Exxonmobil Research and Engineering Company

Other

Exxonmobil Upstream Research Company

Amar S Wanni

Thomas M Rudy

Marciano M Calanog

Louis A Curcio

Michel A Daage

Ian A Cody

Mark Alan Greaney

Lei Zhang

Limin Song

Narasimhan Sundaram

Jeffrey William Frederick

Gregory J DeMartin

James Edward Feather

Jason M McMullan

Robert Charles Welch

Tomas R Melli

Jasmina Poturovic

Claude A Lafleur

Clifford Hay

Malcolm D Keen

Roberto S Tomotaki

Chih Pong Sin

Douglas F Slingerland

Roberto C Tomotaki

Chithranjan Nadarajah

Zdenka F Ruzek

Michael J Reuther

Thomas Michael Rudy

Louis Anthony Curcio

Roberto Carlos Tomotaki

Alain De Wagter

A clamping system secures to at least one tube in a tube bundle of a heat exchanger in order to reduce vibration damage. The clamping system includes a first clamping component having a J-shape, a second clamping component having an L-shape, a configuration where the first arc around the tube plus the second arc around the tube is equal to at least 100 degrees; and a means for resisting movement of the clamping components. The first clamping component with a J-shape covers a first arc around the tube. The second clamping component with an L-shape covers a second arc opposite the first arc. One of the means for resisting movement includes a stake, a nut, and a bolt.

Clamping system for a tube in a tube bundle

A wave energy converter situated on a seabed includes a pair of pistons, a means for producing energy within a vessel, and a water-conveyance pipe attached to the vessel. The pistons reciprocate using differential pressure to extract energy from a wave transiting on the surface of a body of water. Water receiving ports at high and low pressure points create a differential pressure to act on the pistons and push them in opposite directions. A hydraulic cylinder or a linear alternator is attached between the pair of pistons to extract the energy.

Wave energy converter

Systems and methods are provided for performing field enhanced separations on a feed, such as a petroleum feed, a refinery feed, or another type of hydrocarbonaceous feed. The system can allow for increased throughput of feed per volume of the separation device or system while performing a desired amount of field enhanced separation. The field enhanced separation can include separation by thermal diffusion, optionally enhanced by the presence of an electric field in the channel for performing the separation by thermal diffusion.

Field enhanced separation apparatus

A tube support in the form of a stake having at least one protrusion mounted on its longitudinal surface. The protrusion contacts adjoining tubes of a tube bundle and exerts a force tending to separate the tubes.

Tube support for vibration mitigation

A wave energy converter located on the seabed extracts the potential energy in a wave transiting over the wave energy converter. The converter includes a vessel arranged so that its longitudinal axis is located near seabed so that an upstream opening near one end sits below the crest of the wave when and a downstream opening near the other end sits below the trough of the wave. Repetitive waves flowing over the converter cause a cyclic difference in the weight of the water above the openings. This cyclic weight differential in turn creates a horizontal cyclic force acting on the piston, which in turn acts on a hydraulic cylinder to create a high-pressure hydraulic fluid. A vertical embodiment operating on similar principles is also disclosed.

A method and apparatus are described for swing adsorption processes. The method includes obtaining different plates, wherein the plates have gaseous openings and a utility fluid opening. Then, the gaseous openings are substantially oriented along a common axis for gaseous openings and the plates are diffusion bonded. Once diffusion bonded, the gaseous openings within the module are wash coated with an adsorbent material.

Apparatus and systems having an adsorbent contactor and swing adsorption processes related thereto

Targeted application of anti-fouling mechanisms in a heat exchange system produces higher rates of energy recovery. The anti-fouling mechanisms with high mitigation rates can be deployed at only the hottest portions of a pre-heat train that experience the highest rates of fouling and heat loss. In application, bundles of corrosion resistant smoothed tubes are deployed in the late pre-heat train to significantly reduce the formation of harder deposits. Vibration can be used as an adjunct approach in conjunction with the corrosion resistant, smooth tubes, or deployed alone on existing bundles. The use of high performing, more durable exchangers in select locations justifies the increased cost of these components.

Crude oil pre-heat train with improved heat transfer

An insert is provided in a flow path adjacent to the input and/or output port of a plate heat exchanger to shield heat transfer elements adjacent to the port from high velocity flow. By deflecting and redirecting the high velocity flow from the port, vibration induced stress to the heat transfer elements can be minimized. The insert is provided with a converging nozzle that directs the flow into a narrowed body. The outlet of the insert can be formed as an open end of the body or as a contoured opening in the side wall of the body. Flow can also be more uniformly distributed to the flow channels defined between the heat transfer elements.

