Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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TITLE
Heat Tube Assembly
FIELD
The present invention relates to a heat tube assembly, which is mounted to a
fluid
production vessel and into which is directed hot fluids.
BACKGROUND
Heat is used to facilitate separation of oil and water in fluid production
vessels.
During winter months, heat is required to prevent freezing. Published U.S.
Patent application
20040173164 (St. Denis) discusses the use of open flame burners shooting
flames into the
heat tubes in the prior art. The St. Denis patent application proposes using
hot fluids from an
internal combustion engine, combined with radiant heat from the engine, as an
alternative to
an open flame burner.
SUMMARY
There is provided a heat tube assembly which includes a tank mounting flange,
a first
heat tube and a second heat tube. The U configuration first heat tube has a
first end and a
second end. The first end and the second end are mounted in spaced relation to
the mounting
flange. Means are provided for mounting an open flame burner to the first end
of the first
heat tube. A first exhaust is provided at the second end of the first heat
tube. The U
configuration second heat tube has a first end and a second end. The first end
and the second
end are mounted in spaced relation to the mounting flange. Means are provided
for
connecting a conduit from an engine exhaust to the first end of the second
heat tube. A
second exhaust is provided at the second end of the second heat tube.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other features will become more apparent from the following
description in
which reference is made to the appended drawings, the drawings are for the
purpose of
illustration only and are not intended to be in any way limiting, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a side elevation view, in section, of a fluid production vessel into
which a
heat tube assembly has been installed. .
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FIG. 2 is a section view of a heat tube from the heat tube assembly of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
A heat tube assembly generally identified by reference numeral 10, will now be
described with reference to FIG. 1 through 2.
Structure and Relationship of Parts:
Referring to FIG. 1, heat tube assembly 10 has a tank mounting flange 12, a U
configuration first heat tube 14, a first exhaust 16, a U configuration second
heat tube 18, and
a second exhaust 20. First heat tube 14 has a first end 22 and a second end
24. First end 22
and second end 24 are mounted in spaced relation to tank mounting flange 12.
Heat tube
assembly 12 also has a mounting 25 for mounting an open flame burner 26 to
first end 22 of
first heat tube 14. A flame arrester 27 may be provided at first end 22 of
first heat tube 14 in
order to prevent any flames produced by flame burner 26 from exiting first end
22. First
exhaust 16 is positioned at second end 24 of first heat tube 14. Heat from
flame burner 26
circulates through first heat tube 14 in the direction shown and exits through
first exhaust 16.
Second heat tube 18 has a first end 28 and a second end 30, first end 28 and
second end 30
being mounted in spaced relation to mounting flange 12. A coupling 32 is
connected to first
end 28 of second heat tube 14. Coupling 32 connects a conduit 34 from an
engine exhaust 36
to first end 28 of second heat tube 18. Second exhaust 20 is positioned at
second end 30 of
second heat tube 18. Bypasses 38 and 52 may be positioned at first end 28 and
engine exhaust
36, respectively, to divert exhaust gases so that they bypass second heat tube
18.
Embodiments are possible with at least one of bypass 38 and bypass 52 present.
Bypass 38
diverts exhaust gases directly to second exhaust 20. A valve 40 is provided to
selectively open
and close bypass 38. Bypass 52 diverts exhaust gases directly to a third
exhaust 60. Valve 56
is provided to selectively open and close bypass 52. An additional valve 54 is
provided to
open and close engine exhaust 36. When valve 54 is closed and valve 56 open,
exhaust gases
flow through bypass 52. Alternatively, valves 54 and 56 may be replaced by a
single valve
that may selectively direct exhaust gas to either third exhaust 60 or second
heat tube 18.
Valves 40, 54, and 56 may be automatically or manually controlled. If manually
controlled,
either of valves 40, 54, and/or 56 may be provided as a hand operated valve.
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Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a plurality of tubular heat exchange passages 42
extend
transversely through second heat tube 18. Referring to F'IG. 2, heat exchange
passages 42
increase the interior surface area 44 of second heat tube 18. Referring to
FIG. 1, this improves
heat transfer from exhaust gases to the fluids contained within a tank 46.
