Panel type heat exchanger

Abstract: A double-walled tube type open rack evaporating device comprising a plurality of heat-exchanging pipes each of a double-walled tube constructure having an inner tube (11) and an outer tube (10) in communication with the inner pipe at one end to constitute a heat-exchanging panel, a liquefied gas inlet header tank (12) connected to one end of the inner tube, an exit header tank (14) connected to one end of the outer tube, and a heating means (15,16) for gradually evaporating a liquefied gas that flows from the liquefied gas inlet header tank into the inner tube and then delivering the gas as a gas at a normal temperature to the exit header tank. Deposition of ice can be avoided and the amount of sea water used as a heat medium can be reduced to save electric power consumption in a sea water pump. Fl:ow rate and calorie hunting can be prevented to make LNG and NG flows stable.

Description: This invention relates to a panel type heat exchanger of the kind where the fluid to be heated flows from an inlet header to an outlet header internally through the panel and receives heat from a second fluid which flows over the external surface of the panel. Such panels are usually constructed with separate internal flow passages arranged side by side. These individual identical flow passages are fed from a common inlet header and they feed a common outlet header. This invention is concerned in particular with a panel type heat exchanger in which sea water is the heating medium and the fluid, which is required to be heated, is liquified natural gas LNG. Liquified natural gas, LNG, on being sufficiently heated, evaporates to natural gas, NG, in gaseous form. A known heat exchanger panel, used for this purpose is shown in Figure 12, where the panel 1 is made up of a plurality of fluid flow passages arranged side by side and fed from a common inlet header 2 supplied with LNG, and the array of passages feeding a common outlet header 4 from which NG in gaseous form is extracted. Sea water is employed as the heating medium and is sprayed from troughs 3 over the external walls of the panel 1, over which walls the sea water flows under the influence of gravity. In each of the identical internal flow passages of such a panel, internal flow is unidirectional and only the thickness of a single external panel wall separates the internal fluid from the heating medium which flows over the external wall. If then there is any irregularity in the flow of the sea water over the outer surface of the panel there is a risk of local icing and hence a risk of non-uniformity of the internal flow in the various passages making up the panel. Such non-uniformity may lead to unwanted thermal stress but in any event leads to inefficiency. Although some attempts have been made to ameliorate these disadvantages, for example by using indirect heating methods, this has resulted in loss of efficiency and no optimum arrangement has yet been found. And yet the panel type heat exchanger with sea water employed as heating medium and flowing over the outer surfaces of the panel, has obvious attractions due to the simplicity of construction and installation which it involves. Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved panel type heat exchanger, using an external flow of sea water over the panel as heating means, the new heat exchanger having simplicity of construction and installation allied with efficiency in operation. Broadly stated the present invention is concerned with a panel type heat exchanger which, instead of employing a construction where there is unidirectional flow in the identical individual internal flow passages of the panel, employs bi-directional flow of the internal fluid, by using a construction, for each of the identical individual internal passageways which make up the panel, in which a tube which leads from an inlet header holding LNG, is inserted in and surrounded by a second tube leading to an outlet header from which NG in gaseous form can be extracted. In such a construction, the fluid flows in one direction through the inner inserted tube and then enters and flows in the opposite or reverse direction through the second surrounding tube. The fluid flowing in the second surrounding tube is then in direct contact with the outer surface of the inner inserted tube, the fluid becoming heated as it flows, the heat being derived from sea water flowing over the external surface of the panel in contact with the outer wall of the second surrounding tube. By this measure the fluid in the inner tube fed from the inlet header is colder than the counter-flowing fluid in the outer tube feeding the outlet header. Indeed the fluid flowing in the outer tube insulates from the heat source, the fluid flowing in the inner tube. A heat exchanger of this general type and employing such bi-directional flow in inner and outer tubes, where surfaces exposed to internal flow of fluid at low temperature are insulated from a heating fluid flowing externally of the bi-directional flow system, has been proposed previously in US-A-2 273 257. However in this proposal steam is employed as the heating medium and the inner and outer heat exchange tube assemblies have to be disposed within a steam containing shell. This proposal represents additional complications as against the simple sea water heated system proposed according to the present invention. However, according to a further feature of the aforementioned prior proposal of US-A-2 273 257, the heat exchanger is so constructed