Omniphilic and superomniphilic surfaces for simultaneous vapor condensation and airborne liquid droplet collection are provided. Also provided are methods for using the surfaces to condense liquid vapor and/or capture airborne liquid droplets, such as water droplets found in mist and fog. The surfaces provide enhanced capture and transport efficiency based on preferential capillary condensation on high surface energy surfaces, thin film dynamics, and force convection.

The Cover Handler System is mechanical mechanism that completes the task of removing large covers from industrial sized boilers, heat exchanges and condensers even in conditions cramped by walls, pipes and other boilers. The mechanism typically attaches to the top of the boiler from which will extend a swing assembly, from which horizontally extends an I-beam, along which slides a roller assembly, from which descends vertically a hanger which provides means for a bronze bushing supported cover assembly. The cover is removed and rotated out of the way by the cover handler's three means of articulation by the rotating swing assembly, the sliding roller assembly and rotating cover mounts. The cover removal system ceases to be arduous and time consuming. The complex operation of removing and replacing the cover is accomplished safely in a short amount of time even in the most cramped conditions.

An air-over evaporative heat exchanger with multi-lobed or “peanut” shaped tubes replacing conventional round or elliptical tubes. The tubes have a narrow horizontal cross section and tall vertical cross section to allow the multiplication of surface area in the same coil volume while maintaining or increasing the open-air passage area. This configuration allows the coil to have an overall external heat transfer coefficient much higher than a conventional coil, while the tube shape allows the use of thinner material, reducing the weight and cost of the heat exchanger.

A receiver includes a large diameter main body portion, and an intermediate member side small diameter portion. A wall thickness of the intermediate member side small diameter portion is smaller than a wall thickness of the main body portion. As a result, heat capacity of the intermediate member side small diameter portion is reduced. As a result, it is possible to complete brazing between the intermediate member side small diameter portion and the intermediate member, at the same time as brazing among tanks, tubes, and fins. A desiccant enclosed in a flexible bag can be taken in and out through the intermediate member side small diameter portion.

A condensing heat exchanger to exchange heat from a hot flow to a cold flow includes a hot flow side to receive the hot flow, the hot flow side including a hot flow inlet disposed on a hot flow inlet side and a hot flow outlet disposed on a hot flow outlet side, wherein a hot flow side cross section decreases from the hot flow inlet side to the hot flow outlet side, a cold flow side to receive the cold flow, and an interface disposed between the hot flow side and the cold flow side to allow thermal communication therebetween.

An air-cooled condenser system for steam condensing applications in a power plant Rankine cycle includes an air cooled condenser having a plurality of interconnected modular cooling cells. Each cell comprises a frame-supported fan, inlet steam header, outlet condensate headers, and tube bundle assemblies having optionally finned tubes extending between the headers. The tube bundle assemblies may fabricated into an A-shaped tube structure. The tube bundles are self-supporting without support from any part of the frame between top and bottom tubesheets of each bundle. The condensate headers may be slideably mounted to the frame for thermal expansion/contraction. Steam circulating in a closed flow loop on the tube side from a steam turbine is cooled in each cell by ambient air blown through the tube bundles, thereby forming liquid condensate returned to the Rankine cycle. The present design further provides a longitudinal and vertical thermal expansion restraint system.

A method to condense and liquefy vapor by introducing the vapor into a heat exchanger and bringing same into contact with a cooling body in the heat exchanger, wherein a droplet condensation promoting agent is directly added to the vapor introduced into the heat exchanger or to the heat exchanger. A droplet condensation promoting effect due to the droplet condensation promoting agent can be sufficiently manifested and condensation efficiency by droplet condensation can be improved by way of directly adding the droplet condensation promoting agent such as a film forming amine or the like to the vapor introduced into the heat exchanger or to the heat exchanger.

A fin of a heat exchanger includes: a substrate including aluminum or an aluminum alloy, the substrate including a plurality of holes or a plurality of cutout portions in which a plurality of heat transfer tubes are to be disposed respectively; and an organic layer disposed on an end face of the substrate.

A heat exchanger, such as for example, a condenser coil constructed as a fin and microchannel tube is fluidly connected with a volume constructed and configured to store refrigerant in certain operations, such as for example during a pump down operation. The volume is fluidly connected to a fluid port of the heat exchanger, where the fluid port is an inlet (in the cooling mode) to the heat exchanger, such as the high side condensing section of the heat exchanger. The volume receives refrigerant exiting the heat exchanger from the fluid port in a mode other than a cooling mode, e.g., a pump down operation.

A method of cooling a refrigerant includes providing a condenser (200) including a condenser shell (202) that contains a condenser chamber (204), a condensing conduit (209), and a cooling conduit (217); condensing a refrigerant within the condenser chamber (204) from a vapour phase to a liquid phase by exchanging heat from the refrigerant in the condenser chamber (204) to a fluid in the condensing conduit (209); supplying a first portion of the condensed refrigerant to the cooling conduit (217) via a first expansion valve (310) such that the first portion of the refrigerant decreases in pressure and temperature before entering the cooling conduit (217); and cooling the refrigerant in the condenser chamber (204) by exchanging heat from the refrigerant in the condenser chamber (204) to the first portion of the refrigerant in the cooling conduit (217).