Tube support for heat exchanger
AssigneePhillips Petroleum Company
InventorHarold H. Hunt
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The tubes in a tube bundle through which heat exchange medium flows transversely are supported by rods arranged at a substantial angle with respect to the direction of fluid flow. In a preferred embodiment, tube bundles supported by rods are positioned in a stirred vessel for heat exchange with the fluid in the stirred vessel. In a further preferred embodiment, the stirred vessel is a fermentor for the production of bacteria or yeast.
Claims4
A process for exchanging heat with a fluid in a stirred vessel, said process comprising flowing said fluid through tube bundles formed from parallel rows of parallel tubes lined up along chords extending into said stirred fluid from adjacent a generally cylindrical portion of a sidewall of said vessel;
- wherein each tube bundle is formed from about 2 to 20 rows of tubes and the tubes in adjacent rows are displaced so that the tubes are laid out in triangular pitch;
- and individual tubes in each row being provided with radial support by a pair of rod baffles, wherein each rod baffle contains sufficient rods so that each tube in the tube bundle is supported on two sides by each rod baffle and the pair of rod baffles together support all four sides of each tube to provide each tube of the tube bundle with radial support.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.