Tubular heat exchanger

PATENT

<img file="FR1454792A_D0001.tif" />

FRENCH REPUBLIC

MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY

INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY SERVICE

PV n ° 39.400

Classification, international:

N ° 1.454.792

Tube heat exchange device.

Mr. Fritz SCHNEIDER residing in Switzerland.

Requested on November 23, 1965, at 2 p.m.¹¹ 50 ', in Paris.

Issued by decree of August 29, 1966.

(Official Bulletin of Industrial Property, No. 41 of October 7, 1966.) (Patent application filed in Switzerland on November 24, 1964, under ri 15.120 / 64, in the name of the applicant.)

The present invention relates to a tube heat exchange device comprising a gasket, in which the exchange tubes are immobilized axially by one of their ends between at least two bottoms by means of cable gland or by similar means, the other end which can slide axially.

In current industrial chemical processes, the problem of heat exchange and possibly of material exchange in the case of very corrosive media constitutes a problem without a satisfactory solution. The object of the invention is to create a tube heat exchange device which takes account of this drawback. It is characterized by the fact that the support of the tubes is made autonomous and that the tubes are sealed in the bottoms of the support and can be freely put in place and removed.

An embodiment of the object of the invention is shown, by way of nonlimiting example, in the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a tube heat exchanger proper.

Figure 2 shows a detail of the heat exchanger according to Figure 1 on a larger scale.

A heat exchanger 1 is equipped with a tube support 3 which can be released, which is composed of two bottom plates 5 and 7 as well as a median support 9. This tube support 3 has such dimensions and is made of such that it is autonomous and can absorb forces from pressure and vacuum operation. The heat exchanger 1 is also provided with two covers 11 and 13 in the form of basket handles, which each have a sleeve 15, 17 for the arrival and departure of the fluid to be heated or cooled. An envelope 19 surrounds the support of tubes 3. Weld has been reported at the upper end

2191 0 73 686 3 φ&gt;

of the envelope 19 a flange 21 which has an annular recess for the insertion of an annular seal 25. A flange 27 with spring 29 bears on the sealing ring 25, while another flange 31 having an annular groove 33 tightens the flange 35 of the cover 11 on a gasket 37 resting on the bottom plate 5.

The two flanges 21 and 27 are tightened against one another by means of bolts 39 and nuts 41, so that a tight connection is obtained towards the outside between the bottom plate 5 and the upper part of envelope 19.

Using a second nut 43 placed on the same bolt 39, the flange 31 is tightened and presses the flange 35 on the gasket 37, so that even the slot between the bottom plate 5 and the cover 11 is sealed.

The sealing at the other end of the heat exchanger 1 must be provided in the same way and, as shown in FIG. 1, the bottom bottom plate 7 of the tube support 3&gt; is pulled outwards and l the casing 19 is connected by a flange 75 directly to the bottom plate 7 by means of bolts 77.

The cover 13 is pulled in a corresponding manner using bolts on the bottom plate 7 and suitable sealing rings are inserted between the flange and the bottom plate.

The bottom plate 5 has a passage 55 which includes a threaded portion 56 intended to receive the threaded portion of a fitting 67. This passage 55 is also swollen at its other end by a bead 59, so that a very narrow cross section 63.

Similarly, the bottom plate 7 has passages 57 each of which has a threaded portion 58 intended to allow the screwing of a threaded connection 69. These passages 57 are also narrowed by beads 61, so

Price of the booklet: 2 francs [1,454,792] - 2 which one obtains a cross section 65 of maximum narrowness.

To etanehify the space between the two bottom plates 5 and 7 on the one hand and the interior spaces with covers 11 and. 13 on the other hand, between the shoulders of the beads 59 and 61 and the ends of the fittings 67 and 69 of the seals 71 and 73 have been inserted.

As shown in FIG. 2, the lower end of the exchange tube 81 has a constriction 83 in which, when the fitting 69 is tightened in the bottom plate 7, the seal 73 is pushed in and consequently immobilizes this end of the tube . It can then be seen that the inside diameter of the exchange tube 81 corresponds to the diameter of the narrowest section 65 of the bead 61.

The upper ends of the exchange tubes 81 are on the contrary arranged so that they can extend freely, in that the diameter of the narrowest section 63 of the bead 59 corresponds to the outside diameter of the exchange tubes 81. Consequently, the exchange tubes can therefore not only lengthen and contract without tension in service, whatever the movements of the tube support 3 and, in particular, of the bottom plates 5 and 7, but it is also it is possible to replace the exchange tubes 81 effortlessly at any time.

Since normally, the highly corrosive liquid, with which a heat exchange must be accomplished, flows through the interior of the exchange tubes 81 and consequently scans the cavities between the covers 11 and 13 as well as the plates bottom 5 and 7, the parts exposed to the danger of corrosion, such as the threads of bolts, fittings and the like, are protected from corrosion. This result is obtained by the embodiment according to the invention in which the fixing fittings 67, 69 used to fix the exchange tubes 81 are located in a space supplied with a non-corrosive fluid, while they are separated from the spaces filled with corrosive fluid by seals 71 and 73.

The independent tube support 3 has the effect that the exchange tubes 81 are generally not stressed by tensions. In particular, they should also not constitute reinforcing elements.

FIG. 2 shows, on a larger scale, the lower connection between the bottom plate 7 and an annular flange 75 by means of bolts 77.

The invention described above makes it possible to mount exchange devices with a practically unlimited possibility of combinations and modifications with regard to materials and exchange problems. The basic structure of the exchanger with independent tube support allows the incorporation and removal of the elementary tubes without any discomfort. The elastic tightness of the cable glands safely excludes the lack of tightness.

The immobilization and the sealing of the tubes 81 can also be carried out in another way, for example by means of a jail with jaws and an O-ring. It is also possible to provide appendages in place of the beads 59, 61.

As interesting material and embodiment variants, the following may be mentioned by way of example: bases made of ceramic materials, plastics, graphite, metallic materials, which are glazed on the side of corrosive products or otherwise coated or covered, for example at rubber, plastics, tantalum or the like.

The tubular elements can be made of vitreous or ceramic materials such as glass, quartz, porcelain, alumina, etc., or graphite, plastics, metals and metal alloys, such as tantalum, titanium , ie zirconium, ie nickel, monel, hastelloy, etc-, or also coated with plastic material, or they can be in enamelled metallic materials.

The casing and the accessory parts are normally made from conventional building materials, in particular metals or the materials mentioned. The exchange unit can receive, instead of open tubes, also tubes containing fittings of all kinds and then makes it possible to solve the problems of rectification and other problems of phase exchange in an order of magnitude which has not yet been reached. In this way, it is possible, by the incorporation of suitable small columns, such as glass ring columns or vigorous columns, and similar industrial distillation columns, to carry out a grouping, the envelope being able to be evacuated in common for all the incorporated columns. By appropriate measures, in these cases, care must be taken to ensure a correct distribution of the reflux, for example by installing a reflux cooling unit or dephlegmation of similar mounting and having dripping points. The heat exchanger unit can also be used as a falling film evaporator. When the apparatus is used as a distillation column, it is advantageous for its middle part to be evacuated for isolation purposes.