Patent Application
20240263832
This application relates to a compact fluid heating system capable of utilizing fuel, electricity or fuel and electricity energy sources in combination.
Fluid heating systems are used to provide a heated production fluid for a variety of commercial, industrial, and domestic applications such as hydronic, steam, and thermal fluid boilers, for example. Because of the desire for improved energy efficiency, compactness, reliability, and cost reduction, there remains a need for an improved fluid heating system that can operate using a variety of energy sources, as well as improved methods of manufacture thereof.
The present disclosure describes a hybrid fuel and electric fluid heating system for heating a production fluid using fuel and/or electric energy sources, the production fluid being contained in a pressure vessel, comprising a fuel-fired furnace heating subsystem, comprising: a blower disposed in the first conduit configured to receive ambient air and electrical input power and to provide output source air; a furnace configured to receive the output source air from the blower and to receive fuel and to provide the thermal transfer fluid; and a heat exchanger configured to receive the thermal transfer fluid from the furnace and configured to be in thermal communication with the production fluid to provide convective heat exchange from the thermal transfer fluid to the production fluid and the heat exchanger configured to produce output exhaust gas; an electrical heating subsystem comprising one or more electrical heating elements disposed at least partially within the pressure vessel and at least a portion of the heating elements within the pressure vessel being in contact with the production fluid; and wherein the fuel-fired furnace heating subsystem and the electrical heating subsystem are each configured to be individually controlled such that the production fluid is selectively heated by at least one of the fuel-fired furnace heating subsystem and the electrical heating subsystem.
The hybrid fuel and electric fluid heating system may further comprise a control system configured to control the operation of the fuel-fired furnace heating subsystem and control the operation of the electrical heating subsystem.
The hybrid fuel and electric fluid heating system may further comprise a control system configured to control the operation of the fuel-fired furnace heating subsystem, the operation of the electrical heating subsystem, and the concurrent operation of the fuel-fired furnace heating subsystem and the electrical heating subsystem.
The hybrid fuel and electric fluid heating system described wherein may further comprise wherein the fuel-fired furnace heating subsystem utilizes a combustible fuel.
The hybrid fuel and electric fluid heating system described wherein the hybrid fluid heating system is a steam boiler.
The hybrid fuel and electric fluid heating system described wherein the hybrid fluid heating system is a hydronic boiler.
The hybrid fuel and electric fluid heating system described wherein the hybrid fluid heating system is a thermal fluid boiler.
The hybrid fuel and electric fluid heating system described wherein at least one electrical heating element is approximately parallel to a longitudinal axis of the pressure vessel.
The hybrid fuel and electric fluid heating system described wherein at least one electrical heating element is approximately perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the pressure vessel.
The hybrid fuel and electric fluid heating system described wherein a portion of at least one of the electrical heating elements mechanically attaches to an outside surface of the pressure vessel.
The hybrid fuel and electric fluid heating system described wherein a portion of at least one of the electrical heating elements mechanically attaches to an outside surface of the pressure vessel, wherein the electrical heating subsystem further comprises a bolted flange subassembly having a nozzle that penetrates the pressure vessel, the flange subassembly being attached to a portion of at least one of the electrical heating elements.
The hybrid fuel and electric fluid heating system described wherein a portion of at least one of the electrical heating elements mechanically attaches to an outside surface of the pressure vessel, wherein the electrical heating subsystem further comprises a a threaded conduit subassembly that penetrates said pressure vessel, the threaded conduit subassembly being attached to a portion of at least one of the electrical heating elements.
The hybrid fuel and electric fluid heating system described wherein the electrical heating elements are arranged in a staggered configuration.
The hybrid fuel and electric fluid heating system described wherein the heat exchanger comprises at least one of: a tubeless heat exchanger and a shell and tube heat exchanger.
The hybrid fuel and electric fluid heating system described wherein the thermal transfer fluid comprises liquid water, steam, or a combination thereof.
The hybrid fuel and electric fluid heating system described wherein the production fluid comprises water, a C1 to C10 hydrocarbon, air, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, or a combination thereof.
The hybrid fuel and electric fluid heating system described wherein the thermal transfer fluid comprises a gaseous or non-gaseous fluid.
The hybrid fuel and electric fluid heating system described wherein the furnace comprises a burner assembly and combustion chamber, which receives the fuel and produces the output exhaust gas.
