Westinghouse Electric Corporation

Regis R Vollmer

Edward H Smith

Robert Shaffer

Richard L Stiller

A tube guide-expander for guiding heat exchanger tubes through tube sheet apertures from a secondary to a primary side thereof and expanding those tubes into contact with the apertures' walls. The guide-expander includes relatively axially displaceable first and second compression structures and elastomeric O-rings which radially expand into contact with the tube's inner surface when axially compressed between the compression structures. The first compression structure is abuttable with the tube's end and has an axial opening therethrough. The second compression structure constitutes an elongated element which extends through the opening and has a ram element connected to the end inside the tube and a driving element connected to the end outside the tube. The ram and elongated elements are preferably threadably engaged so as to permit relative axial displacement therebetween when they are relatively rotated. Such relative axial displacement maintains selected degrees of axial compression on the radially expansible O-rings and provides releasable retention of the guide-expanders in the tubes during guidance of the tubes through the tube sheet apertures.

Tube guide-expander

A method for inserting a tube through a tubesheet aperture and expanding it into contact with the aperture's wall. A tube guide-expander device is assembled in an open end of a tube with a portion of the device protruding from the tube. The guide-expander includes a distally protruding tip portion tapered to diverge in a direction toward the tube so as to facilitate insertion of the guide-expander and engaged tube through apertures in spatially separated tube supports and tubesheet. The guide-expander and tube engaged therewith are axially displaced relative to the tubesheet until the desired relative configuration is obtained. Expansion of the tube results from expanding the assembled tube guide-expander and driving the housing tube in the radial direction against the tubesheet aperture's wall. Such guide-expander expansion obtains from relatively axially displacing two structural components and compressing an interposed, radially expansible structure.

Method for installing a tube in a heat exchanger tube sheet

A support assembly for two rows of U-shaped tubes comprises a U-bend rack which aligns and holds the U-bend portions of the tubes in a plurality of leg racks which align and hold the straight leg portions of two rows of tubes, the support assembly is utilized in inspecting shipping and simultaneously installing two rows of tubes in a vertically oriented heat exchanger.

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Penn Township, PA, United States of America

Regis R Vollmer