A vertical bundle air-cooled heat exchanger, a finned tube assembly for an air cooled condenser and method for forming the same, and a system for removing thermal energy generated by radioactive materials. In one aspect, an air cooled condenser sized for industrial and commercial application includes an inlet steam distribution header for conveying steam, a condensate outlet header for conveying condensate, an array of tube bundles each having a plurality of finned tube assemblies having a bare steel tube with an exposed outer surface and a set of aluminum fins brazed directly onto the tube by a brazing filler metal. The steel tubes may be spaced apart by the aluminum fins and have an inlet end fluidly coupled to the inlet steam distribution header and an outlet end fluidly coupled to the outlet header. A forced draft fan may be arranged to blow air through the tube bundles.

A heat transfer tube fixing apparatus of a heat transfer tube expansion apparatus has grasping sections and a moving section. The grasping sections grasp one axial direction end sections of a plurality of heat transfer tubes in a state where the heat transfer tubes are inserted in a plurality of heat transfer fins. The moving section switches between a first state of covering the surroundings of the grasping sections and a second state of not covering the surroundings of the grasping sections by moving in the axial direction of the heat transfer tubes. The grasping sections fix the heat transfer tubes so as not to move in the axial direction and the heat transfer fins and the heat transfer tubes are fixed by the heat transfer tubes expanding in a state where the moving section is in the first state.

A heat exchanger and a method of manufacturing the same are provided. With the method, a tube may be inserted into a through hole formed in at least one fin coated with a filler metal, and the tube and a fin collar of the at least one fin may be joined through the filler metal by a brazing processing. A flange may not be formed on or at a top of the at least one fin collar, which protrudes vertically from a central longitudinal plane of the at least one fin. The tube may be made of aluminum (Al), and an interval between an outer circumferential surface of the tube and an inner circumferential surface of the fin collar of the at least one fin may be approximately 0.1 mm or less. Accordingly, contact resistance occurring when fabricating a fin-tube heat exchanger using a mechanical tube expansion method may be reduced, and heat transfer performance of the heat exchanger may be improved because grooves formed within the tube may not be deformed.

A vertical bundle air-cooled heat exchanger, a finned tube assembly for an air cooled condenser and method for forming the same, and a system for removing thermal energy generated by radioactive materials. In one aspect, an air cooled condenser sized for industrial and commercial application includes an inlet steam distribution header for conveying steam, a condensate outlet header for conveying condensate, an array of tube bundles each having a plurality of finned tube assemblies having a bare steel tube with an exposed outer surface and a set of aluminum fins brazed directly onto the tube by a brazing filler metal. The steel tubes may be spaced apart by the aluminum fins and have an inlet end fluidly coupled to the inlet steam distribution header and an outlet end fluidly coupled to the outlet header. A forced draft fan may be arranged to blow air through the tube bundles.

A forming assembly for forming a wick is disclosed. The forming assembly includes a tube inflatable to an inflated configuration. A wick mesh is configured to be wrapped about the tube. The forming assembly further includes a sheath positionable about the tube and the wick mesh. The tube and the sheath are configured to compress the wick mesh and form the wick based on the tube inflating towards the inflated configuration.

A method of forming a wick using a mandrel is disclosed. The method includes positioning a wick mesh about the mandrel, positioning a sheath about the mandrel and the wick mesh, coupling a first fitting to the mandrel, wherein the first fitting comprises an adapter configured to couple with a source of pressure, and pressurizing the mandrel with the source of pressure to hydraulically expand the mandrel such that that mandrel compresses the wick mesh against the sheath and forms the wick.