Pre-stressed membrane basket cover assembly
AssigneeABB Air Preheater, Inc.
InventorMark E. Brophy
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A rotary regenerative air preheater has heat exchange baskets which contain the mass of heat absorbent material commonly comprised of stacked plate-like elements. The heat exchange basket comprises a frame which is open on each end and which is closed on the sides by basket cover assemblies. Each basket cover assembly includes a light gauge membrane which is welded to the interior surface of the basket cover. Shrinkage of the membrane due to the weld imposes a pre-tension on the membrane which resists deformation of the cover assembly by the heat exchange elements.
Claims9
A basket cover assembly for use with a heat exchanger basket for a rotary regenerative air preheater, the basket including a frame having a plurality of open sides, said cover assembly comprising:
- cover means mountable to the frame for covering one of the sides, said cover means comprising a metallic member having an inside surface;
- a metallic membrane comprising at least one edge defining a perimeter, said membrane being mounted to said inside surface of said cover means along said perimeter;
- and
- weld means for mounting said membrane to said cover means, wherein said weld means prevents movement of said perimeter relative to said cover means and whereby said weld means imposes a tensile stress on said membrane.
A basket assembly for a rotary regenerative air preheater comprising:
- heat exchange means for providing a heat exchange surface area and a heat storage mass;
- basket means for housing said heat exchange means, said basket means having a plurality of open sides;
- cover means for covering one of said sides comprising a metallic member having an inside surface;
- a metallic membrane defining a perimeter, said membrane being mounted to said inside surface of said cover means along said perimeter;
- and
- weld means for mounting said membrane to said cover means, wherein said weld means prevents movement of said perimeter relative to said cover means and whereby said weld means imposes a tensile stress on said membrane.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.