Abstract
This paper reviews the basics of heat pipe exchangers. Included are how they are constructed, how they operate, where they have application, and various aspects of evaluating a potential application.
After discussing the technical aspects of heat pipe exchangers, an industrial case history is presented. The case history involves a retrofit project which added heat pipes to five natural draft process heaters with a combined heat duty of 150 M Btu/hr. A heat recovery of 15 M Btu/hr has resulted from the flue gas/combustion air interchange. The paper will include design considerations, and operating and maintenance history since early 1980. A second application for heat pipes with a 12 M Btu/hr duty installed in 1983 will also be discussed.
Murray, F. (1984). Heat Pipes: An Industrial Application. Energy Systems Laboratory (http://esl.tamu.edu); Texas A&M University (http://www.tamu.edu). Available electronically from
https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /94690.