A method of heating a production fluid using fuel and/or electric energy sources, the production fluid being contained in a pressure vessel, the method comprising: providing a fuel-fired furnace heating subsystem, comprising: a blower disposed in the first conduit configured to receive ambient air and electrical input power and to provide output source air; a furnace configured to receive the output source air from the blower and to receive fuel and to provide the thermal transfer fluid; and a heat exchanger configured to receive the thermal transfer fluid from the furnace and configured to be in thermal communication with the production fluid to provide convective heat exchange from the thermal transfer fluid to the production fluid and the heat exchanger configured to produce output exhaust gas; providing an electrical heating subsystem comprising one or more electrical heating elements disposed at least partially within the pressure vessel and at least a portion of the heating elements within the pressure vessel being in contact with the production fluid; flowing the production fluid from an inlet of the pressure vessel to an outlet of the pressure vessel; and controlling the fuel-fired furnace heating subsystem and the electrical heating subsystem such that the production fluid is selectively heated by at least one of the fuel-fired furnace heating subsystem and the electrical heating subsystem.
The method of heating a production fluid using fuel and/or electric energy sources disclosed, further comprising providing a control system for performing the controlling of the fuel-fired furnace heating subsystem and the electrical heating subsystem.
A method of heating a production fluid using fuel and/or electric energy sources disclosed, further comprising flowing electrical current through the electrical heating elements, when it is time for heating the production fluid.
A method of heating a production fluid using fuel and/or electric energy sources disclosed, wherein the fuel-fired furnace heating subsystem utilizes a combustible fuel.
A method of heating a production fluid using fuel and/or electric energy sources disclosed, wherein the hybrid fluid heating system is a steam boiler.
A method of heating a production fluid using fuel and/or electric energy sources disclosed, wherein the hybrid fluid heating system is a hydronic boiler.
A method of heating a production fluid using fuel and/or electric energy sources disclosed, wherein the hybrid fluid heating system is a thermal fluid boiler.
A method of heating a production fluid using fuel and/or electric energy sources disclosed, wherein at least one electrical heating element is approximately parallel to a longitudinal axis of the pressure vessel.
A method of heating a production fluid using fuel and/or electric energy sources disclosed, wherein at least one electrical heating element is approximately perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the pressure vessel.
A method of heating a production fluid using fuel and/or electric energy sources disclosed, wherein at least one electrical heating element mechanically attaches to an outside surface of the pressure vessel by a bolted flange subassembly including a nozzle that penetrates said pressure vessel.
A method of heating a production fluid using fuel and/or electric energy sources disclosed, wherein at least one electrical heating element mechanically attaches to an outside surface of the pressure vessel by a threaded conduit subassembly that penetrates said pressure vessel.
A method of heating a production fluid using fuel and/or electric energy sources disclosed, wherein the electrical heating elements are arranged in a staggered configuration.
A method of heating a production fluid using fuel and/or electric energy sources disclosed, wherein the heat exchanger comprises at least one of: a tubeless heat exchanger and a shell and tube heat exchanger.
A method of heating a production fluid using fuel and/or electric energy sources disclosed, wherein the thermal transfer fluid comprises liquid water, steam, or a combination thereof.
A method of heating a production fluid using fuel and/or electric energy sources disclosed, wherein the production fluid comprises water, a C1 to C10 hydrocarbon, air, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, or a combination thereof.
A method of heating a production fluid using fuel and/or electric energy sources, wherein the thermal transfer fluid comprises a gaseous or non-gaseous fluid.
A method of heating a production fluid using fuel and/or electric energy sources disclosed, wherein the furnace comprises a burner assembly and combustion chamber, which receives the fuel and produces the output exhaust gas.
A method of manufacturing an electrical heating subsystem for a hybrid fuel and electric fluid heating system, for heating a production fluid using fuel and/or electric energy sources, the production fluid being contained in a pressure vessel, the method comprising: providing a plurality of electrical heating elements at least partially contained in the pressure vessel shell; attaching a portion of at least one of the electrical heating elements to the pressure vessel using a flange and gasket seal subassembly which are attached to a portion of the at least one of the electrical heating elements, to secure the at least one of the electrical heating elements to the pressure vessel; and connecting the electrical heating elements to an electrical conduit for the provision of electrical energy to the electrical heating elements from a control system disposed outside the pressure vessel.
A method of manufacturing an electrical heating subsystem for a hybrid fuel and electric fluid heating system disclosed, further comprising arranging the electrical heating elements in a staggered configuration, the electrical heating elements being at least partially disposed inside the pressure vessel.
The features of the application can be better understood with reference to the drawings described below, and the claims. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead generally being placed upon illustrating the principles described herein. In the drawings, like numerals are used to indicate like parts throughout the various views.
The above and other advantages and features of this disclosure will become more apparent by describing in further detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Demands to reduce the installation footprint of boilers and increase their efficiency makes fluid heating systems which provide more thermally compact designs desirable; that is, configurations that provide an increased ratio between the power and volume or footprint of the fluid heating systems (FHS), and which can be manufactured at a reasonable cost, with satisfactory material requirements, and reduced complexity. Improvements in the state-of-the-art for fluid heating system design, methods, and manufacture that enable increases in the thermal power achievable for a prescribed size or, conversely, enable a reduction in size for a prescribed thermal power level, accomplished for the same or lower manufacturing cost and complexity, are desirable.
