Classifications

• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F28—HEAT EXCHANGE IN GENERAL
  • F28B—STEAM OR VAPOUR CONDENSERS
  • F28B1/00—Condensers in which the steam or vapour is separate from the cooling medium by walls, e.g. surface condenser
  • F28B1/06—Condensers in which the steam or vapour is separate from the cooling medium by walls, e.g. surface condenser using air or other gas as the cooling medium
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F28—HEAT EXCHANGE IN GENERAL
  • F28D—HEAT-EXCHANGE APPARATUS, NOT PROVIDED FOR IN ANOTHER SUBCLASS, IN WHICH THE HEAT-EXCHANGE MEDIA DO NOT COME INTO DIRECT CONTACT
  • F28D1/00—Heat-exchange apparatus having stationary conduit assemblies for one heat-exchange medium only, the media being in contact with different sides of the conduit wall, in which the other heat-exchange medium is a large body of fluid, e.g. domestic or motor car radiators
  • F28D1/02—Heat-exchange apparatus having stationary conduit assemblies for one heat-exchange medium only, the media being in contact with different sides of the conduit wall, in which the other heat-exchange medium is a large body of fluid, e.g. domestic or motor car radiators with heat-exchange conduits immersed in the body of fluid
  • F28D1/04—Heat-exchange apparatus having stationary conduit assemblies for one heat-exchange medium only, the media being in contact with different sides of the conduit wall, in which the other heat-exchange medium is a large body of fluid, e.g. domestic or motor car radiators with heat-exchange conduits immersed in the body of fluid with tubular conduits
  • F28D1/0408—Multi-circuit heat exchangers, e.g. integrating different heat exchange sections in the same unit or heat exchangers for more than two fluids
  • F28D1/0426—Multi-circuit heat exchangers, e.g. integrating different heat exchange sections in the same unit or heat exchangers for more than two fluids with units having particular arrangement relative to the large body of fluid, e.g. with interleaved units or with adjacent heat exchange units in common air flow or with units extending at an angle to each other or with units arranged around a central element
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F28—HEAT EXCHANGE IN GENERAL
  • F28F—DETAILS OF HEAT-EXCHANGE AND HEAT-TRANSFER APPARATUS, OF GENERAL APPLICATION
  • F28F9/00—Casings; Header boxes; Auxiliary supports for elements; Auxiliary members within casings
  • F28F9/02—Header boxes; End plates
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
  • F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
  • F25B2339/00—Details of evaporators; Details of condensers
  • F25B2339/04—Details of condensers
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F25—REFRIGERATION OR COOLING; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS; MANUFACTURE OR STORAGE OF ICE; LIQUEFACTION SOLIDIFICATION OF GASES
  • F25B—REFRIGERATION MACHINES, PLANTS OR SYSTEMS; COMBINED HEATING AND REFRIGERATION SYSTEMS; HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
  • F25B39/00—Evaporators; Condensers
  • F25B39/04—Condensers
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F28—HEAT EXCHANGE IN GENERAL
  • F28B—STEAM OR VAPOUR CONDENSERS
  • F28B1/00—Condensers in which the steam or vapour is separate from the cooling medium by walls, e.g. surface condenser
  • F28B1/06—Condensers in which the steam or vapour is separate from the cooling medium by walls, e.g. surface condenser using air or other gas as the cooling medium
  • F28B2001/065—Condensers in which the steam or vapour is separate from the cooling medium by walls, e.g. surface condenser using air or other gas as the cooling medium with secondary condenser, e.g. reflux condenser or dephlegmator
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F28—HEAT EXCHANGE IN GENERAL
  • F28F—DETAILS OF HEAT-EXCHANGE AND HEAT-TRANSFER APPARATUS, OF GENERAL APPLICATION
  • F28F9/00—Casings; Header boxes; Auxiliary supports for elements; Auxiliary members within casings
  • F28F9/02—Header boxes; End plates
  • F28F2009/0285—Other particular headers or end plates
  • F28F2009/0287—Other particular headers or end plates having passages for different heat exchange media

Definitions

• the present invention relates to large scale field erected air cooled industrial steam condensers.
