HEAT EXCHANGER

Abstract

A helically coiled heat exchanger with a plurality of inlets each connected to at least one assigned tube defining a heating surface of the heat exchanger and having at least one changeover means to switch the inlet between a first operating state and a second operating state. In the first operating state, a stream of a first medium and, in the second operating state, a stream of a second medium is introduced via the inlet into the assigned tube. In the first operating state more heating surface is available to the stream of the first medium and correspondingly less heating surface is available to the stream of the second medium. In the second operating state more heating surface is available to the stream of the second medium and correspondingly less heating surface is available to the stream of the first medium.

Claims

1-9. (canceled)

10. A method of operating Method for adapting the heating surface of a helically coiled heat exchanger to adjust to different operating situations, said heat exchanger having a plurality of tubes and a plurality of inlets wherein each of said inlets is connected to at least one of said tubes of the heat exchanger, each of the tubes defining a heating surface, said method comprising: switching, via at least one changeover means, at least one of the inlets from a first operating state to into a second operating state, wherein, in said first operating state, a stream of a first medium is introduced via said at least one inlet into said at least one of said tubes, and, in said second operating state, a stream of a second medium is introduced via said at least one inlet into said at least one of said tubes, wherein, as a result of said switching heating surface is available for the stream of the second medium, in the second operating state, and, correspondingly, less heating surface is available for the stream of the first medium.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein only one inlet is switched from said first operating state to said second operating state.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein a plurality of said inlets is switched from said first operating state to said second operating state.

13. The method according to claim 10, wherein all of said inlets are switched from said first operating state to said second operating state.

14. The method according to claim 10, wherein the changeover means has a first valve for shutting off a first pipeline connected to the at least one inlet and a second valve for shutting off a second pipeline connected to the at least one inlet, wherein the stream of the first medium is supplied to said at least one inlet via said first pipeline, and the stream of the second medium is supplied to said at least one inlet via said second pipeline.

15. The method according to claim 10, wherein said heat exchanger further comprises a plurality of outlets wherein each of said outlets is connected to at least one of said tubes, and said method further comprising switching, via at least one further changeover means, at least one of the outlets from the first operating state to the second operating state, wherein, in the first operating state, a stream of the first medium can be removed from said at least one of said tubes via said at least one outlet, and, in the second operating state, a stream the second medium can be removed from said at least one of said tubes via said at least one outlet.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the further changeover means has a first valve for shutting off a first outlet pipeline connected to the at least one outlet and a second valve for shutting off a second outlet pipeline connected to the at least one outlet, wherein the stream of the first medium is supplied from said at least one outlet to said first outlet pipeline, and the stream of the second medium is supplied from said at least one inlet to said second outlet pipeline.

17. The method according to claim 10, wherein said inlets are arranged at an upper end or at a lower end of said heat exchanger.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein said outlets are arranged at an end of said heat exchanger which is opposite to the end where said inlets are arranged.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein said heat exchanger has a jacket surrounding said tubes and said inlets and/or said outlets project from the jacket.

20. The method according to claim 10, wherein said tubes are anchored by an inlet tube bottom.

21. The method according to claim 10, wherein said tubes are anchored by an outlet tube bottom.

22. The method according to claim 10, wherein a plurality of said tubes are connected to one of said inlets so that the plurality of said tubes can be switched from said first operating state to said second operating state.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein said plurality of said tubes is also connected to one of said outlets.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0022] Further details and advantages of the invention will be explained by means of the following figure descriptions of exemplary embodiments with reference to the figures in which:

[0023] FIG. 1 shows a diagrammatic sectional view of a heat exchanger according to the invention along a cross-sectional plane running transversally to the vertical or to the longitudinal axis of the heat exchanger.

[0024] FIG. 2 shows a diagrammatic, partially sectional view of an inlet capable of being changed over and of an assigned outlet capable of being changed over and also of a helical tube, connecting the inlet to the outlet, of a heat exchanger in the manner of FIG. 1.

