HEAT EXCHANGER

Abstract: A heat exchanger incorporating a heat pipe apparatus, said heat pipe apparatus comprises an evaporative pipe group (16) disposed within a flow of a heating fluid; a first condenser pipe group (20) located away from and lower from said evaporative pipe group and disposed within a flow of a fluid to be heated; and first passage means (18) for connecting said evapor­ ative pipe group with said condenser pipe group and through which a working medium passes between said both pipe groups. Said heat pipe apparatus further comprises a bubble generator (43) disposed within a bypass passage through which a portion of said heat­ ing fluid branched off from said heating fluid flows so as to generate bubbles, whereby said working me­ dium is forcedly circulated throughout said first passage means.

Description: The present invention relates to a heat exchanger incorporating therein a heat pipe apparatus comprising the features as indicated in the precharacterizing part of claim 1. Such a heat exchanger is known from US-A-4 230 173. Such heat exchangers have been used so as to heat two or more fluids to be heated (lower temperature fluid) by means of one heating fluid (higher temperature fluid). A conventional heat exchanger, for example a heat storage rotary type heat exchanger, a multi-tubular pipe type heat exchanger or plate type heat exchanger among such heat exchangers each necessitates a division of a heating fluid flow into branch flows corresponding to the number of the fluids to be heated, whereby a heat exchange is effected between the branched heating fluid flow and the corresponding fluid to be heated, or necessitates a provision of heat exchangers within the heating fluid each of which heats the corresponding fluid to be heated. Under the above-mentioned circumstances, a heat exchanger has been proposed, which incorporates a heat pipe apparatus including an evaporator pipe section disposed within the flow of a heating fluid, a condenser pipe section is disposed within the flow of a fluid to be heated and located in series and spaced away from the evaporator pipe section, and passage means for connecting both pipe sections to each other. Generally, in this type of heat pipe apparatus which is so called the separate type heat pipe apparatus, it is necessary to provide therein sets of relief valves and non-condensable gas separators. However, as the number of the condenser pipe sections increases, the number of the sets of relief valves and non-condensable gas separators proportionally increases, too. Thus, the number of necessary parts and the cost for the heat exchanger increase. Further, in the above-mentioned construction wherein both pipe sections are arranged in series, a difference between temperatures of the heating fluid and the heated fluid passing from through the condenser pipe section becomes smaller, so that it is required to increase the quantity of heat being exchanged at the upstream side of the fluid. Fig. 1 shows a structure of the conventional separate type heat pipe apparatus. In this Figure, the reference numeral 1 denotes an evaporative pipe group which is disposed within a duct 2 through which a heating fluid (such as, for example, a gas) G1 passes. A medium in the evaporative pipe group 1 is heated by the heating fluid G1 to become a vapor. The medium vapor is carried from an upper header 3 of the evaporative pipe group 1 through a passage section 4A of a passage 4 to an upper header 7 of a condenser pipe group 6 located within a duct 5 permitting therethrough the flow of a fluid (such as, for example, a gas) G2 to be heated. The medium vapor from the evaporative pipe group 1 is condensed within the condenser pipe group 6 and is allowed to flow from a lower header 8 thereof into a lower header 9 of the evaporative pipe group 1 through a passage section 4B of the passage 4. Since the lower header 8 of the condenser pipe group 6 is located at a higher level than the lower header 9 of the evaporative pipe group 1 is, the medium is put in natural circulation. A relief valve 10 and a non-condensable gas separator 11 are provided in the passage section 4A of the passage 4. Fig. 2 illustrates this structure. Fig. 3 illustrates a heat pipe apparatus arranged to transmit the heat of a high temperature gas G1 (such as, for example, a combustion gas of a furnace) passing through the duct 2 to two fluids G2 (for example, an air for a combustion) and G3 (for example, a fuel gas). Within the duct 2, two different evaporative pipe groups 1 and 12 are respectively disposed. Within the ducts 5 and 13 through which the fluids G2 and G3 pass respectively, the condenser pipe groups 6 and 14 associated with the evaporative pipe groups 1 and 12 are respectively disposed. In this case, six relief valves, the number of which is the same as that of the condenser pipe groups, are necessary, and six non-condensable gas separators are also required. In consequence, the number of necessary parts increases, whereby the cost also increases correspondingly. Furthermore, in the above mentioned series arrangement of the pipe groups, the difference in temperature between the higher temperature fluid and each lower temperature fluid at the outlet disadvantageously becomes small as shown in Fig. 4. As a result, it is necessary to make the quantity of heat to be exchanged at the upstream side large. According to the installing conditions, it is not always possible to dispose the evaporative pipe group at a lower level than the condenser pipe groups. In such a case, it becomes impossible to circulate the working medium naturally and to make a heat exchange unless the working medium is forcedly circulated by means of any suitable means. To avoid the above suitable means, a forced circulation type heat exchanger shown in Fig. 5 has been proposed. The working medium vapor 37 heated and evaporated by means of a heating fluid in the evaporative pipe group 1 disposed within the duct 2 through which the heating fluid passes flows from the upper header 3 of the evaporative pipe group 1 through a passage section 4A of the passage 4 into the condenser pipe group 6 disposed within the duct 5 through which a fluid to be heated passes. Thus, the working medium vapor 37 release a heat therefrom and is condensed. The reference numeral 7 denotes upper header of the condenser pipe group 6. A condensate 38 passes from the lower header 8 of the condenser pipe group 6 through a passage section 4B into a bubble producing unit 39. The bubble producing unit 39 is a kind of bubble pump which causes a production of bubbles in the condensate by the use of a heat 40 supplied thereto from outside. The condensate 38 rises, due to a lift force of the bubbles, through a passage section 4C to a liquid-vapor separator 41. The liquid separated by the separator 41 flows through a passage section 4D and the lower header 9 of the evaporative pipe group 1 into the pipe group 1. On the other hand, the