WO1986000126A1

WO1986000126A1 - Heat exchanger element and use thereof

Info

Publication number: WO1986000126A1
Application number: PCT/DK1985/000056
Authority: WO
Inventors: Frank SO^/RENSEN
Original assignee: A/S Atlas
Priority date: 1984-06-13
Filing date: 1985-06-12
Publication date: 1986-01-03
Also published as: AU4493185A; DK153909C; SE8600593D0; DK153909B; DK289084A; FI860661A0; SE8600593L; DE3590256T1; DK289084D0; EP0182884A1; GB8602684D0; NO860353L; JPS61502411A; GB2171788A; GB2171788B; FI860661A

Abstract

A heat exchanger element with a collection of parallel pipes (1) lying in one or more parallel planes (2), said pipes being placed in a frame (3), comprises at each end of the pipes at least one, preferably two chambers (4), which are separated from that area (5) which exists between the pipes, but which lie within the frame (3). The frame's upper and lower edge (6) and the upper and lower edge (6) of the wall part (7) are designed so that the edges form a packing surface. By bolting a number of heat exchanger elements together between a flat top plate and a flat bottom plate, one can build up a complete heat exchanger.

Description

HEAT EXCHANGER ELEMENT AND USE HEREOF

The invention relates to a heat exchanger element with a collection of parallel pipes lying in one or in several planes, said, pipes being disposed in a frame.

Heat exchangers can be constructed in many differ¬ ent ways, all depending on the application. With some applications, a heat exchanger is built up com¬ pletely from scratch of individual parts, and with other applications it is constructed with a series of finished element parts which are built together.

From German patent no. 144,700 there is known a heat exchanger element comprising a frame with a collection of pipes which are substantially paral¬ lel. All depending on the size of the heat exchan¬ ger that one .has need for, one assembles a suitable number of elements to which coupling pipes and con¬ necting pipes are secured by welding, so that the medium which is running in the pipes flows as des¬ ired. In addition, it is necessary either to provide a watertight and pressure-proof housing around the assembled elements, or to connect all pipes with each other in the correct sequence in order to ob¬ tain a complete and finished heat exchanger.

The object of the invention is to provide a heat ex- changer element which is completely finished, i. e. that one can assemble a number of elements between a top and a bottom plate, whereafter one has a finish¬ ed, complete heat exchanger. This object is achieved by forming the heat exchan¬ ger according to the invention as presented and characterized in claim 1. If one assembles a number of these elements with a packing material between the parallel packing surfaces by means of a top and a bottom plate, a completely finished heat exchanger is obtained. All inlets and outlets can be intro¬ duced in the top or in the bottom plate. The medium which flows .in the pipes is completely separated from that medium which runs between the pipes, and the chambers at the pipe ends are used to lead the medium to and from the pipes. Dividing plates can be inserted between the pipes in the normal manner, so that the medium running across and around the pipes can be guided in a zig-zag movement around these pipes.

By forming the heat exchanger element according to the invention as presented in claim 2, one can div- ide the collection of pipes into two or more groups, so that the medium first runs through the one group and then through the other, or such that it is not the same medium which runs through the groups. One thus achieves many possibilities of application of the heat exchanger element.

If the heat exchanger element according to the in¬ vention is further formed as presented in claim 3, the element is actually divided into two element parts which are completely separate from each other, whereby. the heat exchanger .is provided with .even more .possibilities of application. For example, the one element part can be used as boiler or vaporizer in a freshwater generator, while the other element part is used as condenser, in that in the one pipe group there runs waste heat from a ship's engine, and that in the other pipe group there runs cooling water, for example sea water, so that the vapours are condensed on the pipes.

One can also form the heat exchanger element accord¬ ing to the invention as presented in claim 4. By in¬ serting a number of turning chambers, the pipes in the pipe group or the pipe groups can be made to run in series, which is expedient for many applications, e.g. if the medium in the pipes is to be cooled by cooling water around the pipes.

The invention also relates to the use of a number of heat exchanger elements, as presented in claim 5. The result achieved hereby is that one can construct and dimension a heat exchanger in a simple manner, for example a freshwater generator, in that the nec- essary number of elements can be built together. Moreover, it is not necessary to provide a solid watertight and pressure-proof outer wall around the freshwater generator, the reason being that this outer wall is already formed by the heat exchanger element's frame. Furthermore, if one uses the one half part of the elements as boiler, and the other half part of the elements as condenser, the build¬ ing height achieved is almost halved when. compared with traditional freshwater generators.

The freshwater generator according to the invention is particularly suitable for marine purposes as pre¬ sented in claim 6, in that here one needs to be able to offer a complete and finished freshwater generat- or which is ready for installation, and not as most of those known which are not built up and assembled until on site. Especially with the ship construc¬ tions which are used today, one has a great need for a high-yield freshwater generator with low building height.

The invention will now be described in closer det¬ ail with reference to the drawing, where

fig. 1 shows a heat exchanger element according to the invention seen from above.

fig. 2 shows a sectional plan of the element in fig. 1, seen in the direction II-II,

fig. 3 shows an element without heat exchanger pipes,

fig. 4 shows a dividing plate, and

fig. 5 shows, schematically and on a smaller scale, a freshwater generator according to the invention built up of heat ex- changer elements.

Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing show a two-part heat exchanger element according to the invention. A pro¬ filed metal or iron frame 3 with packing surfaces 6 encloses a collection of parallel pipes 1 , shown here with all the pipes in one and the same plane 2, but one can also form the element with more pipe planes. All of the pipes are secured to transverse walls or wall parts 7, so that chambers 4 are form- ed at each end of the pipes, in the case shown two chambers 4 at each end. All the parts and the cham¬ bers are enclosed behind the frame 3. All the pipes are open out towards the chambers 4. It is obvious that the heat exchanger element is open, i.e. that the chambers 4 and the spaces 5 between the pipes 1 are open to both sides of the plane of the drawing.

