Project Overview

A Swedish industrial customer recently contacted Wuxi Yiteng Pressure Vessel Co., Ltd. for a preliminary technical and commercial assessment of a customized process-equipment project.

The project involves multiple pressure equipment packages for an industrial process application, including stainless steel shell-and-tube heat exchangers, vertical stainless steel pressure vessels and small process pressure vessels.

Rather than requesting a standard off-the-shelf product, the customer is evaluating a manufacturer capable of supporting the project from thermal sizing and mechanical design through fabrication, inspection, documentation and international delivery.

The preliminary project scope includes 2 shell-and-tube heat exchangers, 1–2 vertical pressure vessels and 2 small process pressure vessels.

1. Stainless Steel Shell & Tube Heat Exchanger

The main equipment requirement is a customized Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger for an industrial liquid-to-liquid heat-transfer application.

Preliminary Design Conditions

The customer requested Yiteng to recommend the most suitable heat-exchanger configuration based on the actual process conditions.

Depending on the final process data, the engineering team will evaluate suitable configurations such as fixed-tubesheet, U-tube or floating-head shell-and-tube heat exchangers.

The final configuration will be determined according to:

• Heat-transfer duty
• Temperature difference
• Fluid properties
• Flow rate
• Allowable pressure drop
• Thermal expansion
• Fouling conditions
• Maintenance requirements
• Design pressure and temperature
• Material compatibility

2. Thermal Sizing for Accurate Heat Exchanger Design

For a 1.0–1.5 MW heat exchanger, the heat-transfer duty alone is not sufficient to determine the equipment size.

The engineering team requires detailed process data from both the shell side and tube side, including:

• Fluid name and composition
• Flow rate
• Inlet temperature
• Required outlet temperature
• Operating pressure
• Design pressure
• Operating temperature
• Design temperature
• Density
• Viscosity
• Specific heat
• Thermal conductivity
• Allowable pressure drop
• Fouling factor

These parameters are used to determine the required heat-transfer area, tube diameter, tube length, tube quantity, tube passes, shell diameter, flow velocity and pressure drop.

For international process projects, accurate process data at the beginning of engineering can significantly reduce later changes to equipment design and commercial quotation.

3. Vertical Stainless Steel Pressure Vessel

The second equipment package involves a customized Vertical Stainless Steel Pressure Vessel for process-fluid storage or buffer service.

Preliminary Requirements

The final vessel design will be developed after confirmation of the process medium, operating conditions, corrosion characteristics and nozzle requirements.

The engineering review may cover:

• Shell and head configuration
• Wall thickness
• Corrosion allowance
• Vessel diameter and height
• Manway arrangement
• Nozzle orientation
• Support design
• Pressure-relief connection
• Instrument connections
• Insulation and cladding
• Material compatibility

4. Small Process Pressure Vessel

A separate process application requires approximately 2–3 m³ small pressure vessels, with an initial requirement of approximately 2 units.

The customer requested engineering recommendations regarding:

• Material selection
• Wall thickness
• Shell and head design
• Nozzle arrangement
• Support structure
• Applicable design standard

The final specification will be confirmed during the technical clarification stage.

5. PED & CE Requirements for the Swedish Market

For this European project, compliance with applicable pressure-equipment requirements is an important part of the technical evaluation.

The customer specifically requested information regarding:

• PED compliance
• CE marking
• Design codes and standards
• Welding procedures
• Welder qualifications
• NDT
• Hydrostatic testing
• Material traceability
• EN 10204 3.1 material certificates
• Inspection and Test Plan (ITP)
• Factory Acceptance Test (FAT)
• Dimensional inspection
• Surface treatment and passivation
• Design calculations
• General arrangement drawings
• Fabrication drawings
• Nozzle schedules
• Nameplates and marking
• Operation and maintenance documentation

For equipment falling within the applicable scope of the Pressure Equipment Directive 2014/68/EU (PED), the final PED category and conformity-assessment route need to be determined from the final design parameters, including pressure, temperature, volume, fluid characteristics and equipment type.