[0025] FIG. 1 shows, in conjunction with FIG. 2, a heat exchanger 1 according to the invention in the form of a helically coiled heat exchanger 1. The heat exchanger 1 has a pressure-carrying jacket 10, the longitudinal axis Z of which extends along the vertical Z. Alternatively to this, in a horizontal arrangement of the heat exchanger 1, the longitudinal axis Z may also run along the horizontal. The jacket 10 defines a jacket space 11, in which is arranged a core tube 12 which extends along the longitudinal axis Z, a plurality of tubes 20 being coiled helically in a plurality of layers around the core tube 12. For the sake of simplicity, only one such tube 20 is illustrated in FIG. 2. In each case a plurality of tubes 20 are anchored in an assigned tube bottom 40 and can be charged with a tube-side stream S, S, S via an assigned inlet 30-36 in the form of a connection piece. For the sake of clarity, only one such connection piece 30 is depicted in FIG. 2. The tubes 20 extend from the respective inlet or connection piece 30-36, provided at the lower end of the jacket 10 of the heat exchanger 1, in the abovementioned way to an assigned outlet 50 in the form of a connection piece, one of which is illustrated by way of example in FIG. 2. Here, too, the individual tubes 20 are preferably combined in a tube bottom 60. The said inlets 30-36 may also be arranged at an upper region of the heat exchanger 1 and the assigned outlets 50 at a lower end; the tube-side flow then runs from the top downwards and the jacket-side flow from the bottom upwards.

[0026] Furthermore, in the jacket space 11, a jacket-side stream S is routed in countercurrent to the tube-side streams S, S, S, is introduced into the jacket space 11 via an inlet 71 and is drawn off from the jacket space 11 via an outlet 72. The individual tube-side streams S, S, S in this case come into indirect heat exchange with one another and with the jacket-side stream S.

[0027] According to FIG. 1, the heat exchanger 1 has, in particular, tree connection pieces 30, 32, 36 which are connected to pipelines 81, 82, 83 and 84, a stream S of a first medium being introduced via the pipelines 81, 83 and 84 in each case into a plurality of tubes 20 of the heat exchanger 1 which are connected to the connection pieces 30, 32, 36. Moreover, the heat exchanger 1 has two connection pieces 35, 33 which are connected to pipelines 87, 88, via which a stream S of a second medium is introduced in each case into a plurality of tubes 20 connected to the connection pieces 33, 35, and, furthermore, two connection pieces 31, 34 which are connected to pipelines 85, 86, via which a stream S of a third medium is fed in each case into a plurality of tubes 20 of the heat exchanger 1 which are connected to the connection pieces 31, 34.

[0028] In order, then, to be able to adapt the individual heating surfaces, defined by the tubes 20, of the heat exchanger 1 to different operating situations, according to the invention at least one of the inlets or connection pieces 30 is configured to be capable of being changed over, that is to say, in the present case, via the said connection piece 30, in a first operating state, either the stream S of the first medium or, in a second operating state, the stream S of the second medium can be fed into the connection piece 30. The available heating surface can thereby be apportioned to the existing tube-side stream S, S. Thus, in natural gas liquefaction, depending on the operating situation, for example, more heating surface can be assigned to the natural gas stream S to be liquefied or to the heavy coolant mixture stream S (and correspondingly less heating surface can be assigned in each case to the other stream).

[0029] The changeover of the connection piece 30 may be implemented, for example, in that the first pipeline 81 carrying the stream S of the first medium and connected to the connection piece 30 has a first valve 101, and in that the second pipeline 82 carrying the stream S of the second medium and connected to the connection piece 30 has a second valve 102. According to the position of the valves 101, 102, either the one or the other stream S, S can then be fed into the connection piece 30.

[0030] A further changeover means 200 is provided for the outlet 50 assigned to the connection piece 30 (cf. FIG. 2), so that the stream S, S drawn off in each case from the assigned outlet 50 can be fed into an assigned outlet pipeline 91, 92. For the correct distribution of the streams S, S to the outlet pipelines 91, 92, the further changeover means 200 may have a first valve 201 on the first outlet pipeline 91 and a second valve 202 on the second outlet pipeline 92.

[0031] The above-described principle according to the invention, can, of course, be applied to all existing tube-side streams or inlets and in each case assigned outlets.

[0032] By means of the invention, therefore, the most diverse possible load situations for different tube fractions can be covered, without the heating surface being enlarged. The costs for the heat exchanger are thereby lowered and its flexibility is increased considerably.

LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS

[0033]

TABLE-US-00001 1 Helically coiled heat exchanger 10 Jacket 11 Jacket space 12 Core tube 20 Tube 30-36 Inlets or connection pieces 40, 60 Tube bottom 50 Outlet or connection piece 71 Inlet jacket space 72 Outlet jacket space 80-88 Pipelines 100 Changeover means 101, 102, 201, 202 Valves 200 Further changeover means S Stream of first medium S Stream of second medium S Stream of third medium S Jacket-side stream Z Longitudinal axis, vertical