Device for antivibrational blocking of tubes of a heat exchanger

A device for antivibrational blocking of tubes of a heat exchanger including a bundle of tubes folded into a U, ends of said tubes being fixed in a tube plate arranged in parallel layers and juxtaposed bent parts of said tubes opposite said tube plate constituting an assembly of substantially hemispherical shape, termed tube bend region, said blocking device including a set of antivibration bars each interposed between the bent parts of two adjacent layers of tubes of said bundle and arranged substantially radially of said tube bend region, so as to have one end outside said tube bend region, and linkage means linking outer end parts of said antivibration bars arranged in a plurality of sets of at least two bars in which the bars are aligned along a straight row and include aligned through openings, wherein said linkage means include, for each of said sets of antivibration bars aligned along one row:

• (a) a screw having a head intended to bear on a first face of a first antivibration bar at one of the row and including means of locking against rotation with respect to said first antivibration bar and a threaded rod engaged in the opening of said first antivibration bar, so as to project on a second face of said first antivibration bar opposite said first face;
• (b) at least one spacer having a longitudinal axis and a body having a length along an axis of said spacer substantially equal to a separation between two successive bars of the row and including, along the axis of said body, a tapped opening extending over part of a length of said body and emerging at a first axial end of said body of said spacer and a threaded rod in axial extension of said body, at a longitudinal end of said body opposite said first end as well as an engaging surface on the outer surface of said body;
• and
• (c) a tapped fastening element associated with a second antivibration bar different from said first antivibration bar;
• (d) said threaded rod of said screw having a screw thread allowing it to be fastened by screwing in said tapped opening of said spacer, and said threaded rod of said spacer having an identical screw thread allowing it to be fastened in a tapped opening of said tapped fastening element or in a tapped spacer opening.