# US 2013/0152585 A1 · Heat exchanger

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- Number: US 2013/0152585 A1
- Document ID: US20130152585A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 13/706,985
- Filed: 2012-12-06
- Published: 2013-06-20
- Earliest claimed: 2011-12-15
- Assignees: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
- Inventors: Satoshi Hiraoka; Kenji Kirihara; Masahiko Nagai
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20130152585A1

## CPC

- F28F 1/00: Tubular elements; Assemblies of tubular elements (specially adapted for movement F28F5/00)
- F03G 6/064: {having a gas turbine cycle, i.e. compressor and gas turbine combination}
- F28D 7/06: the conduits having a single U-bend (F28D7/10 takes precedence){(F28D7/0016 and F28D7/0033 take precedence)}
- F28D 21/001: {for thermal power plants or industrial processes}
- F28F 9/005: {Other auxiliary members within casings, e.g. internal filling means or sealing means}
- F28F 2265/26: for allowing differential expansion between elements
- Y02E 10/46: Conversion of thermal power into mechanical power, e.g. Rankine, Stirling or solar thermal engines
- F28F: DETAILS OF HEAT-EXCHANGE AND HEAT-TRANSFER APPARATUS, OF GENERAL APPLICATION (water and air traps, air venting F16)
- F03G: SPRING, WEIGHT, INERTIA OR LIKE MOTORS; MECHANICAL-POWER PRODUCING DEVICES OR MECHANISMS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR OR USING ENERGY SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR (arrangements in connection with power supply in vehicles from force of nature B60K16/00; electric propulsion with power supply in vehicles from force of nature B60L8/00)
- F28D: HEAT-EXCHANGE APPARATUS, NOT PROVIDED FOR IN ANOTHER SUBCLASS, IN WHICH THE HEAT-EXCHANGE MEDIA DO NOT COME INTO DIRECT CONTACT (fluid heaters having heat generating means and heat transferring means F24H; furnaces F27; details of heat-exchange apparatus of general)
- Y02E: REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION

## Abstract

Thermal expansion of U-shaped tubes is permitted to prevent damage to it. A heat exchanger includes a casing having a first fluid inlet provided at one end thereof and a first fluid outlet provided at the other end thereof, the first fluid inlet and the first fluid outlet being connected to each other via a first flow path extending in a straight line from the first fluid inlet to the first fluid outlet; and multiple tube sets accommodated inside the casing so that a fluid that flows through the interiors thereof undergoes heat exchange with a fluid that flows via the first flow path. The multiple tube sets are arrayed along the first flow path, and multiple U-shaped tubes constituting the tube sets are fixed only to a tube plate disposed parallel to the first flow path and located at both ends of the U-shaped tubes.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A heat exchanger comprising:
a casing having a first fluid inlet provided at one end thereof and a first fluid outlet provided at the other end thereof opposite the one end, the first fluid inlet and the first fluid outlet being connected to each other via a first flow path extending in a straight line from the first fluid inlet to the first fluid outlet; and
multiple tube sets accommodated inside the casing so that a fluid that flows through the interiors thereof undergoes heat exchange with a fluid that flows via the first flow path,
wherein the multiple tube sets are arrayed along the first flow path, and multiple U-shaped tubes constituting the tube sets are fixed only to a tube plate disposed parallel to the first flow path and located at both ends of the U-shaped tubes.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

A heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein a partition plate separating straight portions and turning portions of the U-shaped tubes is disposed parallel to the first flow path, and gaps are provided between the inner circumferential surfaces of tube holes that are provided in the partition plate and through which the straight portions of the U-shaped tubes are inserted and the outer circumferential surfaces of the U-shaped tubes.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

A heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein a header that communicates between the outlet end of a tube set located on the upstream side and the inlet end of a tube set located on the downstream side thereof is provided.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

A heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein the U-shaped tubes are fixed to the tube plate by expanding the ends of the U-shaped tubes inserted through the tube holes.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

A solar-heat gas-turbine power generating system comprising a heat exchanger according to claim 1 as a repeater that preheats a high-pressure compressible working fluid ejected from a compressor through heat exchange with a high-temperature compressible working fluid discharged from a turbine.