Heat exchanger baffle assembly and tube pattern for radial flow heat exchanger and fluid heating system including the same

Abstract

A fluid heating system assembly includes a first tube sheet, a second tube sheet opposite the first sheet, a plurality heat exchanger tubes, which connect the first tube sheet and the second tube sheet, and a plurality of baffles, comprising at least one plate baffle and at least one annular baffle disposed between the first tube sheet and the second tube sheet, wherein the heat exchanger tubes sealingly pass through the baffles, and wherein the tubes are arranged in a staggered ring configuration and the baffles have a baffle spacing, such that there is a substantially uniform temperature distribution and efficient exchange of thermal energy across the heat exchanger tube walls.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A fluid heating system having a heat exchanger baffle assembly and tube pattern for radial flow heat exchanger, comprising:
 a first tube sheet;   a second tube sheet opposite the first sheet;   a plurality of heat exchanger tubes, wherein each heat exchanger tube of the plurality of heat exchanger tubes independently connects the first tube sheet and the second tube sheet, and wherein the heat exchanger tubes are in a staggered ring configuration that comprises a plurality of concentric rings of tubes; and   wherein adjacent tubes on a ring are separated by a radial separation angle RA, such that there is a substantially uniform temperature distribution and efficient exchange of thermal energy across the heat exchanger tube walls.   
     
     
         2 . The heat exchanger tube assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the radial separation angle is 1 to 90 degrees. 
     
     
         3 . The heat exchanger tube assembly of  claim 1 , wherein neighboring tubes on adjacent rings are separated by rotating all the tubes within an inner ring by a radial index angle, IA, relative to the next outermost tube ring. 
     
     
         4 . The heat exchanger tube assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising a baffle located between the first tube sheet and the second tube sheets, wherein the plurality of heat exchanger tubes traverses through the baffle. 
     
     
         5 . The sealed baffle assembly of  claim 4 , wherein the baffle is a plate baffle, and wherein the plate baffle has a disk shape, an elliptical shape, a lobular shape, a square shape, a rectangular shape, a rectilinear shape, or a curvilinear shape, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         6 . The sealed baffle assembly of any of  claim 4 , wherein the baffle has a disk shape. 
     
     
         7 . The sealed baffle assembly of any of  claim 4 , wherein the baffle has a first side and an opposite second side, and wherein fluid communication between the first side and the second side is exclusively across a perimeter of the baffle. 
     
     
         8 . The sealed baffle assembly of any of  claim 4 , wherein a maximum distance between an outer surface of the heat exchanger tube and the baffle is between 0 centimeters and 3 centimeters. 
     
     
         9 . The sealed baffle assembly of any of  claim 4 , further comprising a continuous weld, which sealingly connects the baffle to the heat exchanger tube. 
     
     
         10 . The sealed baffle assembly of any of  claim 4 , wherein the continuous weld which sealingly connects the baffle to the heat exchanger tube is disposed on a circumference of the tube. 
     
     
         11 . A method of producing radial flow in a heat exchanger, the method comprising:
 providing a heat exchanger having a baffle assembly, the heat exchanger comprising:
 a pressure vessel shell comprising a vessel inlet and a vessel outlet, 
 a baffle assembly, comprising:
 a first tube sheet; 
 a second tube sheet opposite the first sheet; 
 a heat exchanger tube, which connects the first tube sheet and the second tube sheet; 
 at least one plate baffle disposed between the first tube sheet and the second tube sheet, wherein the heat exchanger tube sealingly passes through the baffle; and 
 at least one annular baffle sealingly disposed between the first tube sheet and the second tube sheet, wherein the heat exchanger tube sealingly passes through the baffle; and 
 
   directing using the baffle assembly a production fluid from the vessel inlet to the vessel outlet to provide alternating radial flow of the production fluid through the sealed baffle assembly.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the production fluid comprises water, a substituted or unsubstituted C1 to C30 hydrocarbon, a thermal fluid, a glycol, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         13 . The heat exchanger of  claim 11 , wherein neighboring tubes on adjacent rings are separated by rotating all the tubes within an inner ring by a radial index angle, IA, relative to the next outermost tube ring. 
     