that the fluid, in a condition when it has already been partially heated, then moves into a chamber where it is in heat exchange contact with conduit means conveying liquid fluid in a very cold phase. And this occurs in a region where the heating medium is not present to provide a countervailing heating effect which might offset the strong cooling effect. Thus the construction of this known heat exchanger has the characteristic that the fluid, instead of being progressively heated throughout its flow through the heat exchange passage, is first heated then, just as it is about to be discharged, strongly cooled. This leads to inefficiency and the present invention has for its principal object to avoid this disadvantageous characteristic. According to this invention there is provided a panel type heat exchanger for heating a fluid in liquid phase and converting the fluid to its gaseous phase, the panel being of the kind in which the individual passages, which are arranged banked side by side to make up the panel, are each constituted by a tube which is fed with fluid in the liquid phase from an inlet header, this tube being disposed inserted within an outer surrounding tube which discharges the fluid in its gaseous phase to an outlet header; and in which a heating medium is caused to flow over the external surfaces of the panel to impart heat to the fluid flowing internally thereof, the fluid flowing first, in one direction, through the inner tube, and then emerging therefrom into the outer tube, and then flowing, in the opposite direction, along the outer tube towards its discharge to the outlet header; and the invention is characterized in that the heating medium is sea water while the fluid which is being heated, and converted from its liquid phase at cryogenic temperature to its gaseous phase at atmospheric temperature, is natural gas, and in that, in order to prevent significant cooling of the internal fluid flow after it has already been heated to achieve the gaseous phase, heat insulation is provided, firstly, in the form of a jacket applied to the inlet header, and secondly, in the form of an insulating sleeve applied to the external surface of the inner tube in a region within the surrounding outer tube, where the inner tube is supplied with natural gas in its liquid phase from the inlet header. The present invention starts out from a panel type bi-directional flow heat exchanger as set out above. However it provides a construction calculated to prevent significant cooling of the fluid once it has already been heated to achieve gaseous form. Accordingly an important feature of this invention is firstly that the inlet header, containing LNG is provided with heavy insulation to prevent heat loss, and secondly that region of the inner tube which is physically adjacent the region of the outer surrounding tube where it approaches its discharge to the outlet header, is also provided with means for reducing heat transfer between the two separate oppositely directed fluid flows. If a feed pipe is employed to convey LNG from the inlet header to the inner tube this feed pipe will be afforded an insulating jacket or sleeve also. Such insulating measures, which are taken in the cold region of the inner tube, at its inlet region and adjacent the discharge region of the outer tube, where it is desirable to inhibit heat transfer due to proximity of LNG still at cryogenic temperature, are essentially in the form of an insulating jacket or sleeve located to prevent significant cooling of the fluid, already heated to achieve its gaseous phase, as it flows towards the NG outlet header. Additionally, there may be further insulation in the form of a sheath spaced around the inner immersed tube to define an annular compartment surrounding the immersed tube in this cold region, this compartment, defined and confined by the sheath, being occupied by a minor part of the fluid flowing in the outer surrounding tube. Additionally to the above, guide vane means may be employed whereby the heating medium, that is the sea water flowing over the external surface of the heat exchanger panel, will be applied specifically to the exterior of the outer surrounding tube in any region thereof which is liable to lose heat adversely to the cold liquid flowing within the inner tube, or where heat may be lost due to proximity of the inlet header containing LNG at cryogenic temperature, or where heat may be lost due to proximity to LNG when flowing through a feed pipe interconnecting the inlet header with the inner tube. Some or all of the tubes employed may be finned tubes, the fins being internal or external. Helical vanes may be provided in the fluid flow path to impede and control fluid flow. These and other objects, as well as advantageous features of the present invention will be apparent by reading detailed descriptions for the preferred embodiments according to the present invention with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, wherein Figures 1 through Figure 9 are, respectively, explanatory views of the vertical cross sections illustrating preferred embodiments of a panel type heat exchanger according to the present invention. Figure 1a is a partially enlarged vertical sectional view showing another embodiment of the invention as shown in Figure 1. Figures 10 and 11 are comparative graphic diagrams illustrating the temperature for each of sea water, LNG and NG depending on the heat loss allowed in a heat-exchanging panel; and Figure 12 is an explanatory perspective view for a known