High convective heat transfer immersion heater/cooler

A gas immersion cooler for cooling the liquid contents of a heat treat furnace quench tank comprising:

• a. a cylindrical heat transfer robe having a closed axial end and an open axial end;
• b. an annular manifold collar secured on one side in a gas tight manner to said heat transfer tube's open end, said collar having a central exhaust opening and a plurality of distributor robe openings, the center of each distributor tube opening located at equal circumferential increments about an imaginary circle concentric with said exhaust opening;
• c. a gas exhaust tube longitudinally extending from said exhaust opening and a distributor tube within each tube opening extending longitudinally in the opposite direction from said exhaust tube to be positioned within and closely adjacent the interior of said heat transfer tube, each distributor tube having a plurality of orifices opening to the interior cylindrical surface of said heat transfer tube and spaced at longitudinal increments so that each orifice is adapted to develop a free standing gas jet impinging the interior surface of said heat transfer tube;
• d. a manifold housing secured in a gas tight manner to said exhaust tube on the opposite side of said collar from that which said heat transfer tube is affixed, said manifold housing having an air inlet in fluid communication with said distributor tubes;
• e. fan means outside said quench tank for developing a pressurized wind mass at ambient temperature;
• inlet conduit means in fluid communication with said fan means and said manifold inlet extending into said quench tank for providing said pressurized wind mass to said distributor tubes and outlet conduit means in fluid communication with said exhaust tube extending outside said quench tank for exhausting said wind mass from said cooler after it has impacted the interior of said heat transfer tube.

A thermal seal arrangement in combination with a gas heat exchanger which includes a plurality of elongated distributor tubes having a plurality of orifices spaced along the length thereof for discharging jet streams of a gaseous heat exchange medium in convective heat transfer contact with a heat transfer surface, said distributor tubes affixed to an annular manifold collar having a central exhaust opening, said seal arrangement comprising:

• a manifold housing affixed in a gas tight manner to said manifold collar on the side opposite from that which said distributor tubes extend and having an inlet opening formed therein;
• an exhaust tube slightly less in diameter than said collar's central opening extending through said manifold housing and sealed in a gas tight manner to said housing to define between said manifold housing and said exhaust tube a sealed manifold chamber, said manifold chamber in fluid communication with the inlets of said distributor tubes mounted to said manifold collar and a manifold plate within said manifold chamber, said manifold plate and said collar having a plurality of openings through which said distributor tubes extend, said distributor tubes gas tight secured to said manifold plate;
• said manifold plate secured at its outer edge to said manifold housing and at its inner edge to said exhaust tube to define a cooling space within said manifold chamber extending between said manifold plate and said manifold collar, said manifold plate having a plurality of bleed orifices extending therethrough for permitting a small portion of said gaseous medium in said manifold housing to impinge said manifold collar and subsequently pass through the opening between said manifold collar and said exhaust tube prior to being exhausted through said exhaust tube to maintain said manifold plate at even thermal temperatures while shielding said manifold plate from heat.