Heat exchanger and boiler, particularly to use the heat given off by nuclear reactors

Claim 1

A BOILER ADAPTED TO HAVE CIRCULATED THROUGH IT A HOT FLUID UNDER A PRESSURE SUBSTANTIALLY ABOVE ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE, COMPRISING CONCENTRICALLY-DISPOSED INNER AND OUTER THIN VERTICALLY-ELONGATED ENVELOPES WITH THE WALLS OF SAID ENVELOPES IN RADIALLY SPACED-APART RELATIONSHIP, AND CLOSURE MEANS EXTENDING BETWEEN THE WALLS OF SAID ENVELOPES AT BOTH ENDS THEREOF TO DEFINE AND ENCLOSE AN ANNULAR CHAMBER BETWEEN SAID WALLS, A NEST OF TUBES VERTICALLY DISPOSED IN SAID ANNULAR CHAMBER, MEANS DEFINING TWO VERTICALLY SPACED-APART ANNULAR DISTRIBUTION CHAMBERS AT BOTH ENDS OF SAID ANNULAR CHAMBER, THE ENDS OF SAID TUBES OF SAID NEST BEING CONNECTED TO SAID DISTRIBUTION CHAMBERS, WHEREBY A FLOW PATH FOR THE FLUID UNDER PRESURE IS FORMED TO EXTEND FROM ONE OF SAID DISTRIBUTION CHAMBERS THROUGH THE TUBES OF SAID NEST TO THE OTHER OF SAID DISTRUBUTION CHAMBERS, INLET PIPES FOR THE HOT FLUID UNDER PRESSURE COMMUNICATING WITH ONE OF SAID DISTRIBUTION CHAMBERS, OUTLET PIPES FOR THE REMOVAL OF SAID FLUID FROM THE OTHER OF SAID DISTRIBUTION CHAMBERS, MEANS FOR MAINTAINING THE LIQUID TO BE VAPORIZED AT A CONSTANT LEVEL WITHIN THE INNER ENVELOPE, MEANS DEFINING INPUT PASSAGES AT THE BASE OF SAID INNER ENVELOPES TO PROVIDE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE INTERIOR OF SAID INNER ENVELOPE AND SAID ANNULAR CHAMBER, MEANS DEFINING PERIPHERALLY DISPOSED OUTPUT PASSAGES AT THE UPPER END OF SAID ANNULAR CHAMBERS, WHEREBY THE LIQUID TO BE VAPORIZED CONTAINED IN THE INNER ENVELOPE IS FREE TO FLOW THEREFROM THROUGH SAID INPUT PASSAGES INTO THE ANNULAR CHAMBER, AND TO FLOW IN AN UPWARD DIRECTION TOWARDS SAID PERIPHERALLY DISPOSED OUTPUT PASSAGES, WHILE SWEEPING OBLIQUELY THE NEST OF TUBES DISPOSED IN SAID ANNULAR CHAMBER AND HAVING THE FLUID UNDER PRESSURE FLOWING THROUGH THEM, WHEREBY A STRONG HEAT EXCHANGE RESULTS WHICH BRINGS THE TEMPERATURE OF SAID LIQUID TO ITS BOILING POINT, AND SEPARATING MEANS AT THE UPPER END OF SAID ANNULAR CHAMBER TO SEPARATE THE LIQUID MIXED WITH THE VAPOR DISCHARGED THROUGH THE OUTPUT PASSAGES, AND TO RETURN SAID LIQUID IN THE UPPER END OF THE INNER ENVELOPE.