US 6,276,442 B1Granted

Combined condenser/heat exchanger

AssigneeElectric Boat Corporation

InventorGordon I. Rasmussen

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Abstract

A combined steam condenser and liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger has an outer shell forming an enclosure within which a first plurality of tubes are supported at opposite ends by tube sheets to provide a steam condenser. Within the outer shell an inner shell having a heat exchange liquid inlet and outlet contains a second plurality of tubes providing a heat exchanger. In one embodiment a first head is affixed to one end of the outer shell and cooling liquid introduced into that head passes through the second plurality of tubes and part of the first plurality of tubes to a second head at the opposite end which directs the cooling liquid through an upper portion of the first plurality back to the first head. The cooling liquid is then directed from the first head through a lower part of the first plurality of tubes toward the second head where it is discharged through an outlet. Steam received at a steam inlet in the top of the outer shell passes adjacent to the first plurality of tubes on which it is condensed and the resulting condensate falls into a condensate collection hot well having a condensate removal outlet at the bottom of the outer shell. In another embodiment U-shaped tubes are provided in both the first and second pluralities and the cooling liquid is introduced and removed from the same head at one end of the shell.

Claims9

Dependent claims

A combined steam condenser and heat exchanger comprising:

an outer steam condenser shell having a large diameter opening to receive steam and a small diameter steam condensate outlet;
an inner heat exchanger shell supported within the outer steam condenser shell and separated from the outer steam condenser shell to provide a space between the inner heat exchanger shell and the outer steam condenser shell surrounding the inner heat exchanger shell;
a first plurality of tubes extending through the inner heat exchanger shell;
a second plurality of tubes extending through the space between the inner heat exchanger shell and the outer steam condenser shell;
at least two tube support members for supporting both pluralities of tubes within the inner heat exchanger shell and in the space between the inner heat exchanger shell and the outer steam condenser shell, respectively;
an inlet head at one end of the outer steam condenser shell having a cooling liquid inlet for supplying cooling liquid to the tubes;
a cooling liquid outlet for conveying cooling liquid from the combined condenser and heat exchanger after it has passed through both pluralities of tubes;
a heat exchanger inlet for supplying a liquid to be cooled to a space between the first plurality of tubes within the inner heat exchanger shell in heat exchange relation to the cooling liquid in the tubes;
and
a heat exchanger outlet having approximately the same equivalent hydraulic diameter as the heat exchanger inlet for removing cooled liquid from the space between the first plurality of tubes within the inner heat exchanger shell.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 09/089,599Filed 2 Jun 1998
Granted: 21 Aug 2001
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification10 codes

F28D 7/06
Heat-exchange apparatus having stationary tubular conduit assemblies for both heat-exchange media, the media being in contact with different…
F28B 1/02
Condensers in which the steam or vapour is separate from the cooling medium by walls, e.g. surface condenser: using water or other liquid as the…
F28D 7/1638
With conduit assemblies having a particular shape, e.g. square or annular; with assemblies of conduits having different geometrical features;…
F28F 9/0236
Header boxes; End plates: floating elements