System and method for controlling temperature of a working fluid

Abstract

A heat exchanging device is presented. The heat exchanging device includes an inlet header configured to receive a working fluid. Further, the heat exchanging device includes at least one coil segment having a first end and a second end, where the first end of the at least one coil segment is coupled to the inlet header and configured to receive the working fluid from the inlet header. In addition, the heat exchanging device includes an outlet header coupled to the second end of the at least one coil segment and configured to receive the working fluid from the at least one coil segment. Also, the heat exchanging device includes at least one propeller disposed proximate to the at least one coil segment and configured to propel subsea water across the at least one coil segment to control a temperature of the working fluid in the outlet header.

Description

BACKGROUND[0001]Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to a subsea heat exchanger, and more particularly to a system and method for controlling temperature of a process or working fluid in subsea equipment.[0002]Typically, one or more products, such as oil, natural gas, or a combination of the two are extracted from subsea wells and processed on an ocean bed. Further, these products may be used as working fluids for one or more applications. However, the products that are extracted from the subsea wells may have a very high temperature, and processing these products at this high temperature is challenging. In one example, the temperature of these products may be in a range from about 80 degrees to about 200 degrees. Thus, it is important to control the temperature of the products prior to processing the products on the ocean bed.[0003]In conventional systems, one or more heat exchangers may be used underwater to regulate or control the temperature of the products tha...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present patent describes a heat exchanging device that is used to control the temperature of a working fluid. The device includes an inlet header, at least one coil segment, an outlet header, and at least one propeller. The coil segment is connected between the inlet and outlet headers and is designed to direct the working fluid from the inlecht to the outlet. The propeller is located near the coil segment and is designed to push sea water across the coil segment to control the temperature of the working fluid in the outlet. The technical effect of the innovation is to provide a more efficient method and system for controlling the temperature of a working fluid in a heat exchanging device.

Problems solved by technology

However, the products that are extracted from the subsea wells may have a very high temperature, and processing these products at this high temperature is challenging.

Also, as the temperature of these products is very high, a large amount of heat needs to be dissipated from the products.

As a result, these large heat exchangers are very expensive to manufacture.

In addition, these heat exchangers tend to be bulky and are difficult to move to a location on the ocean bed or seabed.

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