Control of freezing in air-cooled steam condensers
AssigneeThe Lummus Company
InventorWillem Schoonman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Damage to steam condensers resulting from freezing of condensate when operating at below freezing ambient air temperature and at low steam flow rates and/or low ambient temperatures is prevented by causing air or other non-condensible inert gas or gases to accumulate in tubes and/or headers of the condenser for a period of time sufficient to substantially lower the heat transfer capacity of the condenser but insufficient to cause damage due to freezing of condensate. The accumulation is caused by shutting off the air takeoff from condensate headers and/or introducing additional air or other non-condensible gas into the apparatus for a controlled, predetermined period of time.
Claims20
A method of controlling the operation of an air-cooled steam condenser having a plurality of heat exchanger tubes comprising causing non-condensible inert gas to accumulate in a portion of the condenser tubes for a predetermined time and in a predetermined amount sufficient under the conditions present in the condenser to substantially lower the heat transfer capacity but insufficient to allow damage to occur to the condenser from freezing of condensate therein.
In an air-cooled steam condenser having a steam header, a condensate header, a plurality of tubes connecting the steam header to the condensate header, means for introducing steam into the steam header, means for removing condensate from the condensate header, and takeoff means for removing uncondensed gases from the condenser, the improvement comprising means for causing the accumulation of non-condensible gases in a portion of the condenser tubes for a predetermined time and in a predetermined amount sufficient under the conditions present in the condenser to substantially lower the heat transfer capacity of the condenser but insufficient to allow damage to occur to the condenser from freezing of condensate therein.
A method of controlling the operation of an air-cooled steam condenser having a plurality of sections of heat exchanger tubes comprising causing non-condensible gas to accumulate in alternate sections of the condenser followed by removal of the non-condensible gas and repetition of said alternate accumulation of gas on a cyclical basis, thereby preventing damage to the condenser resulting from freezing of condensate in the tubes over a period of time.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.