Tank 46 is an fluid production vessel containing fluid. In a preferred
embodiment, the
fluid may be oil. Tank mounting flange 12 allows heat tube assembly 10 to be
mounted on
tank 46. Additional heat tube assemblies 10 may be used to heat tank 46. Tank
46 may have a
heat sensor 48 provided in order to monitor the temperature of the contained
fluid. Valves 40,
54 and 56 may be selectively controlled in response to the fluid temperature
as detected by
heat sensor 48.
Referring to FIG. 1, engine exhaust 36 extends from an engine 50. An optional
blower 51 may be connected to engine exhaust 36, in order to pump engine
exhaust into
second heat tube 14. Engine 50 may be any type of internal combustion engine,
such as a
diesel or gasoline engine. Valves 54 and 56 may be selectively opened and/or
closed in
response to the fluid temperature as detected by heat sensor 48, similar to
valve 40. Bypass 52
may allow excess exhaust gas back pressure from second heat tube 18 to be
released. A
muffler 58 may be provided on bypass 52 to reduce the noise produced by engine
50.
Operation:
Referring to FIG. 1, heated exhaust gases produced by flame burner 26
circulate
through first heat tube 14 as shown, and transfer heat to the fluid adjacent
to first heat tube 14,
thereby heating the contents of tank 46. Exhaust gases then exit first heat
tube 14 through first
exhaust 16. Exhaust gases created by engine 50 enter engine exhaust 36. If
valve 56, when
present, is open, some exhaust gases will be diverted into bypass 52. Under
normal heating
conditions, valve 54 is open, and allows exhaust gases to travel through
conduit 34 to
coupling 32. If the temperature of the fluid is below a predetermined
temperature, valve 40 is
configured to direct exhaust gases from conduit 34 into first end 28 of second
heat tube 18.
Heated exhaust gases flow through first heat tube 18 and transfer heat to the
fluid in contact
with first heat tube 18 or positioned within heat exchange passages 42.
Exhaust gases are then
expelled from second heat tube 18 via second exhaust 20. However, if the fluid
temperature
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rises above a predetermined temperature, valve 40 disconnects coupling 32 from
engine
exhaust 36, diverting heated exhaust gases into bypass 38 where they exit via
second exhaust
20 without passing through second heat tube 18. This allows the heating of
fluid within tank
46 to be controlled and safely adjusted.
Alternatively, if bypass 52 is provided instead of bypass 38, valve 54 is
configured to
direct exhaust gases from conduit 34 into first end 28 of second heat tube 18
when the
temperature of the fluid is below a predetermined level. Under the same
conditions, valve 56
may be closed. When the temperature rises above the predetermined level, valve
54 may be
closed and valve 56 opened, in order to direct exhaust gases to third exhaust
60.
Advantages:
Heat tube assembly 10 provides a number of advantages. In order to save energy
and
save the environment, in the warmer summer months the production vessel can be
heated
using only exhaust gases from engines already running on site to keep pumping
equipment
operation. As the weather gets colder, the production vessel can be heated
with heat from the
burner supplementing heat from the exhaust gases. When there is a concern that
there is too
much heat from the combined sources, the exhaust gases can be diverted through
the bypass.
The use of transverse heat exchanger tubes, helps to make the transfer of heat
more efficient
and effective.
In this patent document, the word "comprising" is used in its non-limiting
sense to
mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically
mentioned are not
excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article "a" does not
exclude the
possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context
clearly requires that
there be one and only one of the elements.
The following claims are to understood to include what is specifically
illustrated and
described above, what is conceptually equivalent, and what can be obviously
substituted.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various adaptations and
modifications of the
described embodiments can be configured without departing from the scope of
the claims.
The illustrated embodiments have been set forth only as examples and should
not be taken as
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limiting the invention. It is to be understood that, within the scope of the
following claims,
the invention may be practiced other than as specifically illustrated and
described.
