Fatigue/Cyclic Analysis by FEA for One Heat Exchanger

Fatigue and cyclic analysis by Finite Element Analysis (FEA) for a hairpin type heat exchanger, in accordance with ASME VIII Div. 2, Part 5.5.3. The study considered 12 operating cycles per year over an expected service life of 25 years, a maximum corrosion allowance of 0.08 mm on shell and tubes (excluding tube walls), and a process fluid of nitrogen plus hydrocarbons in gas phase. A linear thermal distribution was assumed between the shell inlet nozzle (130°C) and outlet nozzle (320°C), combined with free convection and insulation boundary conditions across different parts of the equipment. This detailed thermal and cyclic fatigue study provides a robust, code compliant assessment of long term structural reliability under demanding thermal cycling conditions.