Heat exchanger with improved tube cleaning element basket retaining

Abstract

A heat exchanger has a plurality of fluid flow tubes secured adjacent their ends by tube sheets. Cleaning elements are adapted to shuttle back and forth in the tubes and are adapted to be captured by baskets. The baskets are positioned so that their basket holding chambers having fluid flow openings in the side walls thereof are disposed in the space between a retaining plate and tube sheet. The outer end portions of the baskets are engaged by the retaining plate while the inner end portions of the baskets are positioned relative to the tube sheet openings to be in fluid communication with the heat exchanger tubes. The retaining plate has a plurality of openings therein which may be in axial alignment with the tube sheet openings and in axial registry with the open outer ends of the baskets. Alternately, the retaining plate openings may be arranged in a random pattern basically out of alignment with the tube sheet openings and out of registry with the baskets. The total cross-sectional area of the random openings in a retainer plate is preferably equal to or greater than the sum of the internal cross-sectional areas of the heat exchanger tubes.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.