Evaporator Cooling System Joint Leaks Prevention

A North-East chemical manufacturer engaged with Glacier Energy during their annual shutdown to provide a mitigation solution to stop joints leaking on an evaporator cooling system.

The client had very little information or drawings, so the Glacier Energy team had to quickly respond and adapt to the challenges.

The unit was stripped down and surveyed then the tube sheets were clocked and machined. The tube sheets had gasket recesses and partition slots machined and a gramophone finish was added to the gasket face. 

A similar finish was added to the covers. Partition plates on the covers didn’t line up with the slots on the tube sheet, so Glacier Energy dressed these on-site to align with the gasket pass bars. In addition, 22 stud bolt tapped holes on the tube sheets were drilled out on-site and re-tapped from 5/8” to 3/4”, to provide better compression on the gasket.

Glacier Energy provided a fast-turnround machining solution, manufacturing a new gasket in 2 days. During the shutdown, the client requested that we move to a 24-hour shift to meet the project deadline, so a night shift team was brought in to support. The full project scope was successfully completed with no further evaporator leakage.