Problematically, increasing compactness typically also increases power density near heated components such as burners, furnaces and heat exchangers. Areas where heat is concentrated can lead to material failures, corrosion, and fouling. Where the temperature exceeds the boiling point of the production fluid, adverse effects may accumulate, particularly near structural joints or cracks that precipitate a production fluid phase change.
Moreover, many end-user applications for commercial and industrial boilers—for example, in hospitals, schools, military and governments installations—require high levels of reliability for the delivery of heat, hot water, steam and/or cooking oil. This includes protection against the loss of boiler function in the event of a loss of electrical power, fuel or liquid natural gas (LNG) supply and delivery. Historically, the requirement for high reliability in the generation of production fluid (for example, hot water, steam and/or cooking oil) has been achieved through the purchase, installation and maintenance of redundant boiler systems. For example, for certain applications commercial policies or state and government regulations requiring reliable delivery of stem can be met by requiring both a fuel-fired boiler and an electric boiler at the same facility. In the event of a loss of one energy source, a boiler operating on the alternative source can provide a minimum level of required production fluid.
There remains a need for fluid heating systems which provide more thermally compact designs, e.g., configurations that provide an increased ratio between the power and volume or footprint of the fluid heating systems (FHS), and which can be manufactured at a reasonable cost, with satisfactory material requirements, and reduced complexity and can be configured to operate on one or a combination of energy sources such electricity, fuel and/or LNG.
The inventors have discovered that boilers comprising two heating subsystems utilizing different energy sources are feasible and can be incorporated into compact boiler designs that mitigate the need for redundant boilers to meet enhanced reliability standards. Furthermore, the principles for integrating two heating subsystems applies to boilers for hot water, steam and thermal fluids (e.g., heated oil such as cooking oil), and energy sources such as electricity, fuel and LNG. Moreover, a variety of heat exchanger types can be utilized in compact, dual source energy sources such as shell and tube (equivalently, shell-and-tube, tube and shell, or tube-and-shell) heat exchangers and tubeless heat exchanger designs.
A shell and tube heat exchanger is commonly found in oil refineries and other large chemical processes and is suited for higher-pressure applications. A shell and tube heat exchanger typically comprises a shell (a pressure vessel) with a bundle of tubes inside it. One fluid (the thermal transfer fluid) runs through the tubes, and another fluid (the production fluid) flows over the tubes through the shell to transfer heat between the two fluids. The set of tubes is called a tube bundle, and may be selected by the designer from several types of tubes (e.g., plain, longitudinally finned) and in a variety of shapes to maximize heat transfer surface area and promote the exchange of heat between the thermal transfer fluid and the production fluid.
Two fluids, of different starting temperatures, flow through the heat exchanger. One flows through the tubes (the tube side) and the other flows outside the tubes but inside the shell (the shell side). Heat is transferred from one fluid to the other through the tube walls, either from tube side to shell side or vice versa. The fluids can be either liquids or gases on either the shell or the tube side. In order to transfer heat efficiently, a large heat transfer area is desirable, typically resulting in designs that use many tubes.
Tube-and-shell heat exchanger designs suffer a variety of drawbacks. In a tube-and-shell heat exchanger, the heat is transferred from the thermal transfer fluid, e.g., a combustion gas generated by a fuel-fired combustor and driven under pressure through the heat exchanger by a blower, to a production fluid (e.g., liquid water, steam, or another thermal fluid) across the walls of numerous thin-walled fluid conduits, i.e. tubes, having a wall thickness of less than 0.5 centimeters (cm). The tubes are rigidly connected to a tube sheet. Operational factors including thermal stress and corrosion lead to undesirable material failures in the tubes of tube-and-shell heat exchangers, the attachment points of the tubes, and in the tube sheets. Furthermore, when a failure occurs, the fluid heating system is rendered inoperable, and the thin-walled heat exchanger tubes and/or tube sheets are difficult and costly to service or replace, particularly in field installations.
Tubeless heat exchangers are also used. Tubeless heat exchangers avoid the use of the thin-walled tubes and the tube sheets associated with tube—and shell heat exchangers. Known practical designs for tubeless heat exchangers also have drawbacks. In available tubeless heat exchangers, the pressure vessel outer shell contacts a hot heat transfer fluid, e.g., along the exit path of the flue gas exhaust, resulting in a hot surface on the outside of the pressure vessel. To accommodate the hot outer surface, a refractory barrier outside the pressure vessel is provided, wherein the refractory barrier is separated from the pressure vessel by a gap through which the hot thermal transfer fluid flows, e.g., through an array of longitudinal ribs, thereby transferring thermal energy from the thermal transfer fluid into the outside of the shell, and ultimately transferring heat to the production fluid. Such tubeless designs suffer from refractory deterioration and loss of thermal efficiency due to some amount of heat being transferred into and through cracks in the refractory layer, and ultimately into the environment around the boiler. Furthermore, the hot outer surface of the pressure vessel presents safety issues due to the temperature of the skin which overlays the refractory material and due to leaking of thermal transfer fluid (e.g. flue gas) through cracks in the refractory material.
