US1559998A - Condenser - Google Patents

Description

1,559,998 T. SHIPLEY CONDENSER Filed May 2O 192e 2 Sheets-Sheet l Nov. 3l 1925..

Nov. 3l 1925. l T. SHIPLEY cQNDnNsn Filed nay 2o, 1924 2 sheets-sheer 2 gwuwntoz I mmap l latlented lNov.` 3,

'moins snu'Lmr, or'yozax, rENNsYLvANIA.

CONDENSEB.

Appunti mea lay so, m4. serial' m, 114,709.

To all whom z'tmay concern.'

Be it` known that I, THOMAS SIIIPLEY, a citizen of the United States, reslding at f York, in the county of York and State of have invented certain new Pennsylvania,u f

and useful Improvements in Condensers, which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to condensers of the shell and tube type, and particularly to condensers for use in ammonia and other rerigerating systems. v

In small refrigerating units there `1s a demand for a compact surface condenser that can be inexpensively constructed, and that will meet the severe requirements of unattended service. The condenser must be absolutely tight against leakage and must remain so. It must be efficient, since these condensers are commonly cooled by city service Water and hence should operate with lthe minimum practicable water How. It isl important that the rate of water flow through the condenser unit shall be Sulliciently rapid to prevent the deposit of scale or sediment in rthe condenser.

From the standpoint of ease of construction and maintenance, the well-known water tube surface condenser is highly desirable. In this type of condenser the s ell is provided with tube sheets, near its ends, into which the ends of the tubes are expanded. The shell is provided with heads, beyond the tube sheets, forming water boxes.

. In the simplest form of water tube con,- denser, the so-called single pass type, the water enters at one water box and discharges at the other, flowing through'all the tubes in" parallel. There are also multiple pass types, in. which baffles are placed ,in the different water boxes so that the water flows back and forth throu h various groups of tubes in parallel. This last construction is practicable in small condensers to produce only a small number of passes.

A maximum water flow rate, and hence a large number of passes, is highly desirable in the case of small ammonia condensers, and .the construction forming the subject of the present application secures such vflow by connectin all the tubes in series with each other without requiring an unduly expensive or complicated construction. It can readily be modified, however, to produce the flow through two or more sets of tubes in parallel, in the event that such an arrangement is desired.

v Briefly stated, I make use of a shell and tube .condenser'having ltube sheets and water boxes, preferably specially arranged to suit the requlrements of the design. Within the-water; boxes the'end' of Vone tube is con- -nected with the open end of anadjacent tube. by means of return bends having tapered ends or nipples. which'fit into the open ends of the tubes.

The joints between these return bends and the ends of the tubes can be made watertight, but when closed water boxes are used they need not be absolutely water-tight lfor the reason'that when the water boxesare flooded the Ipressures within and without the return bends are ractically equalized. The leakage, if any, 1s consequently miniinlzed, and whatever occurs has no harmful ei'ect as it merely short-circuits in a ver small degree the tube affected by the leakage. v Y

Where it is practicable to place the water 1nlet and outlet at opposite ends of the condenser, i. e..in diii'erent water boxes, it is possible to Hood the water boxes, for the purpose described, by connecting such inlet and outlet directly to respective waterboxes and causin; the water to iiow Pfrom the inlet water box irectly to the first tube and from the last tube directly to the other water box, all other tube ends being connected toether by return bends. It isconvenient,

owever, to have the water inlet -and outlet connections both at the same end of the shell, and hence I prefer to use, and shall describe, an additional feature by which the water is led directly to the rst tube and directly from the last tube.

such case one return bend fitting is omitted from each water box, so that the water boxes are flooded and serve each to connect two water tubes with each other.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the condenser partlylbroken away to show the internal construction; v

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of This permits both connections to be made at one end. In

Fig. 1, looking in the direction of'the arrows; l Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the ar- 'roWs;

Fig. Il is an end elevation of the condenser looking to the left relatively to Fig. 1; l

Fig. 5 is an enlarged section through a tube sheet and the ends of a pair of tubes showing them connected by a return bend;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary longitudinal section through the shell, head, and tube sheet, showing the means used to connect one vend tube of the series of tubes directly with a Water connection, in this case the outlet connection. p

,The shell of the condenser is indicated at 11, and is rovided at its opposite ends with fianged tube sheets 12. VThe flanges of the 'tube' sheets 12 are welded to the shell 11 producing practically an integral structure. The tubes 13 extend between the tube sheets 12. Each tube is expanded into a hole in the tube sheet 12 and this hole is provided with a circumferential groove 14 into which the metal of the tube is pressed by the expanding tool so that a peculiarly tight joint is produced and so that the tubes have a good staying action on the tube sheets.

The flanges of the tube sheets 12 project outward, as shown, and form the water boxes at the ends of the condenser shell 11.y

These water boxes are closed by heads 15 and 16, each of'which seats -vagainst a corresponding gasket 17.` The gaskets 17 bear partly on the end of the shell 11 and partly on the flange of the corresponding tube sheet '12.r The heads 15 and 16 are h-eld in place by cap nuts 18 which are threaded on the ends of tie rods 19. The tie rods 19 extend the entire length of the condenser and make tight joints with the tube sheets 12. They serve as stays both for the tube sheets and for the heads.