     
         14 . The heat exchanger tube assembly of  claim 11 , wherein neighboring tubes on adjacent rings are separated by rotating all the tubes within an inner ring by a radial index angle, IA, relative to the next outermost tube ring. 
     
     
         15 . The heat exchanger of  claim 11 , wherein the heat exchanger tubes are in a staggered ring configuration that comprises a plurality of concentric rings of tubes, the heat exchange tubes in each ring have approximately the same tube diameter and ligament, the radial distance separating two adjacent rings is between one half and three times the sum of the minimum ligament and minimum tube diameter for any tube on the two adjacent rings; and
 wherein adjacent tubes on a ring are separated by a radial separation angle between 0.5 degrees and 180 degrees; and each concentric ring contains a designated first tube.   
     
     
         16 . The heat exchanger of  claim 11 , further comprising a plurality of baffles located between the first tube sheet and the second tube sheets, wherein the number of baffles and baffle spacing is set to that provides a substantially uniform temperature distribution and efficient exchange of thermal energy across the heat exchanger tube walls, and to minimize production fluid pressure drop from vessel inlet to vessel outlet while simultaneously minimizing the number and magnitude of local temperature outliers. 
     
     
         17 . The heat exchanger of  claim 16 , wherein the baffle spacing increases from vessel outlet toward the vessel inlet for at least the first two baffle spacings. 
     
     
         18 . The heat exchanger of  claim 16 , wherein the baffle spacing is determined by an iterative baffle spacing calculation process. 
     
     
         19 . The heat exchanger of  claim 11 , wherein the annular baffles and plate baffles alternate long the length of the heat exchanger tubes. 
     
     
         20 . A method of calculating a radial separation angle RA, and the radial stagger index angle IA, for a staggered ring heat exchanger tube configuration, using a design diameter (DD) of the tube configuration, a gap (GAP) between the design diameter (DD) and a first tube ring, the tube element clearance diameter CD k  for each row k of tubes, and a rounding threshold (RT) to be applied to the tube count, the method comprising:
 computing a diameter of an outer row RD 1  using the Formula 1,
     RD   1   =DD −(2× GAP )− CD   1 ;  (1)
 
   computing the diameter RD k  of the interior rows 2≤k using the Formula 2,
     RD   k   =RD   k-1   −CD   k-1   −CD   k   (2)
 
 for each row diameter where RD k ≥0; 
   computing the tube count for each row k using Formula 3,
     CT   k =360/2 sin −1 ( CD   k   /RD   k );  (3)
 
   computing the integer tube count by rounding using the rounding threshold RT, where RT is between 0.001 and 0.99, wherein if the fractional part of the computed tube count CT k  is greater than the rounding threshold (RT), rounding the tube count using Formula 4,
     C   k =ceil( CT   k );  (4)
 
   computing the final ring diameter using Formula 5,
     D   k   =CD   k /sin(360/2 C   k );  (5)
 
   otherwise, rounding the tube count using Formula 6,
     C   k =floor( CT   k );  (6)
 
   computing the final ring diameter using Formula 7,
     D   1   =OD −(2× GAP )− CD   1   (7)
 
   if the computation is for the first row, or using Formula 8,
     D   k   =D   k-1   −CD   k-1   −CD   k   (8)
 
 if for an inner row with k>1; 
   computing the fixed row separation angle RA k  for tubes in each row from k=1 to the innermost row using Formula 9,
     RA   k =360/ C   k   (9); and
 
   computing the fixed tube stagger index angle IA k  for adjacent tubes in adjacent rows, k and k−1, using Formula 10,
     IA   k =( RA   k   +RA   k-1 )/2  (10)
 
 for each inner row, and setting IA 1 =0 for the first row, k=1.