While not wanting to be limited by theory, certain tubeless heat exchanger designs— particularly those that incorporate flow guides including ribbed, ridged or spined elements— exhibit properties that contribute to compact fluid heating system configurations. Details for the design, use and manufacture of ribbed and ridged tubeless heat exchangers and fluid heating systems incorporating ribbed and ridged tubeless heat exchangers are provided in U.S. Provisional Patent application Ser. No. 62/124,502, filed on Dec. 22, 2014; U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/124,235, filed on Dec. 11, 2014; U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 14/949,948, filed on Nov. 24, 2015; U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 14/949,968, filed on Nov. 24, 2015; and U.S. Non-Provisional Patent Application number 24172713, filed on Nov. 24, 2015, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Tubeless heat exchangers incorporating ribbed, ridged and spined elements provides a variety of features. For example, no direct contact occurs between the thermal transfer fluid and the production fluid. Furthermore, such heat exchangers avoid use of thin-walled tubing, thereby avoiding the inherent fragility and susceptibility to material failure and corrosion of thin-walled tubing. Such heat exchangers can be provided using metal alloy tubing having an average wall thickness of 0.5 to 5 cm, for example, as the primary member between the thermal transfer fluid and the production fluid, and thus can avoid the fragility problems associated with thin-walled tubing. In certain embodiments, such heat exchangers can also avoid tight turnabouts in flow passages for both the thermal transfer fluid and the production fluid, thereby avoiding configurations that would be susceptible to fouling, clogging, and corrosion blockage. In addition, such heat exchangers provide for improved compactness (i.e., energy density, having the units of kilowatts per cubic meter, kW/m3) and improved performance characteristics compared to tube-and-shell heat exchanger alternatives of the same production capability. Also, in certain tubeless heat exchanger embodiments, all outer surfaces of the heat exchanger core are contacted by the production fluid, thereby fully utilizing the outer surfaces of the heat exchanger core for thermal energy transfer and avoiding thermal stress in the heat exchanger core. The efficiency of tubeless heat exchanger design, particularly incorporating ribbed, ridged and spined elements, provides for reduced material requirements and reduced manufacturing complexity.
Aspects of certain embodiments of tubeless heat exchangers incorporating fluid guides including ribbed, ridged and spined components as described in the references can be illustrated using a fluid heating system comprising a single ribbed heat exchanger core (alternatively, “core section”).
A tubeless heat exchanger incorporating a heat exchanger single core and a ribbed element comprises: a heat exchanger core comprising a top head; a bottom head; a first casing disposed between the top head and the bottom head; a second casing disposed between the top head and the bottom head, wherein an inner surface of the first casing is opposite an inner surface of the second casing; an inlet on the first casing, the second casing, or combination thereof; an outlet on the first casing, the second casing, or combination thereof; a rib disposed between the first casing and the second casing, wherein the rib, the first casing, and the second casing define a flow passage between the inlet and the outlet; a pressure vessel; an inlet member on the inlet for fluidly connecting the inlet to an outside of the pressure vessel; and an outlet member on the outlet for fluidly connecting the outlet to an outside of the pressure vessel, wherein the bottom head, the first casing, and the second casing are contained entirely within the pressure vessel, and wherein “inner surface” when used to indicate a surface of the first casing or the second casing is defined relative to the flow passage. Thus the inner surface of the first casing, the inner surface of the second casing, and the rib define the flow passage.
For example, the second fluid may comprise water, and may be used as a production fluid in a domestic, commercial, or industrial heating application. The first fluid, e.g., the thermal transfer fluid, which is directed through the inlet member, through the flow passage of the heat exchanger core, and out the outlet member, does not contact the pressure vessel. As a result, thermal heat energy transfer occurs between the hot first fluid flowing inside the core to the second fluid separately flowing in the pressure vessel. As noted above, the second fluid contacts an entire outer surface of the of the heat exchanger core and at no point does the surface of the pressure vessel contact the first fluid. Because the pressure vessel does not contact the first fluid, which can have a temperature of 10° C. to 1800° C., such as 10° C., 50° C., 100° C., 200° C., or 400° C. to 1800° C., 1600° C., 1400° C., 1200° C., or 1000° C., wherein the foregoing upper and lower bounds can be independently combined, the exterior surface of the pressure vessel remains relatively cool and use of insulation, e.g., a refractory material, to insulate the pressure vessel can be avoided. An embodiment in which the first fluid has a temperature of 100° C. to 1350° C. is specifically mentioned.
