manufacturers Assocation).
ALPEMA standards provide consistent quality
and conformance guidelines for the design and
manufacture of brazed aluminum exchangers
[12]. While manufacturers of BAHX design
their products for the specified pressure and
thermal loads, potentially significant thermal
stresses can arise from unsteady operating
conditions such as large flow fluctuations,
unstable flow in boiling channels, or inadequate
plant control systems, as well as transient
operating conditions that include start-up,
shutdown, plant upsets, deriming (a process to
rid the exchanger of impurities that have formed
hydrates or are frozen in the exchanger), and
cool-down/warm-up cycles. To reduce the
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possibility for damage or failure of the heat
exchanger, the operator should strongly consider
the manufacturers operating guidelines. These
include the following:
o Regulate the pressure and external loads
and limit temperature differences
between adjacent streams at any point
in the heat exchanger to those specified
by the manufacturer.
o Exercise care in applications where a
liquid is totally vaporized within the
exchanger.
o Design and operate plant equipment and
piping connected to the exchanger to
prevent flow excursion and instabilities.
o Limit frequently repeated temperature
fluctuations of any stream to +1 C.
o Limit thermal gradients during transient
conditions such as start-up and
shutdown to those specified by the
manufacturer and repeated in the
operating manual.
Where any of the above conditions area
concern, a user should consult with the
manufacturer to determine if the exchanger is
within its acceptable operating range. Repeated
exposure to conditions exceeding those noted
above could eventually result in thermal or
mechanical fatigue failure of internal
components. While quite rare, typical failures
could result in interstream leakage or leaks to the
external.
A leaking heat exchanger should be
repaired as soon as possible. Prolonged
operation may lead to further damage. The
unique construction of plate-fin exchangers
allow for a variety of repair solutions when
necessary. Exchangers can often be repaired and
placed back into service with only minimal loss
of effective heat transfer surface and minimal
impact on the performance of the unit.
Failures in BAHX are extremely rare
and can me mostly attributed to operation
outside of parameters specified by the
manufacturer. The potential of brazed aluminum
plate-fin heat exchangers can best be realized by
strictly adhering to established standards and
procedures from the time of initial purchase and
installation for the life of the unit.
Additional Safety Considerations
To prevent over-pressurization, the user
must install pressure-relieving devices into each
stream of the brazed aluminum heat exchanger.
Relief valves are typically installed in the piping
Copyright 2008 by ASME
 external to the cold box. Exchanger relieving
rates can be designed per recognized consensus
documents such as API 521 [13].
The cold box itself is typically designed
for a low pressure (about 4 inches of water).
There are no flanged connections inside the cold
box, eliminating potential leak points. To ensure
that hydrocarbon vapors cannot build up in the
cold box, a nitrogen purge system is furnished
within the cold box. The nitrogen purge system
is designed to ensure an even distribution of
purge gas. The nitrogen enters the bottom of the
box and exits through a breather vent at the top
of the cold box. The nitrogen sweep is
monitored with a combustible gas detector
mounted on the breather vent. If combustible
gas is detected, the exchanger is shut down and
inspected for leaks. The cold box is also
furnished with a blow-off hatch to relieve any
pressure buildup in the box, preventing the cold
box from rupturing in the event of an exchanger
leak. In some applications, containment of
leaking cryogenic fluids is provided to avoid
damage to the carbon steel cold box structure.
SUMMARY
As the demand for natural gas continues
to increase, the shortfall in supply must be
addressed. Exploration, drilling, and gas
processing will aid in providing more natural gas
supply as will the increase in LNG facilities.
LNG facilities allow for economic storage as
well as means for facilitating the means for
transportation of natural gas. BAHX are an
excellent application in these LNG and
cryogenic gas processing facilities. Specific
considerations have been outlined in this paper
to aid in the design engineering and operation of
this heat transfer equipment to enhance its safety
and reliability.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to recognize their
employers, Chart Energy & Chemicals, Inc. and
Black & Veatch for their support, contribution,
and courtesy photographs supplied to develop
this paper. Additionally, we would like to
recognize Praxair, White Martins, Brazil for the
use of the installed cold box picture from the
recently completed Black & Veatch project.
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