type of heat exchanger. The essential characteristics of the invention will be described with reference to Figures 1, 10 and 11 of the drawings, the other figures of the drawings showing various other versions of heat exchanger, all of which embody such essential characteristics. Referring now to Figure 1, this shows a panel type heat exchanger as one preferred embodiment according to the present invention, in which a plurality of heat exchange fluid flow passages are arranged side by side in parallel to constitute a heat-exchanging panel disposed vertically. These identical individual passages (only one of which is shown diagrammatically in the drawings) are fed from a common LNG inlet header 12 and the passages feed a common NG outlet header 14. Each heat-exchanging passage has an outer tube 10 of predetermined length and inner diameter and closed at a lower end, and an inner immersed tube 11 inserted therein. In Figure 1, the lower end opening of the inner immersed tube 11 is situated near the bottom of the outer tube 10, while the upper end of the inner tube 11 is connected with the LNG inlet header 12 for allowing LNG to be introduced and flow downwardly, and the upper end of the outer tube 10 is closed. The NG outlet header 14 is fed by way of an NG discharge pipe 13 connected to the outer tube 10 below the LNG inlet header 12. Water, in particular sea water, overflows from water spray troughs 15,16 situated opposed to each other at the sides of the panel below the NG discharge pipe 13 and below the LNG inlet header 12 and the water flows over the outer surfaces of each outer tube 10 which constitutes the exterior of the heat-exchange panel. Further, the immersed tube 11 is covered with a heat insulating sleeve 17 at its outer surface at a region extending over a predetermined length from its junction with the LNG inlet header 12 to a position below the water spray troughs 15,16 and below the NG exit pipe 13. The LNG inlet header 12 is also covered with a heat insulator jacket 18. LNG supplied is partially heated with NG while it flows downwardly from the inlet header 12 through the inner immersed tube 11 till it leaves the lower end opening of the inner tube 11. The flowing direction is then reversed and the fluid flows up along outer tube 10 over the inner inserted tube. The partially heated LNG is heated further during its upward flow through the annular passage between the outer tube 10 and the inner tube 11 and it is delivered by way of the NG discharge pipe 13 connected to the upper portion of the outer tube 10 and fed to the outlet header 14 as NG in gaseous form at a normal temperature. In this invention and as is shown in the embodiment of Figure 1, the inner tube 11, to which LNG at a cryogenic temperature is supplied from the LNG header 12 is covered for a predetermined required upper portion of the external surface thereof with the heat insulating sleeve 17 to prevent lowering of the temperature of NG near the NG exit disposed in adjacent therewith. The effect of this important measure will now be described with reference to Figures 10 and 11. As is indicated diagrammatically in Figure 10, when the requisite surface of the inner tube is not covered with insulation such as the insulating sleeve 17, the temperature of NG flowing in the outer tube and approaching discharge to the outlet header is lowered near the NG discharge pipe 13 due to proximity with LNG at cryogenic temperature flowing into the inner tube 11. The effect of this is shown in Figure 10. In contrast, and as shown in Figure 11, if the insulating sleeve 17 is in place, strong cooling adjacent its discharge is prevented and the temperature of NG is elevated as high as a temperature close to that of the sea water. In the embodiment of panel type heat exchanger of Figure 1, since each individual heat-exchanging passage is constituted as an immersed tube arrangement, with sea water as the heat medium, the heat exchange to the LNG at a cryogenic temperature is conducted not directly, but by way of the NG flowing in the annular passage between the immersed tube 11 and the outer tube 10 and, accordingly, ice deposition to the surface of the outer tube 10 can be reduced and the size of the evaporating device can be decreased due to the increase of the heat conduction area. If ice deposition is reduced, the amount of sea water as the heat medium to be supplied can be decreased, which enables remarkable savings of electric power consumed by sea water pumps. Further, since the LNG inlet header 12 for supplying LNG at a cryogenic temperature is situated higher than the troughs 15, 16, it is possible to hinder the heat of sea water from reaching the LNG inlet header 12, and the flow rate is improved while calorie hunting between the various heat-exchange passages is reduced. Further, since the heat-exchanging passage is constituted on the immersed tube principle, the internal fluid moves along a U-shaped flow channel with fluid being supplied from the lower end of the inner immersed tube 11 into the surrounding outer tube 10, and then rising in the outer tube to discharge by way of the connection 13 to the outlet header 14. This U-shaped or bi-directional flow promotes gradual heating which in turn promotes stable fluid flow. As shown in Figure 1A, in addition to the insulator 17 covering the outer periphery of the upper portion of the inner tube 11, a sheath 17a may be disposed around the outer periphery of the inner tube 11 in such a manner as to form a predetermined space between the sheath and the