Plate heat exchanger port insert and method for alleviating vibrations in a heat exchanger

A strainer device for a fluid flow circuit removes debris and solid particles from the fluid flow to prevent plugging and reduce fouling of the system. The assembly includes a chamber that can be hydrocyclonic, a collection area, a screen assembly and a distributor that allows selective connection to a flushing fluid. The fluid flows through the chamber past the strainer device, with large particles collecting in the collection area under the influence of gravity and smaller solid particles being collected in the screen assembly. Particles can be flushed from the system by selectively activating the distributor to back flush the screen assembly and sweep the collection area free of solid particles without disassembling the system.

Back flushable strainer device

A tube support device is used with tube bundle devices such as heat exchangers or, condensers with in-line tube arrangements (rectangular tube configuration) to mitigate the possibility of tube damage from flow-induced vibration in the tube bundle. The tube support comprises an elongated member or strip which is intended to be inserted in a tube lane between the tubes of the tube bundle. Raised-tube-engaging zones which include transverse, arcuate tube-receiving saddles are disposed along the length of the strip at successive longitudinal locations corresponding to the tube positions in the bundle. These tube-engaging zones extend laterally out, away from the medial plane of the strip, so that the saddles receive and closely hold the tubes on opposite sides of the tube lane. The support device may be made of two strips joined back-to-back with the tube-engaging zones extending out from one face of each strip or, alternatively, by a single strip with longitudinal slits which enable the tube-engaging zones to extend out on alternate faces of the strip at each tube location.

Anti-vibration tube support

A tube support device for a tube bundle having a plurality of elongated tubes with a U-shaped bend portion is disclosed. The tube support device includes an elongated longitudinally extending strip having a pair of opposing faces. A plurality of tube engaging members extend from the pair of opposing faces. The tube support device includes an engagement assembly formed on one end of the tube support device. The engagement assembly is adapted to engage the anchor assembly positioned within the tube bundle, whereby the tube support device can be rotated into the desired orientation between the tubes to prevent vibration damage.

Anti-vibration tube support for tube bundles having U-shaped bends

A support device for a bundle of elongated members and a locking assembly for securing the same within the bundle are disclosed. The support device includes an elongated support adapted to be located between adjacent spaced rows of elongated members, wherein the elongated support having a first side and a second side, wherein the first side being arranged to be positioned adjacent one row of the spaced rows of elongated members and the second side being arranged to be positioned adjacent another row of the spaced rows of elongated members. The support device includes a plurality of support members spaced along the elongated support, wherein each support member have a first supporting assembly located on the first side for supporting one of the elongated members in the one row and a second supporting assembly located on the second side for supporting one of the elongated members in the other row. At least one locking assembly is provided for locking the support device between the adjacent rows of elongated members, wherein each of the at least one locking assembly being located on at least one of the first side and the second side between adjacent supporting assemblies.

Anti-vibration tube support with locking assembly

A support device for supporting a plurality of elongated members. The support device having a longitudinally extensive strip having a plurality of sets of transverse corrugations located at successive longitudinal locations along the strip. Each set of transverse corrugations forming a plurality of elongated member engaging zones extending laterally outwards from both faces of the strip to engage the elongated members in the tube bundle on opposite sides of a tube lane. The support device is useful to support elongated members in a bundle and to mitigate the possibility of damage from flow-induced vibration in elongated members.

A tube support device for a plurality of elongated members is disclosed. The support device includes an elongated longitudinally extending strip having a pair of opposing faces. The strip includes a plurality of engaging members extending from the pair of opposing faces. The support device is sized such that the support device is located between adjacent rows of elongated members. The plurality of engaging members arranged such that a portion of the plurality of engaging members extend from one face of the opposing faces and are arranged to contact the elongated members positioned adjacent one face and another portion of the plurality of engaging members extend from another face of the opposing faces and are arranged to contact the elongated members positioned adjacent the other face. The plurality of engaging members are located adjacent one end of the strip and extend along only a portion of the length of the strip. The remaining portion of the strip contains no engaging members.

A tube bundle device useful in heat exchangers, condensers and other devices which has a number of tube support cages placed at extended locations along the length of the tubes. After the initial construction of the bundle in which the tubes are inserted into the support cages the tube bundle is stiffened by inserting sets of tube stakes between the tube support cages, preferably at the midpoint of the tube span between the cages. The tubes are supported by rods or bars in each tube lane at the tube support cage locations and the rods in each cage are rotated axially with respect to the rods in the next adjacent cage; in a similar manner, the stakes in each set are rotated axially with respect to the stakes in the next axially adjacent set.

Growing community of inventors

Falls Church, VA, United States of America

Amar S Wanni