• the current finned tube used in most large scale field erected air cooled industrial steam condensers uses a flattened tube that is approximately 11 meters long by 200 mm wide (also referred to as “air travel length”) with semi-circular leading and trailing edges, and 18.8 mm internal height (perpendicular to the air travel length). Tube wall thickness is 1.35 mm. Fins are brazed to both flat sides of each tube. The fins are usually 18.5 mm tall, spaced at 11 fins per inch. The fin surface has a wavy pattern to enhance heat transfer and help fin stiffness. The standard spacing between tubes, center to center, is 57.2 mm.
• the tubes themselves make up approximately one third of the cross sectional face area (perpendicular to the air flow direction); whereas the fins make up nearly two thirds of the cross section face area. There is a small space between adjacent fin tips of 1.5 mm.
• maximum steam velocity through the tubes can typically be as high as 28 mps, and more typically 23 to 25 mps.
• the combined single A-frame design along with these tubes and fins has been optimized based on the length of the tube, the fin spacing, fin height and shape, and the air travel length.
• the finned tubes are assembled into heat exchanger bundles, typically 39 tubes per heat exchanger bundle, and 10 to 14 bundles are arranged into two heat exchangers arranged together in a single A-frame per fan.
• the fan is typically below the A-frame forcing air up through the bundles.
• the overall tube and fin design, and the air pressure drop of the tube and fin combination has also been optimized to match the air moving capacity of the large (36 ft diameter) fans operating at 200 to 250 hp. This optimized arrangement has remained relatively unchanged across many different manufacturers since the introduction of the single row elliptical tube concept over 20 years ago.
• the typical A-Frame ACC described above includes both 1 st stage or "primary” condenser bundles and 2 nd stage or “secondary” bundles. About 80% to 90% of the heat exchanger bundles are 1 st stage or primary condenser bundles. The steam enters the top of the primary condenser bundles and the condensate and some steam leaves the bottom.
• the first stage configuration is thermally efficient; however, it does not provide a means for removing non-condensable gases.
• 10% to 20% of the heat exchanger bundles are configured as 2 nd stage or secondary bundles, typically interspersed among the primary bundles, which draw vapor from the lower condensate manifold.
• steam and non-condensable gases travel through the 1 st stage bundles as they are drawn into the bottom of the secondary bundle.
• the remainder of the steam condenses, concentrating the non-condensable gases.
• the tops of the secondary bundles are attached to a vacuum manifold which removes the non-condensable gases from the system.
• the inventions presented herein are 1) a new tube design for use in heat exchanger systems, including but not limited to large scale field erected industrial steam condensers; and 2) a new design for large scale field erected industrial steam condensers for power plants and the like, both of which significantly increase the thermal capacity of the ACC while, in some configurations, reduce the material.
• Various aspects and/or embodiments of the inventions are set forth below:
• the tubes are 2.044 m in length
• the cross-sectional dimensions of the tubes are 100-200 mm wide, preferably 125 mm wide (air travel length) with a cross-section height (perpendicular to the air travel length) of less than 10 mm, preferably 4-10 mm, more preferably 5.0-9 mm, even more preferably 5.2-7 mm, and most preferably 6.0 mm in height (also "outside tube width"), with fins that are arranged at 9 to 12, preferably 9.8, fins per inch.
• actual fins may be 17-20 mm in height, preferably 18.5 mm in height and span the space between two adjacent tubes, effectively making 9.25 mm of fin available to each tube on each side.
• the primary feature of this invention is that all of the tube bundles of the ACCs according to this invention are constructed as secondary tube bundles, in that steam is fed to upwardly oriented tubes (aligned parallel with the transverse axis of the bundle, each tube generally oriented 25°-35°, and preferably 30° from the vertical) from the bottom and condensate is collected from the tube bundles from the bottom, preferably using a combination/hybrid manifold that both delivers steam to the tubes and collects condensate from the tubes.
• the combination/hybrid manifold may be constructed so that the condensate is prevented from returning down the steam delivery riser(s) and instead is delivered to a condensate recovery tube connected to the combination/hybrid manifold.