The refrigerant vaporffor gas to be condensed is introduced through the connection 20, and the condensed or liquid refrigerant is withdrawn through the connection 21 which, as will be observed, is located above the bottom of the condenser. The purpose in so locating this outlet is to permit the condenser to serve also as a gravity oil separator. oil connection 22 at the bottom ofthe shell. The inlet Water connection is shown at 23 and the outlet water connection at 21. These are identical in construction and can best be described with reference to Fig. 6, which shows the outlet water'y connection. The connector proper is of ordinary flanged form and isA clamped in place by studs and nuts 33." It is provided' With a threaded opening to receive the Water pipe 25. The fitting 24 fits in a recess formed in the-head The oil is withdrawn through the- Vboxes, and these become functionless.

tween the thimble 27 and the tube 13, but it is a simple matter to make a practically Water-tight joint since the pressures on opposite sides of the joint are substantially equal.

The various tubes 13 in the condenser are connected up in series by return bend fittings 28 having tapered nipples 29 at their ends, which fit snugly in the ends of adjacent tubes '13. The joints thus produced need not be absolutely tight, for the reasony Y stated. Flooding of the water boxes is con-v veniently secured by omitting one returny bend 28 from each )water box, so that the` water box is in direct communication with two tubes 13, between which it serves as the connection.

The path of the water through the tubes can be traced on Figs. 2 and 3. The water entering through the nipple 27 at the bottom of Fig. 3 makes three passes in the sixth orvlowest vtier, and two passes in the fifth.

or next lowest tier, at the end of which it J discharges into the left-hand water box. From the left-hand water box it Hows via the right-hand tube in the third tier of Fig.' 2. This tube is the left-hand tube in the third tier of Fig. 3 and as shown in that ligure discharges into the right-hand water box. From this box the Water enters the fourth tier (via the left-hand tube in the fourth tier, Fig. 3), and makes five passes in the fourth tier, then fourpasses in the third tier, two passes in the second tier, three Vpasses in the first or top tier and thence discharges through the top thimble 27 'and outlet connection 24.

Each of the heads 15 and 16 is provided with a corresponding projection 30 and 31, so formed and positioned as to clear the return bends 28 only when these are properly placed, and only when the headsare presented properly. This precludes improper assembly of the device. These projections serve as a sort of template to assure correct positioning of the return bends, and While I prefer to construct these integrally with thel head, it is obvious that this is not essentia If all the tubes in the series be connected by return bends, and if care to be taken to secure tight joints with all the tubes, including also the inlet and outlet connections, then it is unnecessarv to flood the Water In such case, the heads 15 and 16 may be omitted. The invention therefore permits the construction of a simple Water tube condenserdevoid of Water boxes'and making` use of water tubes expanded into tube sheets.

While I prefer the construction in which iiooded water boxes are used as the more reliable, I do not limit. my broader claims to this feature, but claimbroadly the use o return bends having plug fits with adjacent tubes of a shell and tube condenser.

Water is the cooling medium usually used and hence it is common in this art to refer to the cooling l'medium as water, and to water boxes water tubes, etc. In' using such terms in my specification and claims, I-merely adopt the terminology of the art lfor convenience, but imply no necessary limitation to water, since any suitable fluid medium may be used.

What is claimed is:

1. The combination with a vcondenser of the watertube type including a pairof spaced tube sheets in which open-ended water tubes are lixed, and water boxes beyond the tube sheets; of removable tubular connectors mounted in the water boxes and having their ends friction'ally retained in the open ends of .he water tubes to connect certain of said tubes in series.

2. The combination with a. condenser of the water tube type including a pair of spaced tube sheets, open-ended water. tubes fixed in said tube sheets, and water boxes beyond said tube sheets; of a plurality of return bend connectors having tapered ends I 'making 'plug fits in the ends of said tubes,

said return bends being vwithin said water boxes, and being arranged to connect various of said water tubes in series.

3. In a condenser, the combination of a shell having tube sheets spaced from its ends to form water bxes; a plurality of water tubes extending between and fixed in said tube sheets; and U-shaped connectors having taper plug ends'mounted in said water boxes-with said ends rictionally retained in different tubes to connect the same withl connectors in the water boxes andinserted into the open ends of the water tubes to connect certainu of said tubes in series; removable heads for the water boxes; and means removable with said heads and havling portions rojecting into the spaces between said tu lular connectors when the device is assembled, said projecting portions being so arranged' as to preclude improper assembly. Y i

5. In a condenser, the combination of a shell, tube sheets mounted in the ends of said shell and having outward projecting flanges which define water boxes beyond said tube sheets; removable covers closing the ends of said water boxes; open ended tubes connected at their endswith said tube sheets; and a plurality of U-shaped connectors inserted into and frictionally retained in the ends of some but not all of said tubes, in such manner that a plurality of tubes is connected with the 'water boxes and in series with each other.

In testimonv whereof I have signed my name to, this specification.

THOMAS SHIPLEY.

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