Floating Head Heat Exchanger with 316L Tubes & SA350 LF2/316L Clad Tubesheet | Cost-Effective Corrosion Management

Yuhong Holding Group Co., Ltd. is a specialized manufacturer of ASME-coded heat transfer and pressure equipment. Our expertise spans the design and fabrication of shell and tube heat exchangers (including floating head, fixed tube sheet, and U-tube types), pressure vessels, and air coolers. We are also a leading supplier of precision replacement tube bundles, heat exchanger tubes, finned tubes, and all associated components.

This Floating Head Heat Exchanger is engineered for services requiring robust corrosion resistance at critical points while managing overall project costs. It features a tube-side constructed from AISI 316L stainless steel tubes, paired with a strategically designed SA350 LF2 carbon steel tubesheet clad with a 316L stainless steel layer. This configuration provides superior protection at the tube-to-tubesheet joints and on the tube-side face, where corrosion and erosion are most prevalent, while utilizing economical carbon steel for structural strength elsewhere.

Key Components & Material Selection

When to Choose Clad Tubesheets?

Solving Differential Corrosion Issues: When the tube-side fluid is highly corrosive (e.g., seawater, acidic media) while the shell-side fluid is mild (e.g., cooling water, steam), using solid stainless steel for the entire heavy-duty tubesheet is prohibitively expensive. Clad tubesheets perfectly resolve this contradiction by permanently bonding a 3-12mm layer of corrosion-resistant alloy (e.g., 316L) to a carbon steel substrate.

Ensuring Weld Integrity: The connection (welded or expanded) between the tube ends and the tubesheet is critical to reliability. On clad tubesheets, the tubes are directly welded to the same 316L cladding material, avoiding the metallurgical problems that can arise from welding dissimilar steels and ensuring joint lifespan.

Optimizing Total Project Cost: Compared to solid stainless steel or high-alloy tubesheets, clad tubesheets significantly reduce material costs, making them an ideal choice for projects prioritizing total life-cycle cost-effectiveness.

Core Advantages and Customized Services

Targeted Corrosion-Resistant Design: Precisely applying expensive corrosion-resistant materials to the most critical areas (tube and tubesheet contact surfaces) achieves the optimal balance between performance and cost.

Excellent Maintainability: The floating head design allows for easy removal of the entire tube bundle, facilitating thorough inspection, mechanical cleaning, or maintenance of the 316L tubes and tubesheet surfaces.

Flexible Material Configuration: We can recommend the most economical material combination based on your specific tube-side/shell-side fluid characteristics (e.g., carbon steel shell, 316L tubes, and composite plate tubesheet).

Wide Application Adaptability: Particularly suitable for heaters/coolers in the chemical industry, closed-loop cooling water systems on offshore platforms, and any process where there are significant differences in the corrosiveness of the tube-side and shell-side media.

Get Your Customized Engineering Solution

If you are looking for a heat exchange solution that balances long-term corrosion resistance with investment efficiency, our engineers can provide you with a professional evaluation. Please send your process parameters to jimmy@steelseamlesspipe.com to obtain a detailed technical solution based on your specific conditions.