• the combination/hybrid manifold may be constructed so that the condensate is allowed to travel down the steam delivery risers and is removed from the steam delivery ducting closer to the ground. The tops of the tubes are connected to a separate manifold for collecting the non-condensable gases.
• This new "all secondary" ACC arrangement may be configured in an A-Frame, with two secondary bundles joined at the top with a single manifold collecting the non-condensable gases from the tubes, or with two non-condensable manifolds, one at the top of each bundle.
• all secondary and “no primaries” shall refer to a large scale field erected air cooled industrial steam condensers in which all of the tube bundles receive steam from the bottom and collect condensate at the bottom, and deliver non- condensable gases out through the top.
• primary tube bundles in a large scale field erected air-cooled industrial steam condenser receive steam at the top, deliver condensate at the bottom, and deliver non-condensable gases at the bottom to a separate, secondary condenser.
• the ACC of the invention may be arranged in a V-configuration in which two secondary-only condenser bundles are joined at the bottom with a single combination steam distribution manifold/condensate collection manifold, with a separate non-condensable collection manifold at the top of each bundle.
• the steam manifold since the steam manifold is at the bottom of the bundles, entering the manifold at more than one location reduces the size of the manifold and allows the finned tubes to be a bit longer.
• the system shows improved performance of at least 25% to 30%, relative to the standard ACC arrangement and configuration described hereinabove, and the unit may be made smaller by a similar amount in plan area.
• the new ACC design of the present invention may be used with tubes having dimensions of 100 mm by preferably 4-10 mm, more preferably 5.0-9 mm, even more preferably 5.2-7 mm, and most preferably 6.0 mm in height, having offset fins.
• the new ACC design of the present invention may be used with 120 mm or up to 200 mm by 5 mm to 7 mm tubes having "Arrowhead"- type fins arranged at 9.8 fins per inch.
• the new ACC design of the present invention may be used with tubes having "louvered" fins, which perform approximately as well as offset fins, and are more readily available and easier to manufacture.
• an ACC of the present invention has the following features and dimensions:
• Tube spacing c-c 20-29 mm (most preferred: 24.5 mm);
• Tubes per bundle 40-60 (most preferred 50);
• the total bundle face area versus the prior art ACC having the same total fan power, steam volume, and thermal conditions is 79%; likewise, the total plan area for this most preferred embodiment is 79% the area of the prior art ACC having the same total fan power, steam volume, and thermal conditions.
• the ACC design of the present invention can be sited more easily, requiring less overall space within the power plant.
• Figure 1 A is a perspective view representation of the heat exchange portion of a prior art large scale field erected air cooled industrial steam condenser.
• Figure IB is a partially exploded close up view of the heat exchange portion of a prior art large scale field erected air cooled industrial steam condenser, showing the orientation of the tubes relative to the steam distribution manifold.
• Figure 2 is a perspective view representation of the heat exchange portion of a large scale field erected air cooled industrial steam condenser ("ACC") according to a first embodiment of the invention.
• ACC industrial steam condenser
• Figure 3 is a perspective view representation of the heat exchange portion of a large scale field erected air cooled industrial steam condenser ("ACC") according to a second embodiment of the invention.
• ACC industrial steam condenser
• Figure 4A is a perspective view representation of the heat exchange portion of a large scale field erected air cooled industrial steam condenser ("ACC") according to a third embodiment of the invention.
• ACC industrial steam condenser
• Figure 4B is a perspective view representation of the heat exchange portion of a large scale field erected air cooled industrial steam condenser ("ACC") according to a fourth embodiment of the invention.
• ACC industrial steam condenser
• Figure 5 is a perspective view of cross-section of a prior art ACC tube and fins.
• Figure 6 is a perspective view of a mini-tube and fins according to one embodiment of the invention.
• Figure 7 is a perspective view of mini-tubes and fins according to another embodiment of the invention.
• Figure 8 is a side view of one street of a large scale field erected air cooled industrial steam condenser according to an embodiment of the invention with V-shaped secondary only heat exchange bundle pairs arrangement shown in Fig. 4A.
