Heat Exchanger Insulation Jackets

Heat exchanger insulation jackets are another product in our wide insulation products portfolio. We offer not only CNC cut insulation, turbine insulation blankets or valve insulation jackets. A portion of our works include customised heat exchanger insulation.

Manufacturers or installers of such equipment insulate them for various reasons. Nevertheless, once you select heat exchanger insulation jackets you need to make sure these will work as intended.

Madrass heat exchanger insulation jackets feature:

• short payback period (around a year)
• bespoke fit – we fabricate them for specific orders
• easy maintenance – simple no tools installation and removal
• light weight – either in one part or a few parts we make sure you can handle them manually

Do you need any support with heat exchanger insulation jackets? Contact us through the form below:

What is a heat exchanger?

Heat exchanger is a piece of equipment or a system that allows heat transfer from one medium to another. The more efficient the process the better. It means it has to be fast and safe. You can use heat exchangers both in cooling and heating. Usually two mediums are separated from each other by a thin wall. However, sometimes these are in direct contact with each other.

In order to achieve high efficiency of heat exchanger designers maximise the heat exchange surface between two fluids. At the same time the fluid flow resistance has to be minimised.

We can meet heat exchangers in everyday appliances. Some examples of the heat exchangers are in electronic systems like computers or combustion engines in cars.

Even human body includes a heat exchanger system. We use it for breathing. Human nasal passage heats cold air which we later exhale as warm.

Nonetheless, in our post we will focus on the industrial applications of heat exchangers and insulation jackets for these systems.

Where are heat exchangers used?

Heat exchangers are most commonly used in:

• heating
• cooling
• refrigeration
• brewing
• air conditioning
• petrochemical refining
• power plants
• sewage treatment plants
• food production plants

What are the types of heat exchangers?

Different industries and processes require different heat exchangers. Manufacturers produce several types, for example:

• shell and tube heat exchangers
• plate heat exchangers
• plate fin heat exchangers
• pillow plate heat exchangers

The current post however concentrates on the insulation for shell and tube heat exchangers and plate heat exchangers insulation. Therefore, we will not describe other systems here.

Characteristics of plate heat exchanger

This type of heat exchanger uses large surface metal plates to transfer heat from one medium to another.

Our partner EQWATTECH whom we support with plate heat exchanger insulation offers various types of plate heat exchangers:

EQWATTECH offers a range of plate and gasket heat exchangers adapted to the needs of your processes. EQWATTECH designs and produces heat exchangers in stainless steel, titanium, 254 SMO, alloy C276. They fit the plates with EPDM, Viton or Nitrile gaskets. Heat exchangers operate in temperatures between -20 ° C and 180 ° C. Gasketed plate heat exchangers have large exchange surfaces and are very compact. These are particularly suitable for HVAC installations, the chemical industry, the food industry.

Why should you use heat exchanger insulation jackets?

Wherever there is a heat exchange you should think about insulation.

The most common insulation systems for heat exchangers are:

• polyurethane foam insulation with plastic cover
• insulation coatings
• mineral wool insulation with aluminium or galvanised steel sheet covers

Each of these systems has its downsides.

PU foam with plastic cover has low fire rating E – which means it is combustible. Insulation coatings take long time to cure and dry. Furthermore, such a coating makes inspection and maintenance difficult. Even mineral wool with aluminium or steel sheet cover is problematic for frequent maintenance regime. Operatives often damage such product during dismantling.

Therefore, we believe heat exchanger insulation jackets are most suitable solution for plate heat exchangers and tube and shell heat exchangers.

Heat exchanger insulation jackets are used to:

• reduce heat loss
• protect against freezing
• prevent condensation
• protect workforce from high heat and potential burns

How do we produce heat exchanger insulation jackets?

Production of heat exchanger insulation jackets starts with the detailed design. Usually there are two ways in which we obtain relevant information.

First method includes site survey and detailed site measurements. Our surveyors check the overall dimensions of a heat exchanger. Additionally, they mark openings for connecting pipes, structural steel and other elements. If there is a potential clash with other elements surveyor marks it as well. Once surveyors complete their work they transfer the information to the design and engineering team.

Second method is a desktop exercise. This means analysis of drawings and specification from the customer. Once we go through the drawings we can prepare heat exchanger insulation jacket design.

After we finish design and engineering part we can proceed with the actual manufacture. At this stage we employ our CNC cutting equipment and fill in the cut shapes with relevant insulation material. This can be either glass fibre insulation, mineral wool insulation, ceramic fibre or aerogel. With insulation material inside the jacket is sewed to close it. At the end we attach fixings. There are several types which are most common for heat exchanger insulation jackets. These can be straps, springs or hook & wire fixings.

How can we support you with your requirements for heat exchanger insulation jackets?

Additional information – International norms for heat exchangers

If you find heat exchangers interesting you can expand your knowledge about these systems in the international norms.

The list shows current norms. If you know that any of these norms has been withdrawn, please let us know.

British Norm and European Norm:

BS 853-2:1996 – Specification for vessels for use in heating systems. Tubular heat exchangers and storage vessels for building and industrial services

BS EN 1148:1999 – Heat exchangers. Water-to-water heat exchangers for district heating. Test procedures for establishing the performance data.

BS EN 13487:2019 – Heat exchangers. Forced convection air cooled refrigerant condensers and dry coolers. Sound measurement.

BS EN ISO 12211:2012 – Petroleum, petrochemical and natural gas industries. Spiral plate heat exchangers.

BS EN ISO 12212:2012 – Petroleum, petrochemical and natural gas industries. Hairpin-type heat exchangers.

BS EN ISO 13706:2011 – Petroleum, petrochemical and natural gas industries. Aircooled heat exchangers.

BS EN ISO 15547-1:2005 – Petroleum, petrochemical and natural gas industries. Plate-type heat exchangers. Plate-and-frame heat exchangers

BS EN ISO 15547-2:2005 – Petroleum, petrochemical and natural gas industries. Plate-type heat exchangers. Brazed aluminium plate-fin heat exchangers

BS EN ISO 16812:2019 – Petroleum, petrochemical and natural gas industries. Shell-and-tube heat exchangers.

German norm DIN:

VDI 3805 Blatt 11:2003-07 – Produktdatenaustausch in der TGA – Wärmetauscher Fluid/Wasserdampf – Luft (Product data exchange in the Building Services – Heat exchanger fluid/steam – air)