Modular Heat Exchanger with Segmented Glass Tubes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional metal heat exchangers are difficult to maintain and clean due to their integral design, especially when handling strongly corrosive media at high temperatures, as they are prone to damage and have complex cleaning and replacement processes.
Innovation Solution
A modular heat exchanger design featuring a liquid-collecting chamber, top cover, and detachable housing with heat exchange tubes that pass through upper and lower tube plates, utilizing a corrosion-resistant layer and sealing members to prevent damage from the corrosive medium, along with a rotating piece for enhanced heat transfer and a compact structure for efficient heat exchange.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If glass heat exchange tubes are integrally formed with upper and lower end caps to create a sealed structure, then sealing performance is improved, but maintenance and cleaning become difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The heat exchange tube assembly is segmented into multiple independently replaceable components: the glass heat exchange tube, upper end cap, lower end cap, and sealing elements. This allows the tube to be removed and replaced without replacing the entire integrated structure, solving the maintenance difficulty while maintaining sealing through the配合 of sealing rings and sealing cotton at the interfaces.
2Power
If conventional metal heat exchange equipment is used for high temperature corrosive service, then heat transfer efficiency is improved, but corrosion resistance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses glass material for the heat exchange tube, which provides both adequate heat transfer capability and excellent resistance to strong corrosive media at high temperatures. The glass tube is配合 with metal end caps and sealing elements to create a composite structure that combines the corrosion resistance of glass with the mechanical strength and thermal conductivity of metals, resolving the contradiction between heat transfer efficiency and corrosion resistance.
3Ease of manufacture
If the heat exchanger is designed as an integrated structure, then manufacturing simplicity is improved, but adaptability for different maintenance needs deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The heat exchanger is designed with separable components including the housing, upper end cap, lower end cap, and glass heat exchange tube. The tube can be independently removed through the removable end caps, providing maintenance flexibility while keeping the overall structure relatively simple for manufacturing. This segmentation allows easy replacement of worn tubes without replacing the entire exchanger.
4Reliability
If sealing members are added to connect heat exchange tubes with tube plates, then sealing performance is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Sealing members (sealing rings and sealing cotton) are applied locally at the critical interfaces where the glass heat exchange tube connects to the upper and lower end caps. This localized sealing approach provides reliable sealing at the tube-to-cap junctions without requiring complex sealing systems throughout the entire device, thus improving sealing performance while minimizing the increase in overall structural complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design facilitates easier maintenance and cleaning, enhances heat transfer efficiency, prevents corrosion, and allows for a compact, efficient heat exchange process, reducing production costs and time while maintaining performance under high-temperature corrosive conditions.
Implementation Method 1
outer surfaces of the upper tube plate and the lower tube plate, inner wall surfaces of the top cover and the liquid-collecting chamber are covered with corrosion resistant layer, and the material of the corrosion resistant layer is fluoropolymer
Implementation Method 2
heat exchange tube sequentially passes through the top cavity, the upper tube plate, the receiving cavity, the lower tube plate and the liquid-collecting cavity
Implementation Method 3
hot and strongly corrosive steam condenses into liquid by cooling effect
Implementation Method 4
sealing members are clamped between the outer circumference of the heat exchange tube and the upper tube plate and between the outer circumference of the heat exchange tube and the lower tube plate
Data Source
AI summary
A heat exchanger, comprising: a top cover (2) which is provided with a top cavity (21); a liquid-collecting chamber (1) which is provided with a liquid-collecting cavity (11); a housing (3) which is provided with a receiving cavity (31), neither of the liquid-collecting cavity (11) nor the top cavity (21) being in connection with the receiving cavity (31); an upper tube plate (4); a lower tube plate (5); and a heat exchange tube (6) which sequentially passes through the top cavity (21), the upper tube plate (4), the receiving cavity (31), the lower tube plate (5), and the liquid-collecting cavity (11); the two ends of the heat exchange tube (6) are in connection with the liquid-collecting cavity (11) and the top cavity (21), respectively; sealing members (8) are provided between the outer circumference of the heat exchange tube (6) and the upper tube plate (4) and between the outer circumference of the heat exchange tube (6) and the lower tube plate (5). By means of the three-section structure consisting of the liquid-collecting chamber (1), the top cover (2), and the housing (3), and the structure of the heat exchange tube (6) respectively passing through the upper tube plate (4) and the lower tube plate (5) in a dismountable manner, the heat exchanger is easy to mount and dismount, easing the maintenance and cleaning of the heat exchanger; the heat exchanger can be used, in particular, in the heat exchange of a strongly corrosive medium under a high temperature, and has a compact structure and high heat exchange efficiency.