• Figure 9 is an end view of the large scale field erected air cooled industrial steam condenser shown in Fig. 8.
• Figure 10 is a top view the large scale field erected air cooled industrial steam condenser shown in Fig. 8, showing one turbine exhaust duct splitting into 6 longitudinal steam headers (6 streets) of 6 cells each.
• Figure 11 is a perspective view drawing of a secondary condenser finned tube bundle according to an embodiment of the invention.
• Figure 12 is a perspective view photograph of the secondary condenser finned tube bundle rendered in the drawing of Figure 11.
• tubes 2 are arranged in secondary bundles 4.
• the longitudinal axes of the tubes 2 are aligned parallel with the transverse axis of the tube bundle, each tube generally oriented 25°-35°, and preferably 30°, from the vertical).
• Combination steam distribution/condensation collection manifolds 6 are attached at the bottom of each of two secondary bundles 4 that are joined at their top in an A-frame configuration. Steam is distributed to the tubes 2 via the combined steam distribution/condensate collection manifolds 6, and condensate forms in the tubes 2 as the steam condenses and travels down the tubes 2 into the combined steam distribution/condensate collection manifold 6.
• a single non-condensable collection manifold 8 is attached to the top of both bundles 6 to collect the non-condensable gases that travel to the top of the tubes 2.
• Steam is supplied to the combined steam distribution/condensate collection manifold 6 from steam duct 10 via risers 12. Condensed water that collects in the combined steam distribution/condensate collection manifold 6 is carried away from the ACC in condensate recovery tube 14.
• Figure 3 shows an embodiment very similar to the embodiment of Figure 2, except that each bundle 4 is attached at its top to a dedicated non-condensable collection manifold.
• tubes 2 are arranged in secondary bundles 4.
• the longitudinal axes of the tubes 2 are aligned parallel with the transverse axis of the tube bundle, each tube generally oriented 25°-35°, and preferably 30°, from the vertical).
• a combination steam distribution/condensation collection manifold 6 is attached at the bottom of two secondary bundles 4 that are joined in a V configuration at an angle of 55°-65°, preferably 60°. Steam is distributed to the tubes 2 via the combined steam distribution/condensate collection manifold 6, and condensate forms in the tubes 2 as the steam condenses and travels down the tubes 2 into the combined steam distribution/condensate collection manifold 6.
• a non-condensable collection manifold 8 is attached to the top of both bundles 6 to collect the non-condensable gases that travel to the top of the tubes 2. Steam is supplied to the combined steam distribution/condensate collection manifold 6 from steam duct 10 via risers 12. Condensed water that collects in the combined steam distribution/condensate collection manifold 6 is carried away from the ACC in condensate recovery tube 14.
• the new ACC design described above may be used with any prior art tubes, including the tubes shown in Fig. 5 having a length of approximately 11 meters long and a width (or "air travel length") of 200 mm with semi-circular leading and trailing edges, and having an internal height (perpendicular to the air travel length) 18.8 mm and a tube wall thickness of 1.35 mm, with fins brazed to both flat sides of each tube, usually 18.5 mm tall, spaced at 11 fins per inch.
• the new ACC design of the present invention has the following features and dimensions:
• Tube spacing c-c 20-29 mm (most preferred: 24.5 mm);
• Tubes per bundle 40-60 (most preferred 50);
• an increase in capacity of 25-30% is provided over the prior art A-frame design with standard tubes, for a single cell at constant fan power.
• Figures 8-10 show a representative large scale field erected air cooled industrial steam condenser according to an embodiment of the invention with V-shaped secondary only heat exchange bundle pairs shown in Fig. 4A.
• the device shown in Figures 8-10 is a 36 cell (6 streets x 6 cell) ACC, with the most preferred embodiment of five bundle pairs per cell, but the invention may be used with any size ACC, and with any number of bundle pairs per cell.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Thermal Sciences (AREA)
• Heat-Exchange Devices With Radiators And Conduit Assemblies (AREA)

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• 2017
  • 2017-06-21 BR BR112018076415-9A patent/BR112018076415B1/pt active IP Right Grant
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