Spiral flow in a shell and tube heat exchanger
AssigneePhillips Petroleum Company
InventorRichard K. Young
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Rod type supports or baffles are disclosed for arrays of tubes, especially those arranged in the form of a tube bundle. Each baffle comprises a pair of arcuate surfaces with a plurality of rods extending therebetween and each rod being non-normally disposed with respect to the axis of a tube bundle. In a preferred embodiment, a plurality of baffles are employed in a tube bundle so as to cause shell side fluid to sweep across the tubes in a spiral pattern, such as a double helical pattern. The invention provides an improvement in the mixing of shell side fluid in a rod baffle heat exchanger.
Claims7
In a method for producing longitudinal and spiral flow of shell side fluid through a shell and tube heat exchanger of the type wherein tube side fluid is passed through a plurality of generally parallel, transversely spaced apart tubes arranged along longitudinal axes in an ordered pitch configuration, and wherein a shell side fluid is introduced into one end region of a shell positioned about said tubes, passed through said shell generally longitudinally and in heat exchange relationship to said tubes, and removed from an opposite end region of said shell, the improvement which comprises the step of:
- moving such shell side fluid concurrently during such passing against a series of progressively located, relative to the direction of longitudinal shell side fluid flow, rod groups,
- all individual rods of each such rod group
- extending diagonally relative to the longitudinal axes through the spacings defined between such tubes, and
- being in generally parallel relationship to one another transversely across said tubes when such a rod group is viewed in a cross section taken through such rod group and said tubes,
- the respective rod members of each succeeding such rod group proceeding longitudinally along said tubes being disposed at an angle which is circumferentially angularly displaced relative to the respective rod members of the preceding such rod group,
- whereby said shell side fluid in so passing sweeps across said tubes in a generally spiral manner.
In a method of heat exchange using a shell and tube heat exchanger wherein a tube side fluid is passed through a plurality of parallel longitudinally disposed tubes and a shell side fluid is passed through a shell positioned about said tubes generally longitudinally in heat exchange relationship to said tube side fluid, the improvement comprising the steps of:
- (a) diagonally extending relative to the longitudinally disposed tubes through spaces defined between said tubes a plurality of rods,
- (1) such rod plurality being comprised of rod groups,
- (2) a different rod group being successively positioned adjacent a preceding rod group longitudinally along said tubes,
- (3) the rod members of each such rod group being in spaced, parallel relationship to one another transversely across said tubes when said tubes are viewed in a cross section therethrough,
- (b) disposing the respective rod members of each succeeding such rod group proceeding longitudinally along said tubes at angle which is circumferentially displaced relative to the respective rod members of the preceding such rod group, and
- (c) affixing the opposite ends of each rod member to ring means circumferentially extending about said tubes within said shell,
- whereby said shell side fluid in a so passing sweeps across said tubes in a generally spiral manner.
A method for producing a longitudinally spiraling flow path for fluid flowing in the shell side of a shell and tube heat exchanger,
- said heat exchanger comprising
- a plurality of elongated tubes forming a longitudinally extending tube bundle.
- tube sheet means for supporting opposite end regions of said tube bundle,
- shell means associated with said tube sheet means and circumscribing said tube bundle in fluid-tight relationship, and including a pair of port means each one at a different opposed end region thereof for ingress and egress of a fluid circulating longitudinally therethrough in heat exchange relationship to said tubes, and
- a pair of header means, each one including port means and being functionally associated in fluid tight relationship with a different opposite end region of said tube bundle for ingress and egress of a fluid circulating longitudinally through said tubes of said plurality,
- said tubes of said tube plurality being arranged in spaced, parallel relationship to one another in said tube bundle, and in a predetermined pitch configuration, whereby, when said tube bundle is viewed in cross section, at least two configurations of ordered, spaced, parallel rows of tube pluralities exist in said tube bundle, the rows of each such configuration being angularly displaced circumferentially about said tube bundle relative to the circumferentially adjacent rows of the next such configuration by a fixed angle, whereby a lane region is located between each pair of adjacent such rows in each such configuration, and whereby, when said tube bundle is viewed in cross section, a plurality of spaced, parallel lane regions exists for each such row configuration, thereby to provide at least two pluralities of spaced, parallel lane regions with the respective members of each such plurality of lane regions being circumferentially angularly displaced relative to the respective members of the adjacent such lane region plurality by a fixed angle,
- said method comprising the steps of
- (a) positioning ring retaining member means circumferentially around said tube bundle within said shell means,
- (b) extending a series of different pluralities of elongated rod members diagonally relative to the longitudinally extending tube bundle through said lane regions of said tube bundle,
- a first such rod member plurality of said series being in said tube bundle adjacent one end region thereof,
- a last such rod member plurality of said series being in said tube bundle adjacent the opposite end region thereof, and
- all intervening such rod member pluralities of said series being successively longitudinally located in said tube bundle therebetween,
- (c) placing each rod member of each such rod member plurality in a different selected one lane region of a lane region plurality,
- all rod members of one rod plurality being associated with a different one selected lane region plurality, and
- all rod members of one rod plurality being in spaced, parallel relationship to each other when said tube bundle is viewed in a cross section taken therethrough,
- (d) situating the individual rod members of each succeeding such rod member plurality of said series longitudinally along said tube bundle in the respective individual lane of the next angularly displaced but circumferentially adjacent lane region plurality relative to the preceding lane region plurality, and
- (e) securing the opposite end regions of each rod member of each such rod member plurality to said ring retaining member means,
- whereby the interrelationship between said extending, said placing, and said situating is such that a fluid flowing through the shell side of said heat exchanger from one said port means to the other thereof displays longitudinally spiraling flow.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.