inner tube so that the space within the sheath may be occupied by a portion of the NG derived from LNG thereby acting as an insulator and preventing the NG reaching pipe 13 from being overcooled. For the above heat insulating sheath 17a any formation can be adopted, if it is formed to accommodate a portion of the flow of NG derived from LNG. For example, the sheath may be formed to define a flow passage which varies in size between the inlet side and the outlet side of the sheath to enable NG to stay therein for a short while and any known material such as aluminium, thermosetting resins, stainless steel or like may be used for formation of the sheath which is to be secured to the inner tube 11 by welding or bolting. Figure 2 shows another embodiment of a panel type heat exchanger according to the present invention, in which a heat-exchanging panel having the same constitution as that previously described with reference to Figure 1 is disposed upside-down, that is, an LNG header 12 is disposed at the lower end of the panel, an NG exit header 14 is disposed therealong in the same way, while no header tanks are disposed near the water spray troughs 15, 16 disposed in the upper portion of the panel. LNG supplied is partially evaporated under heating with NG to be described later while it uprises from the inlet header tank 12 in the inner tube 11 till it leaves the upper end opening of the inner tube 11 and reverses its flowing direction in the upper end of the outer tube 10. The partially evaporated LNG is further heated while it flows downwardly through an annular passage between the outer tube 10 and the inner tube 11 and is then delivered by way of an NG exit pipe 13 connected below the outer pipe 10 to the NG exit header 14 as NG at a normal temperature. Since the heat-exchanging panel having the same constitution as that shown in Figure 1 is used upside-down, substantially the same effects can be obtained. Figure 3 and Figure 4 each show a further embodiment of a panel type heat exchanger according to the present invention and the illustrated device has the same constitution as that previously described with reference to Figure 1 and can provide similar effects, excepting that the upper end of an inner tube 11 is protruded from the closed upper end of an outer tube 10 and the upper end of the inner tube 11 is covered with a heat insulator 17, and that an NG exit header tank 14 is situated above an LNG inlet header tank 12 in the embodiment shown in Figure 4, while an NG exit header 14 is situated substantially at the same height as that for the LNG inlet header 12 in the embodiment shown in Figure 3. Figure 5 shows a further embodiment of a panel type heat exchanger according to the present invention, in which a plurality of heat-exchange passages formed by immersed tube structures are arranged in parallel, to constitute a heat-exchanging panel disposed vertically. An LNG inlet header and an NG exit header are disposed to the upper portion of the panel. Each of the heat-exchanging passages comprises an outer tube 10 of the predetermined length and inner diameter and closed at the lower end thereof and an immersed inner tube 11 shorter than the outer tube 10 and inserted into the outer tube 10. The lower end opening of the inner tube 11 is situated close to the inner bottom of the outer tube 10, while the upper end of the inner tube 11 is situated spaced below by a predetermined distance from the upper end of the outer tube 10, and the upper end of the outer pipe 10 is connected with an NG exit header 14, so that NG can be delivered. An LNG inlet header 12 is disposed at a predetermined position below the NG exit header 14 and is connected, by way of an LNG feed pipe 23 connected passing through the outer tube 10, to the upper portion of the inner tube 11. The LNG feed pipe 23 and the LNG inlet header 12 are entirely covered with a heat insulator jacket 18. Water overflown from water spray troughs 15,16 disposed opposed to each other below the NG exit header 14 flows downwardly along the outer surface of each of the outer tubes 10 constituting the heat-exchanging panel, while water overflown from a water spray trough 16A also flows below the LNG inlet pipe 23. Further, a scattering preventive guide plate 19 is disposed circumferentially on the heat insulator 18 for the LNG inlet pipe 23 such that water overflown from the water spray trough 16 below the NG exit header 14 is not sprayed on the side of the LNG inlet header 12. LNG supplied is partially evaporated under heating with NG to be described later while it flows downwardly from the inlet header 12 through the inner tube 11 and the flow rate hunting and the calorie hunting to each of the heat exchanging pipes can be prevented. Further, since the heat-exchanging passage is constituted with an immersed tube arrangement, NG can be supplied in a U-shaped flow channel in which NG is supplied from the lower end of the inner tube 11 into the outer tube 10, uprises in the passage and then exits externally from the upper end, so that a pressure loss in the passage is increased to stabilize the gas flow. As is stated above, the feed pipe 23 is fully insulated and furthermore, in the open rack type evaporating device in this embodiment, the inner tube 11, to which LNG at a cryogenic temperature is supplied from the LNG header tank 12, is covered for the required upper portion thereof with a heat insulating sleeve, such as the sleeve 17 of Figure 1, to prevent lowering of the temperature of NG near the NG discharge disposed