Heat shield
AssigneeHudson Products Corporation
InventorGeorge E. Kluppel
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method and apparatus for protecting personnel required to work inside of a heat exchanger unit when the cooling air fan has been taken out service for maintenance or repair of the fan or other mechanical equipment, while hot fluid continues to flow through the heat exchanger tubes, and adjacent heat exchanger units continue to operate. An inflatable heat shield is inserted into the out of service heat exchanger unit, and inflated therein to block the convective heat generated by the hot fluid and the adjacent operating units from reaching the personnel working inside the heat exchanger unit.
Claims29
In an air-cooled heat exchanger combination having a hot fluid conveying tube bundle, at least one fan for causing cooling air to pass over the tube bundle, and a plenum chamber defining a passageway for the cooling air;
- a protective means for shielding maintenance personnel from convective heat while inside the plenum, comprising;
- an inflatable bag sized to fit into the plenum chamber wherein the bag is of sufficient size to block convective heat within the plenum;
- and
- air pressure means for inflating the bag.
A method of enabling maintenance personnel to service one heat exchanger unit in a battery of operational heat exchanger units wherein each heat exchanger unit has a hot fluid conveying tube bundle, at least one fan for causing cooling air to pass over the tube bundle, and a plenum chamber defining a passageway for the cooling air;
- the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) identifying the heat exchanger unit in need of service and disabling the fan associated therewith;
- (b) subsequently inserting an inflatable bag into the plenum;
- and
- (c) providing a source of pressurized inflating air and inflating the bag to block convective heat from the hot fluid conveyed by the tube bundle and the adjacent operating units from reaching maintenance personnel working in the plenum chamber.
The method as recited in claim 20, wherein the bag is situated in the plenum chamber above the tube bundle.
An inflatable service platform for performing maintenance work on an air-cooled heat exchanger having a hot fluid conveying tube bundle, at least one fan for causing cooling air to pass over the tube bundle, and a plenum chamber defining a passageway for the cooling air;
- a protective means for shielding maintenance personnel from convective heat while inside the plenum, the platform comprising:
- an inflatable member constructed from a substantially non-porous, resilient fabric in order to form a flat, planar surface when inflated;
- an inlet for admitting air into the member, the inlet being operatively associated with a source for inflation air;
- and
- vent means for releasing air from the member.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.