Tubeless heat exchangers incorporating ribbed, ridged and spined elements provides a variety of features. For example, no direct contact occurs between the thermal transfer fluid and the production fluid. Furthermore, such heat exchangers avoid use of thin-walled tubing, thereby avoiding the inherent fragility and susceptibility to material failure and corrosion of thin-walled tubing. Such heat exchangers can be provided using metal alloy tubing having an average wall thickness of 0.5 to 5 cm, for example, as the primary member between the thermal transfer fluid and the production fluid, and thus can avoid the fragility problems associated with thin-walled tubing. In certain embodiments, such heat exchangers can also avoid tight turnabouts in flow passages for both the thermal transfer fluid and the production fluid, thereby avoiding configurations that would be susceptible to fouling, clogging, and corrosion blockage. In addition, such heat exchangers provide for improved compactness (i.e., energy density, having the units of kilowatts per cubic meter, kW/m3) and improved performance characteristics compared to tube-and-shell heat exchanger alternatives of the same production capability. Also, in certain tubeless heat exchanger embodiments, all outer surfaces of the heat exchanger core are contacted by the production fluid, thereby fully utilizing the outer surfaces of the heat exchanger core for thermal energy transfer and avoiding thermal stress in the heat exchanger core. The efficiency of tubeless heat exchanger design, particularly incorporating ribbed, ridged and spined elements, provides for reduced material requirements and reduced manufacturing complexity.
The inventors have surprisingly discovered that the heating capability and operational flexibility of a premix fuel boiler (e.g., liquid natural gas, LNG) can be significantly enhanced by disposing one or more electrical heating elements 150 at least partly inside the pressure vessel shell.
Immersion heating elements that may be used in embodiments span a range of designs know to one skilled in the art of boiler heating system design. Immersive heating elements and their equivalents are specifically contemplated. For example, flanged immersive heating elements such as those manufactured by Chromalox are adaptable for use in the electrical heating subsystems described in the embodiment shown, such as the Chromalox TMI-06-055P-EOXX (55 killowatt), TMI-06-040P-EOXX (40 killowatt) and TMI-06-030P-EOXX (30 killowatt) products. (See URL at “https://www.chromalox.com/en/catalog/industrial-heaters-and-systems/circulation-and-immersion-heaters/immersion-heaters---flanged”.)
Immersion electrical heating elements may be manufactured in a variety of shapes, sizes and electrical properties.
Manufacturers of heating elements such as immersive heating elements typically specify nominal operational parameters including a specification range for the operational surface power density. For example, 80 watts per square inch to 120 watts per square inch is a typical operating range specification. This operational parameter is important to one skilled in the art of boiler design since the number of heating elements included by the designer in the electrical heating subsystem is an important factor in ensuring the operational power density range is within the required limits specified by the heating element manufacturer. The number of heating elements, the heat production of the individual heating elements (kilowatts), the distribution of the heating elements, and the volume of the space inside the pressure vessel shell allocated to the electrical heating subsystem all contribute to the heating capacity of the electrical heating subsystem and the heat capacity of the boiler. Ensuring the operational conditions satisfy the heating element manufacturer's operational specification is key to maintaining performance, optimizing element lifetime, and minimizing component replacement and maintenance.
When the electrical heating subsystem is in operation, electrical energy flows through the electrical conduits (or electrical conductors or electrically conductive wires) 334 into the immersed heating element 305 which directly heats the production fluid 322 flowing 318 from the pressure vessel inlet 316, along the space 322 between the heat exchanger 304 and the the pressure vessel shell 307, and flowing out as heated production fluid 336, e.g., hot steam, hot oil, or other heated production fluid, through the pressure vessel outlet 338.
One skilled in the art of fluid heating system design can adapt these principles to a variety of known heat exchanger configurations including, but not limited to: double tube heat exchangers (using what is known as a tube within a tube structure where two pipes where one is built inside the other); shell and tube heat exchanger (a versatile types of heat exchanger where a number of tubes are used as the primary heat exchange surfaces and provides for a wide range of pressures and temperatures); tube in tube heat exchanger (comprised of two tubes, one for each fluid and the tubes are coiled together to form an outside and inside pattern); and plate heat exchangers (where metal plates are used to transfer heat between two fluids in an arrangement comprising a metal shell, with spaces inside each plate that act as hallways for fluids to travel through).
The preferred placement of the electrical heating elements depends upon several design factors including, but not limited to, the size and relative positions of the heat exchanger and pressure vessel, and the type of production fluid. For the hydronic (water) fluid heating system (boiler) exemplary embodiment shown in
A variety of geometries support complete immersion of the electrical heating element for hybrid fuel and electric fluid heating system designed to heat production fluid using fuel and/or electric energy sources, particularly suitable to steam boiler design.
Similarly,
The design parameters and objectives that determine the number of heating elements varies depending upon the geometrical dimensions of the boiler and pressure vessel, the capacity of the boiler, the electrical system capacity and constraints, the electrical characteristics of the available heating elements and the maintenance requirements and limitations imposed on the boiler design.
