Pressure vessel
AssigneeBabcock-Brown Boveri Reaktor GmbH
InventorFriedrich Wietelmann
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Abstract
A heat exchanger including a pressure vessel and a plurality of heat exchanger tubes extending within the vessel. A tube shroud forms an annular passage between the tubes and the pressure vessel wall. A partition wall, comprising a plurality of openings normally closed by closure means, divides the passage into a fluid inlet compartment and a fluid outlet compartment. In the event the fluid pressure differential between the inlet and outlet compartments attains a predetermined value, at least some of the closure means will open to reduce the pressure differential below the predetermined value. In one embodiment of the invention, the closure means comprise flap valves. In an alternate embodiment of the invention, rupture discs are utilized as closure means.
Claims10
A heat exchanger comprising a pressure vessel, a plurality of heat exchanger tubes extending within the vessel, a shroud surrounding the tubes and cooperating with the vessel to form an annular passage therebetween, a partition wall dividing the passage into fluid inlet and outlet compartments, the wall having a plurality of openings extending therethrough, closure means normally closing the openings, and at least some of the closure means becoming open when the fluid pressure differential between said inlet and outlet compartments attains a predetermined value.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.