Controllable liquid distributor of a coiled-tube heat exchanger for realizing different liquid loadings

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11236945-B2
Application number	US-202016834029-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 30, 2020
Priority date	Apr 2, 2019
Publication date	Feb 1, 2022
Grant date	Feb 1, 2022

Abstract

A heat exchanger includes a core tube extending in a shell space, several tubes wound around the core tube, and a liquid distributor. The liquid distributor is arranged above the tubes in the shell space and applies a liquid phase of a first medium to the tubes. The liquid distributor has distributor arms projecting in the radial direction from the core tube, an annular channel extending above the distributor arms in a circumferential direction of the shell and a collector tank formed by the core tube. The annular channel and the collector tank are each designed to collect the first medium. The distributor arms form at least one first container and at least one second container separated from the first container.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A heat exchanger, comprising:
a shell surrounding a shell space of the heat exchanger, wherein the shell space is designed to receive a fluid first medium,
a core tube extending in the shell space,
a tube bundle having several tubes wound around the core tube, wherein the tube bundle is designed to receive at least one fluid second medium so that heat can be transferred indirectly between the first medium and the at least one second medium,
a liquid distributor, arranged above the tube bundle in the shell space, for applying to the tube bundle a liquid phase of the first medium, wherein the liquid distributor has distributor arms projecting in the radial direction from the core tube; an annular channel extending above the distributor arms in a circumferential direction of the shell, as well as a collector tank formed by the core tube, wherein the annular channel and the collector tank are each designed to collect the first medium,
wherein
the distributor arms for applying the liquid phase of the first medium to the tube bundle form at least one first container and at least one second container separate from the first container, wherein the at least one first container is in flow connection with the annular channel so that the liquid phase of the first medium can be introduced from the annular channel into the at least one first container and from there, via outlet openings of the at least one first container, be distributed over a first region of the tube bundle, and wherein the at least one second container is in flow connection with the collector tank so that the liquid phase of the first medium can be introduced from the collector tank into the at least one second container and from there can be distributed over a second region of the tube bundle via outlet openings of the at least one second container.

2. The heat exchanger according to claim 1 , wherein the heat exchanger has a first valve via which the annular channel can be charged with the first medium and/or the heat exchanger has a second valve via which the collector tank of the core tube can be charged with the first medium.

3. The heat exchanger according to claim 2 , wherein the annular channel is in flow connection with a first inlet arranged on the shell so that the first medium can be introduced into the annular channel via the first inlet, wherein the first valve is arranged upstream of the first inlet.

4. The heat exchanger according to claim 2 , wherein the collector tank of the core tube is in flow connection with a second inlet arranged on the shell so that the first medium can be introduced into the collector tank via the second inlet, wherein the second valve is arranged upstream of the second inlet.

5. The heat exchanger according to claim 2 , wherein the at least one first container and the at least one second container are arranged above the tube bundle in such a way that the quantity of the liquid phase of the first medium applied to the tube bundle per unit area and time can be changed in a radial direction of the tube bundle by an adjustment of the two valves.

6. The heat exchanger according to claim 2 , wherein the at least one first container and the at least one second container can be simultaneously charged in each case with variable mass flows of the first medium by corresponding adjustment of the valves.

7. The heat exchanger according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one first container is formed by a first distributor arm of the liquid distributor and that the at least one second container is formed by a second distributor arm of the liquid distributor.

8. The heat exchanger according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one first container is formed by a first region of a distributor arm of the liquid distributor and the at least one second container is formed by a second region of the distributor arm that is separated from the first region.

9. The heat exchanger according to claim 8 , wherein the two regions run next to each other in the radial direction along which the distributor arm extends.

10. The heat exchanger according to claim 8 , wherein the two regions are separated from each other by a partition wall, extending in the radial direction, of the distributor arm.

11. The heat exchanger according to claim 8 , wherein that the two regions lie opposite each other in the radial direction along which the distributor arm extends.

12. The heat exchanger according to claim 8 , wherein the two regions are separated from each other by a partition wall extending in a circumferential direction of the core tube.

13. The heat exchanger according to claim 1 , wherein one or more of the outlet openings of the at least one first container are located further outward in the radial direction of the tube bundle than the outlet openings of the at least one second container, or one or more of the outlet openings of the at least one second container lie further outward in the radial direction of the tube bundle than the outlet openings of the at least one first container.

14. A method for effecting an indirect heat transfer between at least one first fluid medium and one second fluid medium using a heat exchanger according to claim 1 , wherein the second medium is introduced into the tube bundle, and wherein a first mass flow of the first medium is introduced into the at least one first container via the annular channel, and wherein a second mass flow of the first medium is introduced into the at least one second container via the collector tank, wherein the two mass flows are adjusted in order to change, in a radial direction of the tube bundle, the quantity of the liquid phase of the first medium being applied per unit area and time to the tube bundle via the outlet openings of the at least one first container and of the at least one second container.

Assignees

• Linde Ag

Inventors

• Bauer Heinz
• Deichsel Florian
• Lang Marcus
• Spreemann Juergen
• Steinbauer Manfred

Classifications

• F28D2021/0033

  for cryogenic applications · CPC title

• F28F9/026 Primary

  with static flow control means, e.g. with means for uniformly distributing heat exchange media into conduits · CPC title

• F28F27/02

  for controlling the distribution of heat-exchange media between different channels ({static flow control means in header boxes F28F9/026}; arrangements of guide plates or guide vanes F28F9/22, F28F25/12) · CPC title

• F25J2290/32

  Details on header or distribution passages of heat exchangers, e.g. of reboiler-condenser or plate heat exchangers · CPC title

• F25J2280/02

  Control in general, load changes, different modes ("runs"), measurements · CPC title