Back to results
US 5,653,282 AGranted
Shell and tube heat exchanger with impingement distributor
AssigneeThe M. W. Kellogg Company
InventorsLarry Gene Hackemesser, Lloyd Edward Cizmar, Robert Stevens Burlingame
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An impingement distributor for a shell and tube heat exchanger and a method of recovering waste heat from a hot gas which minimizes adverse heat flux at the outermost banks of tubes for enhanced operational reliability. The impingement distributor has a cylindrical distribution plate having evenly arranged rows of longitudinal perforations and a plurality of impact bars longitudinally aligned with the perforations. The hot fluid impinges on the impact bars, and direct impingement on the tubes is avoided.
Claims21
A shell and tube heat exchanger, comprising:
- a tube bundle generally longitudinally disposed in the shell for passing a tube-side fluid through the exchanger;
- a shell-side inlet in fluid communication with an annular distribution channel defined by a cylindrical distributor plate disposed around the tube bundle and spaced from an inside surface of the shell;
- a plurality of perforations formed in the distributor plate to distribute fluid from the annular channel to flow through the tube bundle across outer surfaces of the tubes to a shell-side fluid outlet;
- a plurality of impact bars disposed between a bank of outer tubes of the bundle and an inner surface of the distributor plate wherein the bars oppose each of the perforations for fluid passing through the perforations to impinge on the bars and avoid direct impingement of the hot gas on the tubes.
1 more element
A waste heat boiler, comprising:
- a refractory-lined cylindrical shell housing a longitudinal tube bundle and including respective tube-side and shell-side fluid inlets and outlets;
- a plurality of baffles perforated to slideably receive and maintain radial alignment of tubes in the tube bundle, wherein the baffles are spaced apart longitudinally by tie rods passing through bores in the baffles and annular spacing elements having an outer diameter larger than the bores;
- a cylindrical distributor plate disposed around the tube bundle and radially spaced from an inside surface of the shell to form a hot gas inlet annulus in fluid communication with the shell-side fluid inlet;
- upper and lower seal plates secured adjacent opposite longitudinal upper and lower ends of the distributor plate and extending outward radially therefrom to adjacent the inside surface of the shell to form fluid seals at respective ends of the hot gas inlet annulus;
- wherein one of the baffles is a support baffle extending outward radially from the tube bundle to adjacent the inside surface of the shell below the lower end of the distributor plate to support the distributor plate on an upper surface of the support baffle;
- a plurality of perforations formed in the distributor plate arranged in spaced-apart longitudinal rows;
- a plurality of longitudinal impact bars disposed adjacent an outer periphery of the tube bundle and an inner surface of the distributor plate, each aligned with and opposing a row of the perforations for hot gas passing through the perforations to impinge directly on a respective impact bar and then pass between adjacent impact bars into the tube bundle;
- wherein one or more of the baffles are distributor baffles extending outward radially from the tube bundle between the longitudinal ends of the distributor plate, and including an outer contour adjacent the inside surface of the distributor plate having peripheral notches to laterally receive the impact bars and maintain radial alignment of the tube bundle and tie rods with respect to the impact bars and distributor plate.
5 more elements
A method for recovering waste heat from a hot gas in a shell and tube heat exchanger having a tube bundle generally longitudinally disposed in the shell for passing a tube-side fluid through the exchanger, comprising the steps of:
- (a) directing the hot gas to an annular distribution channel of the shell and tube heat exchanger, the annular distribution channel in fluid communication with a shell-side inlet and defined by a cylindrical distributor plate disposed around the tube bundle and spaced from an inside surface of the shell;
- (b) distributing the hot gas from the annular channel to flow through a plurality of perforations formed in the distributor plate, through the tube bundle across outer surfaces of the tubes, and to a shell-side gas outlet;
- (c) impinging the fluid passing through the perforations against a plurality of impact bars disposed between a bank of outer tubes of the bundle and an inner surface of the distributor plate wherein the bars face the perforations;
- (d) transferring heat from the gas distributed by the distributor plate to the fluid flowing through the tube bundle;
- (e) withdrawing a cooled gas from the shell-side outlet and a heated fluid from a tube-side outlet.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.