Copper Heat Exchanger Tube

Gnee Steel (Tianjin) Co., Ltd. is one of the most professional manufacturers and suppliers of copper heat exchanger tube in China, specialized in providing high quality copper products with competitive price. Welcome to buy discount copper heat exchanger tube for sale here from our factory. Customized orders are welcome.

The core function of a heat exchanger is to efficiently transfer heat generated from gas combustion to water. The thermal conductivity performance of its materials directly impacts heat transfer effectiveness. Copper tubes, with their high thermal conductivity, stable thermal expansion/contraction properties, and excellent manufacturability, make them an outstanding material for heat exchangers and condensers. In fact, the industry has consistently used copper as the manufacturing material for heat exchangers for many years. Copper boasts a thermal conductivity coefficient as high as 400 W/m·K, second only to silver and far exceeding that of 304 stainless steel. This signifies a significant advantage for copper in heat transfer.

Exceptional Thermal Conduction Efficiency

 

Copper's thermal conductivity coefficient reaches 390 W/(m·K), over four times higher than common steel. This characteristic enables rapid heat conduction through the copper tube walls, significantly enhancing the transient response capability of the heat exchanger. Experimental data shows that under identical operating conditions, copper tube heat exchangers achieve 30%-40% higher heat transfer efficiency compared to stainless steel tube versions.

Long-term Chemical Stability

 

In corrosive environments involving acids, alkalis, and salts, copper tubes spontaneously form a dense protective oxide layer on their surface. This passivation phenomenon allows them to maintain structural integrity even in media with pH values ranging from 2 to 12, making them particularly suitable for demanding applications in chemical processing, refrigeration, etc. Long-term tracking studies indicate that high-quality copper tubes can achieve service lives exceeding 15 years even in seawater environments.

Superior Mechanical Reliability

 

Copper tubes combine ductility with strength, achieving tensile strengths of 200-300 MPa. Copper tube systems joined via brazing can withstand working pressures above 2.5 MPa and show no weld cracking after over 1,000 thermal cycle tests. The material's memory effect allows copper tubes to largely return to their original shape after deformation, significantly reducing maintenance costs.

 

HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning)

Copper tube heat exchangers are core components in central air conditioning systems, air-source heat pumps, and similar equipment. They efficiently exchange heat to transfer indoor heating or cooling loads outdoors or indoors, enabling comfortable indoor climate control.

 

‌‌Refrigeration Industry

In household refrigeration appliances (refrigerators, freezers) and large cold storage facilities, copper tube heat exchangers rapidly remove heat from the refrigerant, bringing the cooled space to the required temperature. Copper's excellent thermal conductivity and corrosion resistance ensure the long-term stable operation of refrigeration equipment.

 

Chemical Industry

Copper tube heat exchangers are commonly used for heat transfer in various chemical reaction processes. For example, in petrochemicals, they effectively control reaction temperature within high-temperature, high-pressure processes, ensuring smooth reactions.

 

Energy Sector

In solar water heaters, copper tube heat exchangers transfer heat absorbed by solar collectors to the water, facilitating water heating.

 

Transportation (Marine & Automotive)

Copper tube heat exchangers are also used in ships and automobiles. Within marine central air conditioning systems and main engine cooling systems, they adapt to the ship's specific environment, ensuring system reliability. In automotive air conditioning systems, their compact size, lightweight nature (suited for limited space), and excellent heat transfer performance make them ideal.

 

Finned tubes significantly improve heat exchange efficiency by adding fins (heat sinks) to the surface of ordinary pipes. Their unique fin structure greatly increases the heat exchange area, making heat exchange more efficient and rapid. Compared to ordinary bare tubes, extruded copper finned tubes can transfer more heat within the same space, thereby improving heat exchange efficiency and reducing energy consumption. They are particularly suitable for applications with high heat exchange requirements, such as refrigeration and air conditioning. In terms of structural strength, the extruded fins are tightly bonded to the copper tubes, providing high mechanical strength, capable of withstanding certain pressures and vibrations, and are less likely to fall off, thus ensuring system reliability and stability.

When finned copper tubes are used in heat exchangers：
(1) Gas vs. liquid heat exchange (such as air-refrigerant, air-water)
Air conditioning condenser/evaporator (refrigerant in the tube, air outside the tube).
Automobile radiator (coolant in the tube, air outside the tube).
Industrial air cooler (such as air cooling system for power plant).
(2) Compact design required
(3) Small temperature difference or high energy efficiency requirement

Not using finned copper tubes:
Plate heat exchanger (liquid-liquid heat exchange).
Water side of shell and tube heat exchanger (bare tubes can meet the requirements).

Finned copper tubes are preferred:
When the heat exchange medium contains gas (such as air), or high energy efficiency and compact design are required (such as air conditioning and refrigeration equipment).
No need for finned copper tubes:
When both sides are liquid, or there is a risk of scaling and corrosion and maintenance is difficult.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GNEE is an enterprise engaged in the research, smelting and processing of copper and copper alloys. The factory covers an area of 350,000 square meters, and now has a series of production equipments such as vacuum induction furnace imported from the United States, vacuum consumable arc furnace made in Germany, 2800mm four-high reversible rolling mill, vacuum annealing furnace, and so on, which can customize the production of any size of plate within 2.6m * 16m, and the maximum length of a single pipe can reach 15m.
Meanwhile, we also have more than 100 sets of various testing instruments, the main equipment includes American non-destructive testing system, spectral analyzer, carbon and sulfur tester, universal testing machine, ultrasonic testing system, fatigue testing machine and so on.
With more than 10 years of export experience, our products are exported to USA, UK, Germany, France, Brazil, Japan, Korea, India, Vietnam, Australia, Philippines, Zambia, Indonesia and other countries.

Contact us today for a quotation：sales@gneesteel.com

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