ABSTRACT:

Shell and tube heat exchanger manufacturing industries are inserting and removing the tube bundle manually, which involves challenges in the center alignment of the shell and tube bundle. The manual method damages the tubes and baffles as well as rubber seals, which involve more labor hours. In the research work, an automatic trolley is made for tube bundle insertion in the shell. It is observed that the proposed process of tube insertion is safer and reliable, with 90% time reduction over the manual method as studied in the actual trials.