Exemplary embodiments for the electrical heating subsystems utilizing immersive electrical heating elements arranged in a staggered horizontal configuration as shown in
Referring to
In some aspects of the present invention, software executing the instructions provided herein may be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, wherein the software performs some or all of the steps of the present invention when executed on a processor.
Aspects of the invention relate to algorithms executed in computer software. Though certain embodiments may be described as written in particular programming languages, or executed on particular operating systems or computing platforms, it is understood that the system and method of the present invention is not limited to any particular computing language, platform, or combination thereof. Software executing the algorithms described herein may be written in any programming language known in the art, compiled or interpreted, including but not limited to C, C++, C #, Objective-C, Java, JavaScript, MATLAB, Python, PHP, Perl, Ruby, or Visual Basic. It is further understood that elements of the present invention may be executed on any acceptable computing platform, including but not limited to a server, a cloud instance, a workstation, a thin client, a mobile device, an embedded microcontroller, a television, or any other suitable computing device known in the art.
Parts of this invention are described as software running on a computing device. Though software described herein may be disclosed as operating on one particular computing device (e.g. a dedicated server or a workstation), it is understood in the art that software is intrinsically portable and that most software running on a dedicated server may also be run, for the purposes of the present invention, on any of a wide range of devices including desktop or mobile devices, laptops, tablets, smartphones, watches, wearable electronics or other wireless digital/cellular phones, televisions, cloud instances, embedded microcontrollers, thin client devices, or any other suitable computing device known in the art.
Similarly, parts of this invention are described as communicating over a variety of wireless or wired computer networks. For the purposes of this invention, the words “network”, “networked”, and “networking” are understood to encompass wired Ethernet, fiber optic connections, wireless connections including any of the various 802.11 standards, cellular WAN infrastructures such as 3G, 4G/LTE, or 5G networks, Bluetooth®, Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE) or Zigbee® communication links, or any other method by which one electronic device is capable of communicating with another. In some embodiments, elements of the networked portion of the invention may be implemented over a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components, data structures, and other types of structures that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention may be practiced with other computer system configurations, including hand-held devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. The invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.
The computer architecture for an exemplary embodiment may comprise a conventional personal computer or microprocessor, including a central processing unit (“CPU”), a system memory, including a random-access memory (“RAM”) and a read-only memory (“ROM”), and a system bus that couples the system memory to the CPU. A basic input/output system containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within the computer, such as during startup, is stored in the ROM. The computer architecture may further include a storage device for storing an operating system, application/program and data.
The storage device may be connected to the CPU through a storage controller connected to the bus. The storage device and its associated computer-readable media provide non-volatile storage for the computer. Although the description of computer readable media contained herein refers to a storage device, such as a hard disk or CD-ROM drive, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that computer-readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by the computer.
By way of example, and not to be limiting, computer-readable media may comprise computer storage media. Computer storage media includes volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other solid state memory technology, CD-ROM, DVD, or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by the computer.
According to various embodiments of the invention, the computing system may operate in a networked environment using logical connections to remote computers through a network, such as TCP/IP network such as the Internet or an intranet. The computer system may connect to the network through a network interface unit connected to a bus. It should be appreciated that the network interface unit may also be utilized to connect to other types of networks and remote computer systems.
The computer system may also include an input/output controller for receiving and processing input from a number of input/output devices, including a keyboard, a mouse, a touchscreen, a camera, a microphone, a controller, a joystick, or other type of input device. Similarly, the input/output controller may provide output to a display screen, a printer, a speaker, or other type of output device. The computer system can connect to the input/output device via a wired connection including, but not limited to, fiber optic, Ethernet, or copper wire or wireless means including, but not limited to, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Near-Field Communication (NFC), infrared, or other suitable wired or wireless connections.
As mentioned briefly above, a number of program modules and data files may be stored in a storage device and/or RAM of the computer system, including an operating system suitable for controlling the operation of a networked computer. The storage device and RAM may also store one or more applications/programs. In particular, the storage device and RAM may store an application/program for providing a variety of functionalities to a user. For instance, the application/program may comprise many types of programs such as a word processing application, a spreadsheet application, a desktop publishing application, a database application, a gaming application, internet browsing application, electronic mail application, messaging application, and the like. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the application/program comprises a multiple functionality software application for providing word processing functionality, slide presentation functionality, spreadsheet functionality, database functionality and other functions.
The computer system in some embodiments can include a variety of sensors for monitoring the environment surrounding and the environment internal to the computer. These sensors can include a Global Positioning System (GPS) sensor, a photosensitive sensor, a gyroscope, a magnetometer, thermometer, a proximity sensor, an accelerometer, a microphone, biometric sensor, barometer, humidity sensor, radiation sensor, or any other suitable sensor.
