Heat exchanger

Abstract

A heat exchanger is configured to have quadrant shaped baffles positioned at an angle to a longitudinal axis of shell for guiding cross-flow of fluid into a helical pattern while maintaining substantially uniform velocity of the cross-flow. Each of the quadrant-shaped baffles has a pair of flanks converging toward one another from a respective outer edge, which has spaced apart extending end portions each overhanging a respective one of the pair of flanks and configured to overlap the extending portion of an adjacent quadrant-shaped baffle in the desired position of the quadrant-shaped baffles. The extending end portions each are provided with at least one of the plurality of holes aligned with a respective hole of the extending portion of the adjacent quadrant-shaped baffle in the desired position of the quadrant-shaped baffles, wherein as the holes formed in the extending portions of the adjacent baffles are traversed by a respective pipe to secure the desired position of the quadrant-shaped baffles.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of a Chinese patent application with an application date of November 21, 2003, an application number of 200310119681.5, and an invention name of "heat exchanger". technical field [0002] The present invention relates to a heat exchanger, more particularly but not exclusively to a shell-and-tube heat exchanger configured to provide uniform flow of fluid along helical channels and maximize heat transfer. Background technique [0003] The main goals of long-term efforts to achieve maximum output from heat exchange and / or heat generating devices are to achieve the following: [0004] Higher heat transfer efficiency; [0005] lower pressure drop; [0006] Enhanced performance; [0007] Effective anti-vibration protection; and [0008] Reduced installation and maintenance costs. [0009] Whether in offshore mining, refining, power, petrochemical or paper and food industries, heat exchangers are often a central part of the ab...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

[0012] Thus, conventional baffle arrangements as described above result in bypass flow through the baffle-housing and conduit-baffle gaps

Bypass flow reduces cross-flow heat transfer while flow maldistribution caused by significant velocity changes increases backflow and swirls in the dead zone, resulting in higher clogging rates on the shell sides

This flow maldistribution leads to high temperatures and corrosion of the peripheral conduits so that they quickly fail and thus reduce their role in the heat exchange process

Since the design of the heat exchanger is based on the uniform distribution of each tube in the entire tube bundle during the heat exchange process, these damaged tubes cannot meet this requirement and should be replaced

The high costs associated with this replacement make the heat exchanger expensive to repair

[0013] In addition, conventional arrangements can suffer from high flow-induced vibration losses due to the long pipe, typically up to 24 feet, supported by a series of baffles each spaced a large distance apart to account for problems associated with non-uniform velocity

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