Patent ID: 7762317

Claim:
A forced-air cooled tube sheet assembly said tube sheet assembly comprising: (I) a silicon carbide tube sheet having an outside edge and containing a plurality of circular openings transversely therethrough, each said traverse opening having contained therein an all ceramic ball joint assembly; (II) said tube sheet being supported by a first firebrick wall which is a combination of firebrick at the outside edge of the tube sheeting and surrounding the entire outside edge, said combination of firebrick in combination with the outside edge of the tube sheet forming a channel, there being located in said channel, a ceramic, crushable gasket; (III) a second firebrick wall interfacing with the first firebrick wall and covering substantially the outside surface of the first brick wall leaving an opening at the point that the tube sheet is supported by the first firebrick wall; (IV) a steel shell surrounding the second firebrick wall, said steel shell having an inside surface and an outside surface, the combination of the tube sheet, first brick wall, second brick wall, and the steel shell forming a second channel, said channel being filled with a refractory material; said steel shell being discontinuous at the interface of the steel shell with the refractory material; said discontinuity having two, essentially parallel, near edges; (V) a bellows expansion joint comprising a housing fixedly attached to the outside surface of the steel shell and essentially covering the steel shell at the point that the refractory material meets the steel shell and such that the housing is capable of carrying forced air therethrough; said steel shell having a flat steel strip fixedly attached to the inside surface of the steel shell, near the discontinuity and on only one edge of the discontinuity such that when heated, the flat steel strip slides upon the inside surface of the steel shell on the opposite edge of the discontinuity to form a sliding expansion joint.