Primary Inventor: Krishna P. Singh
Contributing Inventor(s): Vytas Maciunas
Date: May 21, 2019
Status: Granted
Jurisdiction: USA
Equipment Type: Heat Exchanger
Docket Number: HOL-102
Patent No: US 10,295,266 B2
Application Number: 15/279,730
Prior Publication Data: US 2017/0016678 A1
Related U.S. Application Data:
- Continuation-in-part of application No. 15/210,125, filed on Jul. 14, 2016, now abandoned.
- Provisional application No. 62/192,318, filed on Jul. 14, 2015.
Abstract: This invention discloses a novel class of flow pass arrangements in tubular heat exchangers that seeks to minimize the number of heat exchangers in series or parallel used in a piping network for heat transfer applications. The state-of-the art in flow arrangements in shell-and-tube heat exchangers is described in Chapter 1 of an unpublished manuscript of the book “Theory and Practice of Heat Exchanger Design,” by K.P. Singh. The shell and tube flow pass arrangements, explained in the attached chapter and in the industry standards such as TEMA, indicate that the number of shell passes in industrial practice is restricted to two. If the demands of fluid flow rates and their terminal temperatures of the two heat exchanging streams cannot be satisfied in a single or two shell pass unit (or its close adaptations known as “spilt flow” and “divided flow,” shown in the TEMA table in Attachment #2 herein, then the designer is forced to utilize multiple shells with interconnecting pipes as illustrated in the attached sketch (Figure 1). The multi-shell arrangement is poor design palliative, not in the least because it creates several external flanged joint connections that may leak during service. Multiplicity of shells increases the plant’s capital cost.