Rotor post with floating tensile header

Abstract

A rotary regenerative air preheater having a rotor mounted to a central rotor post for rotation within a surrounding housing whereby heat absorbent material carried in the rotor is alternately exposed to a flow of heating gas and a gas to be heated. Upper and lower rotor post headers provide means for mounting diaphragms, which divide the rotor into compartments, to the rotor post. The upper rotor post header includes an interior opening for receiving the rotor and an outer peripheral portion having a plurality of circumferentially spaced T-shaped slots. The upper portion of the inboard end of each diaphragm defines a box-shaped lug which is received in one of the slots. Shoulders defined by the lug engage shoulders defined by the slots to prevent radial movement of the diaphragm. The lower rotor post header is mounted to the rotor and includes a radially extending lower portion that defines a shelf. The lower portion of the inboard end of each diaphragm rests on the shelf such that each diaphragm is supported on the rotor.