Classifications

• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F28—HEAT EXCHANGE IN GENERAL
  • F28F—DETAILS OF HEAT-EXCHANGE AND HEAT-TRANSFER APPARATUS, OF GENERAL APPLICATION
  • F28F27/00—Control arrangements or safety devices specially adapted for heat-exchange or heat-transfer apparatus
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F28—HEAT EXCHANGE IN GENERAL
  • F28F—DETAILS OF HEAT-EXCHANGE AND HEAT-TRANSFER APPARATUS, OF GENERAL APPLICATION
  • F28F1/00—Tubular elements; Assemblies of tubular elements
  • F28F1/10—Tubular elements and assemblies thereof with means for increasing heat-transfer area, e.g. with fins, with projections, with recesses
  • F28F1/40—Tubular elements and assemblies thereof with means for increasing heat-transfer area, e.g. with fins, with projections, with recesses the means being only inside the tubular element
• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F28—HEAT EXCHANGE IN GENERAL
  • F28F—DETAILS OF HEAT-EXCHANGE AND HEAT-TRANSFER APPARATUS, OF GENERAL APPLICATION
  • F28F13/00—Arrangements for modifying heat-transfer, e.g. increasing, decreasing
  • F28F13/06—Arrangements for modifying heat-transfer, e.g. increasing, decreasing by affecting the pattern of flow of the heat-exchange media
  • F28F13/12—Arrangements for modifying heat-transfer, e.g. increasing, decreasing by affecting the pattern of flow of the heat-exchange media by creating turbulence, e.g. by stirring, by increasing the force of circulation

Definitions

• the present invention relates to heat exchangers.
• the present invention provides a heat exchanger comprising a static mixer device element having a heat exchange surface in thermal connection with a temperature control means.
• temperature control means may be used.
• this may comprise a conduit means for the passage of a heat exchange fluid through the interior of the static mixer device.
• a solid state heat energy supply and/or drain device could be embedded in the static mixer device.
• static mixer devices are known in the art.
• these comprise a static mixer device element longitudinally extending inside a sheath and having a series of wall means which, together with the sheath, repeatedly divide and remix the fluid flow through the static mixer device, as disclosed in, for example our earlier patent GB 2200020.
• Fluids may comprise: liquids, gases, and mixtures thereof, any of which may also contain suspended particulates.
• Such fluids may be organic and/or inorganic e.g. water, biological fluids such as blood or plasma, food products such as mayonnaise, ice-cream etc. and industrial products such as paints, chemicals etc.
• the present invention provides a heat exchanger unit comprising a heat exchanger of the invention longitudinally extending inside a sheath between an inlet and an outlet thereof.
• the present invention provides a heat exchanger unit of the invention provided with a temperature detector for monitoring the temperature of fluid passing therethrough in use of the invention, a thermal energy supply and/or drain device, and a control means formed and arranged for adjusting the thermal energy supply/drain of said device in response to fluid temperature deviations from a desired value detected by said detector.
• the thermal energy supply/drain device would normally include pump means for circulating the heat exchange fluid, and a remote thermal energy supply/drain device for adjusting the temperature of the heat exchange fluid passing through the heat exchanger.
• a preferred form of heat exchanger has a series of helical wall segments extending along the outside of a central tubular core through which the heat exchange fluid circulates. Successive wall segments are angularly offset so that one flow exiting from between one set is divided into separate flows, with successive segments preferably winding in an opposed sense (clockwise - anticlockwise - clockwise etc.) to increase mixing.
• the heat exchanger may be made of various materials but preferably is of a substantially inert metal with high thermal conductivity e.g. stainless steel.
• Fig. 1 is a partly schematic partly sectioned view of a heat exchanger device of the present invention.
• Fig. 1 shows an apparatus 1 comprising a vessel 2 in the form of a cylindrical tube 3 with an inlet 4 and outlet 5, with an axially extending static mixer device 6 provided with temperature control means 7.
• the static mixer device 6 comprises an axially extending series of angularly offset helical "screw" elements 8 defining pairs of flow paths which are divided equally and mixed at the junctions 9 between successive elements 8 thereby providing a degree of mixing which increases exponentially with the number of elements used.
• the "screw" elements 8 are mounted on a hollow core 10 which defines a heat exchange fluid passage 11 forming part of the temperature control means 7.
• the temperature control means 7 comprises a heat exchange fluid circuit 12 provided with pump means 13 for circulating the heat exchange fluid 12a therethrough and a remote Peltier-effect heat exchange device 14 provided with a control means 15 which has a temperature sensor 16 mounted inside the vessel 3 for monitoring the temperature of the fluid 17 undergoing irradiation.
• the control means 15 is formed and arranged for controlling the rate of cooling supplied so as to maintain a desired fluid temperature. This may be a fixed value, or more conveniently the control means 15 may be provided with user operable input means for varying the desired temperature setting.
• the core 10 (and desirably also the screw elements 8) are of an inert physiologically acceptable thermally conductive material such as stainless steel in order to facilitate efficient thermal transfer between the fluid being treated 17 and the heat exchange circuit 7 thereby to control the fluid temperature closely within relatively narrow limits so as to on the one hand maximise the efficiency of the sterilisation/inactivation treatment and on the other hand to minimise any undesired denaturation or degradation of useful fluid components.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Thermal Sciences (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Geometry (AREA)
• Heat-Exchange Devices With Radiators And Conduit Assemblies (AREA)
• Control Of Temperature (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

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Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

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Family Cites Families (4)

• 1996
  • 1996-06-05 GB GBGB9611704.9A patent/GB9611704D0/en active Pending
• 1997
  • 1997-05-29 WO PCT/GB1997/001453 patent/WO1997046846A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1997-05-29 KR KR1019980709812A patent/KR20000034779A/ko not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1997-05-29 EP EP97924121A patent/EP0902872A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 1997-05-29 AU AU29692/97A patent/AU2969297A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1997-05-29 JP JP10500303A patent/JP2000511628A/ja active Pending

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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