Minimize downtime and extend exchanger life with Curran International’s proven full-length tube liner repairs.
What Are Tube-In Tube Liners?
When exchanger tubes suffer from internal corrosion or damage, plugging tubes or pulling and replacing them can cause costly downtime and extensive labor. Curran’s tube-in tube liner repair offers a fast, cost-effective alternative that returns tubes to service with minimal disruption.
Using full-length tube liners hydraulically expanded in situ, this technique is especially valuable for:
- Air coolers
- Shell and tube heat exchangers
- Surface condensers
This approach avoids removing equipment, reduces turnaround time, and controls repair costs.
How Curran’s Tube Liner Repair Works
Curran provides a turnkey solution including:
- Tube inspection via Remote Field Testing (RFT) or Internal Rotary Inspection System (IRIS) to evaluate tube integrity
- Tube cleaning to near white-metal condition using advanced dry grit blasting for optimal liner adhesion
- Installation of full-length liners hydraulically expanded at 6,000–7,000 PSI inside existing tubes to form a permanent tube-in-tube bond
The liner extends beyond both tube ends, and the hydraulic expansion sets the liner diameter in under a minute, allowing a rapid return to operation.
Upgrade Your Tube Alloy for Future Protection
Beyond repair, many clients opt for an alloy upgrade to mitigate future corrosion risks. Thin-gauge liners (0.022” to 0.042” wall thickness) made from high-performance alloys act as a protective overlay, while the original tube maintains structural integrity.
Common liner alloys include:
- 300 series stainless steel
- Duplex stainless steel
- Monel
- Hastelloy
- Admiralty Brass and copper-nickel alloys for steam condensers
Selecting the right alloy depends on your plant’s operating conditions and corrosion profile, and Curran’s experts can help with material recommendations.
Benefits of Curran’s Tube-In Tube Liner Repairs
- Minimized downtime during critical turnarounds
- Reduced costs by avoiding full tube replacement
- Fast installation with materials pre-ordered and ready
- Extended equipment life with corrosion-resistant liner overlays
- Optimized heat exchanger performance despite slight heat transfer resistance increase
See It In Action
Watch the full process of tube cleaning and liner installation on an air-cooled exchanger in Curran’s video demonstration at www.curranintl.com.
Contact Curran International Today
For corrosion repair solutions that keep your heat exchangers running longer with less downtime, contact Curran International at 281-339-9993 or visit www.curranintl.com.