adjacent thereto. Referring more specifically, in the device having the construction as shown in Figure 5, the temperature of NG is not lowered near the upper discharge end of the inner tube 11 but is elevated as far as a temperature approximate to that of the sea water as shown in Figure 11. Figure 6 shows another embodiment of a device according to the present invention, in which a heat-exchanging panel having the same construction as that previously described with reference to Figure 5 is disposed upside-down, that is, an NG exit header 14 is disposed at the lower end of the panel, while no header tanks are disposed near the water spray troughs 15, 16 disposed in the upper portion of the panel. LNG supplied is partially evaporated under heating with NG to be described later while it uprises from the inlet header 12 in the immersed inner tube 11 till it leaves the upper end opening of the inner tube 11 and reverses its flowing direction in the upper end of the outer tube 10. The partially evaporated LNG is further heated while it flows downwardly through an annular passage between the outer tube 10 and the inner tube 11 and it is then delivered by way of an NG exit header 14 as NG at a normal temperature. Since the heat-exchanging panel having the same construction as that shown in Figure 5 is used upside-down, substantially the same effects can be obtained. Figure 7 shows a device according to a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, in which a plurality of heat-exchanging passages each of an immersed tube structure are arranged in parallel to constitute a heat-exchanging panel disposed vertically. An LNG inlet header and an NG exit header are disposed above the panel. Each of the heat-exchanging pipes has an outer tube 10 of predetermined length and inner diameter and closed at a lower end and an immersed inner tube 11 inserted therein, in which the lower end opening of the inner tube 11 is situated to the inner bottom of the outer tube 10, while the upper end of the inner tube 11 is connected with an LNG inlet header tank 12 for allowing LNG to be introduced and flow downwardly, and the upper end of the outer tube 10 is closed by the header tank 12. A helical ribbon-shaped heat conduction promoter 30 having a predetermined twist is inserted into the inner tube 11, and a helical heat conduction promoter 31 with a predetermined pitch is inserted into an annular passage between the inner pipe 11 and the outer tube 10. An NG exit header 14 is disposed by way of an NG exit pipe 13 connected to the outer tube 10 below the LNG inlet header 12. Water overflown from water spray troughs 15,16 runs down the surfaces of the heat-exchanging panel. Further, the inner tube 11 is covered with a heat insulator 17 at its outer circumferential surface over a predetermined length from the junction with the LNG inlet header 12 to a position below the water spray troughs 15,16 below the NG exit pipe 13. LNG supplied is partially evaporated under heating with NG to be described later while it flows downwardly from the inlet header 12 through the immersed inner tube 11 till it leaves the lower end opening of the inner tube 11 and reverses its flowing direction at the inner bottom of the outer tube 10. The partially evaporated LNG is heated further during its uprising through an annular passage between the outer tube 10 and the inner tube 11 and it is delivered by way of the NG exit pipe 13 connected with the upper portion of the outer tube 10 to the NG exit header 14 as NG at a normal temperature. In the open rack type evaporating device of this embodiment, Figure 7, since the heat-exchanging pipe is constituted with an immersed inner tube arrangement, sea water as a heat medium and LNG at a cryogenic temperature conduct heat exchange not directly but by way of NG in the annular passage and, accordingly, ice deposition to the surface of the outer tube 10 can be reduced and the size of the evaporating device can be decreased due to the increase of the heat conduction area. Accordingly, since the ice deposition is reduced, the amount of sea water as the heat medium to be supplied can be decreased, which enables a remarkable saving in the amount of electric power consumed by sea water pumps. Further, since the LNG inlet header 12 for supplying LNG at a cryogenic temperature is situated higher than the troughs 15, 16, it is possible to hinder the heat of sea water from intruding to the LNG inlet header 12, and the flow rate hunting and calorie hunting to each of the various heat exchanging passages making up the panel can be reduced. By inserting the heat conduction promoters 30, 31 respectively into the inner tube 11 and the outer tube 10, agitation and turbulence can be caused to the fluid passing through the tubes, so that heat conductivity between LNG in the inner tube 11 and NG in the outer tube 10 can be improved remarkably. Further, by making a difference in the performance between the heat conduction promoters 30 and 31 at the inside and the outside of the inner tube 11, for example, by changing the twisting or pitch, NG in the outer tube 10 can be set to a required temperature thereby preventing the ice deposition to the surface of the outer tube 10. Further, since the heat-exchanging passage is constituted by an immersed tube arrangement, NG can be supplied in a U-shaped flow in which NG is supplied from the lower end of the immersed inner tube 11 into the outer tube 10, uprises in the pipe and then exits externally from the upper end, so that a pressure loss in the pipe