This is why the project requires a technical review before the final commercial quotation.

6. Engineering & Quality Documentation

For a European industrial equipment project, manufacturing quality is only one part of successful delivery.

The documentation package is equally important.

The project may require a coordinated documentation package covering:

Engineering

• Design calculations
• GA drawings
• Fabrication drawings
• Nozzle schedules
• Equipment datasheets

Material Control

• Material certificates
• EN 10204 3.1 certificates
• Material traceability
• PMI, where specified

Welding & Inspection

• Welding procedures
• Welder qualifications
• NDT reports
• Dimensional inspection
• Hydrostatic pressure test

Quality & Acceptance

• ITP
• Inspection records
• FAT documentation
• Pressure-test documentation
• Final quality dossier

Final Equipment Documentation

• Nameplate information
• CE-related documentation, where applicable
• Declaration of Conformity, where applicable
• Operation and maintenance documentation

7. From Engineering Data to Manufacturing

For customized pressure equipment, the project workflow can be summarized as:

Process Data

↓

Thermal & Mechanical Design

↓

Material Selection

↓

PED / Compliance Review

↓

GA & Fabrication Drawings

↓

Material Procurement & Traceability

↓

Welding & Fabrication

↓

NDT & Inspection

↓

Hydrostatic Testing

↓

Final Inspection & Documentation

↓

Packing & International Shipment

This integrated approach helps coordinate engineering, procurement, quality control, manufacturing and logistics before the equipment reaches the final delivery stage.

8. Commercial & Delivery Evaluation

The Swedish customer also requested a detailed commercial assessment covering:

• Equipment price
• Engineering and design
• Testing and inspection
• Certification and documentation
• Packing
• FOB quotation
• CIF quotation
• Estimated freight to Sweden
• Manufacturing lead time
• Payment terms
• Warranty
• Installation / commissioning support

The quotation will be developed after the preliminary technical parameters are confirmed, allowing the engineering and commercial teams to provide a more accurate equipment configuration and price breakdown.

9. Why Technical Clarification Matters

A customized Shell & Tube Heat Exchanger cannot be accurately priced from heat duty alone.

Likewise, a 10–15 m³ pressure vessel cannot be fully engineered from volume and design pressure alone.

Final equipment design depends on actual process conditions, material compatibility, thermal requirements, mechanical design conditions, inspection requirements and applicable regulations.

Therefore, Yiteng's approach is to complete the technical clarification first, then proceed to detailed engineering and commercial quotation.

This helps avoid unnecessary design changes, material changes and cost adjustments at later stages.

Project Scope at a Glance

Project Location: Sweden
Industry: Industrial Process Equipment
Project Stage: Preliminary Technical & Commercial Assessment

Initial Equipment Scope

2 × Stainless Steel Shell & Tube Heat Exchangers
Heat duty: 1.0–1.5 MW

1–2 × Vertical Stainless Steel Pressure Vessels
Working volume: 10–15 m³

2 × Small Process Pressure Vessels
Working volume: 2–3 m³

Key Requirements

316L Stainless Steel | Shell & Tube | Pressure Vessel | PED | CE | NDT | EN 10204 3.1 | ITP | FAT | Thermal Sizing | Custom Engineering

Conclusion

This Swedish project demonstrates the type of customized process-equipment requirements that require more than standard fabrication capability.

From thermal sizing of 1.0–1.5 MW shell-and-tube heat exchangers to the engineering of 10–15 m³ stainless steel pressure vessels, the project requires close coordination between process engineering, mechanical design, material procurement, welding, inspection, documentation and international logistics.

Wuxi Yiteng Pressure Vessel Co., Ltd. supports customized pressure vessels and heat exchangers for international industrial projects, with engineering and manufacturing capabilities covering the project from preliminary technical review to fabrication, inspection and delivery.

Looking for a customized shell-and-tube heat exchanger or stainless steel pressure vessel for a European project?

Send us your process datasheet, P&ID, RFQ or preliminary specifications for technical review and quotation.