Case Study
Static Equipment Design Support — Pressure Vessel & Heat Exchanger
Mechanical Engineering — Static EquipmentConfidential Details Removed
Problem / Requirement
A process plant expansion required detailed mechanical design of a horizontal two-pass shell-and-tube heat exchanger and two vertical pressure vessels. The EPC contractor's in-house team lacked capacity for ASME BPVC Section VIII Div.1 code calculations and complete GA drawing preparation on the required schedule, necessitating specialist subcontract support from concept through IFC issue.
Engineering Scope
Process datasheet review and mechanical design basis confirmation
ASME BPVC Section VIII Div.1 pressure design of shells, heads, nozzles and flanges
TEMA mechanical design of heat exchanger bundle, baffles, tie rods and tube-to-tubesheet joint
Allowable external nozzle load analysis (WRC 107/537) for piping interface loads
Horizontal saddle support design including saddle horn stress checks per Zick analysis
Vertical vessel skirt and base ring design with anchor bolt sizing
General Arrangement (GA) drawings with part list, bill of materials and nozzle orientation table
Preparation of equipment datasheets for client approval and vendor enquiry
Deliverables
ASME BPVC Sec. VIII Div.1 Design Calculation Report — Pressure Vessel (×2)TEMA Mechanical Design Calculation Report — Heat ExchangerWRC 537 Nozzle Load Analysis SpreadsheetZick Saddle Stress Analysis ReportGeneral Arrangement Drawing — Pressure Vessel (Plan, Elevation & Sections)General Arrangement Drawing — Heat Exchanger (Plan, Elevation & Nozzle Schedule)Equipment Mechanical Datasheet (×3)Bill of Materials / Material Take-Off
Client Value Delivered
Full IFC design package delivered six weeks ahead of the EPC contractor's internal target, protecting procurement lead times
Single-source responsibility for calculations and drawings eliminated interface errors between different discipline teams
WRC 537 analysis identified one nozzle requiring reinforcement, preventing a costly field modification after fabrication
TEMA tube-to-tubesheet joint design confirmed expanded joint was adequate, avoiding more expensive welded alternative
Standardised datasheet format streamlined vendor pre-qualification and technical bid evaluation
Standards Referenced
ASME BPVC Sec. VIII Div.1ASME BPVC Sec. II Part DTEMA (9th Ed.)ASME B16.5WRC Bulletin 537ASME B31.3 (nozzle interface)ASME B16.20
Software Used
COMPRESS (Codeware)PV Elite (Hexagon)AutoCAD 2024Microsoft Excel (Zick & WRC worksheets)SolidWorks 2023 (3D concept modelling)
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