Heat exchanger assembly having a common fluid box

Claim 1

A heat exchanger assembly comprising in combination, at least a first and a second heat exchanger unit in series flow, each of the heat exchanger units being comprised of a housing closed at both ends, at least one of the housing ends of each exchanger being closed by a tube sheet, a cavity defined by each tube sheet and the walls of each housing, a plurality of tubes disposed in each cavity, the opposite ends of said tubes being secured to said tube sheets, first inlet and outlet means in communication with said plurality of tubes disposed in each cavity for the delivery and exhaust of a first heat exchange fluid flowing in series, a connecting member joining the heat exchanger tube sheets serially in an end to end relation for series flow of said first heat exchange fluid, a fluid chamber formed between said heat exchanger units by the walls of the connecting member and the opposed tube sheets of the first and second heat exchanger units, the fluid chamber serving as a conduit for the passage of said first heat exchange fluid between said units, second inlet means in communication with said cavities of said first and second heat exchanger units for delivery of a second heat exchange fluid to the heat exchanger assembly and a second outlet means in communication with said cavities of said first and second heat exchanger units to provide an exhaust for the second heat exchange fluid from the heat exchanger assembly, and means positioned within said fluid chamber and secured to each of said tube sheets to form a rigid structural member minimizing bending of said tube sheets resulting from pressure differentials acting across the respective tube sheets.