Heat exchanger for generating steam for solar power plants

Abstract

A heat exchanger erected vertically for generating steam for solar power plants, including: an outer casing with an inlet and an outlet port for a heat-emitting medium; an inlet and an outlet collector for a heat-absorbing medium, said inlet and outlet collectors lying substantially within the outer casing; and a tube bundle within the outer casing with a number of tube layers including continuous tubes, wherein the heat-emitting medium can flow entirely around same and which are designed as flow paths for the heat-absorbing medium from the inlet collector to the outlet collector. The tube bundle is arranged in a meandering manner, wherein the heat exchanger is arranged according to a forced-flow principle so that the heat-absorbing medium is successively pre-heated, evaporated, and superheated so that a superheated steam exits the outlet collector. The energy for the pre-heating, evaporation, and superheating is essentially provided by the heat transfer from the heat-emitting medium to the heat-absorbing medium. The tube layers are arranged in such that the tubes of the individual tube layers are aligned to lie next to one another in the horizontal direction, with the directions of flow of the heat-absorbing medium being opposite in the horizontally adjacent tube sections which are arranged transversely to the central axis of the outer casing, and such that the tube layers are vertically adjacent. Each tube layer is formed from an equal number of tubes.

1 . A heat exchanger for generating steam for solar power plants, with the heat exchanger being erected vertically, comprising:
 an outer casing with an inlet nozzle and an outlet nozzle for a heat-emitting medium;   an inlet header and an outlet header for a heat-absorbing medium, preferably water, with the inlet header and the outlet header being arranged substantially within the outer casing; and   a tube bundle within the outer casing with a number of tube layers with continuous tubes which are arranged so that the heat-emitting medium can flow around said tubes completely and which are arranged as flow paths for the heat-absorbing medium from the inlet header to the outlet header; wherein   the tube bundle is arranged in a meandering manner, with the heat exchanger for generating steam being arranged according to a forced-flow principle, so that the heat-absorbing medium supplied to the inlet header is successively subjected in the course of the flow paths to a preheating, an evaporation and a superheating, so that superheated steam exits from the outlet header;   the energy required for the preheating, evaporation and superheating is made available substantially solely by heat transfer from the heat-emitting medium to the heat-absorbing medium within the heat exchange;   the tube layers are arranged in such a way that the tubes of the individual tube layers are aligned to lie precisely next to one another in the horizontal direction, with the directions of flow of the heat-absorbing medium being opposite in the horizontally adjacent tube sections which are arranged transversely to the central axis of the outer casing, and such that the tube layers are vertically adjacent; and   each tube layer is formed from an equal number of tubes.   
     
     
         2 .- 3 . (canceled) 
     
     
         4 . The heat exchanger according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the inlet header and the outlet header have a circular cross section, and   the tubes of a tube layer are connected with the inlet header and outlet header on a circumferential line of the inlet header and outlet header offset from one another by the same angle.   
     
     
         5 . The heat exchanger according to  claim 1 , wherein the tubes of the adjacent tube layers are connected with the inlet header and outlet header in such a way that the tubes of the one tube layer are arranged with respect to the tubes of the adjacent tube layer offset by an angle on an adjacent circumferential line of the inlet header and outlet header. 
     
     
         6 . The heat exchanger according to  claim 1 , wherein the tube bundle comprises a separate section in which mainly the preheating of the heat-absorbing medium occurs. 
     
     
         7 . The heat exchanger according to  claim 1 , wherein the tube bundle has a separate section in which mainly the evaporation of the heat-absorbing medium occurs. 
     
     
         8 . The heat exchanger according to  claim 1 , wherein the tube bundle has a separate section in which mainly the superheating of the heat-absorbing medium occurs. 
     
     
         9 . The heat exchanger according to  claim 1 , wherein the tubes are connected with the inlet header and outlet header via nipples. 
     
     
         10 . The heat exchanger according to  claim 1 , wherein the tubes are directly connected without nipples with the inlet header and outlet header. 
     
     
         11 . The heat exchanger according to  claim 9 , wherein the nipples are materially connected with the inlet header and outlet header. 
     
     
         12 . The heat exchanger according to  claim 9 , wherein the nipples are made by metal cutting from the material of the inlet header and outlet header. 
     
     
         13 . The heat exchanger according to  claim 1 , characterized in that wherein the tube bundle is arranged in an inner housing which is arranged concentrically within the outer casing and comprises an inlet and an outlet opening for the heat-emitting medium. 
     
     
         14 . The heat exchanger according to  claim 1 , wherein the inlet and the outlet nozzle for the heat-emitting medium is arranged in the bottom part of the outer casing for a vertical installation of the heat exchanger.