is increased to stabilize the gas flow. Furthermore, in the open rack type evaporating device of this embodiment, Figure 7, the inner tube 11 to which LNG at a cryogenic temperature is supplied from the LNG header tank 12 is surrounded for the required upper portion thereof with the heat insulator 17 to prevent lowering of the temperature of NG near the NG exit disposed in adjacent therewith. Figure 8 shows an evaporating device as a further embodiment according to the present invention, in which a plurality of heat-exchanging pipes each of a double-walled tube structure are arranged in parallel to constitute a heat-exchanging panel disposed vertically. An LNG inlet header and an NG exit header are disposed above the panel. In each of the heat-exchanging passages, an immersed inner tube 21 shorter than an outer tube 20 is inserted into the latter. The tube 20 is of predetermined length and inner diameter and closed at the lower end, in which the closed lower end of the inner tube 21 is situated to the inner bottom of the outer tube 20. Further, small apertures 21a each of predetermined inner diameter are disposed to the lower portion of the inner tube 21 with area of disposition, pitch and number being optimally selected. The upper end of the inner tube 21 is situated below and spaced apart by a required distance from the upper end of the outer tube 20, and the upper end of the outer tube 20 is connected with the NG exit header 24, so that NG can be delivered. A ribbon-shaped heat conduction promoter 30 having a predetermined twisting is inserted into the inner tube 21, and a spiral heat conduction promoter 31 with a predetermined pitch is inserted into an annular passage between the inner tube 21 and the outer tube 20. An LNG inlet header 22 is disposed at a predetermined position below the NG exit header tank 24 by way of an LNG inlet pipe 23 connected passing through the outer tube 20 to the upper portion of the inner tube 21. The LNG inlet pipe 23 and the LNG inlet header tank 22 are entirely covered with a heat insulator 28, and insulating means such as the sleeve 17 of Figure 1 will be provided on the tube 21 at its inlet region. Water overflown from water spray troughs 25,26 disposed opposed to each other below the NG exit header 24 flows downwardly to the outer surface of each of the outer tubes 20 constituting the heat-exchanging panel, while water overflown from a water spray trough 27 also flows below the LNG inlet pipe 23. Further, a scattering preventive guide plate 29 is disposed circumferentially on the heat insulator 28 for the LNG inlet pipe 23 such that water overflown from the water spray trough 26 below the NG exit header 24 is not sprayed on the side of the LNG inlet header 22. LNG supplied is introduced from the inlet header 22 by way of the LNG inlet pipe 23 into the inner pipe 21, caused to flow downwardly in the pipe 21 and then evaporated under heating with NG uprising through the annular passage between the outer tube 20 and the immersed inner tube 21. Since LNG in the inner tube 21 and NG in the outer tube 20 are mixed directly by way of the small apertures 21a disposed in the lower portion of the inner tube 21, and efficient heat exchange can be conducted by the heat conduction promoters 30, 31 disposed to the inside and the outside of the inner pipe 21 to provide advantages, for example, of making the heat exchanging passage shorter and smaller. The thus obtained NG at a low temperature is further heated while it uprises through the annular channel between the outer tube 20 and the inner tube 21, further uprises beyond the upper end of the inner tube 21 and is then delivered to the NG exit header 24 connected with the upper end of the outer pipe 20 as NG at a normal temperature. Further, in the device in this embodiment, the NG exit header 24 is disposed spaced apart above by a predetermined distance from the upper end of the inner tube 21, to which LNG at a cryogenic temperature is supplied from the NG inlet header 22, so that heat exchange does not take place, even indirectly, with respect to LNG at a cryogenic temperature to prevent the lowering of the NG temperature. Figure 9 shows a still further embodiment of a device according to the present invention. In this embodiment, a heat-exchanging panel having same constitution as that previously described with reference to Figure 7 is disposed upside-down such that an LNG inlet header 12 is disposed at the lower end of the panel, an NG exit header 14 is also disposed therealong and no header tanks are disposed near water spray troughs 15,16 disposed in the upper portion of the panel. LNG supplied uprises from the inlet header 12 through the immersed inner tube 11 incorporating a heat conduction promoter 30, in which LNG in the inner tube 11 and NG in the outer tube 10 are mixed directly by way of small apertures 11a disposed in the upper portion of the inner tube 11, so that heat-exchange can be conducted efficiently to obtain the similar effects as described with respect to the embodiment shown in Figure 7. In the various embodiments of the invention, when the insulating sleeve 17 (which, according to the invention, is disposed over the required length of the upper portion of the inner tube 11, 21) is removed, the temperature of NG is lowered near the NG exit pipe 13, 23 as shown in Figure 10. In contrast and as shown in Figure 11, the temperature of NG is elevated close to a temperature to that of the sea water if effective insulating means, such as the insulator sleeve 17, is in place.

