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Amongst of all type of exchangers, shell and tube exchangers are most commonly

used heat exchange equipment. The common types of shell and tube exchangers are:
Fixed tube-sheet exchanger (non-removable tube bundle): The simplest and

cheapest type of shell and tube exchanger is with fixed tube sheet design. In this type of
exchangers the tube sheet is welded to the shell and no relative movement between the

shell and tube bundle is possible (Figure 3.2).

Figure 3.2 - Fixed-tube heat exchanger

Removable tube bundle: Tube bundle may be removed for ease of cleaning and

replacement. Removable tube bundle exchangers further can be categorized in floating-

head and U-tube exchanger.

Floating-head exchanger: It consists of a stationery tube sheet which is clamped

with the shell flange. At the opposite end of the bundle, the tubes may expand into a

freely riding floating-head or floating tube sheet. A floating head cover is bolted to the

tube sheet and the entire bundle can be removed for cleaning and inspection of the

interior. This type of exchanger is shown in Figure 3.3.

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