Heat exchanger
Assigneeinnogy SE
InventorsAlexander Bruce Wilson, Michael Willoughby Essex Coney, David John Gooch, Birendra Nath, Andrew Powell
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A heat exchanger comprising a pressure vessel (1). A plurality of serpentines (8) convey a fluid to be heated through the pressure vessel (1) in one direction. A duct (9) surrounding the serpentines (8) conveys a second fluid in the opposite direction to give up its heat to the first fluid. The duct (9) is spaced from the pressure vessel (1) and is surrounded with thermal insulation (23). An opening in the duct (9) equalizes the pressure between the inside and the outside of the duct (9) which is also supported against expansion caused by the pressure inside the duct (9) exceeding the pressure outside the duct (9).
Claims21
A heat exchanger comprising a pressure vessel;
- a first passage provided within a plurality of tubes for a first stream in one direction through the pressure vessel;
- a second passage for a second stream in the opposite direction through the vessel, the second passage comprising a duct spaced from the pressure vessel and enclosing the tubes such that heat transfer occurs across the walls of the tubes;
- means to generally equalise the pressure between the inside of the duct and the space between the duct and the pressure vessel;
- thermal insulation between the duct and the inner surface of the pressure vessel;
- and
- a support to support the duct against expansion caused by the pressure inside the duct exceeding the pressure outside the duct;
- wherein the insulation is held against the wall of the duct by the support.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.