Heat exchanger

Claim 1

IN A HEAT EXCHANGER OF COUNTER-FLUID-FLOW CONFIGURATION, A GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL TUBE BUNDLE, THE TUBES IN SAID BUNDLE BEING IDENTICAL AS REGARDS LENGTH AND SHAPE AND COMPRISING INTERMEDIATE STRAIGHT CLOSELY SPACED TUBES WHICH EXTEND THROUGHOUT THE MAJOR LENGTH OF THE BUNDLE AND STRAIGHT OUTWARDLY OFFSET CONNECTED TUBES AT EACH END WHICH ARE PARALLEL WITH SAID INTERMEDIATE TUBES AND ARE MORE WIDELY SPACED, THE OFFSET TUBES PROVIDING AN ANNULAR AXIAL CHAMBER REENTRANT INTO THE BUNDLE AT EACH END OF THE TUBE BUNDLE, AN ANNULAR TUBE SHEET AT EACH END OF SAID BUNDLE THROUGH WHICH THE OFFSET ENDS OF THE TUBES EXTEND, EACH OF SAID TUBE SHEETS HAVING A CENTRAL APERTURE AXIALLY ALIGNED WITH THE ADJACENT REENTRANT CHAMBER AT ITS RESPECTIVE END OF THE TUBE BUNDLE, AN ANNULAR TUBE-SIDE HEADER ENCLOSING THE OUTER SIDE OF EACH TUBE SHEET HAVING A CENTRAL APERTURE AXIALLY ALIGNED WITH THE APERTURE IN THE ADJACENT TUBE SHEET, ONE OF SAID HEADERS COMPRISING AN INLET HEADER AND HAVING A RADIAL INLET PIPE FOR A FIRST FLUID, THE OTHER COMPRISING AN OUTLET HEADER AND HAVING A RADIAL OUTLET PIPE FOR SAID FIRST FLUID, AN INLET PIPE FOR A SECOND FLUID EXTENDED AXIALLY THROUGH THE CENTRAL APERTURE IN SAID OUTLET HEADER AND THROUGH THE ALIGNED APERTURE IN SAID ADJACENT TUBE SHEET, AN OUTLET PIPE FOR SAID SECOND FLUID EXTENDED AXIALLY THROUGH THE CENTRAL APERTURE IN SAID INLET HEADER AND THROUGH THE ALIGNED APERTURE IN THE ADJACENT TUBE SHEET, AND A CYLINDRICAL OUTER CASING ENCLOSING SAID TUBE BUNDLE AND SAID TUBE SHEETS AND SECURED AT ITS OPPOSITE ENDS TO SAID RESPECTIVE HEADERS.