The components comprising the thermal fluid flow path, including the heat exchanger, and the production fluid flow path, including the pressure vessel, can each independently comprise any suitable material, and can be a metal such as iron, aluminum, magnesium, titanium, nickel, cobalt, zinc, silver, copper, or an alloy comprising at least one of the foregoing. Representative metals include carbon steel, mild steel, cast iron, wrought iron, stainless steel (e.g., 304, 316, or 439 stainless steel), Monel, Inconel, bronze, and brass. Specifically provided is an embodiment in which the heat exchanger core, the pressure vessel, and the components comprising the gas flow path are mild or stainless steel.
The capacity of the fluid heating system is the total heat transferred from the thermal transfer fluid to the production fluid under standard conditions. By convention, where the production fluid is liquid (e.g., water, thermal fluid or thermal oil) the capacity is expressed in terms of British thermal units per hour (BTU/hr); where the production fluid is wholly or partly gaseous or vapor (e.g., steam) the standard unit of measurement is expressed in boiler horsepower (BHP). In embodiments where the production fluid is liquid (e.g., water, thermal fluid or thermal oil), the capacity of the fluid heating system can be 100,000 BTU/hr to 50,000,000 BTU/hr, or 150,000 BTU/hr to 50,000,000 BTU/hr, or 200,000 BTU/hr to 40,000,000 BTU/hr, or 250,000 BTU/hr to 35,000,000 BTU/hr, or 300,000 BTU/hr to 30,000,000 BTU/hr, or 350,000 BTU/hr to 25,000,000 BTU/hr, or 400,000 BTU/hr to 20,000,000 BTU/hr, or 450,000 BTU/hr to 20,000,000 BTU/hr, or 500,000 BTU/hr to 20,000,000 BTU/hr, or 550,000 BTU/hr to 20,000,000 BTU/hr, or 600,000 BTU/hr to 20,000,000 BTU/hr, for example. The upper limit of capacity of the fluid heating system when the production fluid is liquid can be 50,000,000 BTU/hr, 40,000,000 BTU/hr, 30,000,000 BTU/hr, 20,000,000 BTU/hr, 15,000,000 BTU/hr, 14,000,000 BTU/hr, 13,000,000 BTU/hr, 12,000,000 BTU/hr, 10,000,000 BTU/hr, 9,000,000 BTU/hr, or 8,000,000 BTU/hr, for example. The lower limit of the capacity of the fluid heating system when the production fluid is liquid can be 100,000 BTU/hr, 150,000 BTU/hr, 200,000 BTU/hr, 250,000 BTU/hr, 300,000 BTU/hr, 350,000 BTU/hr, 400,000 BTU/hr, 450,000 BTU/hr, 500,000 BTU/hr, 550,000 BTU/hr, or 600,000 BTU/hr, for example The foregoing upper and lower bounds can be independently combined, preferably 300,000 BTU/hr to 20,000,000 BTU/hr.
In an embodiment where the production fluid is wholly or partly gaseous or vapor (e.g., steam), the capacity of the fluid heating system can be between 1.5 HP to 1,500 HP, or 2.0 HP to 1,200 HP, or 2.5 HP to 1000 HP, or 3.0 HP to 900 HP, or 3.5 HP to 800 HP, or 4 HP to 800 HP, or 4.5 HP to 800 HP, or 5 HP to 1,500 HP, or 10 HP to 1,500 HP, or 15 HP to 1,500 HP, or 20 HP to 1,500 HP, or 25 HP to 1,500 HP, or 30 HP to 1,500 HP, for example. The upper limit of the capacity of the fluid heating system when the production fluid is wholly or partly gaseous or vapor can be 2,500 HP, 2,000 HP, 1,800 HP, 1,600 HP, 1,500 HP, 1,400 HP, 1,300 HP 1,200 HP, 1,100 HP, 1,000 HP, 900 HP, 800 HP, for example, or any other capacity determined by the specific fluid heating system footprint and weight requirements. The lower limit of the capacity of the fluid heating system when the production fluid is wholly or partly gaseous or vapor can be 1.5 HP, 2.0 HP, 2.5 HP, 3.0 HP, 3.5 HP, 4 HP, 5 HP, 10 HP, 15 HP, 20 HP, 25 HP, or 30 HP, for example The foregoing upper and lower bounds can be independently combined. Fluid heating system capacities of 10 HP to 1000 HP and 10 HP to 1,600 HP are specifically cited.