Claims: A panel type heat exchanger for heating a fluid in liquid phase and converting the fluid to its gaseous phase, the panel being of the kind in which the individual passages, which are arranged banked side by side to make up the panel (1), are each constituted by a tube (11, 21) which is fed with fluid in the liquid phase from an inlet header (12, 22), this tube being disposed inserted within an outer surrounding tube (10, 20) which discharges the fluid in its gaseous phase to an outlet header (14, 24); and in which a heating medium is caused to flow over the external surfaces of the panel (1) to impart heat to the fluid flowing internally thereof, the fluid flowing first, in one direction, through the inner tube (11, 21), and then emerging therefrom into the outer tube (10, 20), and then flowing, in the opposite direction, along the outer tube (10, 20) towards its discharge to the outlet header (14, 24); characterized in that the heating medium is sea water while the fluid which is being heated, and converted from its liquid phase at cryogenic temperature to its gaseous phase at atmospheric temperature, is natural gas, and in that, in order to prevent significant cooling of the internal fluid flow after it has already been heated to achieve the gaseous phase, heat insulation is provided, firstly, in the form of a jacket (18, 28) applied to the inlet header (12, 22), and secondly, in the form of an insulating sleeve (17) applied to the external surface of the inner tube (11, 21) in a region within the surrounding outer tube (10, 20), where the inner tube (11, 21) is supplied with natural gas in its liquid phase from the inlet header (12, 22). A heat exchange panel according to claim 1, and wherein there is applied around the inner tube (11, 21) a sheath (17a) to define an annular compartment around the inner tube, which compartment is occupied by a part of the fluid flowing in the outer surrounding tube (10, 20). A heat exchange panel according to either of claims 1 or 2, and wherein a feed pipe (23) supplying LNG from the inlet header (12, 24) to the inner tube (11, 21) is insulated by a jacket or sleeve (28) in order to hinder heat transfer to the fluid once it has been heated to reach its gaseous phase. A heat exchange panel according to any one of claims 1 to 3, and wherein guide plate means (19, 29) are employed to guide the flow of the sea water over the exterior surfaces of the panel (1) in regions liable to be affected by heat loss due to the proximity of flow of cold liquid. A heat exchange panel according to any one of claims 1 to 4, and wherein some of the tubes employed have internal or external fins in order to control fluid flows and/or to promote heat exchange. A heat exchange panel according to any one of claims 1 to 5, and wherein helical vanes are employed in one or both of the inner and outer tubes in order to control fluid flows and/or to promote heat exchange. A heat exchange panel according to any one of claims 1 to 6, and wherein the inner tube (11, 21), at its end where fluid emerges to flow into the outer tube (10, 20), is provided with small openings (21a) in order to control fluid flows and/or to promote heat exchange.

Inventors: AKIYAMA MASARU, HANAMURA MASAKAZU, MIYATA YOSHIAKI, SATOH YOUJI, YAMAMOTO TAKAHIDE, AKIYAMA, MASARU, HANAMURA, MASAKAZU, MIYATA, YOSHIAKI, SATOH, YOUJI, YAMAMOTO, TAKAHIDE
Applicants: SUMITOMO PRECISION PROD CO, TOKYO GAS CO LTD, SUMITOMO PRECISION PRODUCTS COMPANY LIMITED, TOKYO GAS COMPANY LIMITED
Application year: 1991
Main classification: F17C9
IPC codes: F17C9