vapor (bubbles) separated by the separator 41 flows through a passage section 4E into the passage section 4A and joins into the vapor discharged from the evaporative pipe group 1. According to the above construction, the working medium is forcedly circulated. The reason why the bubble producing unit is used as a pump for making a forced circulation is that the bubble producing unit has a simple structure, and that the bubbles produced by the heat supplied from outside themselves have a latent heat which can be utilized as a heat source for heating the fluid to be heated. However, since the operation of the bubble producing unit is dependent upon the heat supplied from outside, when the heat from outside is stopped, the working medium ceases to circulate, whereby a function of the heat exchanger itself decreases. An object of the present invention is to provide a heat exchanger which operates on an always stable basis without being affected by an external heat source. According to a preferred embodiment the present invention is to provide a heat exchanger which is improved in respect of corrosion resistance. This object is solved in accordance with the features set out in the main claim; the dependent claim is directed to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS: Fig. 1 shows a construction of a conventional separate type heat pipe apparatus; Fig. 2 is a schematic illustration of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a schematic illustration of the conventional separate type heat pipe apparatus arranged to heat two fluids; Fig. 4 is a diagram showing the variation in temperature between the fluids in the case of the apparatus shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 shows a construction of a prior art heat pipe apparatus of forced circulation type; Fig. 6 shows a construction of the heat pipe apparatus according to the present invention; and Fig. 7 shows a modification of the heat pipe apparatus shown in Fig. 6. Accordingly, in a first embodiment of the present invention shown in Fig. 6, a duct 19 through which a fluid G2 to be heated passes is disposed at a lower level than a duct 15 through which a heating fluid G1 passes. As a result, the evaporative pipe group 16 disposed within the duct 15 is to be located at a higher position than the condenser pipe group 20 disposed within the duct 19. The reference numeral 42 denotes a bypass passage which is branched off from the duct 15 for the heating fluid G1 to bypass the evaporative pipe group 16. A bubble producing unit 43 is disposed within the bypass passage 42, and the bubble producing unit 43 is connected to the lower header 23 of the evaporative pipe group 16 by means of a passage section 18C of the passage 18. The reference numeral 44 denotes a damper provided within the bypass passage 42. The operation of the heat pipe apparatus will now be described. The working medium which has released its heat therefrom and thus been condensed in the condenser pipe group 20 flows through the lower header 22 and the passage section 18B to the bubble producing unit 43. At the unit 43, the condensate is heated by a part of the heating fluid G1 passing through the bypass passage 42 and generates bubbles. Thereafter, the condensate is rised to the liquid-vapor separator 41 through the passage section 18C due to a lift force of the bubbles, produced to reach a liquid-vapor separator 41. Thus, the separated condensate flows into the evaporative pipe group 16, while the bubbles flow into the passage section 18D and join into the vapor from the evaporative pipe group 16 through the upper header 17 thereof to be supplied to the condenser pipe group. When, in the above case, the temperature of the heating fluid G1 is not so high, it is feared that a low temperature corrosion occurs at the downstream side of the evaporative pipe group. A temperature indicator controller (TIC) 45 is provided for preventing the occurrence of the low temperature corrosion. Namely, the TIC measures a temperature of the fluid at the downstream side of the evaporative pipe group 16 and controls the opening of the damper 44. That is, when the temperature of the heating fluid G1 decreases, the opening of the damper 44 is made small to cause a reduction of the liquid flow rised due to the bubble produced in the unit 43 to thereby cause a reduction in an amount of working medium circulation and to thereby prevent the fluid temperature at the downstream side of the evaporative pipe group from being decreased down to a predetermined value. In this case, the flow rate of the rising working medium may be measured by a flow rate indicator controller (FIC) 46 and the measurements are inputted into the TIC 45 to effect a cascade control. The heat pipe apparatus shown in Fig. 7 is a type prepared by duplicating the circulation passage of working illustrated in Fig. 6. In this apparatus, the amount of heating fluid being supplied to the vapor generators 43, 43 is not greater than 10 % of the whole amount thereof, and the amount of heat in this heating fluid joins, in the form of a latent heat, into the vapor heat from the evaporative pipe group through the bubbles in the liquid and is utilized, whereby a thermal loss takes place little. According to this last-mentioned embodiment, it is possible, while taking advantage of the merits of the bubble generator, to perform the operation of the heat exchanger on an always stable basis without being affected by an external heat source.

Claims: A heat exchanger incorporating a heat pipe apparatus, said heat pipe apparatus comprising: an evaporative pipe group (16) disposed within a flow of a heating fluid; a first condenser pipe group (20) located away from said evaporative pipe group and disposed within a flow of a fluid to be heated; and first passage means (18) for connecting said evaporative pipe group with said condenser pipe group and through which a working medium passes between said both pipe groups; wherein said heat pipe apparatus further comprises a bubble generator (43) so as to generate bubbles, whereby said working medium is forcedly circulated throughout said first passage means, characterized in that the first condenser pipe group (20) is located lower than the evaporative pipe group (16) and that the bubble generator is disposed within a bypass passage through which a portion of said heating fluid, branched off from said heating fluid, flows. A heat exchanger as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said heat pipe apparatus further comprises a flow regulator (44, 45, 46) for controlling a flow of said heating fluid passing through said bypass passage so as to control the temperature of said heating fluid passing in down stream-side of said evaporative pipe group.

Inventors: KOTAKA, IKUO
Applicants: BABCOCK-HITACHI KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Application year: 1984
Main classification: F28D15
IPC codes: F28D15, F23D14, F23L15, F23J15