In an embodiment, the fluid heating system capacity where the production fluid is liquid (e.g., water, thermal fluid or thermal oil) is between 500,000 BTU/hr to 30,000,000 BTU/hr. In an embodiment, the fluid heating system capacity where the production fluid is liquid (e.g., water, thermal fluid or thermal oil) is between 700,000 BTU/hr to 1,000,000 BTU/hr. In an embodiment, the fluid heating system capacity where the production fluid is wholly or partly gaseous or vapor (e.g., steam) is between 2.5 HP to 800 HP. In an embodiment, the fluid heating system capacity where the production fluid is wholly or partly gaseous or vapor (e.g., steam) is between 3.5 HP, 4 HP, 5 HP, 10 HP, 15 HP, 20 HP, 25 HP, or 30 HP to 500 HP, or 600 HP, or 700 HP, or 800 HP, or 900 HP, or 1,000 HP, or 1,100 HP, or 1,200 HP, or 1,300 HP, or 1,400 HP or 1,600 HP, or 1,800 HP, or 2,000 HP.
Set forth below are non-limiting further embodiments of the present disclosure:
Embodiment 1: A fluid heating system for heating production fluid, the production fluid being contained in a pressure vessel, comprising: a fuel heating subsystem further comprising an electric blower configured to receive ambient air and electrical input power and to provide output source air; a combustion system configured to receive the source air from the electric blower and to receive fuel and to provide the thermal transfer fluid; a heat exchanger configured to receive the thermal transfer fluid from the combustion system and configured to be in thermal communication with the production fluid to provide convective heat exchange from the thermal transfer fluid to the production fluid, and to provide output exhaust gas; an electrical heating subsystem further comprising one or more electrical heating elements disposed in the pressure vessel; and a control system comprised of sensors, actuators, electronic hardware and software to control the operation of the fuel heating subsystem, the electrical heating subsystem, or a combination of the simultaneous operation of both the fuel heating subsystem and the electrical heating subsystem.
Embodiment 2: The fluid heating system of embodiment 1, wherein the production fluid is steam and hot water.
Embodiment 3: The fluid heating system of embodiment 1, wherein the production fluid is hot water.
Embodiment 4: The fluid heating system of embodiment 1, wherein the fluid heating system is a vertical steam boiler.
Embodiment 5: The fluid heating system of embodiment 1, wherein the fluid heating system is a vertical hydronic boiler.
Embodiment 6: The fluid heating system of embodiment 1, wherein the fluid heating system is a vertical thermal fluid heater.
Embodiment 7: The fluid heating system of embodiment 1, wherein the fluid heating system is a horizontal steam boiler.
Embodiment 8: The fluid heating system of embodiment 1, wherein the fluid heating system is a horizontal hydronic boiler.
Embodiment 9: The fluid heating system of embodiment 1, wherein the fluid heating system is a horizontal thermal fluid heater.
Embodiment 10: The fluid heating system of embodiment 1, wherein the heat exchanger is a shell and tube heat exchanger.
Embodiment 11: The fluid heating system of embodiment 1, wherein the heat exchanger is a tubeless heat exchanger.
Embodiment 12: The fluid heating system of embodiment 1, wherein the electrical heating subsystem further comprises immersive electrical heating elements disposed at least partially in the pressure vessel shell.
The disclosure has been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which various embodiments are shown. This disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms, and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.
It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “on” another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may be present there between. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on” another element, there are no intervening elements present. Also, the element may be on an outer surface or on an inner surface of the other element, and thus “on” may be inclusive of “in” and “on.”
It will be understood that, although the terms “first,” “second,” “third,” etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers, and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers, and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer, or section from another element, component, region, layer or section. Thus, “a first element,” “component,” “region,” “layer,” or “section” discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer, or section without departing from the teachings herein.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms, including “at least one,” unless the content clearly indicates otherwise. “Or” means “and/or.” As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” or “includes,” and/or “including” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
or “top,” may be used herein to describe one element's relationship to another element as illustrated in the Figures. It will be understood that relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in addition to the orientation depicted in the Figures. For example, if the device in one of the figures is turned over, elements described as being on the “lower” side of other elements would then be oriented on “upper” sides of the other elements. The exemplary term “lower,” can therefore, encompasses both an orientation of “lower” and “upper,” depending on the particular orientation of the figure. Similarly, if the device in one of the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements would then be oriented “above” the other elements. The exemplary terms “below” or “beneath” can, therefore, encompass both an orientation of above and below.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and the present disclosure, and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
Exemplary embodiments are described herein with reference to cross section illustrations that are schematic illustrations of idealized embodiments. As such, variations from the shapes of the illustrations as a result, for example, of manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances, are to be expected. Thus, embodiments described herein should not be construed as limited to the particular shapes of regions as illustrated herein but are to include deviations in shapes that result, for example, from manufacturing. For example, a region illustrated or described as flat may, typically, have rough and/or nonlinear features. Moreover, sharp angles that are illustrated may be rounded. Thus, the regions illustrated in the figures are schematic in nature and their shapes are not intended to illustrate the precise shape of a region and are not intended to limit the scope of the present claims.
This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 63/483,280, filed Feb. 4, 2023, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63483280 | Feb 2023 | US |
