Tube heat exchange unit for internals of heat exchangers reactors

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2018306526-A1
Application number	US-201816022303-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jun 28, 2018
Priority date	Dec 18, 2013
Publication date	Oct 25, 2018
Grant date	—

Abstract

Tube-bundle heat exchange unit (1) for internals of heat exchangers or reactors, comprising: at least one tube bundle (2); a plurality of baffles (3) associated with said tube bundle and defining through-openings according to a predefined arrangement, each opening being passed through by one of more tubes of the tube bundle, and a shell (6) which surrounds said tube bundle and said baffles, wherein the assembly of the tube bundle and the shell can be disassembled and the shell is structurally collaborating with the tube bundle through said baffles.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A tube-bundle heat exchange unit for internals of heat exchangers or reactors, comprising: a tube bundle, which in turn comprises a plurality of tubes and a plurality of baffles supporting the tubes; a shell which surrounds said tube bundle, wherein said baffles are perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the tube bundle and define through-openings for the tubes, according to a predefined scheme; wherein the assembly formed by the tube bundle and the shell is demountable; the heat exchange unit being characterized in that: said shell is structurally cooperating with the tube bundle through said baffles, so as a stress acting on the shell is partially withstood by the tube bundle itself.

2 . The heat exchange unit according to claim 1 , wherein the baffles of the tube bundle comprise respective peripheral edge rings, and the structural cooperation between the shell and the tube bundle is given by the shell resting on said rings.

3 . The heat exchange unit according to claim 2 , wherein the shell rests on said rings of the baffles of the tube bundle along at least 50% of their perimeter and preferably along the entire perimeter.

4 . The heat exchange unit according to claim 1 , wherein the baffles comprise bars substantially acting as struts of said shell.

5 . The heat exchange unit according to claim 1 , wherein the shell is not self-supporting, the shell thickness being smaller than a minimum thickness required by the stress acting on the shell in operation, and the shell resistance to said stress being given by the structural collaboration with the tube bundle.

6 . The heat exchange unit according to claim 1 , wherein the shell is formed by one or more sectors wrapped around the bundle, the rims of said one or more sectors being connected along one or more longitudinal joints.

7 . The heat exchange unit according to claim 6 , wherein the sector or the sectors of the shell are represented by substantially plane metal sheets which are bended for surrounding the tube bundle.

8 . The heat exchange unit according to claim 1 , wherein said shell comprises a plurality of longitudinal sections.

9 . The heat exchange unit according to claim 8 , wherein the shell ( 6 ) comprises at least two longitudinal sections, the heat exchange unit comprises at least one blind baffle between two consecutive sections of said shell, said blind baffle foaming a gas-tight barrier in the shell side of said apparatus, the shell side of the apparatus thus being divided into at least two separate gas passages.

10 . The heat exchange unit according to claim 8 , wherein said longitudinal sections have a length, in the longitudinal direction, substantially equivalent to the distance or pitch between said baffles of the tube bundle.

11 . The heat exchange unit according to claim 1 , wherein the shell has a cross-section chosen among: a cross-section with the form of a regular or irregular polygon; a stepped cross-section; a cross-section comprising at least one straight side and at least one curvilinear side, preferably circle arcs.

12 . The heat exchange unit according to claim 1 , wherein said shell comprises means for constraining the baffles, acting in the axial direction parallel to said tube bundle, said baffles being therefore axially retained in a predefined position by said shell.

13 . The heat exchange unit according to claim 1 , characterized by a substantially fluid-tight joint between said baffles and said shell.

14 . A unit according to claim 1 , comprising at least one impermeable sealed partition which is longitudinal and parallel with respect to the tube bundle.

15 . A pressurized apparatus, preferably a chemical reactor and more preferably a reactor for the ammonia synthesis or a reactor for the methanol synthesis, comprising an outer shell resistant to a predefined operating pressure, and at least one internal tube heat exchange unit, according to claim 1 .

16 . The pressurized apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein said apparatus is a chemical reactor of the multi-bed type comprising a plurality of adiabatic catalytic beds, and the at least one tubular heat exchange unit inside the reactor is a heat exchanger for intercooling between two catalytic beds.

17 . A method for assembling a tube heat exchange unit for internals of heat exchangers or reactors according to claim 1 , comprising: providing a tube bundle having a plurality of baffles, the baffles being freely movable at least in the axial direction with respect to said tube bundle, providing a shell around the tube bundle, and wherein said shell, once positioned around the tube bundle, axially retains the baffles with respect to the tube bundle in respective operating positions, and the shell structurally cooperates with the tube bundle through said baffles, so as a stress acting on the shell is partially withstood by the tube bundle itself.

18 . The method according to claim 17 , wherein the shell is formed by one or more portions which are bended and wrapped around the tube bundle during the assembling.

Assignees

• Casale Sa

Inventors

• Rizzi Enrico

Classifications

• B01J2208/00194

  Tubes · CPC title

• F01K5/02

  used in regenerative installation · CPC title

• F28D7/16

  the conduits being arranged in parallel spaced relation ({F28D7/0008 - F28D7/0058 take precedence}; F28D7/02 - F28D7/10 take precedence) · CPC title

• F28F9/0131 Primary

  formed by plates (F28F9/0138 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F28F2009/226

  Transversal partitions · CPC title