Heat exchanger

Claim 1

A HEAT EXCHANGER COMPRISING A BUNDLE OF ELONGATED FINNED HEAT EXCHANGE TUBES, EACH OF WHICH HAS THEREON A PLURALITY OF LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING EXTERNAL FINS THE OUTER EDGES OF WHICH DEFINE A PERIPHERY OF GENERALLY CIRCULAR CROSS SECTION, SAID TUBES BEING POSITIONED IN SAID BUNDLE SO THAT THE GENERALLY CIRCULAR PERIPHERIES DEFINED BY THE FINS OF ADJACENT OUTER TUBES IN THE BUNDLE ARE IN SUBSTANTIALLY TANGENTIAL, CLOSE, SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL RELATIONSHIP, AND OUTER EDGES OF FINS OF SAID TUBES DEFINE THE PERIPHERY OF THE BUNDLE AND CAUSE IT TO HAVE CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL VALLEYS EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID BUNDLE; MEANS FOR PASSING FLUID LONGITUDINALLY INSIDE SAID FINNED TUBES; AN ELONGATED SHELL SURROUNDING SAID BUNDLE OF FINNED TUBES AND HAVING AN INNER SURFACE OF A CROSS SECTION SUCH THAT IT ENCIRCLES ONLY THE OUTER EDGES OF THE OUTERMOST FINS OF SAID OUTER TUBES AND IS SEPARATED FROM SAID OUTERMOST FIN EDGES BY SUBSTANTIALLY ONLY A DISTANCE SUFFICIENT TO PERMIT THE TUBE BUNDLE TO BE INSERTED INTO SAID SHELL, THERE BEING A PLURALITY OF CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL RECESSES BETWEEN THE PERIPHERY OF SAID BUNDLE AND SAID SHELL, EACH OF SAID PERIPHERAL RECESSES BEING FORMED BY ONE OF SAID VALLEYS AT THE PERIPHERY OF THE BUNDLE AND BY THE PORTION OF THE INNER SURFACE OF THE SHELL EXTENDING OVER SAID VALLEY INTO CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THE OUTERMOST FIN EDGES OF THE ADJACENT OUTER FINNED TUBES DEFINING THE VALLEY; MEANS FOR PASSING FLUID LONGITUDINALLY THROUGH SAID SHELL OUTSIDE OF SAID FINNED TUBES; AND A PLURALITY OF JUXTAPOSED ELONGATED CLOSURE MEMBERS, EACH FORMED OF SUBSTANTIALLY RIGID MATERIAL, WHICH BLOCK FLOW OF FLUID THROUGH SAID PERIPHERAL RECESSES AND CONSTRAIN SUBSTANTIALLY ALL FLUID FLOWING THROUGH THE SHELL TO FLOW WITHIN SAID BUNDLE PERIPHERY DEFINED BY OUTER EDGES OF FINS OF SAID OUTER TUBES IN SAID BUNDLE, SAID CLOSURE MEMBERS BEING SHAPED SO THAT WHEN JUXTAPOSED THEY FORM A SUBSTANTIALLY FLUID IMPERVIOUS ENCLOSURE WHICH SURROUNDS SAID BUNDLE OF TUBES AND EXTENDS SUBSTANTIALLY THROUGHOUT THE LENGTH OF THE FINS THEREON, WHICH HAS PORTIONS EXTENDING INTO SAID PERIPHERAL RECESSES AND HAVING SURFACES WHICH SUBSTANTIALLY ENGAGE THE OUTER EDGES OF SUBSTANTIALLY ALL OF THE FINS DEFINING SAID RECESSES, AND WHICH HAS A BARRIER PORTION PROVIDING A SURFACE SUBSTANTIALLY ENGAGING THE INNER SURFACE OF SAID SHELL SUBSTANTIALLY ENTIRELY AROUND THE INNER SURFACE OF SAID SHELL TO PREVENT FLUID FLOW BETWEEN SAID ENCLOSURE AND SAID SHELL.