Titanium Heat Exchanger — Seawater-Proven Shell, Tube & Plate Units Built to Drawing

Published by Engineering Team, Shaanxi Qianyi Tuoda Technology Co., Ltd on 2026-11-04

Titanium heat exchangers · drawing to delivery

A titanium heat exchanger transfers heat where the cooling or process fluid would eat a steel or copper unit in a season. SXQYTD builds shell-and-tube, U-tube and plate titanium exchangers to TEMA, ASME Section VIII and GB/T 151, with tube-to-tubesheet welds made and inspected on every unit. Here is the procurement-level detail that decides whether titanium is right for your duty.

Material	Gr1 / Gr2 / Gr7 / Gr12 (ASTM B338, B265)	Principle	Shell-tube / U-tube / plate
Capacity	0.5 m² – 2000 m² (custom)	Industry	Desalination, power, marine, chemical
Design code	TEMA / ASME VIII / GB/T 151	Lead time	4–10 weeks (stock tube shortens it)

1. What a titanium heat exchanger is — by principle and by structure

By principle, the workhorse is the shell-and-tube unit: titanium tubes carry one fluid, the shell side carries the other, and heat crosses the thin tube wall. Where space is tight or duties swing, a plate heat exchanger (Titanium Plates brazed or gasketed) packs more area per cubic metre. U-tube and floating-head configs absorb thermal expansion and allow tube bundle pull-out for cleaning.

By structure, the three common builds are: fixed tube sheet (compact, no moving joint, limited thermal differential), U-tube (one tubesheet, thermal growth absorbed by the U-bend), and floating head (bundle removable, for dirty shell-side fluids). For seawater condensers the fixed or U-tube titanium design dominates because there is simply no cheaper material that survives the duty.

2. Why titanium — material vs. medium vs. corrosion

Titanium's passive TiO₂ film shrugs off chlorides that pit 316L and dissolve copper-nickel. The selection logic:

Medium	Recommended grade	Why
Seawater, brine	Gr2	Standard condenser grade; passive film self-heals in seawater.
Hot chloride (>70°C)	Gr7 / Gr12	Pd/Mo resists crevice corrosion in stagnant hot chloride.
Acid coolers	Gr2 / Gr7	Oxidizing acids fine; Gr7 for reducing swing.
High-purity / pharma	Gr1	Highest purity, best formability for thin plates.

Two facts buyers miss: titanium's thermal conductivity (~17 W/m·K for Gr2) is lower than steel or copper, but its thin allowable wall (0.5 mm tubes) and corrosion allowance of zero recover the duty — and biofouling barely adheres, so cleaning intervals stretch. Also, the tube-to-tubesheet joint — not the tube — is where 90% of failures start. We weld and dye-check every joint.

3. Technical standards we build to

• Tube material: ASTM B338 (welded or seamless titanium tube), B861/B862 for pipe; plate to ASTM B265.
• Exchanger code: TEMA Class R/C/B, ASME Section VIII Div.1, or GB/T 151 (Chinese shell-tube) with GB/T 3625 for tubes.
• Tube joint: hydraulic expansion plus GTAW weld to tubesheet; weld acceptance by PT and helium leak test where specified.
• Inspection: tube hydrotest, tubesheet weld PT, shell hydrotest, PMI of delivered material, dimension report.

4. Manufacturing flow — from drawing to delivery

1) Duty review (LMTD, fouling, code) → 2) Material release with MTC & PMI → 3) Shell and tubesheet machining → 4) Tube bending / cutting → 5) Tube-to-tubesheet expansion and GTAW welding → 6) Baffle fit and bundle assembly → 7) PT on joints, shell hydrotest → 8) Pickling / passivation → 9) Final QA and export packing. We stock Gr2 tube and plate in Baoji, so step 2 often begins within days of PO.

5. Key component performance

Item	Control value	Note
Tube OD / wall	16–38 mm / 0.5–1.5 mm	Thin wall recovers thermal duty.
Tube-tubesheet joint	Expanded + welded, 100% PT	Leak-tested; this is the failure-critical joint.
Fouling factor	0.0001–0.0002 m²·K/W	Low; biofouling barely adheres.
Hydrotest	1.3 × design pressure	Per ASME / GB code.

6. Application industries

Industry	Medium	Why titanium
Desalination	Seawater	30-year life vs. a few years for Cu-Ni.
Power / HVAC	Cooling water	Condensers survive brackish cooling.
Marine / offshore	Seawater	Light weight, no biofouling bond.
Chemical	Acid / chloride	Zero corrosion allowance needed.

7. Selection guide

By medium: seawater / brine → Gr2; hot chloride → Gr7/Gr12; high-purity → Gr1. By type: large stationary plant → shell-tube (fixed or U-tube); space-limited or variable duty → plate; dirty shell-side → floating-head for bundle pull-out. Send flow rates, temperatures, fouling expectation and code; we return area, type and grade.

8. Customizable items & accessories

• Tube count, length, pitch and layout (triangular / square) per thermal duty.
• Fixed, U-tube or floating-head; bare or low-finned titanium tubes.
• Tubesheet grade (solid titanium or titanium-clad), nozzle orientation, supports.
• Passivation, insulation jacket, and export plywood or steel crate.
• Optional U-stamp, third-party inspection (SGS / TUV), extended traceability.

9. Lead time, test reports & warranty

Item	Commitment
Lead time	4–10 weeks typical; stock tube starts within days of PO.
Test reports	MTC 3.1, tube hydrotest, joint PT, shell hydrotest, PMI, dimension report.
Warranty	12 months against material and workmanship defects from shipment.

10. FAQ

Is titanium worth it versus copper-nickel for seawater?

For continuous seawater duty, yes. Cu-Ni lasts a few years before biofouling and pitting force retubing; titanium runs 20–30 years with near-zero corrosion allowance, which often wins on lifecycle cost.

How do you stop leaks at the tube joints?

Every tube is hydraulically expanded and then GTAW-welded to the tubesheet, with 100% dye-penetrant check on the welds and a helium or hydrostatic leak test before release.

Can you build to TEMA and ASME?

Yes. Send the duty and code (TEMA class + ASME VIII, or GB/T 151); we return the thermal design, mechanical drawing and inspection plan for approval.