In the chambers 4 can be disposed one or more turn- ing chambers 20 enclosing two or more pipe openings, so that the medium which runs in the pipes can be turned, whereby the pipes become series-connected. The flow within the pipes is illustrated by the ar¬ rows, which indicate the medium's direction of move- ment.

The end chambers 4 are divided into two chambers by a wall part 8, this being formed by the same sec¬ tional iron as the frame. The wall part 8 can be completely through-going, so that the collection of pipes 1 is also divided into two groups with two separate areas between the pipes. In fig. 1, the wall part 8 is shown only in the chambers 4, but it can extend right through the central area with the pipes 1. The pipes can thus be divided into several groups, and it is not necessary for the individual groups to be of equal size.

Fig. 3 shows an "empty" element, i.e. an element without pipes. The element is empty in the area 11, where the pipes should have been. Moreover, there are chambers 4 at only the one end of the element, while the other end area 10 is closed by a water¬ tight and pressure-proof plate which is secured to the frame, e.g. by welding or soldering. The dimen¬ sions of the element are otherwise the same as the element in fig. 1. By insertion of the element as shown in fig. 3 between elements as shown in fig. 1, the end chambers 4 are divided into several chambers by dividing walls 10 in the plane of the drawing. The medium in the pipes can hereby flow the one way in a pipe plane which lies on the other side of an empty element. That medium which runs in the spaces 5 between the pipes 1 can unchanged pass the empty element in the area 11. For other applications, an empty element can be formed without the dividing wall 10, or with a dividing wall in both end areas, and the central area 11 can be divided by a middle wall corresponding to a middle wall in fig. 1.

Fig. 4 shows a dividing plate element 9 which can be placed between the pipes 1 so that the area 5 be¬ tween the pipes 1 is blocked. The medium which runs across the pipes in the spaces 5 can thus be made to flow in a zig-zag.

Fig. 5 shows the use of the heat exchanger element according to the invention for a freshwater genera- tor. A series of elements 16 of the same type as shown in fig. 1, in the drawing six elements, are bolted together between a bottom plate 14 and a top plate 13 by means of stay bolts 15. Above the elem¬ ents in the example shown is placed an empty element 17 of the type which is shown in fig. 3, but with a through-going wall 8. Moreover, the element 17 does not need to have a dividing wall 10 as shown in fig. 3. Over the element group and under the top plate 13 is placed a generally-known drip separator 19. The actual working aggregate 12 is disposed under the bottom plate of the freshwater generator. The right -hand half of the freshwater generator comprises the boiler or the vaporizer, in that through the pipes - which are shown as four pipe planes in each element - flows cooling water and other waste water with high temperature from a ship's diesel engine. The filtered sea water from which the freshwater is to be produced is sprayed out over the pipes through the nozzle 18. The freshwater vapours from the boil¬ er pass the drip separator 19 and are fed down into the left-hand side of the freshwater generator, where the pipes in the heat exchanger elements have water at low temperature flowing through them, for example sea water, and thus the freshwater vapours are liquefied and condense on the pipes, and fresh¬ water can be collected from the bottom of the elem¬ ent group. The two half-part right and left halves of the elements are completely separated from each other, and the one half-part is used as vaporizer and the other as condenser. A very low building height is thus achieved for the freshwater genera¬ tor.

It will be obvious to those familiar with the art that the heat exchanger element according to the in¬ vention can be used for heat exchangers of innumer¬ able configurations, whether these be heat exchang¬ ers for the heating or for the cooling of a medium. The freshwater generator shown in fig. 5 can be produced completely finished from the works, in that the aggregate 12 under the generator houses all the necessary equipment and all inlet and outlet lines. The freshwater generator can be driven by many dif- 3

ferent driving means, for example hot water or steam from a boiler plant or waste heat of almost any kind, e.g. exhaust heat from an engine.

Claims

C L A I M S

1. Heat exchanger element with a collection of par¬ allel pipes (1) lying in one or more parallel planes (2) , said pipes being placed in a frame (3) , c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that at each end of the pipes there is at least one chamber (4) which is separated from that area (5) which is to be found between the pipes, but which lies within the frame (3), and where the upper and lower edge {6) of the frame is designed so that the edges form a packing surf¬ ace, and in that the pipes are secured at both ends in a wall part (7) which comprises a wall in each chamber (4) , and where this wall part is executed in the same manner as the frame.

2. Heat exchanger element according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that each chamber (4) is divided into two or more chambers by one or more wall parts (8) which are formed with an upper and lower edge (6) , thus creating a packing surface.

3. Heat exchanger element according to claim 2, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that a wall part ex- tends all the way through the element, so that the collection of pipes (1) is also divided, in that the area between the pipes is divided up into two sep¬ arate areas.

4. Heat exchanger element according to any of the claims 1-3, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that in the chambers (4) there are disposed turning chambers (20) for the medium in the pipes (1), said turning chambers extending over two or more pipe openings.

5. Use of a number of bolted-together heat exchan¬ ger elements according to claims 1-4 as heat exchan- ger, for example as freshwater generator, in that a part of each element is used as boiler, and the re¬ maining part of each element is used as condenser.

6. Use of a number of heat exchanger elements ac- cording to claim 5, where the boiler part is sup¬ plied with a driving means in the form of hot water or steam, exhaust heat from a combustion engine, especially a ship's diesel engine.